Mozilla Prism Puts the Web on Your Desktop
The Mozilla Foundation has just released Prism, the pre-release version of an application that removes a Web application’s reliance on a browser. The software, which was previously only available for Windows, is now available as version 0.8 for Linux and Mac OS X.
The Prism project originally started life as Webrunner. It is a kind of lean Web browser that does without typical browser controls. When launched, Prism prompts the user for the Web address of the application and an intuitive name, and asks whether it should set up a desktop link. If the users says no, the setup dialog just complains, but otherwise Prism launches the selected Web application in a separate window.
Users can extract the start command from the shortcut file on the desktop and integrate the command with the start menu. The command has a syntax of "/ Installation_location/prism/prism -webapp intuitive_name@prism.app". You can enter a command of this kind to the Web application on the local system, possibly entering a username and password for the application.
Just like the future Firefox 3 version, Prism also supports offline use of Web applications. The developers also plan to support 3D graphics hardware and to do away with the installation dialog in the longer term. The aim is to let users drag and drop Web applications from the browser onto the desktop.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.