IssueRaiser

Firefox OS is yet another example of Mozilla apparently thinking that ideological purity alone will somehow entice users into adopting an...

Firefox OS is yet another example of Mozilla apparently thinking that ideological purity alone will somehow entice users into adopting an otherwise average-to-bad software offering. That isn't how reality works, though, obviously. Out of necessity, most users must place software usability and capability above ideology. Software like Firefox OS and Persona will never see serious adoption when they can't compete with long-established and more functional offerings at the most basic levels, even if these competitors may not be as "open". It's an approach that doesn't work for Mozilla's offerings that are already well-established, either. Firefox has been hemorrhaging users ever since its developers stopped focusing on truly improving the user experience, and instead focused solely on copying the worst aspects of Chrome (the UI, for example), while neglecting to address the performance and resource usage problems that have long plagued Firefox. Users need software that works. If that means using software that's "less open" or "closed", they'll do it without a second thought. Mozilla just happens to often be on the losing side of this reality these days. While "openness" can be beneficial, it needs to be in conjunction with software that's at least comparably good to its "closed" competitors. Firefox OS, Persona and Firefox are good examples of where this isn't the case, and how they're either seeing limited to no adoption, or how they're losing existing users.

Posted by Pacabel on Jun 13, 2014, 12:03 PM

Tags

Related issues

Raise real-world problems, find people facing the same issue, and discuss solutions.9,500 issues0 comments

ux (SaaS)

Firefox OS is yet another example of Mozilla apparently thinking that ideological purity alone will somehow entice users into adopting an...

PacabelJun 13, 2014, 12:03 PM

Firefox OS is yet another example of Mozilla apparently thinking that ideological purity alone will somehow entice users into adopting an otherwise average-to-bad software offering. That isn't how reality works, though, obviously. Out of necessity, most users must place software usability and capability above ideology. Software like Firefox OS and Persona will never see serious adoption when they can't compete with long-established and more functional offerings at the most basic levels, even if these competitors may not be as "open". It's an approach that doesn't work for Mozilla's offerings that are already well-established, either. Firefox has been hemorrhaging users ever since its developers stopped focusing on truly improving the user experience, and instead focused solely on copying the worst aspects of Chrome (the UI, for example), while neglecting to address the performance and resource usage problems that have long plagued Firefox. Users need software that works. If that means using software that's "less open" or "closed", they'll do it without a second thought. Mozilla just happens to often be on the losing side of this reality these days. While "openness" can be beneficial, it needs to be in conjunction with software that's at least comparably good to its "closed" competitors. Firefox OS, Persona and Firefox are good examples of where this isn't the case, and how they're either seeing limited to no adoption, or how they're losing existing users.

Comments (0)

No comments yet. Start the discussion.

Comment on this issue