I normally like someone to explain something to me like I’m 10 years old when I’m new to the thing or concept in question. The reason for this is that I find the details to get in the way when trying to understand the basics.

I decided to write a short article about HTML5, and it’s place in the future, in the way I would have liked it to be explained to me right i the beginning. This is a broad overview and if you don’t agree with anything, please leave a comment.

Even though the specification for HTML5 is expected to reach the candidate recommendation stage in 2012 and only be finalized by 2022, we can already start to see some of the advantage of the new standard in modern web browsers like Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari, Firefox and Even Internet Explorer 9.

One of the things that makes HTML5 so useful, and important, is that it will now allow us to do things that would previously require third-party plug-ins. Previously, if we wanted to include video on a site, we needed to use plug-ins like Adobe Flash or Apple QuickTime. If we wanted to use custom fonts on a website we had to use JavaScript libraries like Cufon or TypeSelect. HTML5, combined with CSS3, allows us to do all of these things without employing any additional libraries, and if we utilize WebGL in Canvas we can even do rich animations and 3D graphics.

Another benefit of HTML5 is that it can easily act as a replacement for light-weight native mobile apps. This will allow for the development of rich web applications and games that is accessible on IPhone, IPad, Android, Blackberry and any other mobile platform with a modern browser.

There is also a large push from the online developers’ community to get HTML5 widely used. One site is currently hosting a game coding competition with a strict set of guidelines which will ensure that your final product will be written in HTML5 and compatible with mobile as well as desktop computers. Another cool initiative was when Google’s Chrome team helped the band Arcade Fire to do a music video which was entirely powered by HTML5. I’m sure we will be seeing more of these initiatives in the future.