????過去一年半， HTML5突然迅速被廣泛采用。這或許是因為蘋果（Apple）和微軟（Microsoft）兩大技術巨頭異口同聲地稱其為網絡的未來；或許是因為谷歌（Google）在去年12月推出了專注于HTML5的Chrome 網絡商店（Chrome Web Store）；又或許是因為支持HTML5的iPad大賣特賣。總之，不管什么原因，近來亞馬遜（Amazon）、在線存儲服務Box.net和商務社交網站LinkedIn發布的一系列面向消費者的網絡應用證實，HTML5這門被大肆宣傳的語言已經獲得企業的垂青。

????HTML5是網頁基礎標記語言HTML的最新版。但它遠不僅代表了這種一般的、緩慢發展的技術標準。HTML5還是一系列特點和功能的簡稱，這些特點和功能旨在使網站表現得更像傳統的桌面應用，融入視頻、復雜的互動和數據，并使其更兼容智能手機和平板電腦等新設備。HTML5自21世紀初期以來不斷發展，去年4月份迅速成為主流，當時蘋果首席執行官史蒂夫?喬布斯發布了一封公開信，嘲笑奧多比（Adobe）的Flash，并對HTML5大加推崇，稱之為網絡的未來。現在，為了削減同時為蘋果iOS和谷歌Android平臺開發的成本，并規避不同應用商店帶來的麻煩，許多公司正紛紛改用HTML5。

????確實，HTML5正迅速得到普及。視頻搜索引擎MeFeedia近來的一份調查顯示，現在至少有69%的網絡視頻可通過HTML5進行播放。而去年12月這一比例為54%。而在2010年1月，即iPad流行前數月，該比例僅為10%。曾在蘋果工作過3年的創意設計和網絡顧問法魯克?阿提斯表示：“開發人員越來越善于支持HTML5所有更關鍵的特點，因此我們看到越來越多的發行商正在利用網絡技術打造自己想要的真實體驗。”

????幾周前，亞馬遜發布的云閱讀（Cloud Reader）引起市場轟動。雖然其用戶界面非常精美并支持離線閱讀，但仍有不少缺點，例如僅支持數款瀏覽器，而且缺乏很多在Kindle電子書用戶看來理所應當具備的功能，如文本高亮、注釋、全屏閱讀等。不過這并不能阻止用戶去嘗試這款新應用。雖然亞馬遜并未透露相關數據，但一位發言人在接受《財富》雜志（Fortune）采訪時稱，云閱讀是迄今為止在發布首周表現最好的Kindle應用程序。亞馬遜稱將在未來的升級中提供目前缺失的功能。?

????Something in the last 18 months kicked the HTML5 adoption machine into overdrive. Maybe it was tech giants Apple and Microsoft joining hands and dubbing it the future of the web. Maybe it was Google's launch of the Chrome Web Store, with its focus on HTML5, last December. Maybe it was the HTML5-friendly iPad's meteoric sales. Whatever it was, a recent wave of consumer-facing web apps from Amazon, Box.net and LinkedIn confirm that this much-hyped language has business' blessing.

????HTML5 is the latest version of the Web's bedrock markup language, HTML. But it has come to stand for much more than the average, slow-gestating technical standard. HTML5 is also shorthand for a set of features and capabilities intended to make web sites behave more like conventional desktop applications, incorporating video, complex interactions and data as well as greater compatibility with new devices like smartphones and tablets. In development since the early-2000s, HTML5 was rocketed into the mainstream in April last year when Apple (AAPL) boss Steve Jobs issued a public missive deriding Adobe's (ADBE) Flash and anointing HTML5 as the web's future. Now, companies are turning to it to cut down on costs that can soar when developing simultaneously for Apple's iOS and Google's (GOOG) Android as well as to circumvent the headaches of varying app stores.

????Indeed, adoption has soared. A recent survey from video search engine MeFeedia showed that at least 69% of web video is now available for playback via HTML5. Last December, that number was 54%; in January 2010, months before the iPad became a hit, it was 10%. "Developers out there are getting better at supporting all of HTML5's more critical features, which is why we're seeing more publishers building the actual experiences they want using web technologies," says Faruk Ates, a creative design and web consultant who worked at Apple for three years.

????Amazon's (AMZN) Cloud Reader made waves when it was announced a few weeks ago. While it has a polished user interface and offline reading capability, it's still rough around the edges with limited web browser support and a lack of notable features Kindle e-reader users already take for granted, including text highlighting, notes and full-screen reading. Still, that hasn't stopped user from kicking the tires. Amazon would not disclose numbers, but a spokesperson told Fortune that its Cloud Reader had the best first week of any Kindle app to date. The company says missing features will be folded into future updates.??