HTML 5 is upon us, and it should change the way we deliver web content. That is, if the browser makers and web designers don’t screw it up.
Whether you use a Mozilla or Webkit based web browser, chances are that once you’ve installed all the plugins you need, your web surfing experience is pretty complete. Good looking, dynamic web content abounds, and the web browsing experience delivers a lot more than it did 10 years ago.
Maybe you’re using a computer you don’t own or have the ability to install software on. How is your internet experience now? What if the site you need to get on requires Flash and you don’t have it? HTML 5 addresses that by adding elements for video and audio, and every web browser that is HTML 5 compliant will work, no plugins necessary. Much simpler, much more elegant, and everybody gets the same experience regardless of platform.
The good news is that Mozilla and Webkit both understand the HTML 5 elements for multimedia content. If your browser doesn’t grok the HTML5 multimedia elements, it’s incumbent upon the web designer to embed fallbacks that utilize Flash, javascript or whatever to deliver an alternate delivery, or at least a message letting you know that your browser sucks.
Flash and javascript should only be used as a fallback though. We finally have a clean, platform agnostic, resource friendly means to deliver rich web content. Please use it everyone. My fear is that people will keep using proprietary delivery systems like Flash, and it’s time to move forward and away from it.
Browser developers: please educate your users and developers and support the elements that HTML 5 provides to deliver rich web content.
Web designers: quit using Flash and javascript to achieve something that a simple video tag could do.
The same web experience. Regardless of operating system. Regardless of web browser.
