Adobe Flash is the reason why Metacafe, YouTube, and various video file-sharing sites work. The millions of disseminated videos available on the Internet owe it to the technology of Flash. As it is, however, as an Adobe product, the technology is proprietary and accompanied by fees, licenses, and patents.
Trends dictate that open-source software and technologies (like Mysql and Php) help run the Web. Nevertheless, for proprietary software like Adobe Flash, there was no substitute until the advent of Microsoft Silverlight, which has yet to achieve its predecessor’s status.
The MP3 file format overshadowed OGG Vorbis, although the latter has been present for some time. The open-source nature of OGG has made it accessible to developers who are working on the technology and improving it as an audio and video format. An impediment to the evolution of OGG was its inability to carry H.264 compression. This type of video compression aids in reducing file size for easy Internet upload, hence the OGG format was pushed aside as an Internet standard.
Recent Developments with OGG
Google, a staunch advocate of open-source technologies, has disclosed its scheme to incorporate OGG into its browser, Google Chrome. In addition, developers are working with OGG in the hopes that plug-ins will be unnecessary for its file format to work. Due to this, developers may embed OGG-powered videos into websites as they would set links and images.
Firefox 3.5, the latest Apple Safari, and Opera versions support OGG. As Google owns YouTube, the format may turn from Flash to OGG, with the necessary modifications and requirements. These events may foretell that more videos, if not most, will eventually run with OGG technology.
Other Developments
The rule of Adobe Flash may also be at stake due to another upcoming technology. Google Engineering Vice President Vic Gundotra focused on the promotion of HTML5, the newest version of the technology which is the Web’s backbone.
Still in the early stages, HTML5 is currently an emergent technology. Experimental demonstrations of HTML5, as well as its integration as the force behind cutting-edge Internet applications, show its leap from the drawing board into potential everyday use.
The exhibition of videos in what looked like a YouTube page model (without the use of Adobe Flash) was part of promotions for the budding language. The video playback was solely executed with HTML5.
Gundotra also likened the HTML5 video tag to a basic image tag, in terms of ease of use and additional control.
