HTML

The dividing line between writing books and writing programs just got a big step blurrier.

That's because Amazon has now released tools for creating books using Web technologies. Those tools include Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), used to describe Web pages, and Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), used for formatting.

"Through the use of HTML5 and CSS3, KF8 allows publishers to create great-looking books in all categories, particularly those that require rich formatting and design, such as technical & engineering books and cookbooks," Amazon announced. Other features are well suited to graphic novels, comics, and kids' books, Amazon said. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--The final Microsoft keynote at CES features a choir that belted out soulful tweets, a veritable hugfest on-stage, and Ryan Seacrest palling around with Steve Ballmer in front of several thousand people. And crammed onto the end of the Windows 8 announcements in the middle of the event, Microsoft's chief marketing officer for Windows Tami Reller took a moment to play a quick round of Cut the Rope in Internet Explorer.

While Google has been getting the lion's share of press for porting popular mobile game apps to HTML5, most notably with Angry Birds, they're not … Read more

LAS VEGAS--It's the classic show formula: put your product in the hands of an attractive model and people will look twice. In the case of QNX's new mobile app platform, the attractive model is the Porsche Carrera sports car.

As the cars of tomorrow gain Internet connections and applications, they'll need infotainment software that allows them to be as flexible and easily updated as your average smartphone. RIM subsidiary QNX Software Systems Limited thinks that the solution to that problem lies in the HTML5 framework and is showcasing its new HTML5-based QNX CAR 2 application platform at … Read more

Google has hidden a special holiday "Easter Egg" that turns your screen into a winter wonderland.

Simply search for "let it snow" on Google and prepare yourself for an HTML5 blizzard--actually, it's more like a few flurries. The cool part comes after a few seconds, when your screen "frosts over" and your cursor can be used to trace messages or doodles like a finger against a window on a chilly day.

It might not quite have the wow factor of Google's famous "barrel roll" bonus, but it's bound to … Read more

TeleNav's latest trick combines the functionality of navigation apps with the ubiquity of browser-based maps.

Of course, getting turn-by-turn directions on your phone is nothing new--just look at the Google Maps app--but it requires launching a discrete navigation app. Likewise, browser-based maps services are nothing new either--just look at the Google Maps Web page in your phone's browser--but usually they're static, lacking motion and live updates for location and directions. TeleNav announced today that it's blending these two technologies and delivering the first browser-based map service to also give turn-by-turn GPS navigation.

The HTML5-based service comes … Read more

HTML5-compatible mobile phones will reach sales of 1 billion in 2013, up from just 336 million this year, says research firm Strategy Analytics.

That 1 billion number refers specifically to phones whose mobile browsers fully or at least partially support HTML5, such as the iPhone 4S and Android phones. And it includes some feature phones as well as smartphones.

"We expect almost all smartphones to support HTML5 by 2013 and this makes up the largest chunk of the 1 billion total," Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Mawston told CNET yesterday. "Android, iOS, and other smartphone OSes already support … Read more

Microsoft released its fourth "platform preview" of Internet Explorer 10 today, adding a collection of new features to what's shaping up to be a surprisingly feisty browser.

The new version supports a number of new features detailed in a blog post by Rob Mauceri, program manager of the IE group. Among the features are support for JavaScript typed arrays, which lets Web apps handle raw data such as files better, and HTML5 video features such as the ability to link to a specific time in a video and to add captions.

"These foundational capabilities are what … Read more

Did Apple kick the ball into its own goal with its campaign against Flash?

By forcing Web developers, and ultimately Adobe, out of the Flash business, Apple made HTML5 apps better. That's good for Safari users, but it's also good for users on other Web platforms, like Android. If there's a truly good universal platform for online apps, it stands to reason that the smart developer will build apps for it, since this way the app will be available to the largest number of users. Right?

Furthermore, now that Adobe has HTML5 religion, the company is releasing … Read more

Google has released a plug-in that lets Flash Pro users convert Flash's SWF files into HTML code directly from the Adobe Systems developer tool.

The plug-in links to the Swiffy service Google operates to convert Flash to Web standards including HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). Those Web standards let people see the content in a browser without relying on Adobe's Flash Player plug-in.

"The extension enables you to convert your animation to HTML5 with one click," said Esteban de la Canal, a Google programmer, in a blog post … Read more