3D CSS Effects in Snow Leopard Safari, And More on Future of Video and Flash?
In the past, we've speculated that Apple's resistance to supporting Adobe's Flash on the iPhone and their efforts to add new features to HTML/CSS is, in part, to reduce their long term dependence on Flash.
Ajaxian points to an impressive demo by Charles Ying which shows off hardware accelerated 3D CSS Visual Effects that are now supported in Snow Leopard's Safari builds as well as the latest Webkit nightly builds. If you have either of these versions installed, you can view a live version yourself here. Otherwise, you can watch this video of the demo:
These new 3D effects have been
proposed for standards inclusion. If successful, future browsers will also adopt these effects.
While these will help provide standards-based tools for accomplishing visual effects that have been the realm of Flash in the past, there has recently been a setback on efforts to standardize on a specific video playback format for HTML5. Video remains the most popular use for Flash on the web. Due to ongoing disagreements between Apple, Google and other web browser developers, the acceptance of a single video codec standard for HTML5 has been indefinitely delayed.
"After an inordinate amount of discussions, both in public and privately, on the situation regarding codecs for video and audio in HTML5, I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is no suitable codec that all vendors are willing to implement and ship," Hickson wrote. "I have therefore removed the two subsections in the HTML5 spec in which codecs would have been required, and have instead left the matter undefined."
Apple, of course, has been pushing H.264 and opposes the Ogg Theora alternative due to the potential patent claims in the future. Mozilla and Opera have their own issues with cost and licensing issues with H.264 and prefer Ogg Theora. The inability to come to an agreement means that there will be no accepted standard format for HTML5. As a result, Flash will likely remain the dominant format for online video for the time being.
Popular Stories
There's now a dedicated Apple Music app for ChatGPT, which allows ChatGPT to make music recommendations and build playlists.
Apple Music can be added to ChatGPT through the Settings section in the Mac app, website, or iOS app. Apple Music is listed under the apps option, and connecting to it requires signing in with your Apple Account for authorization purposes.
ChatGPT can be used to...
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu.
As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
Since the AirPods Pro 3 launched, there have been complaints from users who have noticed a static-like sound or a crackling issue when using the earbuds, particularly when Active Noise Cancellation is on but no media is playing. Users have also run into strange high-pitched whistling sounds that happen intermittently.
We shared the issues back in late October, and despite two subsequent...
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates.
This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories!
Top Stories
i...
Apple Maps no longer offers a Flyover feature that provides users with automated tours of notable landmarks in major cities. The Flyover option appears to have been nixed around when iOS 26 launched, but its removal went largely unnoticed.
Flyover city tours were introduced in 2014 with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, using Flyover imagery to generate an aerial tour. Most cities with Flyover...
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond.
We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
Wednesday December 17, 2025 10:06 am PST by
Juli CloverApple today provided beta testers with the first releases of upcoming iOS 26.3, iPadOS 26.3, tvOS 26.3, and watchOS 26.3 updates for testing purposes. The public betas come a couple of days after Apple provided the betas to developers.
Anyone can download and install public betas, and all that's required is to sign up on Apple's beta site. Once you've opted in, the software can be...
