W3C

The Device APIs Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of Ambient Light Events. This specification defines a means to receive events that correspond to a light sensor detecting the presence of a light. Learn more about the Ubiquitous Web Applications Activity.

The Model-Based User Interfaces Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of MBUI - Task Models. Task models are useful when designing and developing interactive systems. They describe the logical activities that have to be carried out in order to reach the user’s goals. This document covers the specification of Task Models, with a meta-model expressed in UML, and an XML Schema that can be used as the basis for interchange of Task Models between different user interface development tools. Learn more about the Ubiquitous Web Applications Activity.

The Audio Working Group has published a Working Draft of Web Audio API. This specification describes a high-level JavaScript API for processing and synthesizing audio in web applications. The primary paradigm is of an audio routing graph, where a number of AudioNode objects are connected together to define the overall audio rendering. The actual processing will primarily take place in the underlying implementation (typically optimized Assembly / C / C++ code), but direct JavaScript processing and synthesis is also supported. This API is designed to be used in conjunction with other APIs and elements on the web platform, notably: XMLHttpRequest (using the responseType and response attributes). For games and interactive applications, it is anticipated to be used with the canvas 2D and WebGL 3D graphics APIs. Learn more about the Rich Web Client Activity.

In accordance with the W3C Patent Policy, W3C has launched a Patent Advisory Group (PAG) in response to a disclosure related to the Tracking Preference Expression specification published by the Tracking Protection Working Group; see the PAG charter.

W3C launches a PAG to resolve issues in the event a patent has been disclosed that may be essential, but is not available under the W3C Royalty-Free licensing requirements. Public comments regarding this disclosure may be sent to public-tracking-comments@w3.org (with public archive). Learn more about Patent Advisory Groups.

The Touch Events Patent Advisory Group (PAG) has published a report recommending that W3C continue work on the Touch Events version 1 specification without changes. W3C launches a PAG to resolve issues in the event a patent has been disclosed that may be essential, but is not available under the W3C Royalty-Free licensing requirements. See the original announcement of the PAG.

W3C is pleased to announce commitments from Adobe, Google, and Microsoft for sponsorship funding that will enable W3C to provide additional staffing in support of the HTML Working Group's full range of activities, including editing several specifications and developing tests. These sponsorships will help W3C fill a position announced in June in response to an April call for editors from the HTML Working Group Chairs. In their April email, the Chairs also outlined the group's parallel efforts to finalize a stable HTML5 standard by 2014 and engage with the community on future HTML features. Learn more about the HTML Working Group.

Related story 2012-07-25: HTML Working Group Chairs announce some HTML5 editor appointments.