open web device user interface Gecko demo

Boot to Gecko demo;

Uploaded by mozhacks on Feb 26, 2012 - An overview of the open web device user interface on Mozilla's Boot to Gecko mobile platform.







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B2G : Mozilla's plan for 2012: Break the ecosystem lock.

Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon--all are targets for Mozilla's plan to use Web apps to free people from ecosystem lock-in. Also: new Firefox features aplenty.

(Credit: Mozilla) : The people's enemy, in Mozilla's eyes, is an ecosystem of devices, operating systems, app stores, services, and apps.

Mozilla is best known as the developer of Firefox, but it's reaching well beyond the browser with a 2012 strategy that strives to use the open Web to counteract ecosystem lock-in.

Firefox embodied Mozilla's effort to counter the damage that Microsoft's browser dominance caused on the Web. But now, as revealed in Mozilla 2012 plans published Sunday, the non-profit organization is putting the crosshairs on other big competitors, too: Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Those companies, along with Microsoft, each are building an ecosystem encompassing devices, operating systems, app stores, and apps. People should be worried about getting locked into any of those ecosystems, Mozilla believes.

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The net has come this far...

Iceland’s citizens help draft new constitution via the Internet

In a possible world-first, Iceland’s citizens have helped draft a new constitution via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. The draft document has been presented to Iceland’s parliamentary speaker.

Iceland's economy was on the brink of collapse in 2008

A council of 25 ordinary, publicly-elected Icelandic citizens presented a draft constitution to Iceland's parliamentary speaker Asta Ragnheidur Johannesdottir on Friday. This may be the first time that citizens have actively contributed suggestions via the Internet and were able to follow progress on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

The constitution of the island nation of 320,000 people was first instituted in 1944. The Icelandic parliament, known as Althingi, agreed in 2010 that the country's citizens should be involved to include their viewpoint, on the core values of the constitution.

The council began work on the draft constitution in April. During this time, its work was posted on the Internet. Icelanders submitted around 1,600 propositions and comments on the council's website.

People pressure

"The reaction from the public was very important," said Salvor Nordal, the head of constitutional council. Most of the suggestions had to do with a revised economic model, following Iceland's economic collapse in 2008. All Iceland's major banks failed at the time, leading the country to the brink of economic collapse.

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iPad and Kindle Fire: The top 5 technical annoyances.

Trouble with Wi-Fi connections proves among the top issues confronting users of both tablets, in a study by tech support Q&A site FixYa.

(Credit: FixYa)

Users of the iPad and the Kindle Fire share some of the same technical issues but also face their own unique challenges, according to a study out yesterday from FixYa.

Analyzing the array of problems seen by site users who own one of the two popular tablets, FixYa boiled the list down to the top five major glitches.

Looking at Apple's iPad, Wi-Fi connection issues came in first, cited by 35 percent of FixYa site users included in the study.

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Mozilla to Launch Cross-Platform App Store

Calling all developers: if you know your way around HTML5 and JavaSrcipt and have a great idea for an app, Mozilla wants to hear from you. The web-friendly nonprofit has just announcedtheir intention to launch a new cross-platform app market later this year, and the submission process is slated to start next week at Mobile World Congress.

The initiative ties into Mozilla’s focus on developing the web as a platform for rich content, and they hope to do so by providing developers with the tools needed to create great things.

“By building the missing pieces, Mozilla is now unlocking the potential of the Web to be the platform for creating and consuming content everywhere,” said Mozilla Chief of Innovation Todd Simpson.

To help their burgeoning web apps platform take shape, Mozilla has proposed a number of APIs that “advance the web as a platform.” Mozilla will also aid their web apps platform with the creation of an identity system that binds apps to users rather than their devices. Though Mozilla declined to mention how the identity system would be implemented, it’s likely we’ll see their BrowserID system rear its head once more.

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AP Review: Flock and Rockmelt Browsers

Uploaded by AssociatedPress on Dec 8, 2010 - When it comes to social networking, there's a lot to keep track of online. But two new browsers aim to streamline those tasks for you. The AP's Eric Carvin puts Flock and Rockmelt to the test. (Dec. 12)

The Stupid Things You Do Online (and How to Fix Them)

PROBLEM SOLVING

The internet can bring you a lot of joy, but it can also turn into a world of pain the moment you make one stupid mistake. Perhaps you've been feeding the trolls, using "password" as your password, or selling your soul for access to a "free" web app. Your dumb mistakes can come back to bite you in the ass if you aren't careful. Here's how you can save yourself from yourself online.

Title image remixed from an original by Konstantin Maslak (Shutterstock).

Stupid Thing #1: You Undervalue Your Personal Data

Full size

Most of the web has the appearance of being free, but when you sign up for Google services or a Facebook account you're potentially handing over a much more valuable commodity: your personal information. Companies want this information because it can be used to target more relevant ads to you. The more relevant the ads, the more likely you're going to buy. Although advertisements aren't necessarily all bad, because it's often preferable to see ads for things we actually want, it can be a little disconcerting and embarrassing when you do a search for herpes treatments and see nothing but Valtrex ads for a week. You shouldn't stop using the services you love just because they have a hidden cost, but it's important to understand that free services aren't really free. You are paying with your right to privacy, and that can feel a little invasive.


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Facebook IPO: five key figures set to make billions

As Facebook prepares to go public, five key figures, from Bono to LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, are set to make billions.

By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor

8:30AM GMT 01 Feb 2012

Sean Parker

Facebook’s first President is widely credited with turning Mark Zuckerberg’s project from a dorm room operation to a global business. Veteran Silicon Valley investor Parker has previously put money into Spotify, Napster and online address book Plaxo. And if ‘The Social Network’ is to be believed, he’s also the man who got the name changed from ‘thefacebook’ to simply ‘Facebook’.

Sheryl Sandberg

Increasingly the public face of Facebook, Sheryl Sandberg mixes media-savvy with real business experience. Currently Chief Operating Officer, Sandberg was previously a Vice President at Google and Chief of Staff and the US Treasury. She is widely credited with turning Facebook into a profitable operation that relies on advertising.

Mark Pincus

CityVille, FarmVille and Mafia Wars are just three of the hugely successful games that more than 200million users regularly play on Facebook, and they’re all owned by games company Zynga.

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LONG-AWAITED FACEBOOK IPO, IMMINENT

Uploaded by cctvnewschannel on 31 Jan 2012 - Social networking giant Facebook is planning to file its initial public offering this Wednesday. The widely anticipated IPO is expected to raise about 10 billion US dollars, valuing the company between 75 billion and 100 billion dollars, as reported by Wall Street Journal.