Mozilla's openness wins it alot of praise. Not to mention, their technology truly has changed the web (Javascript anyone?), while MS has held back web development (they still don't support WebGL). With Firefox OS any web app is a FFOS app, with MS you need to go through their closed store, or their half-baked browser...
Firefox OS doesn't need an app ecosystem, they just need developers to make good web apps. Hence their tools like Javascript, Emscripten, and Asm.js... I've been testing the Aurora browser on Android, and it's already impressive how well interactive web apps work on their browser, I could definitely see Firefox OS taking off...
On the other hand you can also argue, that Microsoft were web apps pioneers. There should be people who still remember DHTML demos of the IE4 era—it was the time when Netscape has fallen behind. One can also argue, that the real break-through for web apps was Gmail, so let's not forget what was at the core of it: the thing later named AJAX, which was non-standart invention by Microsoft only later standardised.
It is not all black and white.
But I still do think that (mobile) web apps are an attempt to turn three-legged table into a tricycle.
Sure, you can try and eat your soup with a knife, but why, just because you carry your pocket knife wherever you go?
Af for Firefox OS I doubt it will get much traction. It may appeal for the devs who think web tech is superior to everything (which makes me doubt they even know the tech well enough), but for general users… meh.
Most important I think Mozilla lost its focus, or at least shifted it somewhere else. When Firefox (Phoenix) started they did the right thing. I attribute this to Blake Ross, and seems like FF lost the direction and shifted to politics instead of making the best browser when Blake moved on.
Firefox OS doesn't need an app ecosystem, they just need developers to make good web apps. Hence their tools like Javascript, Emscripten, and Asm.js... I've been testing the Aurora browser on Android, and it's already impressive how well interactive web apps work on their browser, I could definitely see Firefox OS taking off...