HTML5 Video Not Quite There Yet

A great article by Jeroen Wijering, creator of the JW Player: HTML5 Video Not Quite There Yet.

“The video tag is still in its infancy and misses certain core functionalities. As developers demand these features, browser vendors are tempted to implement incompatible solutions instead of agreeing upon standards.  These hasty developments, already underway, are setting HTML video up for the same chaos  as HTML styling in the pre-CSS era.”

 

Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack

Adobe announced the “Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 HTML5 Pack” at the Google I/O conference. It’s an extension to Adobe Dreamweaver CS5. From Adobe:

This extension enhances Dreamweaver CS5 in the following ways:

·         Introduces the Multiscreen Preview panel , allowing for Live View display on 3 different screen sizes, with Media Query support. (Window > Multiscreen Preview)

·         Adds code hinting for the HTML5 Tag Library with new tags, attributes, and properties.

·         Updates code hinting for new attributes and values in existing HTML tags.

·         Adds code hinting for the following CSS3 specifications: 2D/3D Transformations; Animations; Background and Border; Basic User Interface; Line Layout; Marquee; Media Queries; MultiColumn; Ruby; Text; and Transitions.

·         Updates Live View to support <video> and <audio>. (Requires Quicktime installation.)

·         Improved rendering for CSS3 in Live View.

·         Adds HTML5 starter layouts to the New Document Dialog box.

·         Offers better rendering for new tags in Design View.

Free Web Fonts and Free PSDs

Two different topics: free web fonts and free PSDs:

·         Google Web Fonts

“The Google Font Directory lets you browse all the fonts available via the Google Font API. All fonts in the directory are available for use on your website under an open source license and served by Google servers.”

·         365psd

“Kill your darlings.” Every designer knows what this means. You design something really beautiful, but it does not make it to the final design…but do not mourn, 365psd is a project to give these designs a second chance.”

 

5 Tools For Integrating HTML5 Video in Your Website

Mashable has a great list of the (current) 5 best tools for using HTML5 video and failing back to Flash. Their number one pick, would also be mine: I’ve always been a big fan of the JW Player.

Safari HTML5 Audio and Video Guide

Another useful resource for developing HTML5 Video.

Microsoft .toolbox

Microsoft has an interesting, “hip” e-learning site where you watch tutorials and earn badges (a la Four Square).

“Welcome to .toolbox, a fun online learning environment, where you will learn basic design concepts and how to apply them, as well as the fundamentals of creating Silverlight applications using the Expression Studio tools.”

http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox/

Scribd Moves to HTML5

Another interesting development in the rush to HTML5. Scribd, a massive document sharing site based on Flash is converting Scribd’s to HTML5 using Scalable Vector Graphics, Canvas, and Web fonts. From pcworld.com:

“Jared Friedman, cofounder and CTO of Scribd–the site that lets anyone upload almost any document and publish it to the Web–was among the last keynote speakers at the Web 2.0 Conference in San Francisco today. And he had big news (teased yesterday on TechCrunch): Scribd is dumping Flash and converting the millions of documents it hosts to HTML5.”

I thought Scribd’s document explaining their reasoning to move to HTML5 well done, actually…and easily digestible for a mass audience.

http://www.scribd.com/documents/30964170/Scribd-in-HTML5

Also, this comment from “EvilDave” on the pcworld.com article cracked me up:

“And even if HTML 5 'takes off' and gets widespread support, all of the most annoying ads and garbage that pollute web pages that are blamed on Flash now, will be made of HTML 5, except instead of being able to 'block' a plugin like Flash, the annoying, noise-making, dancing, flashing ad will be in thirty layers of CSS muck that no simple filter will be able to remove it from without breaking the site.”

 

Apple Developing a Flash Alternative

This isn’t a huge surprise—more standards-based solutions—but I hadn’t heard of “Gianduia” before. According to CNET News, “Gianduia is described as being "a client-side, standards-based framework for rich Internet apps."

Opera Joins the Argument Over Flash

An interesting development. Of course, Opera is not exactly a popular (statistically) browser…and they DID just put a version of their browser in the Apple App Store. From TechRadar:

“Opera has joined in the argument over Flash, with the company telling TechRadar that it will support Flash for the time being, but that Adobe needs to start embracing web standards if it doesn't want to come under constant attack.”

Free Printable Sketching, Wireframing and Note-Taking PDF Templates

I saw this nice collection of sketching, wireframing and note-taking PDF templates on the Smashing Magazine website and thought it might be a useful resource.