14 DAY TRIAL // For all the fuss about native mobile apps, the computing world is moving online. Fewer and fewer apps work purely offline and, in plenty of cases, that's a good thing. In time, even fewer apps will need powerful computers to run.
With that in mind, Mozilla is introducing ORBX.js, a new JavaScript framework it developed along with Autodesk and OTOY, which makes it possible to stream desktop apps running in the cloud to a browser tab.
Specifically, ORBX.js will make it possible to connect to an app or virtual machine running in the cloud, like Amazon's Web Services.
"Amazon Web Services (AWS) customers will be able to use the power of graphics processing in the Cloud and OTOY’s ORBX.js streaming technology to deliver high performance games and desktop applications to the Web – using only HTML5 and JavaScript," Mozilla explained.
The truly impressive part is that the technology is capable of streaming 1080p video at 60 fps, providing a seamless and fluid experience. The demo video also shows very little latency, which is the biggest factor for cloud apps that require precise input from the user, be they games or Photoshop.
OTOY has been working on its cloud GPU technology for a while, but it has only now made it possible to stream directly to a web page rather than a dedicated client app.
"With JavaScript performance now rivaling that of safe native code, thanks to Mozilla-pioneered technology such as asm.js and WebGL, the innovative approach used in OTOY's ORBX.js now makes it possible to run powerful native apps from any popular OS through a modern browser," Brendan Eich, Mozilla's CTO, wrote.
"This robust commercial solution for running high performance games and desktop applications on the Web without plugins, demonstrates the power of the Web as a platform for software development and distribution," he added.
