A Blog From Behind the Trenches

Remember that cool preview of WebGL demo that Opera made for the GDC?

The demo is being made by Opera Core developer Erik Möller. He has 15 years of experience in the gaming industry, and before he started at Opera, he created an indie game called Emberwind (trailer).

Since he's working for a browser company now, he decided to get a little more familiar with various web technologies. One of his first steps was to get some hands-on experience, so he decided to recreate the logo of his indie game company using SVG.

That apparently got him thinking... What could he do next?

Read more...

The WebM project announced today that WebM support will be available in IE9 without having to use a browser plugin. While it won't be supported by default, IE9 will support the codec as long as it's available as a Windows system codec.

And just to clarify: This means that this is not just another browser plugin like Flash, but rather allows IE9 to support WebM through the HTML5 <video> element.

The inevitable question here is how this is any better than using a browser plugin, and the answer is this avoids all the limitations of browser plugins. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities, since HTML5 video can be accessed and manipulated by the browser. A browser plugin, on the other hand, is basically a "black box" to the browser. It doesn't offer even a fraction of the flexibility you get with native HTML5 video (video support in the browser itself).

As I explained in a previous blog post on the subject, this will deal another blow to the closed H.264 codec on the desktop.

So for now, I think we can ignore the hilariously hypocritical quip about "ideology" in the Microsoft blog post, and congratulate them on doing the right thing instead!

There has been a lot of confusion around the W3C HTML5 Test Suite the last couple of days. It was widely reported that because IE9 seemed to pass most of the tests (many of which are made by Microsoft), it was the most HTML5 compliant browser (which is of course not true).

The HTML5 Test Suite Conformance Results page has now been updated to clarify the situation:

The HTML5 Test Suite Results aims to help implementers write applications that support HTML5. In no way are these conformance tests to be construed as providing certification or branding of HTML5 implementations. The only claim that could be made is that a particular implementation is conformant to a particular version of the HTML5 Test Suite.

It is inappropriate to cite those results as other than work in progress and unstable.

In other words: The results of these tests do not reflect the general HTML5 compliance. They only show which browsers pass those specific tests available at that specific time.

The page also explains that the Test Suite is under development. At the moment, there is a relatively small number of tests, but this will grow over time.

If you are confused about what HTML5 is and how it relates to other web technologies, Bruce Lawson has created a visual masterpiece of Michelangelian proportions to guide you.

Read more...

Background: Apple's new "HTML5 Showcase" is raising a few questions from Opera users (and others), so I thought I'd address them here.

Apple claim to promote HTML5 and an open Web, but the page uses browser sniffing to block other browsers, vendor prefixes for the CSS3 stuff they are using (even if other browsers support border-radius it won't work because it's coded using -webkit-border-radius), and the patent-encumbered H.264 for video.

In fact, it seems that the only things that are HTML5 on that page are HTML5 audio and video.

Read more...

Google is on a roll!

Just the other day they decided to throw some money at Theora, and now rumours have it that they are planning to open-source the VP8 codec!

People were wondering what the acquisition of On2 would lead to, and the FSF even asked Google to "free VP8". As you may know, On2 the maker of the VP2 codec, which Theora is based on. If VP8 ends up as open-source and not encumbered by patents thanks to Google, only good can come from that.

I really hope the rumours are true, because the Web needs all the help it can get when battling closed, patent-encumbered technologies like H.264. HTML5 video should be based on free and open technologies, at least as a common baseline.

Google really does know how to shake up existing markets, that's for sure.

Dear Microsoft:

I haven't exactly cut you a lot of slack in my blog through the years. I have repeatedly criticized you for the damage I feel that you have done to the Web. But while you have traditionally been known for closed and proprietary solutions, lately you have been speaking more and more frequently and vocally about the importance of interoperability on the Web.

And today you might just have a chance to make up for your past wrongs. You have a unique opportunity to show that you are serious about interoperability and open standards!

As you may know, there is a "war" being waged about video on the Web. Some are promoting the closed, patent-encumbered H.264 codec as the best codec for the Web, while others believe that the basic building blocks of the Web should be free and open, and therefore promote Ogg Theora as the "default" codec for HTML5 VIDEO.

Currently, HTML5-capable browsers with Theora support make up a much bigger share of the market than the browsers that support H.264, but that will change if you release Internet Explorer with support for H.264 rather than Theora.

If you were to support Theora as the video codec of choice in Internet Explorer, it would be a bombshell which would not only give a huge boost for open Web technologies, but you could be seen as a champion of open standards, and an open Web.

I know you are a patent licensor in the MPEG LA, and this would actually make your actions even more powerful and meaningful. You could show just how serious you are about interoperability on the Web by supporting the free and open codec rather than the one that would best suit your short-term interests.

This is a unique opportunity for you to win back the hearts and minds of people who might have otherwise dismissed you as carrying on with "business as usual".

Are you up for it?

-Haavard

Hot on the heels of YouTube's failure to deliver open video, it seems that Vimeo has decided to introduce HTML5 video support as well. But like YouTube, they decided to go for a patent-encumbered and non-free video codec instead of Theora.

While this is disappointing, there are other sites out there that are more than happy to lead the way into an open future. They may not be as big as YouTube, but one can hope that their early adoption of open video technologies will give them a nice boost.

Read more...

YouTube is doing some "spring cleaning", and is looking for people's feedback on what to fix.

It seems that "Support HTML5 open web video with open formats" is the highest ranked item so far. I'm really happy to see that. YouTube with HTML5 and Theora support could give open standards a huge boost!

If you would like open standards to prevail, let your voice be heard too.