One of Mozilla's big plans for the future is called 'Boot2Gecko,' and could result in a 'Firefox OS'.

Although Mozilla has never limited its stated goals to merely building an open-source browser, there's no doubt that Firefox has been the highest-profile project from the Mozilla Foundation. But now, with skyrocketing mobile connectivity and Google's shockingly fast ascent in the browser world, Mozilla Messaging CEO David Ascher restated yesterday what the nonprofit organization is about, where it's going, and why you should care.

Ascher noted that the first few years of the Mozilla mission have borne useful fruit. Internet Explorer may still be dominant, but it doesn't command anywhere near as much of the market as it used to. Firefox was the first to prove not only that there was widespread popular interest in an alternative, but that alternative could be accompanied by modern Web standards, safer browsing, faster site loading, and, he wrote, "zarro boogs."

But now, he says, Mozilla a... [Read more]

For any iPad owner who's seen those spiffy-looking magazines and newspapers on Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet and thought, "Hey, why don't my magazines and newspapers look this spiffy?", here's good news: Amazon just rolled out a Kindle app update that adds rich magazine and newspaper viewing to the iPad, among other things.

Kindle 2.9 for iOS offers several appreciable changes, and not just for the iPad. For example, iPhone and iPod Touch users will also notice a new scrolling menu atop their library; it lets you sort your view between books, magazines, and documents.

Also, you can now e-mail documents to your Send-to-Kindle address for quick and easy viewing on your iWhatever. (Those documents will also reside in Amazon's cloud so you can redownload them to other devices.)

In addition, Amazon has built in a PDF reader, which you can use not just for documents linked to your Kindle account, but also for PDFs that come from the Web, iTunes, and e-mail. The reader supports tables of contents and thumbnail navigation.

But it's definitely iPad users who clean up with this update. Like the Kindle Fire, the iPad can now tap more than 400 magazines and newspapers, all of them displayed in full color, just like the paper editions.

And good news for students: the new iPad app supports print-replica tex... [Read more]

Look no further for suggestions on how to add the holiday magic to your Android device.

Games

A great way to pass the time while waiting for relatives to arrive or for those cookies to come out of the oven. Many games on the Android Market feature a Christmas or holiday theme for the season.

(Credit: Rovio Mobile Ltd.)

Angry Birds Seasons, by Rovio Mobile Ltd. No Android game list is complete without the mention of Angry Birds. Now your favorite slingshot bird action has a holiday feel.

(Credit: FDG Entertainment)

Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition, by FDG Entertainment. Five free Christmas-themed levels to introduce you to the standard game. This style of puzzle game is relatively new for Android, and is totally worth a look if you're prepared to get addicted to something other than (or in addition to) Angry Birds.

(Credit: Smartpix Games)

... [Read more]

Nokia's Nokia Belle operating system.

Is it finally time to say good-bye to the Symbian name?

Nokia announced on its blog today that the Symbian Belle operating system it has been touting over the last several months has been renamed Nokia Belle.

"The all new Nokia Belle (previously Symbian Belle) user interface will soon be available for download to some existing smartphones and begin shipping with a selection of smartphones that are already on the market," the company wrote on its blog.

Nokia has been slowly but surely moving away from Symbian. Earlier this year, the company signed an agreement with Microsoft that makes Windows Phone 7 the "principal" operating system in its product line. However, the company has not totally abandoned Symbian, and will likely continue to use it in some capacity.

Related stories

• Nokia unveils spruced-up Symbian Belle OS
• Microsoft apps landing on Symbian phones
• ... [Read more]

Avast now protects your Android booty

Only 11 days after its debut on the Android Market in public beta, Avast has given the green light to its Android security app.

Simply called Avast Mobile Security (download), this free app is based on the Theft Aware app that it acquired when Avast purchased ITAgents in September contains a robust suite of Android-specific security features, including malicious app scanning, premium SMS blocking, link scanning, anti-theft measures, and two features that only work on rooted devices.

So with an impressive set of features, why did Avast--which runs a freemium business model for its Windows security suite--decide to go full... [Read more]

Windows 8 will let you log in by using a photo as your password.

Windows 8 will offer a unique approach to logging in by letting you use a photo as your password.

Since traditional passwords and PIN numbers can be hard to remember and use, Microsoft wanted to cook up a different log-in method, especially one that would prove more user-friendly on touchscreen devices.

As detailed in the latest Building Windows 8 Blog, Zach Pace, a program manager on Microsoft's You Centered Experience team, explained how using a photo as your password can make things simple to remember as well as secure. Already available in the Developer Preview, this new method consists of two components.

First, instead of grabbing a generic image, you can use one of your own photos to ensure that it's distinctive and therefore more secure and memorable. That photo would then appear on the lock screen of your phone or other device.

Second, the true security comes from you highlighting or drawing on certain parts of the photo with your finger (or mouse if you're using a PC). Those gestures then serve as your actual log-in as Windows interprets them to give you access to the device.

In field tests conducted with Windows users, Microsoft learned that people typically preferred one of... [Read more]