HTML's Time is Over. Let's Move On.
by David Heller
= interesting, promising
Online Article
FREE

Today Antonella has sent me a link to an article about HTML alternatives with the following description:

The article lists the many reasons why HTML and current browsers are the not the tools for the job when it comes to designing interactive Web applications. Interesting points against HTML, but that's not the really juicy stuff: look at the HTML alternatives (beside the usual Flash) and the "honorable mentions", and the overall considerations to be made when you need to define a technology strategy for a Web application.

In fact, the value of this article lies in Heller's clear outline of conceptual requirements for HTML alternatives to become truly valuable:

(...) the time has come to create a new system that is low bandwidth, utilizes a single code base for all platforms, and is componentized enough to make updating and customizations easy using internet-based distribution. Lastly, we need to develop these applications to run in their own space, without a web browser. In the end, this may change the way we think of web browsers. It will also change the way platforms need to be developed, in order to support a wide array of thin-clients that are accessed and addressed directly from the operating system as opposed to from a browser. David Heller

Heller mentions six alternatives to HTML and gives a short evaluation of their conceptual maturity and technical feasibility. Among the more promising solutions are, according to Heller, for example Northpath Elements and XWT.

Just like Antonella, I think that it's definetely worth keeping an eye on the discussions going on on the Boxes and Arrows site, where this article has been published.