Mozilla

Firefox 12 beta makes more than 85 changes to its developer tools, Windows users will no longer get pestered by a User Account Control pop-up every time the browser updates, and the HTML5 media controls have been updated

Updated today, Firefox 12 beta (download for Windows | Mac | Linux), pushes the browser closer to some of Google's notable achievements with Chrome. However, Mozilla's renewed focus on Web developers is a clear indication that it sees value in paying attention to the relatively small but hugely influential developer communities.

A Mozilla representative told CNET that Firefox 13 Aurora is due … Read more

Think of it as Microsoft's version of a good-news, bad-news joke. The good news: Its upcoming IE10 browser for Windows 8 will come in two flavors--one a streamlined, "Metro-style" program designed to resemble a smartphone or tablet app, the other a more standard desktop browser.

The bad news? Microsoft's upcoming IE10 browser for Windows 8 will come in two flavors--one a streamlined, "Metro-style" program designed to resemble a smartphone or tablet app, the other a more standard desktop browser.

In other words, everyone who wants to use IE10 will have to choose which flavor … Read more

High-ranking Mozilla staff, believing they've lost a fight to keep patent-encumbered technology off the Web, have concluded it's time to change course and support H.264 video technology.

The H.264, a "codec" to encode and decode video for more efficient storage and streaming, is widely used in everything from video cameras to mobile-phone processors. However, it's encumbered by patent royalty payments that go against Mozilla's goal of fostering an open Web.

The patent issue led Mozilla to strongly endorse Google's alternative VP8 codec that's part of its royalty-free WebM project. But … Read more

The bottom line: Firefox 11 is a worthy expression of Mozilla's ideals. The browser is competitively fast, sports a new minimalist look, and includes some excellently executed features. Unfortunately, that describes most of Firefox's competition, too.

Please note that the First Look video below is still applicable to Firefox 10, as is this Firefox How To collection, even though it features Firefox 4.

Review: For those of you who spent last year away from the Internet, it's the year that Firefox went from annual major-point updates to a Chrome-style quick-release cycle. How quick? A new major version … Read more

Add-on sync and two new developer tools are the hallmarks of today's update to Firefox.

The stable version of the browser that you can download now, Firefox 11 (download for Windows | Mac | Linux) allows you to mirror the same add-ons across multiple desktops. While it's true that Google Chrome has been able to sync add-ons since late 2010, its implementation has been notably uneven. It'll be interesting to see how well Firefox handles it. You can toggle add-on synchronization from the Sync tab in the Options window.

A Mozilla representative told CNET that there would be no … Read more

Firefox on Windows 8 will be designed to work in both the Metro and desktop environments. But getting there won't be easy.

While most software aimed for Windows 8 will be Metro apps or classic desktop apps, Firefox will fall into a third category, according to a blog post last Friday by Mozilla developer Brian Bondy.

Firefox will be considered a "Metro style enabled desktop browser." That means it will offer the power and flexibility of a classic Windows app when used on the desktop--but can also take advantage of Live Tiles and other Metro features when … Read more

Mozilla's Marketplace has begun accepting app submissions, looking toward the ultimate goal of building a standalone operating system for the open Web.

As part of the company's Boot to Gecko project, these apps would allow for cross-device and multi-operating system integration, which means anchoring the apps to the user and not to the device or platform.

"Using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, a developer can build an app using responsive design, and that app can offer the same look and feel as a device-native app, without having to rewrite for every desired target platform," Joe Stagner, Mozilla'… Read more

BARCELONA, Spain--Telefonica today showed off B2G, the Mozilla browser-based operating system for mobile phones, saying it's good enough to sell to today's feature-phone customers later this year.

You may or may not agree. To help you judge, here's a video of Carlos Domingo, Telefonica Digital's director of product development and innovation, demonstrating a prototype phone at a press conference today at the Mobile World Congress show here. At the event, Telefonica announced its mobile OS pact with Mozilla.

Having watched the demo myself, the phone looked workable but awfully pokey. And touch input-- specially the keyboard--was … Read more

BARCELONA--Half of Telefonica's customers are in Latin America, where smartphones are scarcer than in wealthier parts of the world. But the mobile network operator hopes Mozilla's new browser-based operating system, B2G, will change that.

"What we're selling the most in these countries is feature phones, which is ridiculous, said Carlos Domingo, Telefonica Digital's director of product development and innovation, in an interview at the Mobile World Congress show here in Barcelona, Spain. "We think we can bring smartphones to the masses in developing countries with this approach."

How affordable, exactly? The B2G phone … Read more