HTML5

Adobe's Apple tiff won't prevent HTML5 support

SAN FRANCISCO--Adobe won't forswear HTML5 technologies just because of its high-profile dispute with Apple over HTML5 and Flash, a key executive said Wednesday.

"We're going to try and make the best tools in the world for HTML5," said Kevin Lynch, Adobe's chief technology officer, here at the Web 2.0 Expo. Adobe has a history of HTML tool development with products like Dreamweaver, he said, and called HTML5 "a terrific step forward" for the Web.

That notwithstanding, while Adobe pledged last week to move on from its ongoing dispute with Apple over Flash … Read more

Microsoft touts new IE9 test, seeks Web standards

Microsoft released a second "platform preview" version of Internet Explorer 9 on Wednesday with faster JavaScript and better Web standards compliance--plus an argument for how future Web technology should develop.

Central to the second IE9 preview (download) is progress toward matching rivals in SunSpider, a speed test of Web-based JavaScript programs, and Acid3, a test of adherence to some Web technologies. On the first, Microsoft improved from 590 to 473 milliseconds; on the second, from 55 to 68 out of a possible 100. But there's more to the story than benchmarks.

The new platform preview, arriving seven … Read more

New Chrome beta for OS X released

As the flash war between Apple and Adobe heats up, other companies seem to be taking their own stance on the issue. Among these, Google seems to be taking the high road and incorporating all of the available standards in its latest beta release of the Chrome browser.… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1219: DARPA requests transformer flying cars. So do we. (podcast)

The folks who built the Internet are thinking it could be a great idea if flying cars were available in military zones to help extract soldiers quickly from sensitive locations. And they should transform. So, awesome future on our way. Plus, Apple sells 1 million iPads, we try to untangle the h.264 codec mess, and the future of the Internet is cloudy.

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Apple sells 1,000,000 iPads in revolution’s first month http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/03/apple-sells-1-000-000-ipads-in-revolutions-first-month/… Read more

New Chrome fires up geolocation ability

"The geolocation feature is now available in Chrome 5.0.375.25 (Official Build 45690)."

With those words, posted Thursday at the bottom of a Chrome issue tracker item, the developer version of Google's browser for Windows, Mac, and Linux catches up to Firefox with one important new component of the Web. That component, geolocation, lets a browser tell a Web site the location of a person's computer once the person has given permission. (See illustration below.)

It's a handy feature, most notably for mapping or including your location in some message where it's … Read more

Microsoft takes H.264 stand in Web video debate

Deepening a rift in a key Web standards debate, Microsoft said Thursday that Internet Explorer 9 will support the variety of Web video Apple built into Safari but not the one embraced by Firefox and Opera.

"In its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only," Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch said in a blog post. His reasons for the support: the format is widely used in the computing industry, from video cameras to Google's YouTube, it benefits from hardware decoding support that improves performance, and there are questions about the rights to … Read more

Steve Jobs sets the record straight with Adobe's Flash

Since the original iPhone was release a few years ago, the major knock on the iPhone OS was its lack of support for one of the Web's most ubiquitous plug-ins--Flash. Steve Jobs, on Apple's homepage has set the record straight, leaving little doubt where Apple's stance is on the much maligned Flash.… Read more

No Flash flood in iPad avoidance

As Steve Jobs announced at the unveiling of iPhone OS 4, Apple's iPad has already sold half a million units in its first few weeks of availability and in advance of the availability of the more expensive, but more flexible, 3G version.

This puts it on track to break most estimates of first-year sales. In defending Apple's entry into the space, Jobs noted that it was important for the iPad to do certain tasks better than either the smaller smartphone or larger notebook. Among those tasks were watching videos, reading books, and surfing the Web.

Indeed, the iPad'… Read more

The Flash fracas between Adobe and Apple (FAQ)

The face-off between Apple and Adobe Systems concerning Flash on the iPhone and iPad is a perfect fit for today's world of fanboys and flame wars. But beneath the surface, it's not all as simple as it seems.

There are plenty convenient rhetorical points for those who want to find a place in the debate: Apple exerts draconian control over its walled garden. Flash is a buggy, insecure, resource hog. Apple is taking a stand for the betterment of the Web. Apple is inflicting a crippled Web on its customers for its selfish ends.

All these positions have some merit but are exaggerated. It's not nearly so black and white, so let's dig into the issue a bit more.

Buzz Out Loud 1198: Tong tied? Frayed not (podcast)

With Molly out covering the iPad launch for your local CBS stations, we're free to make wanton puns about knot theory. And we do. Plus Brian Tong gets his brain in knots trying to explain how it applies to tangled headphones. We also have the explanation for why iPad apps are ridiculously expensive. And we compare the JooJoo which is actually here, and explain why it's getting trumped by Apple.

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How Long Will It Take iPad App Prices To Drop? … Read more