What went wrong with Firefox OS compiling (and how I fixed them all)

Firefox OS 2.1 pre is running on my Nexus 4 at the moment. How does that sound? I'm very pleased myself. Happy I would say. Read on and I tell you what went wrong and how I fixed them all.

Wilson Page is a Firefox OS developer at Mozilla. He has compiled Firefox OS for Nexus 4. His instructions seemed pretty straight forward. Not too many steps. So I decided to try it myself.

My Ubuntu Linux was NOT up-to-date. Apps and libraries which are needed when compiling Firefox OS were missing. So I read through these instructions from Mozilla Developer site and installed required software. For me this part of the compiling was the most challenging. So if you face problems have some more coffee and chewing gum. Don't give up. Try to make sure all necessary software is installed.

After the survival of the software installation needed I started to type in commands. The next command copies Boot2Gecko-files from server to a local directory:

git clone https://github.com/mozilla-b2g/B2G.git

Then I moved to directory B2G:

cd B2G

The next part took long time. Before the actual compilation some configuration is needed. In my case for Nexus 4:

./config.sh nexus-4

Building also took long time. Once again I was desperate. All kind of messages were showing up on screen. I wasn't sure if I was going to succeed:

./build.sh

No errors showed up after building (which *did* many times before when compilation process failed!). As a *root* I gave the next command and saved a prayer:

./flash.sh

Nexus 4 booted and after a while Firefox OS 2.1 pre was up and runnning.

I hate compiling. Nothing works. Errors here and there. Maybe compiling a whole operating system is just too much for me. Too technical. That's why I'm so pleased I finally succeeded with Firefox OS 2.1. Tried many times! Couldn't be happier!

My Nexus 4 running Firefox OS 2.1 pre

Icons really are big enough!

Tespack's backbag with solar panel really makes my day!

Tespack has unveiled a backbag with a solar panel (7 W) and a batterypack (12 000 mAh). Off I went and purchased one for myself.

The idea is to take batterypack where there is no electricity available. With the help from solar panel one can charge the battery on the go. In addition, when hiking at winter time battery can be charged at home. So no need to wait until sun starts to shine ;D.

I really look forward to see more from Tespack!

Perfect bag when bicycling or hiking!

Batterypack is seated inside the bag.

It also has a 2 A plug for quick charging!

Sailfish OS now available for Nexus 4

Jolla has made Sailfish OS available for Nexus 4 smart phone. In case you want to give it a shot take a look at this site: http://jollasuomi.fi/sailfish-nyt-asennettavissa-android-laitteille/ . Scroll down and you'll find some english as well. Please keep in mind that Sailfish OS for Nexus 4 in NOT fully working yet. There are issues you should take into consideration!

The first european euros2bitcoins -cashpoint has been opened - and tested to work!

A local record store called levykauppa Äx opened the first european euros2bitcoins cashpoint in Helsinki Finland. It's tested to work and now I have some bitcoins in my wallet. As Windows Phone is very popular in Finland (39 %) this test was done using Lumia 920 -smartphone. So this is what actually happened:

• First off I had to open "a bank account" at blockchain.info. Password was needed and a working email as well. After that I saw my account was ok and alive. This all was done with Lumia 920.
• There was a QR-code on screen of my phone. This code was generated by account. I showed QR-code to the cashpoint which read my code.
• So now the line was open. All I had to do was to insert some money (in my case 5 €).
• After only a couple of seconds a transaction happened and my euros appeared as bitcoins on my wallet.
• I got an email which tells me all important information about my wallet.
• It was as easy as that!

Some good and bad things came to my mind.

• Good: I can enter my wallet anytime with a normal web browser. Smart phone is not needed.
• Bad: My 5 euros are out there. God only knows where. Someone might steal them anytime.

A local record store, cashpoint inside

You can use the cashpoint 

either in finnish or english

I've got some bitcoins in my wallet

Almost there - some lucky ones get the new Jolla phone

After so much waiting Jolla Sailfish OS phones will be available In Helsinki Finland. Microsoft Windows Phone - go away! MeeGo and Sailfish OS - stay with us! See the video below. I took it this afternoon (11/27/2013) at ~ 4 PM. Those who made pre-order are standing in the queue and waiting for their phones.

Local operator DNA's popup store will sell the first Jolla-phones on Wednesday in Finland

Local operator called Jolla will sell the absolutely first Jolla-phones on Wednesday in Helsinki Finland. They are already building a popup store (tent) where selling is taking place. Actually dream will come true for only a few. Those who made pre-order earlier this year will receive this magical new phone with Sailfish OS.

If I have some spare time i'll pop up and take some pictures or video. Maybe someone wants to show how Jolla-phone looks like. You never know. Nevertheless, later this year anyone can walk to a store at least here in Helsinki and buy an own Jolla-phone.

Google in Finland is so cool!

Cool news from Finland! Google is investing in Finland. A lot! A little town named Hamina near russian border will receive another investment from Google which is expanding it's server farm. Why Hamina, Finland? Partly because of the cool weather. It takes a lot of energy to cool server farms... but not over here. Just open the window and you'll freeze to death ;P . Another part of the story is, in my opinion, the location of Hamina. Russia and it's second biggest town St. Petersburg is next door. So russian and asian clients can be served this way. Also, finnish stable infrastructure goes to show that nothing much changes here. That's a benefit. And only 50 km west from Hamina there is a nuclear power plant offering cheap energy. Keep in mind that a russian search engine Yandex is also staying in Finland mainly because of the same reasons as Google.