I spent some time this weekend learning about HTML5, websocket, Faye, PusherApp, and more in preparation for the Node.js Knockout next weekend. There's a lot of content to cover. HTML5 is the new standard of HTML superseding HTML 4.01, XHTML 1.0, and XHTML 1.1. Websocket is a feature in HTML5 that allows for bi-directional, full-duplex communication channels. I'm sure you know about all of this already, so I'll link some references I discovered over the weekend:
There's an interesting relationship between implementation and specification and how one can influence the other. When I think about Google, Mozilla, Apple, and even Microsoft implement the latest draft into their "edge" version browsers, I can see how their implementation styles can drive the specification of HTML5 in their favor when it's finalized. Mark Pilgrim, author of HTML5 Diving Up and Running, is right about the fact that "the ones that win are the ones that ship." It's basically how the img tag became standard.
Throughout this week, I plan to learn more on HTML5 and websocket.