This post is a a kind of 'meta' question regarding
J3D and by implication Java1.2 (or Java2 if you
prefer) and the other standard extensions.
Right now, how is it possible to convince a client,
or oneself, that JDK1.2/J3D can be used as a
Web medium. I say that from personal experience,
having had discussions with a very prominent client
in which I was told that their Web entertainment
could *not* be done in J1.2/J3D.
The problem is obvious and has been around for a
long time. No Browser has a 1.2 VM so JDK1.2
must be downloaded and installed, plus the plug-in1.2
must be downloaded and installed, plus the J3D
classes must also be downloaded and installed, etc...
On top of that there is a bug in the Windoze environment
that requires placing extension jars in 'lib' rather than
in 'lib/ext' as documented. No reasonable person can
expect the general Web public to jump through all these
hoops in order to view Web content.
Wouldn't it make more sense for Sun, or someone able to
create a 1.2VM, to create a 'Mozilla Player' pre-loaded
with Jdk1.2, J3D, etc.. - then viewing Java media on the
Web would be a one-download, no thinking, operation.
Or how about at least a unified plug-in (JRE1.2+J3D+JMF...)
available in the Netscape 'smart-update' facility, and
available for use with IE..
There is a big opportunity to create an interactive 3D medium
*on the Web* but we lack an easily accessible 'Player'.
Does Sun expect J3D to be used only as an 'application'?
Why not Web-based games and other entertainment, and
also all the other shared visualizations and simulations *on the
Web*? There are tens of loaders already available to make
J3D a kind of 'universal' player for various file formats.
However, it is *very difficult* to convince someone to use
J3D because of all of the difficulties setting it up. Is the market
going to be left to 'Shockwave' etc?
I would like to know what people at Sun think about this, and
what others on the list think.
Mark Rudolph
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Lucid Actual
Montreal
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