Active-X and other sundry things

Kathy wants to know about Active-X
Can you tell me something about “ActiveX” files? I have dozens of them. Most are from HP and Microsoft. All are enabled. Just wondering what all these ActiveX files were. Must also tell you that I have been a fan of yours for years and love your guys. You have helped me through so many computer problems. You are really appreciated at this end of the internet… Hugs, Kathy

Our answer
Thanks so much Kathy. Simply put, Active-X is set of Microsoft technologies that enable interactive and multimedia content to be displayed or viewed on Web pages. It’s more complicated than that of course. But that’s the gist. It’s basically being replaced my Microsoft Silverlight. Microsoft likes to create its own versions of other people’s stuff. Active-X was modeled after Sun’s Java. And Silverlight after Adobe Flash.

In the future, HTML 5 will replace Silverlight, Flash, and Active-X to a large extent. HTML is the language of the Web – all Web pages are written in HTML. HTML 5 is the latest iteration. It’s very powerful and capable of many of the same things that now need Active-X, Java, or Flash.

So, Active-X is simply a set of technologies that are used to make Web sites interactive and capable of displaying multimedia content.

Here’s a little more about HTML 5 and how it will replace some Active-X, Java, and Flash Web applications.

“More than two decades after HTML was introduced, we’re still asking questions about what the web is, and what it might become. What kinds of features and applications would we, as users, find fun, useful or even indispensable? What tools do developers need to create these great sites and apps? And finally, how can all this goodness be delivered inside a web browser?

These questions led to the evolution of the latest version of HTML known as HTML5, a set of capabilities that gives web designers and developers the ability to create the next generation of great online applications…

Other cool HTML5 features include offline capabilities that let users interact with web apps even when they don’t have an internet connection, as well as drag-and-drop capabilities. In Gmail, for instance, easy drag-and-drop allows users to instantly attach a file to an email message by simply dragging the file from the user’s desktop computer into the browser window.

HTML5, like the web itself, is in perpetual evolution, based on users’ needs and developers’ imaginations. As an open standard, HTML5 embodies some of the best aspects of the web: it works everywhere, and on any device with a modern browser. But just as you can only watch HDTV broadcasts on an HD-compatible television, you need to use an up-to-date, HTML5-compatible browser in order to enjoy sites and apps that take advantage of HTML5’s features. Thankfully, as an Internet user, you have lots of choice when it comes to web browsers — and unlike TVs, web browsers can be downloaded for free….” (source http://www.20thingsilearned.com/en-US/html5/1 )

So HTML5 will replace many of the interactive and multimedia Web applications which today require Active-X, Java, or Flash to work. And all current version browsers support HTML5 – at least to an extent. As HTML5 evolves so too will Web browsers.