excerpt:
To achieve sexy buttons, Google has implemented CSS features that are currently not part of any standard and are only supported by Webkit based browsers (ie. Chrome and Safari). To experience sexy buttons on Google, you will need the Google browser (or that other one). The two specific features that are being used to enable sexy buttons are -webkit-border-radius and -webkit-gradient. Both were implemented by Webkit developers as new CSS features over a year ago – and it is hard to argue against their usefulness (where would we be today without rounded corners?).
Browser developers are resorting to going their own way with implementing new features because the standardization process is nothing short of a clusterfuck. In 1996, back in the wild west days of the web, the CSS1 recommendation was published – but the two major browser maker at the time were at each others throats and didn’t pay much attention to it. It only took another two years to get the next version, CSS2, to recommendation status. It was this version, and more importantly, support from the browser makers, that spurred the widespread adoption of CSS and the separation of markup from style on the websites. The first drafts for CSS3 was published in 2001 – and today, a full 8 years later, it is still a work in progress as nobody seems to be able to agree to anything again.
