Category Archives: Me Me Me

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Common misconceptions about Boot-to-Gecko, and the Web

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中文版刊登於謀智台客部落格。

Being asked to introduce the Boot to Gecko project to various audiences, I think it’s appropriate for me to write some FAQ here on common misconception of the project, and the Web in general.

Misconception #1: Boot to Gecko is yet another mobile platform for apps.

To run you apps on Boot to Gecko (and any other devices with a browser), you would just have to deliver your apps on the plain old-school Web on Internet.

Boot to Gecko is aim to (re)boot to the web. That is, to bring the Open Web to a level that it could compete with proprietary mobile platforms. To application developers, the Web is yet another platform to develop (you would need to port your apps from Obj-C/Java to HTML5), but the good news is your app would now becomes the cross-platform web app, not B2G Apps, PhoneGap Apps, nor Metro-style Windows 8 Apps, and it’s always available to everyone on every platform, one web address away. It would also make your app free from platform vendor control, since no one owns the Web.

Misconception #2: Phone need to be always on-line to use Boot to Gecko and web apps.

Even though every apps on B2G phone is from a web address, even the home screen itself, offline capability can be easily achieved with HTML5 Offline AppCache technology. It’s something that can be done today, available to many browsers available on both desktop and mobile. The only thing you should take care of is how network dependent your app really is. Even on iOS, Twitter app or Facebook app is useless without network connection. You should define a clear boundary between program assets and online information in your HTML5 app. After all, it’s not just an website anymore.

Misconception #3: Web app is crappier than “native apps” in turns of UX.

This is a notion I strongly disagree. The only reason mobile browsers on devices perform worse than the native app is because the venders of the device did not invest enough effort on it. There is a conflict of interest here. Limiting the capability of APIs accessible, besides permission management issue, is the same thing. At Mozilla, we can show that with proper engineering, mobile browser, or web runtime, can run smoothly as silk on devices and deliver the so-called “native” experiences. Other venders investing the web is also doing the same thing. For devices running B2G or Chrome OS, the native app is web apps, there is no point to make it slow, intentionally or unintentionally.

Misconception #4: Web apps running on B2G is dependent on B2G or Mozilla Web APIs.

Yes and no. If you need specific access like SMS message database or phone dialing, initially B2G would be the only platform that make these features available to you. However, we design these Web APIs with standardization in mind, and work closely with standardizing bodies to made these APIs ready for other venders to implement. Evidently, our Web APIs does not live under PhoneGap.*, Windows.*, nor Ti.*; they are design to be at where it should be, like navigator.* (Sure, as experimental features, they came with moz prefix right now, and usual feature detection is advised).

If you choose other packaged web app solution, then, your web app is depend on it. Forever. Mozilla would like you to develop and distribute apps directly to the Web, and you should.

Misconception #5: Apps on Web are free of charge, developers will never make money out of it.

Yeah, like no one had ever become billionaire because of applications or services they put on the web.

There are tons of way to provide services on the web in exchange for money, surely there are ways to make money with web apps, other than bagging for US$0.99 from users. Sure, closed platform with single distribution “app store” seems effective in terms of delivering revenue to developers (besides having 30% of your money being taken along the away), but Mozilla believes choices matters, and an open platform deliver choices to both users and developers.

Mozilla is also exploring effective distribution and monetize channel for the Open Web, in our Open Web App Project and the Mozilla Marketplace website. The goal of offering choices and freedom is deeply embedded in the feature design, both in browser App API and in storefront, and with user authentication and authorization (which is the scope of the Mozilla Persona project, previously known as BrowserID).

Conclusion

Just like Mozilla did with Firefox years ago, we intend to deliver great product that could influence the market, and let the market influence other venders. No one owns the Web, and no one should. Mozilla is here not to make money or become monopoly, but to bring the goodness to the Web that could drive innovation and opportunities centuries to come.

The CTO of Opera Software, Håkon Wium Lie, once said the Web will last for at least 500 years, and made impact to the society just like Gutenberg’s printing press. I totally agree with him, even though none of us will be around and told me I was wrong, as he puts it. Let’s make it great.

Disclaimer: This post express the opinion of my own and does not necessarily represents the point of view of Mozilla nor Mozilla Corp.

請記得投票

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繳稅、守法並不代表你同意這個政府的作為，但是沉默與不行使公民權力是。請記得本週末去投票。

I managed to squeeze this into 140 chars:

Paying taxes and obey the law does not mean consent to the current administration, but silent and not acting [your] citizen right is. PLEASE VOTE.

This Has Been a Public Service Announcement.

Looking Backwards, Connecting the Dots

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So the day came.

I have not much to say like everyone else on the web and mess media. I don’t want to go on skin-depth things like how he transformed the computer industry and the world – I didn’t even agree most of the tactics he used (like, all closed-source, closed and single distributor model for the iOS platform, etc.).

I want to share something personal with you here, instead.

I did a lot of things that didn’t make sense to my parents, nor to myself at the time. Ever since mid-school, I spent countless hours making websites. I was the computer guru to my high school classmates because the guestbook/chatroom service I built was practically the online social network to them. When I went to college, I chose to take physics as major instead of computer science because I thought there were more wonders in the mechanics of the physical world instead of inside a computer. That turned out to be true, and the wonders unfortunately succumbed me; my grades in physics classes were never higher than the one and only computer science class I took. I didn’t know what to do at the time; I didn’t want to, and couldn’t go for the regular career a physics-major in Taiwan would usually do, that is go to graduate school, and to TSMC/UMC or other semiconductor companies straight from school, the flagship industry of Taiwan – The promise land with dicent salary and social recognition.

Nevertheless, I got my B.Sc. anyway. I stall a bit by deliberately not to meet the graduation requirement (which is, ironically, English requirement) and stayed for a fifth year. I joined MozTW and took care of Firefox localization, started to get to know people in the technology circle, many of whom are big names I admired. I gave lectures at meet-ups and events, wrote web application for Firefox promotion. I co-organized events, designed event websites. I built a paper toss game in the IE9 hackathon event and was awarded an XBox 360 + Kinect. Eventually, I am recognized by people as a qualified front-end developer.

(Full text of Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address)

I don’t actually remember when I see the speech for the first time. At first it didn’t make an impression. It was not until some day, I realized “connecting the dots by looking backwards” is exactly what I did, and do right now: Without these “personal homepage” I wrote before college, I wouldn’t know how server-client architecture works. Without my college projects in the physics department, I wouldn’t have any idea how to organize a full-scale rich-content website, nor the chance to improve my communication skill. Without MozTW I wouldn’t be known by my talented peers. Even physics has a part when I looked backwards – The paper toss game I wrote at the IE9 event is actually based on physics simulation skill I learned in school. I hated that class, but without the knowledge the game wouldn’t have such animation effect.

Indeed, Steve was right all along. “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. … This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”, he said. By looking backwards, I found everything I did somehow makes who I am today, and they surely made all the difference.

This is what Mr. Jobs meant to me. Nothing technological nor innovative, purely personal. So long, Steve, you lived a good life. This post is my tribute to you, and you will certainly be missed.