[anon1385]

>Both browser based OS's are still in their early phases. What if the hardware could run both, just as easily as you could put whatever flavor distro of linux on your desktop?

This isn't a valid replacement for just being able to run multiple browsers. Switching OS has a large cost. Your FirefoxOS local apps won't run on ChromeOS (and vice versa). You have to work out how to get your files from one to the other and so on. If you want to just try another browser out you have to go through a process that is very intimidating and complicated for most people. The average user is not going to do it (or if they are persuaded to do it many will get angry and complain that all their apps are gone).

Making the cost of switching browsers much higher is an attempt to lock people in to a single browser.

[theon144]

>This isn't a valid replacement for just being able to run multiple browsers. Switching OS has a large cost.

When your OS is no more than a browser, what is the difference?

[anon1385]

FirefoxOS and ChromeOS are more than just browsers. They have a set of (currently) non-standard APIs for doing various things because the current browser standards don't cover many of the things you need to build a usable mobile OS. They are designed to run locally stored 'apps', not just browser web pages. Some proportion of apps will not be portable. Even if they were the user is going to have to manually reinstall them. Another way of looking at it: if FirefoxOS is functionally identical to ChromeOS (ie.e. the user won't notice switching) then why does it even exist at all? What is the point of a close if from day one you rule out the possibility of ever doing anything better or differently than the competition?

It really doesn't matter if it's possible to work around these hurdles to changing OS, it's still a massive amount of effort to think about all these things rather than just being able to install a different browser alongside. Normal users will not be re-imaging their phones to different OSs just to try a different web browser. It just won't happen in any great numbers. After a hard fought battle over many years to get people over the relatively small hurdle of installing Firefox on open platforms, I would expect Mozilla of all people to appreciate how difficult it would be to get people to try out different browsers in a world.

Also, I know it's kind of taboo to talk about this around here, but it's worth also mentioning what web apps mean for user privacy and data security. You seem to be suggesting that people only use web apps where their data is never stored locally, only in the cloud. In data centres where governments can mine it (often without warrants or any kind of due process), where it can be mined to build profiles on users for advertising or insurance purposes. That kind of app also leaves user vulnerable to all their data disappearing when the web service they use runs out of money or gets bought out or just decides to ditch a feature.