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Mozilla Prism hits 1.0 Beta

By Sean Michael Kerner on May 8, 2009 4:43 PM

From the 'who needs a browser when you have a desktop' files:

I've been following and using Mozilla Prism since 2007 when it first appeared as a Mozilla Labs project.The idea is simple: bring online applications to the desktop.

With Prism you can take any online site and create an desktop version that will run without being in a browser. Mozilla is now out with Prism 1.0 beta which builds in new API support, update notifications, control over fonts and settings to make Prism truly behave more like a desktop platform.

"Tens of thousands of end users have installed Prism-enabled sites. Based on their feedback, as well as the experience of website creators, we've added new features to bring the user experience of web apps even closer to that of their desktop counterparts," Mozilla developer Matthew Gertner blogged.

Prism is definitely a good idea, but the market has changed since Mozilla first started on this effort.

For one, there are a lot more Adobe AIR applications then ever before now. AIR applications typically offer a degree of control that Prism cannot. True, AIR is not a website based tool, but rather a web enabled desktop tool, but still AIR apps are a whole lot more common know then they were in 2007.

Another issue is that Google Chrome does a similar thing but without the need for a seperate plug-in. In Chrome, Google simply calls it 'application shortcuts' which provide users with a window that only has their application in it. With Gears power for offline data storage, Chrome is a reasonable alternative to Prism now too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Prism here and I'm a user myself. It's just that the line between browser, desktop and web is even more blurred than before. Prism offers a Mozilla vision for how the line can be straddled, it's one vision of many in the marketplace today.

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