HTML 5 and interfaces for the Web in 2011

Firefox 9: Closer to Chrome

Firefox is closer to Chrome and on two levels. The prefix indicating the protocol disappears from the URL bar, an idea of ​​the Google browser. And in terms of performance, too, the gap is narrowing, thanks to type inference, the JavaScript compiler greatly increases the speed which jumped to 30% at least.
The update to the new version is automatic when the "About" window is opened...
December 21, 2011.

BrowserID Persona, automatic identification of users

To spare the visitors the need to enter a login and password, Mozilla provides the authentication service BrowserID.
This is a JavaScript code to be included in the registration page (which is no longer necessary) or authentication page. The Mozilla's server will do the rest ...
The visitor must verify the email it gives only one time, after which it will be recognized at all sites supporting BrowserID.
This works on all browsers.
BrowserID competes with Google's OpenID which has a different process. But many visitors would prefer to authenticate through Facebook or Twitter to use their services.
Decembre 16, 2011.

Adobe abandons Flash on the mobile browser

Adobe believes that the future of graphics in the browser is through Canvas and WebGL and decides to give up development of Flash in different browsers running on mobiles.
But Flash is not totally obsolete, it remains for Adobe a development platform for the future of native applications, and therefore the firm will continue to work on Adobe Air, the programming tool and the Flash Player to the local computer (should we rejoice?). It also will develop tools for programming in HTML 5.
November 9, 2011.

Firefox 8 improves the backend

A single change in the browser interface: when an update occurs, it is proposed to select modules to enable. They are automatically disabled if they are not compatible with the new version.
Otherwise, the version change is justified primarily by improvements in services supported, mainly WebSockets and HTML 5.
November 9, 2011.

Firefox 7 saves memory

The latest version of Firefox saves between 20 and 50% of the memory needed for its operation. This makes it faster. Canvas is also accelerated.
Support for new formats of the Web  also extended  with text-overflow: ellipsis, WebTiming, newer WebSocket.
The Android version is improved as well.
September 27, 2011. Automatic update from the help menu.

WebSockets in Firefox 6

This version is available August 16, 2011, and adds an interaction channel with the server to Web applications after its implementation was delayed due to security concerns.
With this protocol, we may leave HTTP to go to WebSocket working in duplex mode, ie without waiting for responses from the other side. The prefix of an URL in this case is ws://.
Another improvement in Firefox is the domain name highlighted in the URL in the address bar which should help fight phishing.
Scratchpad is a new development tool.
The progress tag, horizontal or vertical, supplements HTML 5 features. It is already supported by Chrome. Actually, JavaScript progress bars are easy to build, which are compatible with all browsers.
The XMLHttpRequest object allows new types of data beside of XML: Blob and ArrayBuffer.
Flash cookies are erased with regular cookies by the command to delete them.
August 15, 2011.

Firefox implements the non-tracing

The Do not track function present in Firefox 5 prohibits advertisers to trace your history to target ads. In the menu "Privacy", you check the option "Do not track".
This new version of the browser adds CSS animations and amounts of features in backend. The interface itself is unchanged.
We can update the browser directly from the menu item "About".
Mainly more support for HTML 5 in this version and therefore the ability to create plugin only in HTML and JavaScript.

CSS 2.1 became a recommendation

While CSS 3 is being adopted by browser vendors, the version 2.1 is estimated stable enough to become a formal recommendation.
Here is the final URL: CSS 2.1 recommendation.
Note that version 12 of Chrome, the same day provides hardware acceleration for 3D effects in CSS 3.
June 7, 2011.

Webian Shell

It is the answer of Mozilla to Chromebook from Google or Windows 8 and its tiled interface for online applications.
It is a kind of lightweight browser with an interface built in HTML 5, JavaScript and CSS, based on Chromeless so without xulrunner. The space is clean, like a window into the desktop space, with a title bar.
Webian Shell can replace the interface of the operating system (such as KDE) and only use the services in backend, as long as you only use online applications such as messaging, Facebook etc.. An operating system is still needed. Combined with Linux, it can replace Chrome OS.
WS is open source and can be modified by the developer.
June 6, 2011.

Videos in 3D

On Firefox 4, it is now possible to view 3D videos on Youtube with the HTML 5 <video> tag and the WebM format completed with metadata for 3D.
According to NVidia that is a partner of the operation, thousands of videos and 3D games are available on Youtube. This requires a specific hardware, NVIDIA 3D Vision.
May 27, 2011.

New version of Chromeless

This tool allows you to build desktop applications with Web technologies coming in version 0.2 on GitHub.
A local application can take advantage of a recent version of JavaScript, in this case 1.8.5 and the same support for HTML 5 than Firefox 4.
It can interact with the file system and provides an interface to a command line script throught an iFrame. But no possibility of native code or other programming language.
April 30, 2011.

Maqetta is the Expression Blend of HTML 5, from IBM

Created by IBM and donated to the Dojo foundation as open source project, this WYSIWYG development tool allows to build HTML 5 applications more easily.
You can use it online directly on the Maqetta.org site, or download the source code and install it on a hosting.
It is similar to Eclipse, another project of IBM, with a more intuitive interface for editing either in visual mode, or the source code directly.
This fairly comprehensive EDI facilitates the design of each state of an application without needing to touch the code. It can interface with various Ajax frameworks.
It is an answer to Expression Blend, the development tool for Silverlight from Microsoft.
April 15, 2011.

Flock, it's over

The browser derived from Firefox and later built over Chromium, with social functions, will no longer be maintained, that is what announces Flock.com site, which asks users to switch to Firefox or Chrome.
The project was acquired by Zynga, a game publisher, and the flock team moved to the game development.
April 13, 2011.

Firefox 5

Mozilla has released the new features offered by Firefox to be 5 in June or July this year. Home button disappears, it is replaced by a permanent tab.
A PDF reader is built, other formats are contemplated.
A manager of identity for each site allowing self-registration when visiting. Downloads will have a progress bar.
April 4, 2011.

Firefox 4 final available

You can follow the number of downloads in real time on glow.mozilla.org. It has been downloaded 6 million the first day, against 8 million for Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 9 to three million.
March 22, 2011.

EXI, a fast XML format

Efficient XML Interchange is a information representation format compatible with XML, compact and fast, whose purpose is to enable data exchange between different applications.
It comprises a single compression format for transferring files.
EXI has long been on the market and became a W3C standard since January.
Specification.
Code examples.
March 10, 2011.

HTML 5 for all March 15, 2011

Microsoft announced the availability of Internet Explorer 9 on that date and therefore, since it supports the HTML 5 standard as other browsers, it also becomes available for IE users, the majority, once they have updated their browser.
IE9 supports most of HTML 5, including Canvas along with SVG and CSS 3. More and more sites are turning to these technologies while remaining functional for older version of IE, but with a more rustic look or reduced features.
About Firefox, the release candidate of version 4 is also available today and the final version should be downloadable this month.
March 9, 2011. Updated March 15.

Web App: Universal store

Alternative to the AppStore where Apple only offers software for iPhone, as well as MacStore and other similar online stores, the Mozilla Web App hosts HTML 5 applications for all platforms.
For its part, Microsoft is launching the HTML 5 contest, while Disney has bought Rocket Pack, a HTML 5 framework, all that leave to predict a future of software in HTML 5, CSS, JavaScript and other technologies such as WebGL and Native Client .
March 4, 2011.

HTML 5 finalized in 2011

W3C issue a last call for comment in May 2011 on the HTML 5 specification. Then the format will be frozen and no changes can be made before a new version number.
The official recommendation is scheduled for 2014.
For its part, the WHATWG will continue to evolve HTML without giving any version number.
February 15, 2011.

Accelerated development of Firefox: version 7 this year!

It took more than a year to go from version 3 to version 4, but Mozilla wants to speed things up and move in 2011 from version 4 to version 7 after reorganization of its resources.
Version 5 should speed up responsiveness, have an animated interface, an account manager.
Version 6 will be even faster, be designed for Web applications (which will compete with Chromeless).
What does this version 7 is not yet well defined.
February 7, 2011.

Mozilla drops Prism

Prism is a light version of the browser that loads when you click on the icon of a web application on the desktop and allows you to run this application locally.
After changing its name (it was originally called WebRunner) it changes the design: it is replaced by Chromeless. In 2010, Mozilla launched the Chromeless, a framework of Web browsing has become popular. Chromeless uses HTML 5 for the interface and the backend for XULRunner. It allows local applications running as web applications and therefore interact with a remote server.
We already wondered in 2008 whether it was better to use Prism or Google Chrome browser. Mozilla has responded with its simplified version of browser.
February 4, 2011.

There will be no HTML 6

The author of the HTML 5 specification, Ian Hickson, who works for Google and the W3C wants to build in the form which existed in the background, for the development of HTML 5 specification: it is not really a draft for a which will become recommendation one day.
It is an evolving standard, new functions are continually being added which does not prevent the implementation of the current functions in browsers.
Based on this observation, we should not talk about HTML 5, but HTML itself. But that does not empeach there is a difference with HTML 4 and doctypes to specify the format of the pages designed in HTML 4.
Moreover, the W3C recently released a HTML 5 logo that denotes a difference of opinion with the WHATWG.
The only practical effect is that there will be no recommendation of HTML 5 and no HTML 6 ever.
January 21, 2011.