I decided today was the day to jump on the bandwagon to the future and teach myself some "HTML5."

I finally had enough free time to do some research, and the new <canvas> element is what I see as the most promising of HTML5′s features. So, I put together a pretty simple little Hello World demo I call Color Canvas.

With the help of Seb Lee-Delisle‘s Particle class (adapted from the AS3 Particle class I’ve come to know and love), you can use your mouse to change the color and origin of a particle system in your "HTML5-equipped" browser.

It’s exciting to finally be able to have the creative freedom usually reserved for a plugin, in a browser. As I dive further in I’m sure I will find that the <canvas> element (like any other visual technology) has it’s limitations. But from the little I’ve seen of it so far, <canvas> seems to be a solid visual building block we’ll be using in the next generation of interactive experiences.