Ok, people have been building Mozilla Applications for years now, but just in case you had any doubt about the viability of the Mozilla Platform, have a look at this picture (click for larger version).
This is only somewhat staged. These are applications that I use every day, with the exception of Songbird which I only downloaded today. And when I switch to my Linux desktop where I spend about 50% of time, I can recreate the same environment. The only mind-shift comes in various hacky ways to share profile data across platforms, if at all. In the background you will notice a couple of shells running, chugging away building 2 more applications — Angelsoft which I talked about earlier, and a custom browser project. And these are just a small sampling of Mozilla Applications out there.
But I digress. The main point is that these are high quality cross-platform applications to make people more productive and their Web experience much more pleasurable. They all run in their own process, and have independent profile data. Only 1 is built on XULRunner currently (Songbird), but I predict in a year all of them will be using XULRunner.
Thought, the Daniel’s NVU is based on XULRunner as well.
funTomas, I thought not yet, but it is possible.
I’ve noticed that myself. I use Linux, Windows and occasionally MacOS and I use the same apps everywhere. Firefox, Thunderbird and Gaim normally. (I know Gaim isn’t XULRunner.) Combine that with IMAP email and Bloglines, and my desktop is pretty much the same everywhere.
> Thought, the Daniel’s NVU is based on XULRunner as well.
Not yet. Nvu 1.0 is a standalone application built on Gecko, like Firefox or Thunderbird are.
(Note : i’m working with Daniel ;-) )
I has a demo of two xulrunner apps (one to manage hospital files, the other one to digitally process medical scan images) at the Solutions Linux 2006 tradeshow in Paris last week. The developpers were kind enough to coma and demo it on the Mozilla Europe booth
They are not officially released yet and not the kjind of apps expected by the general audience, but seeing Mozilla used as a platform in the healthcare industry really is encouraging.
Too bad you still can’t replace ActiveDesktop with XULrunner… Then it would be truely impressive.
Don’t forget Celtx! A great Open Source software package designed for people who work in the Pre-Production of Film, TV, Theatre and New Media.
Give it a try!
From their FAQ:
***What tools did you use to build Celtx?
We proudly use the Mozilla application framework and our own tool, Tadpole. For more information on Mozilla or Celtx project development, please see http://www.mozdev.org.
***What is Tadpole and how does it relate to Celtx?
Tadpole is an underlying technology used by the company to achieve rapid development of client and server applications on top of the Mozilla platform. Tadpole was developed using Javascript and XUL.
Cheers! Another Applications based on Mozilla and XUL.
Wot no Chatzilla? It runs great on XULRunner right now.
– Chris
Is Crimson Editor really a Mozilla-based app?
Jakes: Celtx looks impressive, I never came across it before.
Chris: I do run Chatzilla, but not as a XULRunner app. Rather as a Firefox extension.
David: No, Crimson Editor is not Mozilla based. I use it for coding.
Ok, just wondering since it was there in the background.