IT and society: HTML5 opens up new opportunities

Lately updates to the most popular browsers — including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and Apple Safari have their developers fighting to outdo each other, CNN’s article reads.

The newly emerged Web standard HTML5 is considered by many to be a real breakthrough. Browse makers are anxious to produce the software that incorporates the most of HTML5 support features. About 90% of Web content is written in HTML code today, according to research firm IDC, and the latest enhancements promise richer, easier-to-use and better looking Web applications. Thought still a work in progress, HTML5 will let developers create in the browser experiences that currently require stand-alone applications or plug-in extensions like Adobe Flash or Microsoft’s Silverlight. It supports lightning-fast video, geolocation services and the ability to drag-and-drop items to and from the desktop. It can also be used to build in-browser applications that work offline.

To show what's possible with HTML5, Google recently released "The Wilderness Downtown," a music video using pop-up windows, interactive animations and a Google Maps integration.

Microsoft has publicly released a beta-version of Internet Explorer 9 — its first complete embrace of HTML5, and the company's biggest leap forward in browser technology in years. Over the past two years Internet Explorer has slipped about 15% of market share, falling to 60%, according to Net Applications. In the same time, the number-two browser Mozilla Firefox, has expanded its share, while Safari’s share has nearly doubled and Chrome’s market penetration has shot up nearly seven-fold.

But with its market share falling fast, Microsoft made the decision to embrace change. In addition to adding HTML5 support, IE9 introduces hardware acceleration to improve graphics performance and a handful of other advances that will help it keep pace with its fast-improving rivals.

The biggest advantage of the near-universal adoption of HTML5 is that it could finally be the Web standard - meaning developers can write code once that will work across multiple browsers. That means innovators should be able to spend more time developing new products and less time tweaking their creations to account for each browser's persnickety differences.

Fast-paced innovation in the browser space is paying off for users. Even those running Internet Explorer will finally be able to enjoy the faster speeds and richer application capabilities that are sparking a Web development renaissance.