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Firefox decade: Microsoft's IE humbled by a dogged upstart. Native next?

Browser turns 10 today. El Reg talks to CTO Gal

'Native is dead'

The combo of JavaScript and HTML5 are a powerful alternative to native apps, with performance of Javascript now so close to native there’s “little competition.”

Mozilla is investing in “high quality web experiences” across all devices, he said. Part of that is galvanising developers like it did around Firefox in 2004. The company said last week it planning a Firefox “for developers” – like Microsoft on IE.

Critically, Gal believes the industry’s compelling fascination with native apps for devices is now finished to the obvious benefit of the browser.

“The browser is the main reason you turn on your computer,” he claimed. “Look at the desktop – native is dead. I turn on my machine and I go into my browser. The era of loading native apps on the desktop passed a while ago."

Imagine Facebook building a native Win-32 version of its app for a PC? Just as ridiculous, he continued, to develop an iOS version and an Android version, too.

Mozilla Firefox

Facebook is a good example: it was Mark Zuckerberg’s network that canned the HTML5 edition of its app for native a few years back at the height of native fever.

An HTML5 native app was a “mistake”, Zuckerberg told Wall Street to explain his multinational’s failure to hoover up mobile users. HTML5 just wasn’t as slick on the UX.

Others agree: native is the future.

Mozilla lacks a native card to play but has a strong browser suit thanks to Firefox's breakout in the last decade. In Gal's eyes, the gap between the native and HTML5 Facebook app are "really small" and mobile is closing the gap on those best-of-breed native apps.

He reckoned:

In a couple of years, it will be just as nonsensical to bring a native app to a mobile device. In a few years you will consume all your content through the browser as on the desktop. You just have to make the web competitive.

What's next for Firefox in 2015? More standards plumbing and API work, improved performance of gaming in Firefox – critical given the positive impact of online gaming on native app and device adoption – and Firefox as a platform for online collaboration through its use of WebRTC, which has been in the Firefox nightly builds.

"Gaming is a very important part of the browser experience. You will see more things coming from us," Gal promised. "We think gaming and WebRTC will be the highlights that you will see shine next year." ®

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