MOZILLA HAS REVEALED that it is working on a way to make audio and video calls between Firefox web browsers without the need for a third-party client.
The latest nightly build of the Firefox web browser includes experimental use of the WebRTC protocol, which Mozilla believes could standardise VOIP communications.
At present, there are myriad walled garden services including Skype, Viber and iMessage, not to mention bespoke packages and conferencing facilities.
A blog post asked, "What if the browser, with near universal adoption, could become keystone of an open, interoperable communications system?"
The service is powered by technology from Tokbox, embedding the open source OpenTok video and voice software. The new standard requires no plug-ins or additional downloads - just a camera, a microphone and a web browser.
Mozilla warned that no one should expect a complete, polished service yet, but said that Firefox will bring the eventual result to all users, regardless of operating system or device, at a later date.
The concept of breaking down the walled gardens between proprietary systems has been tried before, with most chat clients using the Yammer standard, however subsequent versions have added functionality that Yammer cannot support, meaning that many clients have lost that interoperablity.
Firefox recently underwent a facelift, bringing the look of Firefox 29 more into line with Google Chrome .
Mozilla is looking to move on from the controversies it faced earlier in the year after the arrival and hasty departure of CEO Brendan Eich, following revelations about his views on gay marriage.
SOURCE: theinquirer
