Trust Me, It’ll Be Better

December 11th, 2009 | by LaSean Smith

Early this month Google decided to sunset Google Gears. The reason? They are embracing HTML5 as the enabler for offline browser storage. Fine. Others, including Firefox, Apple, Opera, and Microsoft will impact the final HTML5 spec. But it’s not here yet. I like the promise. But the comment hyperbole should settle down. Comparing a future product with something that is shipping is just silly. I’ve read comments like, “Let’s just use the HTML5 embed tag instead of Flash or Silverlight”. Do you think Hulu is going to put an unprotected H.264 stream on their site? Is the H.264 the right codec? What streaming protocols are supported across browsers? These things need to get sorted out. And we’re not there yet.

There’s a bigger issue though. People are placing unrealistic expectations around HTML5 and that’s not good for anyone who wants to improve web standards. Unfortunately, the hype train around HTML5 is almost certain to disappoint.

As far as technology goes, many the things that are unexpected tend to surprise us in a good way. Products and technologies that are hyped usually (not always) let us down. There is a lot we as an industry can do to advance the web. It’s tricky when you’re number one (i.e. IE; had to type that). As a result, you take a lot of shots. But it doesn’t matter what your current browser of choice might be. If you think HTML5 is going to fix all of your problems you’re going to be let down. It’s like the summer blockbuster that’s just not as good as the trailer. It’s easy to claim that the undefined is better. The future is hopefully a better place. It’s the timing that we don’t always get right. My advice? Build for today’s web and participate to shape the future.