With a slew of new features, HTML 5 is likely to be well used before it even becomes a formal specification. Some companies may be reluctant to support the web development language, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t love HTML 5, even if you aren’t a web developer.
Companies such as Apple have already jumped on the HTML 5 bandwagon, calling it the “web language of the future” and a “Flash killer” but haven’t been so quick to throw in the details for mainstream users. Once developer Ian Hickson, and the W3C finishes work on the spec, it should provide users with much more than a plug-in free experience with smooth video and audio playback.
Features that users can expect besides video include:
- Geolocation which lets a service locate and use your location
- Drag-and-drop items to and from the desktop to the browser
- Quicker website loading through the computer’s graphics chip
- Use of browser applications offline
Hickson says the spec will be finalized in 2022–yes, that’s right, 12 years from now, however Google believes that most browsers will be fully HTML5-capable by end of 2010, so get ready!
