Mozilla announced yesterday that Firefox 3.6 will be equipped with a programming interface that enables web applications to access the hardware accelerometer. This sensor, which is found in some laptop computers - including some newer MacBook and ThinkPad models, tells of the physical orientation of the machine, that is, whether it's flat, is held at an angle, or such as up-down.
This is functionality that is familiar from many newer mobile phones, and this was the mobile version of Firefox (Fennec) that Mozilla had first thought of including this support.
Exactly what this functionality will be used in conjunction with portable computers, is vague. It will for many perceived as a bit tiring having to topple the computer to control any function on the screen. But the opportunity is there now.
Owners of laptop computers with accelerometer and Mac OS or Linux will be able to test the function already, in the latest test versions of Firefox. More information and links to demos available on this page, where it also tells more about the support for CSS WebGL and Transition, which is now built into Firefox.
Otherwise, Mozilla reported that later today will be revealed further the hardware-oriented programming interface that can be expected in upcoming versions of Firefox.
