You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Gary Kovacs, (current) CEO of Mozilla, just took the stage here at D:Dive Into Mobile 2013 in New York City. It’s apt to be his last major stage appearance before stepping aside in order to “go back to his roots,” as described here, and hosts Ina Fried and Walt Mossberg were on hand to grill him on ongoing developments before he heads for other pastures. To start, Walt asked why the browser needed to be the operating system on a phone. Kovacs’ reply?
“The browser doesn’t need to be the operating system; it needs to incorporate the web. Such that discovery is easy, such that multiple stores can be accessed from the device — so we aren’t locked in, or generally encouraged to be locked within a single ecosystem.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Mobile
After stepping on board as CEO of Mozilla in 2010, Greg Kovacs is stepping down from the position at some point later this year. The company announced the news today, but a solid date for Kovacs departure wasn’t disclosed. However, Kovacs will remain with Mozilla as a member of the company’s board of directors.
Kovacs joined Mozilla in October of 2010 and he has helped the company make its way towards the mobile landscape, and he’s even credited with being the leader behind the development of Firefox OS, which was just recently unveiled this year. The next CEO for Mozilla, which is currently being searched for as we speak, certainly has some big shoes to fill.
Kovacs says that he’s proud of the company, and now that Mozilla has a “solid foundation and a strong team in place,” Kovacs decided that this is “the right time” for him to hand the role to someone else willing lead Mozilla even further. However, Kovacs still plans to “guide Mozilla’s impact on the future of mobile,” so this certainly won’t be the end for Kovacs.
The company’s next big project is partnering up with Samsung to develop a whole new web browsing engine for Android, called Servo. The engine would be written using an in-house programming language, and the companies are hoping that Servo will be a revolutionary new product that Android will greatly benefit from.
Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs stepping down later this year is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
It was not too long ago – just a couple of days ago, in fact, when we brought you word on Firefox 20 alongside its slew of improvements made to those who like the private browsing feature. Well, here we are with additional detail on Firefox Beta, where there have been changes made to the Do Not Track options, so read on if you are particular interested to know what are the amendments that have been thrown into the mix.
Basically, the latest Firefox Beta for Windows, Mac and Linux is ready for download and testing, and Do Not Track will now sport a trio of different options, namely “Do Track,” “Do Not Track” and “no preference”, where these are made available to the end user in order to better represent the user’s choice to opt-in or opt-out of online tracking. For those who want to gain access to the Do Not Track options, just indicate your preference by clicking on “preferences” followed by “privacy.”
You are also able to restore thumbnails on new tab page, which is a rather nifty feature as there are times when one can accidentally close thumbnails. Should that happen, there is the handy “undo” option that will restore said thumbnail.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Intel Starts Shipping Haswell Chips to PC Manufacturers, Human Brain Can Now Control Rat’s Tail, 
Mozilla’s fledgling Firefox OS has yet to seed out to actual consumers, but when it does an “easy and secure” payment platform should be in place. Announced via the company’s developer-focused Hacks blog, navigator.mozPay() is a Javascript API crafted in the vein of Google Wallet, but with a key difference: it’ll allow direct carrier billing and support for various payment providers. So when users trigger the ‘Buy’ button from within a web app, they’ll be presented with a window from which to complete the purchase, with the entirety of the transaction taking place “in-app.” Despite the desire to open this payment API up to all comers and deliver flexibility to consumers and merchants, the first batch of Firefox OS handsets will actually feature a whitelist of approved payment providers — something Mozilla hopes will eventually change as this API evolves and becomes more secure. But Firefox OS isn’t the last stop for the payment platform, as it’ll be headed to the desktop browser and Firefox for Android soon.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Mozilla
Normally, one would associate the word “rust” with destruction that comes along with the passage of time, as we can see through the half-eaten hulls of sunken ships of yore. Well, Rust this time around will take on a new meaning, as it is part of Mozilla’s ambition in chasing down a new programming language that will hopefully, be the holy grail of code one fine day, and they have managed to capture the attention of the folks over at Samsung to help them out.
The Rust programming language alongside its Servo testbed on GitHub has made adequate progress, so much so that Samsung decided to jump into the fray by committing some engineering know-how to its success. In a nutshell, Rust wants to replace C++ as the programming language of choice, where it is capable of taking full advantage of heterogeneous, multi-core hardware that we find today, without compromising on security. I, for one, would not mind if Rust were to be realized and utilized worldwide soon, and heck, it can even be the new gold programming language standard, but is it capable of achieving such a distinction? Only time will tell. Good luck!
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google+ Emoticons Not An April Fool’s Prank, Seagate Does 4TB Hard Drive With Four 1TB Platters, 
It’s a fairly bold claim, but Mozilla and Samsung have announced today that they’re now attempting to “rebuild the web browser from the ground up on modern hardware.” That initiative takes the form of Servo, a new web browser engine designed for Android and ARM and based on Mozilla’s Rust programming language, which itself sees a new release today. Expectedly, details on the browser engine remain light, with Mozilla and Samsung offering no indication of a release schedule or a final product. In the blog post announcing the engine, Mozilla says only that it’ll be “putting more resources into Servo” in the coming year as it also aims to complete the first major revision of Rust, and that it and Samsung will be “increasingly looking at opportunities on mobile platforms.” You can find the full announcement, and the source for both Rust and Servo if you’re so inclined, at the source link below.
Filed under: Internet, Software
Via: The Next Web
Source: Mozilla
Samsung and Mozilla announced today that they’re partnering up to build a “next generation” and an “advanced technology” web browser engine, which they’re calling Servo. Mozilla said in a blog post announcing the news that the two companies will build a new engine from the ground up, but “rethinking old assumptions along the way.”
Essentially, Mozilla and Samsung want to bring this new web browser engine to Android devices running ARM, and in order to make a secure, yet fully open experience, Servo is written in Rust, which is a new programming language developed by Mozilla. You can actually download the code on Github and play around with it, but Mozilla notes that it’s in its very early stages.
Details are pretty scarce at this point in the development process, and we’re not quite sure yet what exactly this next-generation web browser engine will be capable of, but we’re guessing it’ll be pretty revolutionary if Mozilla and Samsung put their heart into it. Rust has been in development for a couple years now, actually, and they expect have the first major revision done sometime this year.
However, the partnership seems to be a perfect fit for the two companies. Mozilla is providing the Rust programming language, as well as Servo, while Samsung’s experience with ARM will no doubt be of tremendous help for Mozilla in bringing the technology to Android devices in the future.
Samsung and Mozilla working on new web browser engine for Android is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Mozilla has just updated its Firefox browser to provide users with several new features that they have been asking for. The new Firefox 20 improves private browsing, integrates your download window with your toolbar, brings getUserMedia to developers, and offers an overall better user experience. Firefox has also simultaneously updated its Firefox Browser for Android app with similar features.
Before the update, you would have to choose between regular browsing or private browsing with Firefox. You couldn’t have both. Now, Firefox has taken a page of out Google Chrome’s book and is now allowing you to simultaneously do both. This is great if you have multiple email accounts and do not feel like signing out of one just to access another. It’s also great for “other” things as well. This new feature is included in Firefox Browser for Android.
Also with this update, Firefox’s Download Manager is now integrated into your toolbar, so you can easily monitor your downloads without opening another window. You will be able to view and minimize your downloads with one simple click. And finally, Mozilla has integrated getUserMedia with its browsers, which allows developers to create web apps that can utilize the user’s camera and microphone. You can download the latest Firefox browser here.
Firefox Browser for Android now allows you to add shortcuts to your homescreen for your favorite sites, similar to Google Chrome’s Android app. Mozilla has also provided support for ARMv6 devices, so now many more lower-end Android phones will be able to take advantage of Firefox Browser for Android. Mozilla states that by supporting ARMv6 devices, it is able to bring its service to over 50 million more phones. In similar news, Mozilla is also gearing to launch its FireFox OS phones later on this year to over 18 operators. It’s an impressive OS looking to break into the mobile market.
[via Mozilla]
Firefox 20 improves private browsing and user experience is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
With the introduction of Google’s Chrome and stepped-up games from the likes of Internet Explorer and Safari, Firefox is arguably not quite the darling of the browser wars it was when it first hit the scene in 2003. And while Mozilla has certainly made progress on that front, the organization understands that diversifying is an important factor in the future success of the company, first through Thunderbird and more recently through the Firefox OS, a mobile operating system targeted toward users in developing nations. G-Fox, meanwhile, marks a decidedly different direction for the foundation, which has made its name in the world of software. It’s an adorable attempt, perhaps, to take the world’s bedrooms and playrooms by storm.
The plush is the real-world port of G-Fox, Mozilla Online China’s large-headed, big-eyed take on the American mascot, Kit. The fox was first spotted in the wild at last year’s Mobile Asia Expo in Shanghai. Mozilla Online wasn’t talking it up too much at the event, but naturally, we couldn’t wait to get our hands on an early build. And for a first-generation product in a new space, we have to say, in the whole time we’ve been playing around with G-Fox, we’ve yet to encounter a single crash or slowdown in spite of extensive squeezing, head patting and tossing up in the air, adorably.
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