Advanced HTML5 technologies are great, but they're no use if browsers can't run them

Sep 12, 2011 21:31 GMT  ·  By
HTML5 is great, but browsers have to adopt the more advanced features before they are of any use to people
   HTML5 is great, but browsers have to adopt the more advanced features before they are of any use to people

Opera may not have much in terms of market share or recognition to the advances it has made for web standards, but it does have its fair share of loyal fans. And those fans love Opera not only for the product, the browser, but the unique culture the Norwegian company nurtures.

Opera has been known to put out quite a lot of funny videos in its time and it's doing it again with a good ol' fashioned hoedown video, filmed live at Opera headquarters.

Of course, hoedowns are not exactly old fashioned in Norway, but the team wanted to do something with a US flavor for their colleagues from across the ocean now working in Scandinavia.

The result is perky song with a healthy message, don't get too hyped up about the latest technologies if nobody is not going to be able to use them.

This comes from a company that has always been brave about adopting new technologies. But even so, Opera has always put standards first.

Here are the first couple of verses from the Web Standards Hoedown, you can check out the rest on Opera's Bruce Lawson's blog.

(n00b)

All this HTML5 makes me feel like I’m alive I can’t wait to use it, me oh my! I find it so uplifitin’ that with <canvas> and some scriptin’ I can build myself a whole UI.

(Old-timer)

Hold your horses, friend It’s just a means it’s not an end you can just use HTML and SVG! Use the shiny things now But you gotta learn just how to use them semantically.

The song is quite funny, but it has a message worth repeating. It's easy to get caught up with the latest technology and advances, especially if you're a developer always looking for something new. But it's important to make use of new technology in a way that ensures that all, or most, visitors to a site will be able to enjoy.