by Zakary Venturo

Created on: November 04, 2010

Firefox has long been termed a platform. It built its reputation on being a flexible browser with a high regard for technical ability. Customization has been its hallmark. Literally, there are thousands of plug ins and themes available for the browser, creating the possibility for a unique experience meant to work with how a user surfs the web. Now Mozilla, the organization behind Firefox, wants to up the ante and add applications to the browser experience. Open Web Apps to be specific, with an app store to facilitate their existence.

Yes, an app store for Firefox. Browsers are a competitive business even when giving them away for free. HTML5 is promising the power of desktop applications in the cloud. Hooking into the cloud might be a natural step to keep Firefox a strong contender in the browser wars.

App stores are nothing new. Apple proved an app store can be a lust worthy component on the iPhone and the mobile world has been following the trend ever since. However, the concept is new to browsers. It does make sense. As HTML5 becomes the go to technology of the web, an app store for a browser has the potential of showcasing cloud applications known to be safe from phishing scams and other forms of malware.

The current crop of examples from Mozilla are nothing more than fancy shortcuts to an actual web page. These represent the bare minimums required to be considered an Open Web App. A small script to indicate their existence with the browser and a whole lot of a traditional web page. Yet the potential for full fledged integration into the browser platform could be a reality, along with the safeguards a web store can provide through monitoring submissions to the store itself.

Just like an application for the iPhone, Firefox could provide a framework  to go beyond the web page and allow cloud applications to harness the power of the PC itself. Take the Facebook application on a mobile phone as an example, because it is designed to work within the framework of the device, it is possible to take pictures directly using the phones camera and instantly store them in a Facebook profile.

The big question is whether users will trust Mozilla and Firefox to be more than a browser. A lot depends on whether Mozilla can provide a level of security in the process that builds trust between users and developers.  After all, having to remove a bad plug in from Firefox is one thing, but imagine an application being listed with little scrutiny. It could make for a whole new generation of viruses as well.

Check out Mozilla's Video on Open Web Apps

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