In between the packed schedule at Computex earlier today, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese managed to sneak into the joint event held by Foxconn and Mozilla. As you may have already heard, the former company has signed on to become the 19th member of the latter’s Firefox OS alliance, and it’s already working on at least five devices. That said, it’s unclear whether these include the first-ever Firefox OS tablet (pictured above) that was present at the event. And no, we weren’t allowed to touch this mysterious device.
The two groups will also cooperate on the software side, and Mozilla took the opportunity to indicate the healthy growth in its app ecosystem, with well-known apps like AccuWeather and SoundCloud jumping on board. But will that be enough? We’ll see how the developing countries react to the first Firefox OS phones when they come out in the summer. Press release after the break.
Mount Everest and its region are well known, yet something the vast majority of us will never experience in person. That won’t stop us from getting a detailed look at the area, however, thanks to a partnership between Microsoft and GlacierWorks, a non-profit from mountaineer and filmmaker David Breashears. CalledEverest: Rivers of Ice, the project allows Web users to interactively travel through the region from behind their computer monitor.
The project is brought in part by Internet Explorer 10, but can be used on whatever browser the user prefers, offering up the virtual tour via HTML5. It isn’t meant merely for exploration, however, instead allowing users to see the changes in the area that have happened over the last almost nine decades since an image of the region was taken by George Mallory in 1927.
The GlacierWorks project opens with a near horizontal map offering clickable links to various areas in the region, including the Everest Base Camp and spanning down through eight other areas. Clicking on an area takes you to an interactive panorama of the specific location, and once there users can zoom in on specific peaks or areas for a closer, and quite detailed, look. Alternatively, there’s an option to click “Start” and be taken from one end of the region to the other in order.
Such imagery was captured using gigapixel images, comparative photography, video, and hot spot overlays. Although you can tour it via your browser and mouse, it was specifically made for touchscreens and touch devices, supporting multi-touch and making it simple to move from one area to the next with finger swipes. Such a virtual look into the region hasn’t ever previously been available.
The website also features a video, which shows up first when the project is visited. Says Microsoft, this provides a different kind of storytelling over conventional methods, providing a narrative that, rather than having a beginning, middle, and end, thrusts users into the mix and allows them to see the story for themselves via interactive participation.
Attention HTML5 virtuosos: Mozilla is thirsty for your talents. So much, in fact, that the outfit is baiting developers with a free smartphone in the hopes they’ll return the favor with fresh Firefox OS apps. In order to qualify for a device, you’ll need to submit a proposal to Mozilla outlining the app you wish to build or port to its new mobile platform. If your pitch is accepted, the company will hook you up with a free Geeksphone Keon to thank you for your labor. Sure, the device’s 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon S1 processor, 512MB of RAM and 3-megapixel rear-facing camera are entry-level at best, but remember you’re getting this handset gratis. The program is set to close at the end of the month or when supplies run out, whichever comes first. So, if you’re interested in adding “Firefox OS developer” to your resume, hit up the source link to apply.
It’s time to re-imagine your documents, apparently. Cloud storage service Box just acquired document embedding startup Crocodoc, which specializes in taking Word, PowerPoint and PDF documents and rendering them as HTML5 content inside web browsers and mobile apps. Crocodoc’s technology will allow Box to seamlessly integrate document conversion and viewing into its products. The companies also plan on rolling out more features over the next year, including secure viewing, mobile collaboration, form filling and real-time presentation — sounds like a win-win for all.
Firefox OS Developer Preview handsets have been available on a limited basis up until this point. Most notably, retailer Geeksphone had quickly run through some inventory back in April. As of today however, it looks like Mozilla is going to be giving some away for free. Or more to the point, Mozilla has launched the ‘Phones for Apps for Firefox OS’ initiative.
This means HTML5 developers could potentially score a free handset. The device up for grabs is the Geeksphone Keon, which is the orange handset in the above image. This particular device features a 3.5-inch HVGA display, 1GHz Snapdragon A1 processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot and 3 megapixel rear-facing camera. The Keon normally sells for $119.
Handset specifics aside, Mozilla is looking to boost the availability of apps before the official launch. At present they have said Firefox OS phones will be available in “select” markets this summer. As part of this initiative they are looking for apps that deal with everything from tools and utilities to games as well as news, sports, travel, entertainment, social and more. Basically, just about everything.
This will be open to those who are already developing as well as those who have an idea in mind and are ready to begin the process. Regardless of the phase you are in, Mozilla has said you will need to apply for entry into the program. The application process involves sharing details about your app (or app idea) and letting them know that you have the experience to make it happen. Otherwise, Mozilla is urging developers to move fast as their ” launch dates are approaching fast.”
This is why we can’t have nice things. Spotify’s web player has been rolling out to more users since its closed beta launch late last year, but today an extension popped up in the Google Chrome store (it’s already been pulled) allowing users to download songs as MP3 files. According to the notes left by its author, the company wasn’t using any encryption on its HTML5 player, making it a pretty simple project to put together. We’re waiting to hear back from Spotify about the breach, and while Google appears to have been quick on the ball to remove the extension — in a similar manner to how it’s treated YouTube download tools in the Chrome Web Store — hopefully this won’t give others pause on distributing premium content using HTML5.
Mozilla is trying its level best to defeat the perception that web browsers can’t offer console type gaming experience to users. Powered by Unreal Engine 3, Mozilla shows off Firefox browser playing a demonstration video of Epic Citadel, a popular Android game. The demonstration video isn’t full of missions, bounty hunts or fights, it is basically a walk through video which lets us see how smoothly Firefox is able to play it back. Within a desktop browser, graphics were running at a concrete frame rate of 16 FPS.
Epic Citadel was ported to Javascript and it can easily work in HTML5 without any plugins on anybody’s computer in which the game can be downloaded. Bringing the Unreal Engine 3 over to a web browser isn’t exactly an easy feat. This gaming engine powers up some of the biggest games, including but not limited to Batman: Arkham City, Bioshock Inifinte and Mass Effect 3. As part of its Emscripten project, Mozilla hopes to recruit new developers. Mozilla has provided a full demonstration video of Unreal Engine 3 in action inside Firefox web browser, which can be viewed above.
Jagex, the developers of the infamous web-browser MMORPG RuneScape, has decided that it’s time to put Java away and welcome in HTML5. The game developer knew that in order for the next sequel of RuneScape, RuneScape 3, to be successful, it needed to transition into a new engine. It considered Adobe Flash, but Flash didn’t enough power to run the game, and it thought of Microsoft Silverlight, but Silverlight is limited only to Internet Explorer.
The only other option for Jagex to choose was HTML5. While HTML5 is still deemed “unready” by many developers, Jagex viewed it as the only viable option to launch their next biggest game. According to Jagex CEO Mark Gerhard, “there were no easy answers”, and HTML5 began to look more and more appealing. Gerhard knows that HTML5 isn’t ready yet, and that early adopters of RuneScape 3 may suffer, but as the game’s developers worked more and more with HTML5, they began to grow fond of it.
Jagex got in touch with both Google and Mozilla to work on HTML5, and both companies were helpful in working with the developer to optimize RuneScape for HTML5. Google provided a couple of HTML5 releases to guide Jagex along the way, and Mozilla worked with Jagex to “company proof Firefox” and make it more capable of handling the game. However, development on Internet Explorer has yet to begin.
According to Gerhard, high-end machines are capable of handling RuneScape 3, and currently, 70% of all RuneScape players will be able to handle the new game. While 70% is a good number, Jagex is looking to make the game capable of running smoothly at at least 30 FPS for all players when it officially launches over the summer. Also on the plus side of working with HTML5, there is a possibility that RuneScape 3 could be brought to mobile devices in the future, however, we’ll have to wait and see.
These days, the sentiment of anyone who doesn’t know how to code being destined to a life of homeless ineptitude has become a fairly common (if mildly exaggerated) one. But of all the ways out there to save yourself from a derelict fate, Jon Duckett’s HTML and CSS: Design and Buil Websites, is, perhaps, the most beautiful, information-packed intro to basic web languages you can find. More »
Mozilla’s Firefox OS is based on HTML5 and JavaScript, it was initially dubbed as the Boot to Gecko project, before being formally announced as the company’s offering for the global smartphone market. Designed for low-end devices, a preview was shown back at Mobile World Congress on a Dreamfone running this new operating system. Reportedly the first two Firefox OS based smartphones are going on sale tomorrow, developed by a Spanish startup called Geeksphone, these two devices carry the Keon and Peak monikers.
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