A smooth evolution is undergoing on the Web and we had the chance to talk with the people leading it. Notably Philippe Le Hégaret, director of field interaction at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) – the organization responsible for developing Web standards – which has detailed for us the challenges of transition to HTML 5, the study has already three years at the W3C.

HTML 5 is just the tree hiding the forest. For behind this symbol, which identifies a new markup language for Web pages, hiding a host of other technologies with names sometimes more difficult to grasp the simple guy, like CSS 4 WebGL, Indexed Database or File API. Even if they are still obscure, some of these tech probably radically change the way people use the Web, whether on computer or mobile phone.

To show you what HTML 5 will concretely in the future, 01net. invites you to show the applications of tomorrow in Web images, with links to demos very telling. Attention all the same, most companies is demanding and sometimes different browsers!

Providing the most famous of HTML 5 is undoubtedly his new video tag, which allows already to browsers to broadcast clips without using a plug-in . Touted by Steve Jobs at the expense of the Flash, this tag will allow including iPhone and iPad to play video content without the famous plugin from Adobe. But combined with other technologies in development, it also opens the door to new uses. Like adding fun effects, rotation or text overlay. Example with this demo on their website. (Opera is required to view.)

Another aspect of HTML 5, the evolution of the CSS standard, which offers unprecedented flexibility for developers. It is notably already used on several mobile browsers like the iPhone or the Android to make them more readable and attractive Web pages, however, not designed for small screens and low resolution. With this technology, it is also possible to resize on the fly a browser window, as shown in this demo of Mozilla (to be tested with Firefox).

CSS 3 also show nice animations in web pages and could mediocrity tomorrow vertical layout that exists today on the Web. To convince you, try this demonstration Web page ” cubic ” and animated achieved with this new technology. A demo chipée on this page, where other animations bluffing you expect (the use of a browser using the webkit rendering engine – Chome and Safari in particular – is recommended).

Using technology companions of HTML 5, all under development, the browser will first be able to run web applications as quickly as native applications. This demonstration of Mozilla Labs is interesting in this respect. Once loaded in your browser, this little editing tool works without network access, very very quickly, especially for editing in the blink of an eye image. It also enables drag and drop files from the desktop to the Web and within the same page.

A few days ago, two Google engineers have brought the old FPS Quake 2 in HTML 5 . If the game has aged graphically, this experience will prefigures the future standards of the Web in 3D: To enter a virtual world, you simply type a URL! This demo is made possible by WebGL , a standard that allows you to enjoy in the browser’s performance graphics card.

The Web apps on mobile phones, it already exists … but users prefer their applications that adorn the shops mobile application from Apple or Google. That could change eventually with HTML 5. Currently, Web apps (like Gmail Mobile, for example) are not able to access phone functions – except for Android 2.1, the location.
W3C therefore works to create APIs (the programs that interface with other programs) to allow your browser to use advanced mobile services: for example it could access your contacts or SMS, or even your camera. All without a native application. Do not worry, the W3C is also working on data security that you share with application developers.