You don't need your ear to the ground to hear the stampede of designers, developers, and web enthusiasts talking about HTML5, the future of browser-based web functionality. HTML5 has earned a lot of attention, especially for a web standard that may not be officially endorsed for another ten years! We've compiled a reading list for you to get your head around HTML5, why it's important to you and your web (and mobile!) application projects, and how you can prepare for the future.

Learning

There are plenty of well-crafted resources out there for learning HTML5 today!

Dive into HTML5
http://diveintohtml5.org/

HTML5 - Getting Started
http://www.dave-woods.co.uk/index.php/html5-tutorial-getting-started/

A Preview of HTML5
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/previewofhtml5

Web and Mobile Trends

HTML5 is shaping up to be the premier presentation technology for the “three screens and the cloud” vision!

The Web Takes Center Stage at Microsoft's MIX11 Conference
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2011/apr11/04-12mix1pr.mspx

The Mobile vs. HTML5 Debate
http://www.html5rocks.com/en/mobile/nativedebate.html

Desktops and Browsers

HTML5 is showing up everywhere, and it’s not just for web development anymore!

Windows 8 Powered By HTML5
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?/topic/31765-windows-8-apps-poawered-by-html5/

IE9 - Summarizing Common Browser Tests
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/02/09/summarizing-common-browser-tests.aspx

IE10 Preview 2 - Site Ready HTML5
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/06/29/site-ready-html5-second-ie10-platform-preview-available-for-developers.aspx

Development

You can make HTML5 work for you with these tools!

Announcing HTML5 and CSS3 support for Visual Studio 2010
http://vishaljoshi.blogspot.com/2011/06/announcing-html5-css3-support-for.html

Build JavaScript in C# with Script#

http://projects.nikhilk.net/ScriptSharp

Sometimes, we have a great idea for a new project; an e-commerce shop for our employer's new product line, a wiki for our favorite foods, or something else entirely our own. Many times the hardest part of getting a new idea off the ground is getting your hands on the right resources to get started, so you make quick progress, and stay motivated. One of our goals with The Web App Index is to help you find all of the best solutions that you can put to work right now, for free. That's a great step one, but once you fall in love with an application, the next step is finding quality resources to hit the ground running. Today we'll point you to five fantastic, free resources for some of the more popular applications in the gallery.

WebMatrix

The exciting team behind Ubelly has compiled a fantastic, free e-book that teaches you the ins and outs of WebMatrix, Microsoft's new web development framework that makes it simple and fun to get your own web site or application online. It's a tool that grows with you, and you can download this free e-book to get started today.

Windows Azure

Eric Nelson has compiled a free e-book on Windows Azure featuring a whopping fifteen expert authors all writing their first-hand experiences with this next generation cloud to host your web application. You can download this ebook, titled " Windows Azure Platform: Articles from the Trenches Volume I ". That's 96 full ...

The Web App Index is a showcase and feature gallery for the best of the web, when it comes to free and open source web applications that take you from idea to reality with the greatest speed and enjoyment. In this next article series, we want to take an active interest in the developers, designers, and decision makers who are experts in these technologies. Through their eyes and experiences, you will be able to evaluate the platform that is the perfect choice for you.

Introducing Shawn Duggan

For our first edition, we caught up with software developer Shawn Duggan, Team Lead and Architect for the Content Management Systems group at T4G Limited, a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner based in Canada. Shawn has more than 15 years of experience designing and developing enterprise solutions; both ASP.NET portals and Windows applications. In recent years his primary focus has been delivering cutting edge content management solutions for clients. Shawn has a wealth of technology experience in multiple industries including insurance, networking, gas, and retail. Today, Shawn and his team deliver web applications running on many of the web applications we feature on our site.

Shawn is very active in the developer community and is the current leader of the Microsoft .NET User Group in Nova Scotia. He has also presented numerous times at user groups, including the DotNetNuke User Group of Nova Scotia. He has spoken at global conferences such as CloudCamp and Day of DotNetNuke, and has also been ...