Talk about timing.    This past week, ABI Research (News - Alert) predicted there will be 2.1 billion HTML5 browsers on mobile devices by 2016, and July 27-28 is the time for the DevCon5: HTML5 Development Conference.    And, if that is not enough to get you excited, Mozilla (News - Alert) (the non-profit community created the open source Firefox browser) created a real stir with the posting on MozillaWiki BG that it wants to do nothing short of:

“a project we’re calling Boot to Gecko (B2G) to pursue the goal of building a complete, standalone operating system for the open web.”

In a word. WOW!

As the posting says, this will be no easy task.    Areas requiring work include:    

• New web APIs: build prototype APIs for exposing device and OS capabilities to content (Telephony, SMS, Camera, USB, Bluetooth, NFC, etc.)
• Privilege model: making sure that these new capabilities are safely exposed to pages and applications
• Booting: prototype a low-level substrate for an Android (News - Alert)-compatible device
• Applications: choose and port or build apps to prove out and prioritize the power of the system

Typical of Mozilla, they pledge to: do the work open, release the source in real-time, take all successful additions to appropriate standards groups, and track the changes.

The goal is formidable, “We aren't trying to have these native-grade apps just run on Firefox, we're trying to have them run on the web.”    

Mozilla is inviting members and non-members of the community to join in the effort at  the thread in moszilla.dev.platform.  No time frame I placed on the effort, and Mozilla is careful to warn that Boot to Gecko is in its early gestation phase where the idea itself is not fully fleshed out.  Nevertheless, as the development and success of Firefox and Drumbeat demonstrate, the announcement of this project is clearly significant.    

Mozilla says, “We want to take a bigger step now, and find the gaps that keep web developers from being able to build apps that are --- in every way --- the equals of native apps built for the iPhone (News - Alert), Android, and WP7.”     

The announcement has only been up for a few days, and is already closing in on 50,000 views. For those in Mozilla’s crosshairs, Caveat Venditor, “let the seller beware.”

Peter Bernstein is a technology industry veteran, having worked in multiple capacities with several of the industry's biggest brands, including Avaya, Alcatel-Lucent, Telcordia, HP, Siemens (News - Alert), Nortel, France Telecom, and others, and having served on the Advisory Boards of 15 technology startups. To read more of Peter's work, please visit his columnist page.