Apple vs. Adobe
One of the biggest controversies of the year was Apple’s very public refusal to allow Flash technology on the iPhone and then iPad. Apple CEO Steve Jobs penned an open letter in April, explaining that Flash is a battery drainer and is otherwise unsuitable for mobile devices. "New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too)," concluded Jobs. He followed up in June with another withering attack on Flash, at the D8 conference.
To be fair to Adobe, it has put support behind HTML5 too. During its annual developer conference, MAX, in October, Adobe announced a new product for building HTML5 content and highlighted some of the advantages of developing in HTML5. Adobe Edge, as the new tool is called, will allow developers to easily create interactive HTML5 experiences.
There has been a lot of heated discussion this year about which technology is better: Flash or HTML5. The consensus among most people (other than Steve Jobs) is that HTML5 is the future, but Flash is still the default for interactivity in the browser.
Full Browser Support Not There Yet
With a new version of HTML on the way, browsers of course will need to support it. However that process has been surprisingly slow. The Web’s governing body, W3C, has even admitted that HTML5 is not ready to replace Flash just yet.
According to Phillippe Le Hegaret, an official with W3C responsible for SVG and HTML specifications, the issue is getting HTML5 to operate the same in different browsers and using different video devices. He noted that HTML5 currently lacks a video codec and digital rights management capabilities. However, he expects the HTML5 specification to be “feature-complete by mid-2011.”
In a browser test conducted by the W3C recently, Microsoft’s IE9 browser performed very well – although there was some disagreement about the results.
Chrome Experiment Showcases HTML5
Perhaps the most impressive HTML5 demo we saw during 2010 was Google’s partnership with indie music band Arcade Fire, in late August. Showing off HTML5 support in its browser Chrome, Google’s “Chrome Experiment” showcased a number of HTML5 features – such as the ability to choreograph windows and synchronize music and video between them, use HTML5 for 3D rendering, rotating and zooming of Google Maps satellite imagery, and inserting animated sprites directly over satellite imagery.
In summary, it’s been a big year for HTML5. In 2011, this technology will probably go mainstream as full browser support becomes available in about the middle of the year. Let us know in the comments your thoughts on HTML5 and its future!
Image credit: Justin Watt (via A List Apart)
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