Prism Prototype Now Available on Mac and Linux
We're happy to announce the Prism prototype is now available for Mac and Linux! We're also releasing an updated version for Windows that resolves some of the issues users have encountered. — Download the Prism prototype for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.
Context & Ripple Effects
Ten days after introducing the Prism prototype on Windows, Mozilla Labs has brought the same site-specific-browser experiment to Mac OS X and Linux, while shipping a revised Windows build that fixes problems early adopters had hit. The speed of the cross-platform follow-up signals that Mozilla intends Prism to be judged as a real product direction rather than a single-OS demo.
First-order effects
- Mac and Linux users can now build standalone desktop launchers for web applications through Prism instead of treating it as a Windows-only curiosity, and existing Windows testers get a build addressing the issues they reported.
Second-order effects
- Cross-platform availability puts Prism in front of the much larger installed bases outside Windows, giving Mozilla feedback at scale on whether users actually want web apps pulled out of the browser tab — evidence that will decide whether Prism graduates from Labs project to shipping feature.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the browser stops being only a window with tabs and becomes a runtime from which any site can be promoted to a desktop application — a shift whose adoption depends on whether mainstream users, not just enthusiasts, find value in separating individual web apps from the browsing session.
The trend: Browser makers are experimenting with decoupling individual web applications from the tabbed browsing session into standalone desktop apps, with cross-platform reach deciding which experiments survive.