“High Five” could be the title of the plans for the next version of Windows Live Hotmail, codenamed Wave 5. It is not a secret that Microsoft will be focusing more on HTML5 to develop web apps. While Bing’s HTML5 version is already tested, Hotmail too will get adopted in HTML5.
Microsoft expert Mary-Jo Foley explains that the fifth wave of the Windows Live services is due in 2012 the earliest. In this wave, Hotmail could get revamped with HTML5-specific features too. For example, the Hotmail team is planning to support Offline storage.
If Microsoft makes full use of this technology, you would no longer need any separate e-mail client, as Hotmail would work even when you’re offline, offering you access to the messages already downloaded. This new HTML5-based Hotmail is said to replace Windows Live Mail as free e-mail client by Windows Live.
The introduction of Internet Explorer 9 was the start for a HTML5 initiative. The slogan “Beauty of the web” helps to understand the possibilities that web developers have thanks to the new HTML standard. Internet Explorer 9 is advertised as ideal platform for these features, as it was developed for Windows and supports native HTML5 applications.
With sticking to a standard that is supported by all browser manufacturers, Microsoft takes the correct direction. HTML5 definitely makes web developing easier. With their own services, Microsoft is becoming a model, after ignoring most web standards in the previous decade.