News Release VIA Announces Partnership with Mozilla for Support and Development of Firefox OS for New Devices

Taipei, Taiwan, 6 January, 2014 - today, VIA announced an official partnership with Mozilla for support and development of Firefox OS for new device form factors.

irefox OS running on APC Paper and Rock has been released with complete, buildable source codes available to developers on GitHub. In order to continue to encourage community support, free APCs will be rewarded to developers that fix a known issue. A full list of issues is available here.

"Firefox OS puts the power of the Web to the people. This partnership with APC presents an exciting opportunity to help redefine user experiences on desktops around the world," said Dr. Li Gong, Senior Vice President of mobile devices and, President of Asia Operations. "Mozilla will keep working on new features and enhancements of Firefox OS, and also provide knowledge sharing and technical support for Firefox OS and Marketplace."

"We are excited to announce this partnership with Mozilla and their enthusiastic support to speed development of Firefox OS on APC," said Richard Brown, VP of International Marketing, VIA Technologies Inc. "Mozilla's mission to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the web, aligns with our vision for APC, creating the perfect combination to deliver the best of the web to desktops everywhere. We couldn't be more excited about the future."

The first update based on the development efforts from APC and the community of Firefox OS contributors, was recently published with the following fixes:

Release v1.02.01
  • Updated firmware package to support HDMI hot plug as the solution from VIA
  • Switched to latest base from Mozilla and using master branch for all Mozilla repos
  • Support multiple hardware keyboard hot plug
  • Fixed so that Mozilla soft home button can be enabled via settings
  • Supports Ethernet cable hot plug
  • Enabled SNTP with Ethernet network
  • Set default display timeout to never
  • Fixed some orientation bug due to migration to master
  • Fixed WiFi connection bug due to migration to master
  • Supports Mouse wheel event
Pricing & Availability

Firefox OS is available as a free download and is being optimized to run on both APC Paper and Rock. APC Paper, with its unique recycled cardboard case, is available in limited quantities for US$99 plus shipping, while APC Rock is available for a price of US$59 plus shipping through the apc.io site.

About APC

APC was born from our love of computers and our realization that the PC needs a fundamental redesign. The redesign that we offer is a computer that is more accessible, and more valuable, because you're not paying for functions that you don't need and won't be using. With its small form factor, low power consumption, and customized version of the Firefox operating system, we've designed APC to be a bicycle for your mind, enabling ever more people to access to the Internet and opening up exciting opportunities for innovation on the platform. apc.io



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