Browser Wars 2010

Community
1

Reading the news today, I saw this:

Apple showcasing some HTML5 features (although it’s more of a CSS3 demo *)

IE9 apparently failing to implement any of the fundamentals to enable the former

As an avid conspiracy theorist, I wonder if MS are trying to shackle Apple’s forays into “web standards” (maybe because of Mr.Jobs talking about “the end of the PC”, and being superceded by Apple commercially).

With Apple ditching Flash, and therefore becoming reliant on HTML5, if IE9 has a significant user base then as developers we may not implement some of the features that Apple is pinning it’s future tech on. As with CSS2,much of it goes unused in many sites simply to accommodate our old friend IE6. So, is MS setting the lowest common denominator again in response to assaults from Google and Apple?

With the advent of “the cloud” and the prospect of browser based apps, has the browser become a pivotal battlefield once more?
As developers, what are your opinions of this state of affairs?

2

all i need is “view selection source”, then i don’t really care that much…some of these improvements look like they will bloat the browsers.

3

Yes… just a shame Apple’s HTML5 “demonstration” is a fake, it’s constructed using proprietary elements that don’t gracefully degrade, rely heavily on scripting and won’t work cross browser. There’s no new browser war going on except that Microsoft are focusing on adopting actual standards (rather than proprietary extensions) and Apple are avoiding doing any real work on Safari by plugging it up with proprietary fixtures which aren’t even proper CSS3 or HTML5, let alone current standards.

Essentially… Apple are blowing smoke up everyone’s butt, their browser (Safari) is more bloated, less current and less standards savvy than it’s direct rival (Google Chrome) and even Microsoft are getting their act in gear. If you want a standards browser… Use Opera, Chrome or Firefox… Safari is a crock and IE9 isn’t final. :slight_smile: