Thoughts about Mozilla issue from a straight and Jewish man.

Where do I begin?

I really don't know where to start but I have to say something about this and share with anyone who may care to read it.
Some have said that this issue with Brendan Eich (new CEO of Mozilla and inventor of JavaScript) is a waste of time to get worked up over and others who belong to the LGBT community (not all) have taken a stand for their rights in this situation that has caused controversy.
If you're not aware of what's going on, here's the lowdown:

About 2 years ago I believe, Brendan Eich was found to donate an amount of money to support the ban of same-sex marriage in California.
A few days ago, he was promoted to CEO of Mozilla.
Mozilla has many employees of the LGBT community and many were offended and stood up to speak against this and even ask for the new CEO to stand down from his new position. A few Mozilla board members even decided to resign over this.

The issue I have with all of this regarding Mozilla in general is that I fell in love with them for their noble and open mission.
When a foundation like Mozilla has such an atmosphere, you'd expect a complete sense of open mindedness.

This is coming from someone who was recently vouched by a Mozilla employee to be part of Mozillians community. I was given Mozilla products for development and supporting their cause. But aside from all of that, I have a strong heart to stand for equality. I learned this from my Tora (Rationalist Judaism) lifestyle. Although not all other Jews would agree with those who learn as I do, this is what true Judaism teaches, love and respect for humanity. But enough of that.

I could let this all go but I've always been a fighter for equality and anti-descrimination, so this just can't fly with me.
Why?

Let me ask you this.
Example: If you were African American or Jewish or Hispanic, and a company that you support and love came out and said they welcome all races equally, yet their CEO is a Nazi, antisemitic or White supremacist, how would you feel? This individual is the face of the said company and organization.

Mozilla has always been to me, an organization of openness but this is just too strange to me. Not like a conspiracy but more like an error. Why did the board of the organization choose this decision knowing what may happen? I understand perfectly what discrimination and racism feel like.

Anyways, these are just my opinions and I know backlash will follow but if I can't speak then what's the point of living? I'm not out to even come close to "destroying" the organization but just speaking on how it makes me feel. That's all. Mozilla is still an excellent organization with excellent goals and accomplishments, but I'm not sure that I can support it anymore.

Thanks for reading

Firefox OS: Part 2 (so far...)

Welcome everyone,

So here I am again testing out the super low-budget ZTE Open smartphone which runs Firefox OS. I gave it another shot because I was stuck with a certain smartphone which I didn't want to hang onto anymore. (Read review about my previous experience here) Not only did I not want to keep it around but it was very difficult to sell it. I had to drop the price online basically $100 when its a rather new smartphone but not one of the popular. When I was able to sell this device, I was left with some money to use for another smartphone. I had two choices, a used but in great condition (also unlocked and rooted) Google HTC Nexus One, or a brand new previously owned ZTE Open from eBay. I gave the ZTE Open a shot some time ago but was left with a basically better experience due to lack of updates thanks to ZTE solely. Firefox is doing their job with actually updating the software for Firefox OS but the problem is when the manufacturer is lagging behind sitting comfortably in their seat while users who if even are developers, have to wait around for specific update software for their device due to failed signatures when trying to flash in recovery.

Why did I choose a device that gave me issues before, again? Well, I love Mozilla's ethics. I love what they're trying to do with Firefox OS. I have hope for noble endeavors like this. Now, what is bitter-sweet is that owners of Geeksphone Firefox OS devices, have already version 1.3 running on their phones. Those users who got a great deal with the $80 eBay ZTE Open, unlocked and ready to go, have to wait and I guess enjoy their 1.0. This probably doesn't sound like much of a problem to many, but those who know what I'm talking about understand the differences between 1.0 and 1.3. I've seen videos on YouTube of how 1.2 and 1.3 looks and it's impressive to me for such a little device to run so smoothly and do so much. That's so incredible to me.

I wrote this basically to let others ZTE Open users (ebay version) know that I know it's a pain and to bring awareness to other lovers of Firefox OS. BTW, ZTE USA said a few days ago on Twitter that apparently the 1.1 update is coming to ZTE Open's US & UK from ebay "next week".





So let's hope and see if this comes to surface. Also, as a side note, I did root my ZTE Open and I tried to flash the Spain 1.1 version on my US version that was running 1.0 and no luck at all.
Part of me wishes I went with the Nexus One, but I can't completely knock my ZTE Open until I see 1.1+ running with my own eyes.

Thanks for reading


-Raf