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Mozilla Will Build Open OS for Smartphones and Tablets By Mark Long July 26, 2011 10:39AM     Gecko will power an open mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets that will be built by Mozilla. Instead of today's proprietary technology, Mozilla's open Boot to Gecko OS will break the "stranglehold" in mobile devices. Even Google's Android has become proprietary, and future mobile devices will run from the cloud, an analyst said.   Related Topics Mozilla Gecko Mobile Operating System Open Standards Android Latest News Reality TV's New Stars: Small Biz Soundbars Up the Ante on TV Sound Google Glass Raises Privacy Concerns Pentagon Gives iOS 6 Security OK Should Enterprises Skip Windows 8? Mozilla has begun work on a mobile operating system for smartphones and tablets based on the free open-source Gecko engine for HTML layout used in many applications created by the organization's developer community. The goal is to displace today's proprietary, single-vendor stacks for mobile-app development with an open mobile OS called Boot to Gecko (B2G). Though Mozilla's developers continue to work on Google's Android, they see the need for an alternative because Google's mobile platform has APIs based on a "proprietary Google sauce" rather than freely available web standards. "Android used to be at least 'available source' where Google would publish internally developed source code/technology after the fact as products ship, but even those times seem to be over now," noted Mozilla researcher Andreas Gal. "I would love to boot my custom Android build on my Galaxy Tab 10-inch, but no luck. Google refuses to release the source code." Building Native-Grade Apps To reduce friction for consumers to own and productively use multiple devices, as much of the device data , content, configuration and personalization as possible needs to be moved to the cloud , noted Al Hilwa, director of applications development software at IDC. "This is the value proposition of Google Chrome OS and now this initiative from Mozilla," Hilwa explained. "It is also what Apple and Microsoft will drive going forward, Apple with iCloud and its family of devices, and Microsoft with Windows 8, Windows Phone, and Xbox over the next couple of years." Mozilla wants to identify the gaps that currently prevent web developers from being able to build mobile apps "that are -- in every way -- the equals of native apps built for the iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone 7," Gal wrote. "We want expertise from all over Mozilla -- and from people who aren't yet part of Mozilla -- to inform and build the project." The B2G effort will begin by targeting the latest Android-based smartphones equipped with Nvidia's dual-core Tegra 2 processors, which provide hardware acceleration for open audio/video formats. To make B2G work, however, Mozilla developers will also need to build prototype APIs for a wide range of mobile functions -- such as telephony, SMS, camera, USB, Bluetooth and NFC. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   Tell Us What You Think Comment: Name: Seth: Posted: 2011-07-26 @ 4:18pm PT Good article. Just want to point out to the previous comment - your 'sensitive' data is and has always been available to anyone with the right legal warrant! Plus, most reputable cloud vendors specifically caution you about placing your sensitive data into the cloud until you are confident about your OWN security protocols. PS - love the typo "proprietary Google SAUCE"! Very appropriate! Y: Posted: 2011-07-26 @ 2:02pm PT why this cloud-dependency? can't you just backup my data and settings to a memory card? I have stayed away from the smartphone frenzy because I like to own my device and my data and decide who has access to it. Unless I own my little cloud, I will not transfer sensitive data to it. Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com CommVault is a data and information management software company dedicated to providing organizations worldwide with a radically better way to manage data and information. Their unique Solving Forward philosophy allows them to deliver complete solutions with infinite scalability and unprecedented control over data and costs. Be among the first to experience Simpana 10 software. Click here now.  Operating Systems 1.   Windows 8.1: No Cost, Big Pressure 2.   Pentagon Gives iOS 6 Security OK 3.   Windows Blue Officially 8.1 and Free 4.   Android Extends Its World Dominance 5.   Google Pursuing Android-Chrome Plan

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Network Security Spotlight

Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Financial Times The Financial Times is the latest victim of the Syrian Electronic Army, a group that supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The U.K.-based newspaper said a blog and its Twitter accounts were hacked.   Patch Tuesday Hyper Focuses on IE 8 Microsoft on Tuesday issued 10 security bulletins that fix 33 vulnerabilities. These updates include MS13-038, which will address the Internet Explorer 8 issue described in Security Advisory 2847140.   Surge of Venture Capital Buoys Tech Security Sector With companies and governments spending billions to repel cyberthreats, a surge of venture capital is pouring into companies developing cybersecurity technologies, the front line of the conflict.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

U.S. Defense Department Gives iOS 6 Security OK In a vote of confidence for Apple's iOS devices, the Defense Department has given the all-clear for employees to use iPads and iPhones for work. But only those running iOS 6, and only if issued by the government.   Cisco Surges After Profit Exceeds Analysts' Estimates Networking equipment giant Cisco's net income jumped 14 percent in the latest quarter as revenue at all four of its divisions rose for the first time in a year and a half, as tech spending increases.   HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.

Mobile Enterprise Spotlight

Google Glass Raises Congressional Privacy Concerns The buzz around Google Glass continues, but it's not all good. Some in Congress have questions. "We are curious whether this new technology could infringe on the privacy of average Americans," their letter to Google says.   Windows Phone Now No. 3 in Market, BlackBerry No. 4 Has Microsoft Phone moved into a coveted though distant third place for smartphone platforms behind Google's Android and Apple's iOS? A new report says yes, while BlackBerry has slipped to No. 4.   Intel Going Mobile with Its New CEO In his first speech as Intel's CEO, Brian Krzanich said he plans to focus on beefing up Intel's presence in mobility. The next step: a world tour showing mobile devices based on Intel chips, from PCs to phones and tablets.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

HP and SAP Team To Advance HANA Database Technology The two tech leaders are working on a system that SAP says could fundamentally change the database market. HANA is SAP's technology that keeps data in-memory, for super fast processing.   Cloud Computing Gains Another Competitor with Google Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure now have a full-on rival in Google, with its I/O announcement that it is opening its hosted Compute Engine environment for virtual machines to all comers.   Hackers' New Tool of Choice: Smartphones Smartphones are increasingly popular not only with consumers, but with thieves who see the devices as another way to tap into bank accounts and other sensitive information, experts say.

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