To XML or not XML?

    I am noticing that there seems to be no html 5 standards.  Instead,
it looks to me that XML will become the new standard and that XHTML will
be a transitional standard.  I cannot seem to find any pages that give
an overview as to what all of us will have to deal with in the "NEAR"
future 1-3 years (I know that nobody can predict this).  I have read
that xml will be much more strict when it comes to formatting your code
and that all tags should be lower cased.  Are these true?

I am a web designer, but I am a reluctant one that doesn't like the tech
side that much.  For this reason I don't keep up with the latest WC3
standards like I should.  I find WC3's site very confusing to sort
through.  I know the answers are probably there but I am having a hard
time finding and understanding, everything that is said.  Forgive my
ignorance.
MG
mginter@ket.org