Skip to main content

Mozilla

See All Stories

Flash’s demise continues as Amazon stops accepting Flash ads due to browser settings

Flash demise 16-9

Amazon may have been Apple’s target when it unveiled its iBooks Store alongside the iPad in 2010, but the digital retail giant’s latest move is helping fulfill Steve Jobs’ vision of a web without Flash. Amazon Advertising issued an update to its technical guidelines today declaring that it will stop accepting Flash-based ads starting next month. Adobe cited “recent browser setting updates from Google Chrome, and existing browser settings from Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari” that interfere with displaying Flash ads.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Mozilla blocks Flash in Firefox browser as Adobe issues emergency patch for latest security exploits

Site default logo image

Flash Firefox

It’s been a rough week for the fate of Adobe’s Flash Player plugin. Yesterday we told you about Facebook’s security chief pushing Steve Jobs’ anti-Flash message and calling on Adobe to announce an end-of-life date for the plugin, and today a major web browser has opted to actually block Flash to protect users from security issues. Mozilla said today that it is temporarily disabling Flash by default until Adobe is able to address recent exploits discovered in the plugin…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Mozilla confirms Firefox for iOS to be released in the future

iPhone 6 Firefox

For over four years, Mozilla has expressed that it has no interest in porting its Firefox web browser to the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Under the leadership of new chief executive Chris Beard, however, that mindset appears to have changed, as TechCrunch reports that Mozilla has recognized a need to release Firefox for iOS in the future.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Mozilla calls out iOS and Android as ‘closed systems’ with ‘almost a complete lack of transparency’

Firefox OS

While it has yet to become a significant player in the smartphone market, Mozilla is hoping that its open-source Firefox OS will be a game changer when the mobile operating system gains a larger presence in countries like the United States and United Kingdom. In the meantime, the software maker has gone on the offensive against rival platforms iOS and Android.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Mozilla developing streaming stick in bid to compete with AirPlay and the Apple TV

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0VUOfrycw]

Video gia GigaOm

Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, is working on a stream stick set to directly compete with the Apple TV and other similar products, according to GigaOm. The device runs Mozilla’s own Firefox OS, originally designed for smartphones, and is apparently referred to as “Netcast” within the Firefox browser.

Unlike Apple’s current offering, the Netcast would allow developers to integrate the technology into applications on a wide variety of operating systems and hardware devices, including many platforms not currently supported by the Apple’s AirPlay feature. In a statement to GigaOm, Mozilla noted that anyone is welcome to work with Firefox OS and that hardware running that system does not necessarily have to come from that company.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Firefox 28 released w/ Mac OS X Notification Center support for web notifications

Firefox-Notification-Center-Mac-OSX

Firefox today released the latest version of its desktop browser for Mac, Linux, and Windows and in the process added one much welcomed feature for Mac OS X users: support for Notification Center. This means that web apps and sites taking advantage of Firefox’s web notifications feature will now also appear for Mac users in the Notification Center.

Version 28 of Firefox also introduces a few new behind the scenes improvements including VP9 video decoding, volume control for HTML5 audio/video, and a number of other fixes.

Firefox 28 for Mac is available to download from the Mozilla website now.

Site default logo image

Mozilla releases Firefox beta featuring Retina display support

Mozilla released a new beta for Firefox this afternoon, featuring Retina display support that is sure to appease the Firefox devotees out in the crowd. Release notes below:

This update includes JavaScript improvements that make Web apps and games perform better and support for W3C Touch Events. Firefox Beta also supports Retina Display for Mac users.

  • IonMonkey: IonMonkey is a new JavaScript JIT compiler that provides a more efficient way for Firefox to process JavaScript. With IonMonkey, Firefox will perform faster with Web apps, games and other JavaScript-heavy pages.
  • Retina Display Support: Firefox Beta supports Retina Display for Mac users to make Firefox even sharper when watching movies, playing games and browsing the Web.
  • Disable Insecure Content: Firefox Beta can disable insecure content on HTTPS secure websites to maintain the privacy of your communication with the website. You can enable the feature in about:config.
  • Support for W3C Touch Events: Firefox Beta supports standard W3C touch events in addition to MozTouch events.

[Download via iClarified]
Expand
Expanding
Close

Mozilla wants web apps to compete with native iOS apps

Site default logo image

Apple and Google are clearly the two front-runners competing for market share in the mobile world, which is why it’s no surprise we think of iOS and Android when we think of apps. With the growth of the smartphone industry also came the resurgence of native apps (thanks largely in part to Apple’s App Store which still dominates the space). However, Mozilla hopes that web apps will soon mature to provide a comparable experience for end users and an even better alternative for developers.

“We are aiming at providing all the necessary APIs to build a basic HTML5 phone experience within the next 3-6 months”

While Chrome OS has shown promise, it isn’t the only browser-based platform planning on entering the web app space… If Mozilla has its way, developers can use the results of their new WebAPI project to build an “HTML5 phone experience” that’s compatible across all operating systems (whether it’s Android, iOS, Windows Phone, etc).

report from CNET claims Mozilla has plans for the APIs to “interact with a phone’s dialler, address book, contacts list, and camera”, essentially giving you access to the same functionality of native apps but directly in your device’s browser.

The WebAPI project certainly isn’t trying to create a full-blown operating system. However, working hand in hand with Mozilla’s Boot to Gecko project, which aims to build a “complete, standalone operating system for the web”, it could create a potentially compelling alternative to Google’s browser-based Chrome OS.

It appears that Mozilla is serious about the project, as a report from CNET claims they’re in the process of hiring full time programmers and plan to have the basics in place by February…

Expand
Expanding
Close

GPU-accelerated Firefox 4 arriving next Tuesday, first Firefox 5 nightly build available now (UPDATED: March 22 confirmed)

Site default logo image

An engineer with Mozilla hinted that the final Firefox 4 build will be ready for public consumption the following Tuesday, March 22. It’s set to ship on multiple platforms, including Windows XP. Following up on a recent Release Candidate build, Damon Sicore, Mozilla’s senior director of engineering, mentioned the March 22 release date in a Mozilla Development discussion on Google Groups.


Expand
Expanding
Close