I'm an old digital native. I've learned to tinker with computers that encourage "hacking" like the Apple II. It shipped with a disassembler, electronic schematics, 8 expansion slots. You did not need a screwdriver to open the lid. Compare this with today's smartphones, with a centralized AppStore on which one company has total control. This discourages tinkering. How will the next generation of digital natives learn to tinker if all they have is closed ecosystems? Mozilla is working on this with the Open Web through two separate initiatives: * Webmaker.org is a set of tools and events to encourage ordinary people to have a look under the hood of technology. * Firefox OS aims to ship HTML5-powered smartphones that can run Web applications like other smartphones run native apps.

2. PAST & FUTURE OF
DIGITAL NATIVES:
HACK THE FUTURE!
Tristan Nitot
Principal Mozilla Evangelist, Mozilla Europe Founder
tnitot@mozilla.com - twitter: @nitot

3. MOZILLA IS...
a global community of people
who believe that
openness, innovation, and opportunity
are key to the continued
health of the Internet.

4. We’re known for the
Firefox Web browser

5. MOZILLA MANIFESTO (EXCERPTS)
• The Internet is a global public resource that must
remain open and accessible.
• Individuals must have the ability to shape their own
experiences on the Internet.
• The effectiveness of the Internet as a public resource
depends upon interoperability (protocols, data
formats, content), innovation and decentralized
participation worldwide.
• Free and open source software promotes the
development of the Internet as a public resource.

6. I’M A DIGITAL NATIVE
(AN OLD ONE)

7. ACORN ATOM - Source: Wikipedia
TRS Model 80 - Source: Wikipedia
SHARP PC-1500 - Source: Wikipedia
I LEARNED TO HACK ON THESE USING
BASIC, ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE & A SOLDERING IRON

8. THE MOST HACKABLE MACHINE I OWNED
• BASIC programming
• Disassembler
• extensible
with
7 extension slots
• extensive documentation Source: Wikipedia
• Electric schema included Tinkering with the
• Screwdriver
Apple ][ was
not needed
to open the case encouraged

9. PHYSICAL COMMUNITIES ENCOURAGED
LEARNING, TINKERING AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING
• Physical spaces to:
• Share knowledge
• Share computers
• Such as:
• Micro-computer clubs
• Centre Mondial de
l’Informatique =>
Source: INA
• Palais de la découverte

10. NETWORKS ENABLED VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
• Minitel in France
• AOL,Compuserve &
other large proprietary
networks
• Smaller
BBS (Bulletin
Board Systems) were
operated from
personal computers.

11. LARGE VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES ENABLE
LARGE SCALE COLLABORATION
GNU/Linux:
powers more than
90% of today's 500
fastest
supercomputers
Wikipedia:
23 million articles
285 languages
365 million readers

12. THEN CAME THE WEB
• Simple principles: URL, • No need to buy a SDK:
HTTP, HTML your text editor is enough
• Open Standards • No need to ask for
permission to participate
• «View Source» to learn
from existing pages
The Web belongs to no-one.
It’s an open, public resource

13. SOMETHING
OCCURRED TO ME DURING
THIS DIGITAL JOURNEY...

14. WHO WRITES THE CODE DECIDES
WHAT THE USER CAN DO
• Developershave a lot of
power over what users
can do
• Without source code,
• youcan’t change the
software
• You
don’t have the
power to do what you
want

15. FREE SOFTWARE HAS
NOTHING TO DO WITH PRICE.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE
USER’S FREEDOM

16. IN 2011, TABLETS AND
SMARTPHONES COMBINED
OUTSOLD THE PC

17. MOBILE INDUSTRY IS DOMINATED BY
PROPRIETARY MOBILE PLATFORMS

18. MOBILE CENSORSHIP
Someone decides
for me what I can
or cannot run on
the device I paid
for

19. NEW MOBILE RULES LIMIT
PARTICIPATION
Want to develop an APP?
• Get the official SDK / sign for the developer
program
• Use the language and APIs of the platform
• Use the AppStore / Marketplace to reach users

20. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
• Users are just consumers. They can’t get in the
driver’s seat.
• It’s a lot harder to understand the technology if
you can’t see under the hood
• The next generation of digital natives will discover
computing with smartphones and tablets.
• They will be taught to be passive consumers

21. FROM TOTALLY OPEN TO COMPLETELY CLOSED

22. FROM TOTALLY OPEN TO COMPLETELY CLOSED

23. WHAT CAN WE DO TO EMPOWER
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
DIGITAL NATIVES?

24. WE NEED
• Educated users
• An open platform for mobile

25. This is exactly what
is working on

26. EDUCATE USERS: WEBMAKER.ORG
Empower users so that the Web is not Read-Only

27. BUILD AN OPEN MOBILE PLATFORM
Firefox OS
Complete, standalone
operating system for the
open Web, built entirely
using HTML5 & standard
Web APIs

28. EVERYTHING IS A WEB PAGE!
Variations around the Variations around
Home screen the incoming call screen

29. FIREFOX OS: HOW AN OPEN WEB PHONE
CONNECTS HTML5 TO HARDWARE
Existing Platforms
Firefox OS
}
(smartphones only)
Web Browser/
Platform
Native API- Web-based User
Experience/Web
based UI Content
Significantly
Web Engine/ smaller stack:
APIs Standard Device
APIs Scales from
high-end
Kernel feature phones
(e.g. Android, iOS, Kernel
Win7, etc.) to high-end
smartphones
Device
(phone, tablet, Device
desktop)

30. MARKETPLACE: THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Content owners can use the
Firefox Marketplace to
enhance discoverability
and make monetization
easier.
They can also sell directly
(going through the
marketplace is optional)
FIREFOX
MARKETPLACE

31. FIREFOX OS DEMO

32. AND NOW?

33. MOZILLA NEEDS YOUR HELP
TO BUILD THE DIGITAL
FUTURE WE WANT,
NOT THE ONE THAT’S HANDED
DOWN TO US

34. HOW TO HELP
• Contribute to Mozilla:
• http://www.mozilla.org/contribute
• Build Mobile Web Apps:
• https://marketplace.firefox.com/

35. THANK YOU
@nitot