You may have heard some of the reports on Apple’s new iPad and how it won’t play movies in Flash format. Most of us are familiar with the Flash plugin installed in our browser so we can view videos from YouTube, Vimeo and other movie sites. You may not be aware that Flash is used to display all kinds of interactive information on various web platforms. Unfortunately, Flash also has some issues and they are the reason it isn’t available for the iPad.
Apple can get away with this because there is an alternative – HTML5. HTML is the language used to present content on web pages and HTML5 is the latest version of that language. Version 5 takes advantage of today’s technology to provide new functionality in web content. Most discussed is the ability to show movies without jumping through all kinds of hoops (and plugins) to include them on pages and blog posts, but there are many other features that will make the web even more enjoyable. My favorite is the ability to use more font styles in our web content. Up until now, web designers could only use a small list of standard fonts that we knew were installed on most all computers. For a font junkie like me, that’s awfully confining. If I wanted to include something using the Joe Hand 2 font, I would have to create a graphic of that text in that font and display it as a graphic. Yes, it looks nice, but it has limited functionality. With HTML5, all I need to do is make the font file available and then link to it in my style sheet. Now, when I want to use that font on my page, all I need to do is “style” it. The text below was styled using Joe Hand 2. You should see a “hand-written” line of text.
Testing a handwriting font.
Unfortunately, not everyone will see this font. The problem isn’t my web site – it’s your browser. Are you using the most up-to-date version of your browser? If not, your browser doesn’t recognize these new web design features and can’t display them. You need to update – now! Embedded fonts is one very fun reason to upgrade, but it’s not the only one. There are many more HTML5 capabilities available to web developers which you’ll be missing if you don’t upgrade. And – the most important reason – you’ll insure your system is protected by using a browser that includes the latest security updates. A list of the latest and greatest browsers is below with update information. Updates are free and only take a couple of minutes to install. You’ll soon be enjoying a whole new web experience thanks to your efforts.
HTML5 is a new standard and not all of its capabilities are fully functional in all browsers. Each new browser update will provide additional support so make it a habit to keep your browser updated.
Current browsers:
- Firefox [Choose Help > Check for Updates from the menu bar.]
- Google Chrome (Windows) [Choose Tools > About Chrome menu bar. If there's an update, you'll see an Update button.]
- Safari(Mac and Windows) [Use Apple's Software Update app to keep Safari, iTunes and Quicktime current.] Note that Safari on the iPad and iPhone has limited support for HTML5.
- Internet Explorer (Windows) [Can be downloaded from the Microsoft site or updated via Windows automated update system.] Note that IE8 has limited support for HTML5.
One of the many advantages of an online platform for maintaining your personal archive is changes in technology. It is in the online service’s best interests to insure their catalog is updated as new technology is implemented. As a result, your content is updated for you. 
