Underlying the Flash/Apple/Adobe brawl was the continuing advance in  development. Begun as an initiative some seven years ago, and still , 2010 saw an exponential leap in public consciousness concerning the Web's markup language and the role a new version is destined to play in the future of Web video.

More importantly, the spec itself has gained support from a number of quarters. , but Adobe, Google, Microsoft, and other large vendors are also getting on board. That's despite (or because of) the fact that, at least in some quarters, it's considered the most promising path to a Flash alternative for video on the Web.

If you work with color--and who in the graphics field doesn't--there was some fairly momentous news from Pantone. It's not often that a company completely overhauls its product line. But this year,  (or PMS as it's affectionately known) with the new Pantone Plus system. Pantone Plus is aimed at helping designers more easily choose, specify, and match colors. Its new features include the chromatic arrangement of colors, an expanded palette of spot colors, additional new metallics, and a broader range of neons.