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BARCELONA, Spain--Mozilla took a big first step in making something real out of B2G, its browser-based mobile operating system, by signing on mobile network operator Telefonica as a partner.

In addition, the Firefox maker discussed another step, a close relationship with mobile processor maker Qualcomm to create the hardware for the first phones, expected to launch later in 2012.

Those are two very important steps. But they're only one of dozens that it must take to create an operating system competitive with Apple's iOS and Google's Android, much less one that fulfills Mozilla's grander ambition. The … Read more

When you boot a Mac system you have the option to supply keyboard commands at startup to boot the system to alternate environments. For instance, a common option is to hold the Shift key to boot to Safe Mode, but you can also hold Command-V for verbose mode (a text output of items as they load), or Command-S for Single User mode, which drops you to the command line as the "root" user so you can perform troubleshooting tasks.

In addition to keyboard commands at startup, you can use the "nvram" terminal command to set a … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions how to manage corruption in the EFI boot loader in OS X or manage disks without one, the necessity of the OS X "periodic" scripts and whether or not they need to be rigorously scheduled, and a sudden instance where the desktop and screen contents appear larger than the size of the screen itself. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you … Read more

Although Mozilla has never limited its stated goals to merely building an open-source browser, there's no doubt that Firefox has been the highest-profile project from the Mozilla Foundation.

But now, with skyrocketing mobile connectivity and Google's shockingly fast ascent in the browser world, Mozilla Messaging CEO David Ascher restated yesterday what the nonprofit organization is about, where it's going, and why you should care.

Ascher noted that the first few years of the Mozilla mission have borne useful fruit. Internet Explorer may still be dominant, but it doesn't command anywhere near as much of the market … Read more

Pioneer's new BDR-XD04J contains a mind-numbing array of disc burning and playback options that should cover you for the next several years.

Perhaps the biggest highlight is support for BDXL BD-R discs, which means you can burn those fancy triple-layer 100GB and quad-layer 128GB Blu-ray discs in a tiny package. This is supposed to be the world's smallest BDXL-compatible portable drive. … Read more

BootRacer is a free utility that measures how long it takes your PC to boot up and saves it in an archive. You can use it to compare boot times when you make changes, such as removing programs from your startup file. It doesn't display your boot record, though it does measure Time to Logon, Logon to Desktop, and other increments. It writes events to the standard event log, which you can view with Windows Event Viewer. It can't make any changes to your system that affect your boot time, but it will try to get you to … Read more

Fruit Ninja was one of the early hits at the iTunes App Store, and continues to endure as a perennial top-10 favorite in the paid apps category for its simple, but satisfying game mechanic.

Today Halfbrick--the makers of Fruit Ninja and hit game Jetpack Joyride--released another version of Fruit Ninja, but this time with a movie tie-in. Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots offers the same fruit-slicing action, but adds a new game type that fans of the game will definitely want to check out.

Though Fruit Ninja: Puss in Boots is an obvious promotion for the upcoming Dreamworks Animations … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers wrote in with questions on restoring a missing Mail application in OS X, photos in iPhoto not uploading to Facebook, fixing a non-booting iMac without the installation DVD, and movie files requiring QuickTime 7 to run. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Restoring a missing Mail application on OS X MacFixIt reader "Randel" asks:… Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week readers wrote in with questions on disabling Launchpad in Lion, reinstalling Windows XP with later versions of Boot Camp, restoring a deleted Garageband application, and concerns over negative reviews of MacKeeper. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Disabling Launchpad in OS X Lion MacFixIt reader Jim B. asks: