Mozilla and Otoy Announce ORBX.js JavaScript Library

Graphics-focused cloud services firm Otoy has worked with Mozilla to release the ORBX.js JavaScript library. This new software works on Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X apps to "cloud virtualize" them so that they can be streamed to HTML5-enabled browsers, including those on mobile devices.

ORBX.js decodes HD video entirely in JavaScript to support plugin-free live TV, cloud gaming, and watermarked video across all HTML5 browsers — Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari, and IE 10.

The collaborative work on this codec could eliminate the need for DRM in movies and games with HTML5 watermarking, as well as allow streaming resource-intensive native applications hosted in the cloud directly to browsers.

Native PC Windows Apps without Plugins Now Possible in HTML5

ORBX.js is intended to allow users to run professional desktop applications, which previously required a Windows or Linux desktop PC, through a standard HTML5 Web page, without requiring any plugins or native code extensions.

"Mozilla's goal is to promote an open ecosystem for content and media on the Web, so that a website looks and runs the same on any device," said Brendan Eich, CTO and SVP of Engineering at Mozilla and creator of JavaScript. Eich also says that JavaScript performance now "rivals" that of safe native code.

The firm states that the addition of ORBX.js, asm.js, and Emscripten continues to accelerate the movement away from native PC apps to Web apps.

"Pure HTML5 is the only platform that universally delivers media and applications to every Internet connected device. We've found a way to provide a full native PC experience entirely through HTML5 and JavaScript, without having to touch H.264, Flash, Java, or a Google Native Client. It's a huge win for the open Web and we expect HTML5 to replace legacy operating systems on desktops, TVs, consoles, and mobile devices," said Otoy founder and CEO Jules Urbach.