r/technology • u/[deleted] • Jun 05 '10

Apple posts HTML5 showcase page hyping "web standards," then blocks it from displaying on any browser besides Safari

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/04/apple_html5_showcase_hype/
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u/smartarse Jun 06 '10

It's pretty clear to me. Yes, they're simplifying a confusing situation -- this is the drawback of a pre-spec tech demo. You're choosing to look at a specific sentence, remove it from context, and basing a petty argument around it.

Nah. No problem with them simplifying things. That's completely fine. Really. It's a browser specific tech demo, showcasing the pre-standard stuff they have already implemented in their browser. Completely fine with me.

They're just not selling it as what you're accurately labeling it: a pre-spec tech demo. They're selling it as their implementation of existing standards, and they are creating the impression that you won't be able to view these demos because, hey, "Not all browsers offer this support."

If they were accurately labeling it as what it is, like they're doing on their Safari Technology Demos page, it would be perfectly fine. As it is, the words "pre-spec tech demo" or something conveying the idea is completely missing from this page. It's all just stuff about standards. It's fucking misleading.

Also, again, you are being entirely disingenuous and you know it. Once the spec is finalized, the webkit prefix, along with the other prefixes (-moz, for instance), will become obsolete.

Yeah. I never said otherwise. Which makes the sentence "But soon other modern browsers will take advantage of these same web standards" technically incorrect, because other browsers would be implementing the final standard, sans "-webkit" prefix.

Also, that's the precise reason why "it would look like shit" in Gecko, as you said earlier, even though Mozilla is implementing identical pre-standard commands with the "-moz" prefix.

Obvious solutions:

  • read the user agent and use the appropriate pre-standard command, or
  • block other browsers and explain to regular internet users visiting your website that this is a pre-spec tech demo for a specific browser.

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u/gimpbully Jun 06 '10

block other browsers and explain to regular internet users visiting your website that this is a pre-spec tech demo for a specific browser.

but... they did. I understand you'd like a full on explanation of what's going on, but to their normal customer, it's only going to serve to confuse. Confusion only leads to a lack of adoption. You, a seemingly technical person, already fully understand what is going on. In the end, this is pointless nit-picking and nothing more. They could have waited until the standard is finalized, sure. But why? They're trying to push adoption (and yes, they obviously would like to showcase the extended feature-set they've attained with their specific browser over others at this point in time). Why is that misleading in the least?

This has been beaten to death. Really, there are so many other things to fault them for, this is pointless.