HTML5 is a W3C draft recommendation set to replace HTML 4.01.
HTML is the coding language used to create web pages.
It's called the hypertext markup language. (HyperText Markup Language)
It was developed by Tim Berners-Lee (and then the W3C) in the early 1990s.
Back when HTML originally came out, the average Internet user had a really, really slow connection. It was not very common to have music and videos on web sites, and very few people had heard of GPS yet. People logged onto the Internet to check their e-mail, hit a few web sites, then they logged off.
Things have changed, HTML5 enhances the current HTML technology, to offer several enhancements, including:
Yes, that's the goal.
Most tech companies are pushing HTML5. Microsoft, Google, Apple, they're all in. Browser maker Mozilla (the people behind Firefox) and the awesome people at Opera software (the makes of Opera and Opera Mobile) are also in.
Internet Explorer 8 doesn't yet support HTML5 features, but Internet Explorer 9 is expected to take a pretty good attempt at it. Most other web browsers have pretty good support so far!
Yes, but huge as in:
huge
<span style="font-size: xx-large;">huge</span>
Not:
<font size="+2">huge</font>
Remember, standards. Use HTML for the data, and CSS to style it.
(And yes, purists, I am well aware that we're keeping the CSS in a separate file. I was just using an example. Can't please everyone!)
Good, you've just joined thousands of people who are working hard to make a better, faster, more accessible Internet. With your help, we'll turn thousands and to millions. Start telling your friends. FTW!
Please remember that HTML5 is a draft and is not yet finalized. The information contained in any tutorials you read are subject to change at any time, and I personally recommend only launching a HTML5 after Internet Explore 9 is released.
Also, please note that since HTML5 is still in development, most sites expect you to have a working knowledge of older versions of HTML, a bit of CSS, and occasionally some JavaScript.
These two will show you some of the great potential of the interactive part of HTML5. These scripts use a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (no extra user-downloaded plug-ins).
