Apple's HTML5 'standards' hype debunked

AnimalMagnetism

Self Imposed Exile
Apr 21, 2006
3,742
0
36
Toronto
'It's open. But it only works with Safari'

Apple is hyping HMTL5 again, this time with a new website purporting to show open web development in action. But the company's standards-following rivals have pointed out the Jobsian site is peddling nonsense.

Today, Apple posted an HTML 5 Showcase demonstrating video, graphics, and typography built with HTML5, the related CSS3 spec, and the evergreen Javascript. The headline reads "HTML5 and web standards."

"These web standards are open, reliable, highly secure, and efficient," the site says. "The demos below show how the latest version of Apple’s Safari web browser, new Macs, and new Apple mobile devices all support the capabilities of HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Not all browsers offer this support. But soon other modern browsers will take advantage of these same web standards — and the amazing things they enable web designers to do."

That may be a reference to Microsoft. But Mozilla, Opera, and Google support Javascript and parts of HTML5 and CSS3 in newer versions of their browsers. And Apple's demos only work with Safari:



Opera Software man Haavard Moen is not amused. "When the page doesn't work in Opera or other browsers it isn't because these browsers don't support HTML5," he blogged. "It's because Apple uses browser sniffing and vendor prefixes, and in addition to that they aren't really testing a lot of HTML5 at all. Most of their demos seem to have got nothing to do with HTML5, as a matter of fact."

According to Moen, it seems that the only parts of HTML5 in the showcase are the spec's <audio> and <video> tags.

Mike Shaver, chief technology officer with Mozilla, the open-source operation that builds Safari-rival Firefox, was less diplomatic on Twitter. "Having difficulty suppressing my contempt for Apple's arrogant and ridiculous HTML5 positioning today," he said.

While Safari implements open standards, Apple's browser plays HTML5 video using its own CSS3 code prefixes — all vendors use their own code prefixes — and it uses the patent-backed H.264 video codec. Thus, its video demos won't work in Opera or Firefox because its two rivals refuse to use H.264, preferring open and royalty-free coding instead. Apple, along with Microsoft and others, is part of the patent pool that licenses H.264 to the rest of the world.

Meanwhile. Adobe Software was quick to pick up on the ballsy irony of it all. John Nack, Photoshop product manager, Tweeted: "A Web standards demo that doesn't work across browsers reminds me of lame, counterproductive Flash Player demos."

Apple's chief executive has been busy of late hammering as many nails as possible in to the coffin of Adobe's prized Flash Player. He has banned Flash from the iPhone and iPad, and at the D8 conference this week, he called it an old technology. Apple, Jobs said, is betting on the future: HTML5.

"The video looks better and it works better and you don't need a plug-in to run it. And while 75 percent of the video on the web may be available in Flash, a lot of it is available in HTML5 as well," Jobs said.

Jobs' D8 appearance and the HTML5 showcase are the latest chapter in Steve Jobs' very public bashing of Flash and hyping of HTML5.

Hardcore Javascripters Ext JS last week complained about Apple hammering on about HTML5 video as an alternative to Flash, saying it's starting to confuse people over what HTML5 is and what it does. Products vice president Michael Mullany said HTML5 is becoming "unhinged from reality" because a lot of what people think is HTML5 is actually CSS.

CSS is a member of a family of related HMTL5 technologies that includes Web Workers to run tasks in the background of a browser, Web Storage to store string data in a key-value pair database, and Web Sockets for server communications. The core HTML spec is mostly invisible to end users and cleans up the code while allowing what is currently done with styling, Javascript, or server workarounds to be done in HTML.

Also, after four years, HTML5 is still a work in progress and debate is still underway on some of the finer points, such as meter tags and semantic elements. ®

source http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/04/apple_html5_showcase_hype/

Apple continues to alienate more and more people, except for the overzealous fanboys
very similar tactic when they tried to force safari downloads whenever apple updater appeared for quicktime
 
Last edited:

enyaw

Member
May 8, 2005
796
1
18
earth
I'm of the same mindset as you, apple better watch their asses or they will only end up like another microshaft given enough time. I don't know if it's greed or what but something get's to their heads and the consumers get the short end of the stick. Mega corp. for you. Everyone is just a #. It's bad enough their shit costs an arm and a leg, what if they dropped the prices a little? Doesn't it make sense more people would jump on the wagon. It can't really hurt their profit margins that much. And they would increase sales.
 

WoodPeckr

Protuberant Member
May 29, 2002
47,064
6,196
113
North America
thewoodpecker.net
It's bad enough their shit costs an arm and a leg, what if they dropped the prices a little?
LOL!
This is anathema to the Apple fanboi who is brainwashed into thinking the more you pay, the better that Apple product is! bottie, our resident fuzzy numbers apologist specializes in making this point with all his numerous 'arts & charts'. They gladly bend over and pay more, double, even triple, believing they are getting the best of the best! By their logic M$ is worse because it costs less. This makes Linux total junk as far as they are concerned because Linux is FREE! bottie makes this point ad nauseam....learnt it in business school he did!...
 

enyaw

Member
May 8, 2005
796
1
18
earth
I've come to learn your ways, and no harm in what you say. The talent is to be thick skinned as you are because this is a forum and there will always be people on one side or the other. Aka don't take it personal. I think I got it Woody are you seeking an apprentice? Lol and I've never taken part in a debate team.
 

enyaw

Member
May 8, 2005
796
1
18
earth
it's not like an attack on your fam or anything personal, it's a fu...... OS afterall lighten up
 

WoodPeckr

Protuberant Member
May 29, 2002
47,064
6,196
113
North America
thewoodpecker.net
LOL!
If you are in the Apple cult it's more than a family....:p
 

canucklehead

Active member
Oct 16, 2003
2,428
20
38
So Google supports HTML5 and is pushing for it .. and Apple supports it .... if you check your log files and actually make Opera open the page or Firefox for that case you get over 24 errors and 19 errors respectively on the tags and ... funny enough the MIME types ... but none in Safari using the web kit .... plus it renders funny in the others.
Just have your browser fake that it is Safari ... and u will see.... funny Chrome build from last night worked on it.
You have to remember Gavin hates Apple.
Just an FYI ....
 

JEFF247

New member
Feb 23, 2004
1,816
3
0
Finger Lakes, NY
www.XXXand.US
May 19, 2010

"Today, YouPorn ( 18+ ) announced that they are busy encoding their entire video library into HTML5 format, and therefore it will be available on any iDevice in this world. It will be just a matter of time until the rest of the adult industry will embrace HTML5 too, and then what Steve?"
 

onthebottom

Never Been Justly Banned
Jan 10, 2002
40,881
197
63
Hooterville
www.scubadiving.com
I hit the demo, it worked, not a bid deal really....

OTB
 

WoodPeckr

Protuberant Member
May 29, 2002
47,064
6,196
113
North America
thewoodpecker.net
More formats are coming and more is better!.....
 
Toronto Escorts