Blog you can’t dance to this...but you can try!

Depending on where you get your tech news, it's the web's shining knight in armor or Apple's opening salvo in the quest for worldwide domination. But, what exactly is HTML5? And what has it done for you lately?

HTML5 is simply the 5th version of HTML, the markup language used by web developers to tell web browsers how to arrange basic items such as images and text on a web page.

Technically speaking, HTML5 doesn't make animation, drop shadows, creative type or any of that jazz. Most of that eye-popping functionality comes from CSS3 and JavaScript. However, the latest version of HTML includes some excellent features that streamline development and deliver a better experience to users:

# Semantic Markup

HTML5 introduces new tags like <section>, <article>, <header>, and <footer>. While these tags function exactly the same as <divs>, they have enhanced semantic meaning, making websites more accessible to users with disabilities and open to content-aggregating applications.

# Geolocation

With permission, web browsers can send the physical location of your computer to a website you visit. This simplifies the development of sites that want to deliver location-based content and services.

# Local Storage

For a long time, developers have been able to store a small amount of user data in web cookies. HTML5 increases the amount of storage to up to 5MB per website – a much more workable amount. The data can pretty much exist for as long as necessary. Not to mention local storage can decrease the amount of communication needed with a server, so web applications can move faster.

# Audio / Video

It's not quite finished – there's still some squabbles over the exact details – but, this is a big one. HTML5 enables audio and video files to be embedded directly into web pages, no Flash players required.

This saves huge amounts of time for developers (not having to write a Flash player) and users (not having to wait for a Flash player to load). It also makes it much simpler to show videos on mobile devices that don't support Flash (see: the world-dominating iOS).

Finished or not, this HTML5 feature is helping to hasten the end of Flash and is catching on as a sensible, sturdy alternative for developing and delivering rich media content.

# Canvas

Canvas helps developers build a interface where users can draw graphics dynamically on a web page. This gives web developers the power to develop, among other things, web-based design tools and interactive games. The canvas API allows for keyboard and mouse interaction, motion, and 3D rendering – all while consuming less computer resources and less bandwidth than the same experience created with Flash.

Of course, all of this goodness still faces a high hurdle: widespread implementation.

In order for HTML5 to make a big difference, the major browsers must add support for all the new features (this is happening slowly), web users need to actually install the browsers that support HTML5 (this is happening even slower), and web developers have to redevelop their sites to take advantage of HTML5 (calm down, we're working on it).

Like Avatar, ESPN and (hold your nose) Comcast, it appears Adobe is gearing up to give Flash a third dimension. The full details of a 3D API are apparently coming at this year's MAX.

Reading between the lines, it seems Adobe is preparing to give interactive developers a boost and skim some of the excitement off HTML5 experimentation as well.

Of course you're probably wondering what we're wondering... why don't they make Flash work faster and more reliably in 2D first?

A little while ago our friends at Eggmen sent over a fresh Illustrator design and asked if we could help bring it to life. We told them sure, but only if they promised to answer life's most pressing philosophical question: the chicken or the egg.

So, fueled by anticipation, we coded their design and developed a custom web video player and playlist to showcase their fantastic original music and sound design work.

And this week, well, we hatched their new website (and got our answer).

oh, hello!

We build dynamic websites that dominate search engines, leverage social media, and increase sales.