The Web is Moving Ahead – Open Web Platform year-end Highlights 2016

With its mission to Lead the Web to Its Full Potential, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has had another great year of activities across a broad spectrum of industries and technologies. “The ongoing enhancements in Web technology will affect everyone’s life in some way” said Jeff Jaffe, W3C CEO. “Some impact efficiency, such as the streamlining of the card-payment checkout process while others provide new experiences such as virtual reality on the Web.

Ever seen before? – Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is the next frontier for immersive entertainment experiences. At a recent W3C Workshop on Web & Virtual Reality, more than 70 organizations came together to demonstrate the benefits that the Web can bring to the VR ecosystem. Among the features workshop participants identified as being potential areas for standardization were, integration of existing Web content in VR experiences; improved support and optimized transmission of 360°videos and audio; turning Web pages into enjoyable VR spaces; and integrating the 3D building bricks of VR content into the fabric of the Open Web Platform. 

Read more in the W3C Web & Virtual Reality Workshop report, and watch the talks online.

Checkout! - Payments

Consumers will streamline their checkout with W3C Standards and early implementations of the Payment Request API and supporting specifications are beginning to appear. In addition, other communities within W3C are incubating ideas around interledger payments, verifiable credentials, digital offers, blockchain and the Web, hardware-based secure services, and paid content models. 

Learn about Payments at W3C.

Are you secured? – Web Authentication

There is a long-standing need to replace the username and password approach to security. The W3C Web Authentication work aims to improve security against phishing and interception attacks by delivering a standard Web API for strong cryptographic authentication. This work started from a Submission of FIDO 2.0 from W3C Members who are also participants in the FIDO Alliance. This group is moving ahead, in fact they anticipate reaching Candidate Recommendation in early 2017.

Learn about Security at W3C.

Smooth HTML5-Based Video Playback – Media Source Extensions

On 17 November 2016, the HTML Media Extensions Working Group published a W3C Recommendation of Media Source Extensions™. Media Source Extensions fulfills a vital part of putting video on the Web; the API is the best option to guarantee a smooth user experience of media playback.

Media Source Extensions is not only about facilitating adaptive streaming on the Web. Thanks to its design – based on a “low-level splicing and buffering model” – the door is open to other use-cases: time-shifting and video editing, and more innovative solutions such as 360° video players.

Flexible and powerful, Media Source Extensions is implemented by all major browsers and provides commercial quality IP streaming for Web applications, across different platforms and between unrelated companies. It is under the hood of today’s main video platforms and content providers such as Netflix and Youtube, and is supported by main video players like JW Player.

Get the big picture of what’s happening at W3C for the Entertainment Industry.

Web + Car = W3C Automotive

The W3C Web and Automotive activities include a standards-track Working Group writing the technical specifications and a Web and Automotive Business Group that identifies use cases and requirements for potential new standards work for vehicles.

Cost reductions, productivity gains and greater interoperability are among the key business drivers for the Auto industry’s increased interest in developing and implementing W3C standards based on HTML5 and the Open Web Platform. W3C is currently working on Vehicle Signal API, Media Tuner API, IVI Navigation for Location Based Services (LBS). Additionally, W3C has a Privacy and Security Task Force to produce guidelines and improve standards to protect connected vehicles.

W3C has enhanced its collaborations with Auto industry associations such as the OMA and the GENIVI Alliance. “GENIVI’s standardization work on location based services APIs and normalizing vehicle signal data for Web applications has been significantly improved through GENIVI’s collaboration with W3C,” said Steve Crumb, GENIVI Alliance Executive Director. “As a result, the automotive industry will enjoy increased opportunities for innovation and simplified software development for connected car solutions.

See what’s driving W3C’s Automotive work.

Core of all things - HTML5.1

The basis of W3C’s work is the Open Web Platform that features HTML5.1 as the cornerstone. The WebPlatform Working Group, the W3C Membership, and Director Tim Berners-Lee agreed that HTML 5.1 is better than HTML 5. HTML 5.1 was published as a Recommendation on 1 November 2016. It was merely days after the second anniversary of the advent of the 5th major version of the core language of the World Wide Web, showing new-found agility in advancing the specification.

These are the significant changes that make this dot release important for the evolution of the Web:

We encourage the community at large to experience with this new way for event-driven background processing for progressive web apps.

Happy 20th birthday CSS!

W3C published level 1 of the CSS standard on 17 December 1996. In 2016, CSS is 20 years young and more important than ever. Read about its history on the anniversary page, which content and style will evolve over the course of next year, until we freeze it at the end of the anniversary year, on 17 December 2017.

Join us at CES2017

Members of the W3C Team will be at CES 2017 on 5-8 January 2017 in Las Vegas, to have meetings with our Members, move discussions ahead with key prospective Members and start engaging with new organizations. W3C will have Technical Staff that focuses on Automotive, Entertainment, VR & 3D, WoT/IoT and Security available for these meetings. If you would like to meet with us please send a note to Alan Bird, Business Development Lead. 

About W3C

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is an international standards organization where Member organizations, a full-time staff, and the public develop the technical standards and guidelines for the Web. W3C was founded in 1994 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, and Director of the W3C. Dr. Jeff Jaffe is the CEO of the W3C. Together they guide the W3C in its mission “to lead the Web to its full potential.”

For more than 20 years, W3C has developed new standards so that the Web works on different devices, in different languages, for people of all abilities, and will meet the needs of diverse industries.

W3C is jointly run by the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (MIT CSAIL) in the United States, the European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics (ERCIM) headquartered in France, Keio University in Japan and Beihang University in China. W3C has Offices in Australia; the Benelux countries; Brazil; Finland; France; Germany and Austria; Greece; Hungary; India; Korea; Morocco; Russia; Southern Africa; Spain; Sweden; the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Media Contact

Karen Myers, W3C <w3t-pr@w3.org>
Mobile: 1.978.502.6218

Testimonials from W3C members

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AKN INC.

Based in US, Hong Kong and South Korea, AKN INC. is a global Startup that provides WebRTC communication platform. AKN understands user’s context and aims at offering them the best tool for their needs. AKN is dedicated to contribute and support the communication area in W3C. W3C is leading edge-technology standard, and we are very pleased to be one of the members.

HyukHoon SHIM, CEO

CTIC

CTIC is currently testing an innovative solution to fight against odometer fraud that is based on distributed ledger technologies (a.k.a. blockchain). So far we have developed an early prototype proving that the concept actually works, and we are enhancing its functionalities while seeking collaboration with stakeholders such as automobile and consumer associations. Web standards are crucial in order to develop these kind of solutions that will change transport and road-safety strategies around the world. It may help avoid fraud and build trust in the process of vehicle data sharing among individuals, businesses and public bodies.

Pablo Coca, W3C Advisory Committee Representative

Inswave Systems Co., Ltd

As an industry insider, I see HTML5 becoming more widespread. Our clients were mostly from finance and banking, but now we get inquiries from various other sectors, particularly public services. The government agencies started to adopt HTML5 in full swing. Our sales with them grew approximately 200% this year, and expect 300% next year. Not only the market spectrum is widening, but also applications of HTML5. We're currently collaborating with a leading telco to connect external devices to the web in HTML5 way. This effort will make things easy to connect things to the web, driving WoT in Korea.

Kim, WoogLae, CTO

Lepidum Co.Ltd.

The importance of web standards and our contribution to it to make a better future. Lepidum is committed to Research & Development in authentication and encryption technologies through standardization activities to promote W3C.

レピダムは、より安全な世界を実現するべく、インターネットにおける標準化活動を通して認証技術や暗号技術の研究・開発を行っております。 Webを中心に、人やネットに限らないデジタル空間でのアイデンティティ、サイバーフィジカル環境での認証や分散台帳、そしてそれらを成立させる暗号 やセキュリティといった関連技術領域を積極的により関わりを高めて行きます。 Web Standard の重要性とそれらへの貢献は、我々の、そして世界のより良い未来の変化に強い影響があります。 今後もW3Cでの活動を推進してまいります。

レピダム株式会社 代表取締役 林達也 (Tatsuya HAYASHI, President)

Letsee, Inc.

Letsee is a leader in the webized Augmented Reality (AR). Our mission is to demonstrate that Web is the most promising platform for AR. On the way to the goal, we are proud to introduce the Letsee Browser, the world's most advanced mobile AR web browser, which enables HTML5 Web Apps to be presented on the physical world through a camera. As a W3C Member, we will continue identifying use cases and contributing to the standardization of its specification.

Sangchul Ahn, Chief Executive Officer, Letsee

Coralie Mercier, W3C Marketing & Communications, Editor
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