The Short Story About HTML 5

Since the announcement of the iPad and it's lack of Flash support, some Internet geeks have been championing HTML 5 like it's the next coming of Christ. I'll be frank here. HTML 5 isn't something you should be worrying about right now. For the ordinary users, HTML 5 is a new web coding standard that not only promises to make web browsers more powerful, but also promises to have a plugin-free and web-based future. This means no more annoying Flash updates and more powerful web browsers that offer a lot more functionality.

And it also makes websites look prettier, which is a pretty nice bonus.

The real miracles behind HTML 5 though will only be noticed by web developers. But even if you don't know the difference between Javascript and CSS, HTML 5 still something to be excited for, since it has the potential to make browsing the web much faster and easier. And by that, I mean you can procrastinate on YouTube much more easily with HTML 5, since it gets rid of processor-draining web plugins like Flash. So if it's that good, why should we not be excited about it right now?

Point one; It's not done yet. The Wizards Behind The Internet (as I like to call the fine folks working on it right now) have been working on it for over six years, and there's still a few years before it's going to be officially 'completed'. Parts of the HTML 5 code are being rolled out right now, but those bits of new coding have only moderately changed the way websites are built.

Point two; Even when it's finished, it's not going to be entirely widespread because Microsoft hasn't really been involved in it's development. The godforsaken hunk-of-Internet-junk Internet Explorer is still commanding the majority of the browser market, and web developers don't like using a code that won't be fully compatible with the most popular browser on the Internet.

So if you've noticed all the noise about HTML 5, ignore it. It's much too early to be talking so glibly about it; it has a long way to go before it will be relevant news to the average consumer.

Image source: Webitcet, Gizmodo