Continuing our monthly tech trends feature, here are a few of the stories on my mind this February.
HTML is the new HTML5
We’re all aware of the buzz around HTML5 and its offerings on the modern web. However, that buzz is getting a new name: HTML. That’s right, it’s just called HTML according to Ian Hickson (editor of the spec formerly known as HTML5). What does this mean? The HTML specification will become a “living document” — that is, constantly evolving, just like browsers do. It makes sense.
IP Addresses Are A Changin’
IP addresses are the Internet’s phone numbers — and these numbers are running out. In fact, researchers believe that by the end of 2011 we will run out of IPv4 addresses. But there’s a solution: IPv6. Imagine adding an area code to your IP addresses, except that area code is 96 characters long and not just numbers — that’s IPv6. However, hardware and software updates need to be made by both servers and clients to support this new and necessary standard. A number of big shots have pledged to participate in “World IPv6 Day”.
Ad Tracking Opt-out
Browser manufacturers are beginning to implement their own solutions for allowing users to disallow Internet advertising companies from tracking users. Even Google! Other proposed solutions involve a “Do Not Track” header sent from the browser, telling the website’s server to respect the user’s privacy by not tracking them. No legislation is currently enforcing this privacy, nor has any of these solutions been standardized — but experimentation is beginning and it will be interesting to see what shakes out.
Google’s Chrome Makes Big HTML5 Video Move
H.264 has become one of the most popular formats for HTML5 video. It’s not only supported on many desktop browsers but several mobile platforms as well. Google Chrome just dropped support for H.264 in favor of it’s own open-sourced WebM format. With the controversy surrounding the patents and licensing fees with the H.264 format, Google is positioning its WebM format as the free and open format for video on the web. Although most hardware and software has been developed to support H.264, many hardware manufacturers and browser developers have announced they plan to support this relatively new format promoted by Google.
Ben is a Sr. Developer in the CM Chicago office.
