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RE: Why 3D Redux?

• To: 'Bob Foster' <bob@o...>
• Subject: RE: Why 3D Redux?
• From: "Bullard, Claude L (Len)" <clbullar@i...>
• Date: Wed, 16 Jul 2003 09:09:14 -0500
• Cc: XML Developers List <xml-dev@l...>

It is probably a good example of why Mozilla is not 
more widely used.  I've had no problem.  The Cortona 
installation is one of the smoothest of any plugin 
out there.  You need a VRML plug in just like you need 
an SVG plug in.  The fellows who did that page are targeting 
the pervasive IE market.  For their situation, that 
makes a lot of sense.

The VRMLers during the 2.0 design were provided 
with several designs to choose from.  The one 
that was most well liked and which was most 
compatible with the VRML 1.0 design came from 
Silicon Graphics and their partners.  Microsoft 
offered a competing design and was quite insistent 
on it being adopted.  The VRMLers voted on the 
design and the MS design (a good one but not 
compatible and not performant although composable) 
lost.  MS eventually accepted 
it and purchased the WorldView viewer as the 
plugin for IE.  Because they didn't keep it current, 
most of the community congregated around CosmoPlayer 
and MS eventually took it out of the standard package. 
Meanwhile, MS attempted Chrome and it didn't work 
so they quietly withdrew it.  The VRMLers had chosen 
wisely (sometimes a better design does outlive a 
stronger marketing budget).

When the Cosmo spin off from SG folded, support moved 
to Contact and Corona.  Like most markets of five 
years ago, the shakeouts were severe for the niche 
systems.  However, VRML did not die. Work on the 
next version continued with one major goal being 
providing XML support.  That work is done now and 
the betas of the new viewers are now coming on line. 
The nips and tucks to the ISO draft standard are 
still going on, but attendees at SIGGRAPH this 
month can find out about X3D and see content.

The VRMLers played smart, stuck to their work, and 
they have something to show for it without co-opting. 
A review of the Web3D Consortium web pages, the XMSF 
page, etc. will reveal some exciting work being done. 
Things are still in the toy stage, but serious toys.
For those who want to work on the edge, there it is.

len


From: Bob Foster [mailto:bob@o...]

Don't know if you intended it, but this is a good illustration to me why 3D
isn't more widely used. When I tried to access this
(http://www.parallelgraphics.com/vrml/gagarin2/3d/index.html) in Mozilla
1.1, exactly nothing happened. When I tried in Explorer 6.0.2600, I got a
request to ok a download of some software, which I did, and then...exactly
nothing happened.

How is it again that VRML triumphed over Microsoft?

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