What Does HTML 5 Mean For Us?

[Vincent Ferrari]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.satine.org/archives/2009/06/04/safari-4-css-video-effects/' target='_blank'>http://www.satine.org/archives/2009...-video-effects/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"If you have a recent browser build of WebKit nightly, you're going to love this movie trailers demo I've been hacking on. Click on the image above, select a movie trailer, and check out Safari 4's video reflections using CSS Effects. Recent WebKit nightlies with the latest QuickTime installed give the best experience, with flawless transitioned video reflections. Safari 4 Beta also provides a decent experience, but doesn't transition reflections."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/at/auto/1245065138.usr18053.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" /></p><p>I think I'm finally starting to understand why Apple doesn't care if it implements Flash in the iPhone; they want to go open standards on HTML 5 instead.&nbsp; After seeing this demo, there's no reason to think that it can't be done quite nicely.&nbsp; The possibilities are pretty impressive when you consider that all of what you see on this demo site is done without any embedding of any third-party plugins.</p><p>Nice thought, no?</p>

[doogald]

Nice thought, no?</p>

Yes! I DESPISE flash.

[ptyork]

I think I'm finally starting to understand why Apple doesn't care if it implements Flash in the iPhone; they want to go open standards on HTML 5 instead.&nbsp; After seeing this demo, there's no reason to think that it can't be done quite nicely.&nbsp; The possibilities are pretty impressive when you consider that all of what you see on this demo site is done without any embedding of any third-party plugins.

Yes, I do think that eventually HTML 5 will provide an experience that rivals that of the most advanced Flash sites. However, I do have some concerns when it comes to streaming video for sites concerned with DRM. Embedded support for specific codecs does provide for video streaming, but it might not offer the level of protection required by networks and studios. The open nature of the protocol also would seem to make it that much easier to hack (or to steal and place raw content on other sites without surrounding ads). Speaking of ads, it would also seem to make it very easy to "block" ads (a mixed blessing, but mostly bad since it means less chance of getting content that is driven by ad revenue). It also means that the experience will be different depending on the browser, something that Flash as a "standard" (if not open) gets around quite handily.

I'm still convinced that the reason is Apple's desire for control over the content that makes it to the iPhone platform (on the positive side, control over what kids can access--on the negative side, centralized control in general and a 30% cut in all of the "action"). 95% of the app store apps could easily have been implemented in Flash, and allowing an app like Adobe AIR onto the iPhone could completely disrupt Apple's control. It would also allow developers to develop a single app to run anywhere instead of locking them into the platform. For Apple, this just doesn't make economic sense.

[iPhone Fan]

An HTML5 (text/html) browser will be flexible in handling incorrect syntax, in contrast to the XHTML variant of HTML 5 (XHTML5), where such errors must not be ignored. HTML5 is designed so that old HTML 4 browsers can safely ignore new HTML 5 constructs. In contrast to HTML 4, the HTML 5 specification gives detailed rules for lexing and parsing, with the intent that different compliant browsers will produce the same result in the case of incorrect syntax.