The hype surrounding HTML5 video has thankfully receded from the high water mark of 2011. But the absence of hype doesn’t mean HTML5 video is a thing of the past. In fact, while it’s true that HTML5 video still can’t completely match all of the features available in Flash, the state of HTML5 video on the web continues to improve with every new browser release.
As part of Google’s continuing quest to dole out web pages ever more quickly, the search giant has proposed a number of changes to Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), the ubiquitous Internet protocol used to reliably deliver HTTP and HTTPS data (and much more besides) over the ‘net. Google’s focus is on reducing latency between client machines and servers, and in particular, reducing the number of round trips (either client to server and back to client, or vice versa) required. When data is sent over a TCP connection, its receipt must be acknowledged by the receiving end.
Mozilla is drafting a proposal for a new web standard called MediaStream Processing that introduces JavaScript APIs for manipulating audio and video streams in real time. The specification is still at an early stage of development, but Mozilla has already started working on an implementation for testing purposes.
Opera developer Haavard Moen has accused Apple of repeatedly using patents to undermine the development of web standards and block their finalization. World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the industry group that governs and oversees the development of web standards, requires that every specification it approves be implementable on a royalty-free basis, barring extraordinary circumstances that justify an exception to this rule.
The web is filled with great documentation for web developers. But sadly finding that great documentation is not always easy.
WAI-ARIA, the W3C’s specification for Accessible Rich Internet Application, provides web developers with a means of annotating page elements with the roles, properties, and states that define exactly what those elements do. The added definitions help screen readers and other assistive devices navigate through your website
Adobe reversed course on its Flash strategy after a recent round of layoffs and restructuring, concluding that HTML5 is the future of rich Internet content on mobile devices. Adobe now says it doesn’t intend to develop new mobile ports of its Flash player browser plugin, though existing implementations will continue to be maintained. Adobe’s withdrawal from the mobile browser space means that HTML5 is now the path forward for developers who want to reach everyone and deliver an experience that works across all screens.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has released the first draft of a new web standard aimed at improving online privacy. The W3C’s new Standard for Online Privacy is a set of tools that will ultimately enable your browser to stop sites from tracking your every move on the web. The first draft of the new privacy standard revolves around the “Do Not Track” (DNT) HTTP header originally introduced by Mozilla as a part of Firefox 4 .