Mozilla aims to play the OS game

Summary: Mozilla is plotting to join the operating system fray with an "open Web" twist.

By Larry Dignan for Between the Lines | July 25, 2011 -- 15:27 GMT (08:27 PDT)

Follow @ldignan

Mozilla is plotting to join the operating system fray with an "open Web" twist.

The group outlined a project called Boot to Gecko on its Wiki page:

Mozilla believes that the web can displace proprietary, single-vendor stacks for application development. To make open web technologies a better basis for future applications on mobile and desktop alike, we need to keep pushing the envelope of the web to include --- and in places exceed --- the capabilities of the competing stacks in question.

In other words, Mozilla is tiring of Microsoft OSes vs. Google's Chrome OS and Android. Mozilla is aiming for Web APIs for things like camera, USB and Bluetooth, booting for an Android compatible device and applications.

This project is just a baby, but it's worth following the Google Group on Boot to Gecko. There are some interesting ideas and questions revolving around the following:

Why not boot a Linux stack?
How much Android/Java would be used?
What type of device will be used for a prototype?

Topics: Operating Systems, Browser, Software

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18 comments

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RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

Will be interesting to see their approach develop, but I'm still not convinced of the value of browser-as-OS. There are just too many situations where offline applications are far superior. Plus, security is just never tight enough on anything which is cloud-served.

BillDem
25 July, 2011 16:00

Reply Vote
- Version # gimmicks are not big enough
  
  ... a joke for Mozilla looks like. They are now out for even more lofty bubbles. Any time you see "open" somewhere in the title you almost know for sure it's hype and hot air.
  
  LBiege
  25 July, 2011 16:06
  
  Reply Vote
  - Sadly it looks like Mozilla is just trying to play
    
    @LBiege the who can piss better game with Google.
    
    Version games and now an attempt to create a MozillaOS .... just plain stupid.
    
    Right now, I'm starting to hate Firefox. The current "stable version" is extremely buggy and it is annoying that I have to sometimes click a link 3 times before it actually begins to load it.
    
    wackoae
    26 July, 2011 00:15
    
    Reply Vote
- I can see value as a browser as the Window Manager ...
  
  @BillDem ... but only if it does not limit functionality.
  
  The way ChromeOS works is just a kernel with a browser on top. It is not a WM based on browser tech.
  
  wackoae
  26 July, 2011 00:13
  
  Reply Vote
RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

Hmm... I can only speculate.

A Mozilla smartphone, maybe? :)

Grayson Peddie
25 July, 2011 16:08

Reply Vote
Because FF has been doing so great lately they dont need to focus on it?

It's gone from best to 3rd and now had it's money supply cut off. They'll be lucky to be around in 2 years as it is. This is just laughable to foray into at this point...

Johnny Vegas
25 July, 2011 16:38

Reply Vote
- RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game
  
  @Johnny Vegas - FF is actually losing market share big time to Chrome.
  
  peterpallesen
  25 July, 2011 21:19
  
  Reply Vote
  - I hate Chrome .... because it is only fast, not good
    
    @peterpallesen ... but at the same time, FF bugginess is starting to annoy the hell out of me. The current "stable version" is extremely buggy and it is annoying that I have to sometimes click a link 3 times before it actually begins to load it.
    
    wackoae
    26 July, 2011 00:18
    
    Reply Vote
RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

By "open" you mean vendor lock in?

The one and only, Cylon Centurion
25 July, 2011 17:54

Reply Vote
Can the OS project entirely as you've still plenty to do with Firefox

Provide Firefox user's, both enterprise and consumers, with an LTS version (a la Ubuntu). THIS is the choice we Firefox users want: the latest and greatest (aka cutting-edge) version or the LTS (aka stable) version.

Rabid Howler Monkey
25 July, 2011 18:20

Reply Vote
RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

I'm really curious what a browser based OS will look like. Chrome has become to be the biggest rival of mozilla.
Actually, there should be some standards that all the applications or OS developed by these standards can be compatible with each other. What a great job. You can use whatever you want to use without any compatibility problems.
You can use IE, avant browser in mac,linux and even andriod , you can also use firefox in chrome OS....
It's a dream.

Nikata
25 July, 2011 22:56

Reply Vote
- That's not what they want. Google doesn't want to share
  
  @Nikata
  so I don't see them letting Mozilla into the game.
  
  William Pharaoh
  26 July, 2011 06:22
  
  Reply Vote
Could be interesting

Firefox is already a powerful application platform, thanks to the Gecko Layout Engine (XUL).... if they did a variant of the Chrome OS concept, they'd have a much richer basis for app creation.

Mac_PC_FenceSitter
26 July, 2011 06:39

Reply Vote
- When does browser become "platform"?
  
  @rbethell
  Platform is another abused terminology. Web application is thin application with limited feature and functionalities. A lot of effort is made for it to look like rich application.
  
  FADS_z
  26 July, 2011 06:59
  
  Reply Vote
RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

It would be nice to see a true Open OS in the mobile telephony market. Mozilla is tired of Google playing as if they are the FOSS representative, when the truth is they use open source, but do not contribute back. Google just wants to dominate the market and make more money.

Admittedly, Mozilla appears stretched at the moment, and Firefox has lost share. But, most of the share loss is just the Google fanboys jumping on the Chrome wagon like they did with Gmail.

Until the world realises that everything from Google is spyware, and that Google is becoming increasingly dangerous, just because of how much they know about so many people, we need people with some common sense to fight back and provide alternatives.

jorjitop
26 July, 2011 09:22

Reply Vote
FF 5.0.1

was a major step backwards. It's crash prone and suffers random locking. It saddens me to think a great project let itself be bogged down and become a bloated, slow shadow of what it once was. If it's any consolation, I'm all for a complete switching out of engines and moving to a Chromium fork (a la Iron) for Firefox .. i can't see any other light at the end of the dark tunnel, besides that option. <img border="0" src="http://www.cnet.com/i/mb/emoticons/sad.gif" alt="sad">

thx-1138_
26 July, 2011 10:54

Reply Vote
Give me a break......

Another phone OS.

Gis Bun
26 July, 2011 15:49

Reply Vote
RE: Mozilla aims to play the OS game

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