Yeah but that's neither here nor there. HTML5 will be used quite a bit before it becomes official, it already has. So really the official nod just doesn't mean much. IE is the (really) long pole here.
I get that, but the trouble is that it sounds very much like the stance Microsoft has taken, which is that since they have 90% (or whatever) share of the market, they are the de facto standard so others should get in line with what they do.
And the counter argument had been, no, browsers need to follow formally recognized standard, specifically what the W3C endorses. What's funny is ti see that toss aside now that it has become practical to ignore the W3C.
I expect HTML5 to become a W3C rec at some point, and Microsoft to follow along, but it still seems hollow for people to complain that Microsoft is not be so anxious to jump on an HTML5 implementation.
Oh sure, technically Microsoft isn't doing anything wrong. So we technically can't hold it against them. But the reality is they are holding back progress on HTML5, and it's no coincidence that that just happens to benefit them.
But, they may need to change their tune sooner than they'd like. Their marketshare is actually down to about 65%, and Firefox and Chrome gain new marketshare every day. HTML5 is very much in Google's interest, and they have the resources to influence things in that direction. I think the Chrome tv ads are just the beginning here.
Do you not think that IE will support HTML5 by the time the W3C makes it a proper Recommendation?
Microsoft seems to have picked up again on supporting such things, so it may happen, given how long it may be before HTML5 gets the W3C nod.