Hi Alan:
You've expressed what most of the content community I know
expresses or has expressed, so you aren't alone. The only
consolation I have to offer is that if the design goes down
the NG route, some things will get better, hopefully:
o Components - not having to support the whole spec
in one bundle should get efficiencies in the parts that
are supported. At least for those who do use it, they
can target what they need better.
o Services - if the components work well AND (big if)
the browser framework improves, the 3D is part of the
framework and gets better use of system services. That
means if the audio improves in the browser AND synchronization
services are there, the 3D gets the advantage when the
text app does. Keep our fingers crossed.
o XML - this part isn't hard. 3D tags will look just
like HTML tags will look just like 2D tags, etc. It is just
a file format. This may help the "geekSpeak" problem
of VRML. In other words, same scripting, same interfaces,
same syntax; what you learn for one applies to the others,
so the surface area of the learning comes down.
If this all works, then hopefully we get more content, better
content, and a wider community. At that point, geeks
can keep on speaking geek and everyone else can
go on making content. The situation with HTML and
the SGML applications that preceded it went something
like that. We can't fix 3D in that if one can't think or use
3D, one can't model with it. We can get it into the mainstream
of web technologies and get it the same advantages.
I will do my best to help those of you who find XML
daunting. It really is easier than VRML and once
you understand it, it works the same for all of its
applications. If I worry about the X3D plans, I worry
about politics and performance. I can't avoid or fix
the first worry and just consider it part of life. The second
part I can't fix because I don't build browsers, so have
to hope like everyone else. Again, this is the NG Gamble.
Len
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Alan Taylor [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>
>
> For those of you reading this far - thanks for bearing with this rant, I'd
> love to hear from you too,
> -Alan Taylor
>
>
