HTML5 takes the internet by storm

[TimberWolf]

According to the BBC

BBC News - Coding the future: HTML5 takes the internet by storm

Bye-Bye Flash?

Interesting comment at the end regarding apps. Why code apps for different device and device and software versions when a capable web app will run on just about anything?

[eek]

According to the BBC

BBC News - Coding the future: HTML5 takes the internet by storm

Bye-Bye Flash?

Interesting comment at the end regarding apps. Why code apps for different device and device and software versions when a capable web app will run on just about anything?

Flash will die its unavoidable due to apple's dislike of it.

As for apps it depends on money. While apps cost money to develop they may be a necessary middle step for many websites to introduce successful subscription payments.

[AtW]

Flash will die its unavoidable due to apple's dislike of it.

[d000hg]

According to the BBC

BBC News - Coding the future: HTML5 takes the internet by storm

Bye-Bye Flash?

Interesting comment at the end regarding apps. Why code apps for different device and device and software versions when a capable web app will run on just about anything?

An app which requires internet access is a big no-no, however that's not something which can't be fixed.

[TimberWolf]

An app which requires internet access is a big no-no, however that's not something which can't be fixed.

• You don't need internet access to be able to run HTML/Javascript files
• A lot of apps require internet access as it is

Not quite sure how HTML5 usurps applets and why they more or less died a death, maybe the HTML5 security model is better, or more restrictive.

[d000hg]

You don't need internet access to be able to run HTML/Javascript files

Of course not but you need a way to install them. Navigating to a URL when you're offline doesn't work. Apple lets you package an installable HTML5 'app' and so does Google Chrome but that requires platform-specific packaging. Because HTML5 is such a broad term, it's quite possible we could have desktop HTML5 apps that are cross-platform but that's what Adobe tried with AIR and it never gained traction.

A lot of apps require internet access as it is

Well apart from the fact I can't remember using ANY application which simply wouldn't run at all without internet access (I only am a sample of one after all) that's a poor argument. Some apps are built around internet access but we're talking about the more generic case - it's a pet peeve of mine when people make a crappy web-version of a solid desktop app, which then requires me to be online to use something worse.
Web access is simply not ubiquitous yet - you can't rely on it when travelling. And even a fixed internet service can go down for a day due to ISP problems... not being able to access a word processor because the router is not working is just silly.

[VectraMan]

Interesting comment at the end regarding apps. Why code apps for different device and device and software versions when a capable web app will run on just about anything?

If you'd been paying attention in the mid-90s you'll know that by now Java will have long since rendered all issues over platforms redundant, as everything will run in the browser (in a plugin) in a totally platform independent and secure way.

Windows 8 will support HTML5 "apps" too; not quite sure how that works, I guess it's just a different way of packaging the HTML and JS files.

The story about HTML5 is not that it's great and does all these lovely things. The story about HTML5 is that the open source/standards/web community is finally doing the sort of stuff they should have been doing 15 years ago. This is not a triumph; it's an embaressment.

[NickFitz]

Even Adobe have accepted that Flash is on the way out. That's why they've abandoned the idea of getting it to run on phones and tablets.

The BBC appear to have stumbled across Bruce Lawson's presentation without realising it's a parody: Leveraging HTML 5.0

[Bunk]

Of course not but you need a way to install them. Navigating to a URL when you're offline doesn't work. Apple lets you package an installable HTML5 'app' and so does Google Chrome but that requires platform-specific packaging. Because HTML5 is such a broad term, it's quite possible we could have desktop HTML5 apps that are cross-platform but that's what Adobe tried with AIR and it never gained traction.

Well apart from the fact I can't remember using ANY application which simply wouldn't run at all without internet access (I only am a sample of one after all) that's a poor argument. Some apps are built around internet access but we're talking about the more generic case - it's a pet peeve of mine when people make a crappy web-version of a solid desktop app, which then requires me to be online to use something worse.
Web access is simply not ubiquitous yet - you can't rely on it when travelling. And even a fixed internet service can go down for a day due to ISP problems... not being able to access a word processor because the router is not working is just silly.

HTML5 apps can be cached to work offline so that using the URL will work. They can also store data locally so that you can still do stuff even without an internet connection. Then when you're connected again it can sync whatever you've done.

[TimberWolf]

Of course not but you need a way to install them. Navigating to a URL when you're offline doesn't work. Apple lets you package an installable HTML5 'app' and so does Google Chrome but that requires platform-specific packaging. Because HTML5 is such a broad term, it's quite possible we could have desktop HTML5 apps that are cross-platform but that's what Adobe tried with AIR and it never gained traction.

Well apart from the fact I can't remember using ANY application which simply wouldn't run at all without internet access (I only am a sample of one after all) that's a poor argument. Some apps are built around internet access but we're talking about the more generic case - it's a pet peeve of mine when people make a crappy web-version of a solid desktop app, which then requires me to be online to use something worse.
Web access is simply not ubiquitous yet - you can't rely on it when travelling. And even a fixed internet service can go down for a day due to ISP problems... not being able to access a word processor because the router is not working is just silly.

I'm sure there are cases where you must do a package and install, but I'm not sure I agree that this is the 'general' case. Perhaps you have more complex stuff in mind. An 'install' need only consist of storing an HTML file containing HTML and Javascript, with no need to point to a URL.