1107046 - Real portable apps: locally synchronize & run apps on all platforms (smartphone, tablets, desktops, Windows, Linux, Mac,...)

Status: RESOLVED WONTFIX

(Firefox OS Graveyard :: General, defect)

Description

[cenite]

>> Feature Request Title:
Real portable apps: locally synchronize & run apps on all platforms (smartphone, tablets, desktops, Windows, Linux, Mac,...)

>> Description of feature, or problem to be solved
Real portable apps would be a great oppurtunity to extend the usability of Firefox OS phones. With portable I mean, that these apps run on any type of device (smartphone, tablets, desktops, Windows, Linux and Mac and more).
In a way this could be realised by shipping a simulator that natively integrates apps inside seperate windows for other operating systems. The state of apps is synchronized between both devices inside the same LAN/WiFi. Users should be able to select which apps get synchronized since they probably don't want to share their home life with an employer for example.

With a simple app state store API (probably already available in some form), only a low amount of data would need to be transfered after an initial setup:
- store.add(myTextarea.text) //auto restore field on app reactivation
- store.add(strKey, value))
- store.addDeepCopy(strKey, classType, myClassTypeVar) //store the whole object recursively
- corresponding store.restore functions

This feature would allow to take your programs and apps with you in your pocket all the time and one could work on the phone or using a desktop computer if the infrastructure is available. Even better if the app supports both environments. In this context it would make sense to let apps know not just about the screen dimensions in pixels but also in physical units (cm). An app could easily adapt to a huge desktop monitor as well as to a small smartphone screeen with the same resolution while providing a fully functional interface for all devices.

With such a decentralized system the user has full control over who get's to see which data and there is no need to trust a cloud storage hoster to protect the data sufficiently. The latter point can be crucial especially in a business context.

Three famous negative examples with unwanted data access to support my last statement:
- the iCloud celebrity photo leak 2014
- Gmail using private e-mail content to personalize advertisements
- Microsoft's invasive privacy policy for OneDrive

>> Impact of implementing the feature/solution
Implementing this feature would make it possible to have apps run on any device independent from the underlying computer architecture.

It would also allow to have your apps all the time with you and to use them on (potentially) all the devices around you, like in many SciFi films/visions where you swipe apps to some portable device and take it to a colleague in the next room or even home.

In contrast to a cloud based approach, the user still has full control over his own data and privacy.

>> Impact of NOT implementing the feature/solution
Using synchronized apps on different devices would be much harder and no benefits could be experienced from this feature.

>> Date required

Comment 1

[BMO Automation]

Firefox OS is not being worked on