Open Source

Boot to Gecko

By · March 25, 2012, 1:13 PM PST

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  • Boot to Gecko

    The lock screen that welcomes users to Boot to Gecko. To access the home screen underneath, an upward flick is required.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: home screen

    The first page of the home screen for B2G. There's quite the Firefox motif happening here.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: home screen

    Page two of the HTML-based applications available.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: home screen

    The final page of the home screen.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: on a call

    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: messages

    Inside the Messages application of the system, we had to run this off a web server and inside a desktop browser to get the dummy data to appear. This area was blank in our emulator.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Book to Gecko: message thread

    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: browser

    The browser is similar to the current Aurora builds of Firefox for Mobile, this is a much better and cleaner experience than the Firefox builds currently available on Android handsets.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: browser

    One "problem" with the browser is that sites will often return their mobile versions to it — this can be both a blessing and a curse depending on which site you are requesting.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: contacts

    A bit of polish on this interface would be nice.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: video list

    This listing screen is typical of the listing screens for media items throughout B2G.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: video playback

    This shot shows video playback in the simulator. Performance on the simulator is terrible, but is more than adequate when viewed via a desktop browser — no doubt a result of the processing power available to the different viewing techniques.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: Facebook

    Thanks to running in the Android emulator, Facebook recommends we install the Facebook for Android application — best of luck with that.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: marketplace

    The marketplace does not function and merely shows this mock page.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: music list

    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: music playback

    The familiar HTML5 audio controls are present when playing an audio file.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: Zimbra

    Zimbra is one of the surprising inclusions in the build. Much like the Gmail and Google calendar "applications" available, it links out to the standard mobile web login for the platform.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: settings list

    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: screen settings

    The number of options in the settings pages are minimal as the system is still coming together.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: Cut the Rope

    B2G includes a link to the Microsoft-promoted Cut the Rope. This is a good example of HTML-based gaming.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: Penguin Pop

    On the flipside, this decidedly uncrisp game of Penguin Pop provides an example of an HTML-based game with pixellated graphics.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: landscape

    An example of the work in progress that B2G is, can be found by rotating the home screen in the emulator and having the home screen remain static.
    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

  • Boot to Gecko: clock timer

    (Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

Boot to Gecko

The lock screen that welcomes users to Boot to Gecko. To access the home screen underneath, an upward flick is required.
(Credit: Chris Duckett/TechRepublic)

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By Chris Duckett

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