Mozilla B2G
If Google Chrome got its own OS, then why wouldn’t Firefox become an independent platform too? Despite the criticism received following the new versions of its browser, Mozilla is planning to launch a mobile operating system. The platform will focus on applications that run mainly on the web, as it is the case of the Chrome OS. Mozilla’s developers have recently stated that they want to “fill the gaps that web developers are leaving between the iPhone, Android, WP7 applications and web apps.” In addition, the project bears the names of Boot to Gecko (B2G) and aims to develop an independent operating system destined solely for the web.
So what are the chances of success of this new Mozilla initiative? The people at Mozilla are right regarding one aspect: it is quite difficult for some developers to rewrite, or port an application on each platform (Android, WP7, Symbian, iOS, WebOS). As a result, although there were attempts to create technologies that would enable the development of original software and run it on multiple OS’s, they haven’t had much popularity. The future is looking bright though as HTML5 could be the key. The number of mobile applications that can run in browsers based on it is increasing. And they still feel and look like a native app! On the other hand, the majority are claiming that HTML 5 falls a bit short in accomplishing this goal.
What is more, the Android kernel and drivers will be used as a starting point. Keep in mind the fact that Mozilla wants to develop not only applications that will run in Firefox, but across the web and other browsers too. As for the source code, it will be offered to the developers as open source. At least, this is the promise of Firefox’s creators.
That’s pretty cool, ever since i found Firefox, I’ve always wanted a Firefox OS