VRML with Java3d and VRML with 'plain' Java solve 3d applications -- NOW -- across a very wide spectrum of performance vs. portability problems
including medicine, research, education, industry, network gaming, and (at least prototyping) military applications. Active Worlds is a huge success in a tiny, limited market of 3d chat for the old desktop market. VRML addresses a larger and more varied problems set than your Active Worlds market which is limitted to 3d chat of mostly kids and hobbyists. These two pictures alone show a sampling of the variety of application, including networked games, complex interactive human animation, and working with real-world devices: http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/sc_java3d_vs_plugin.jpg http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/sc_tanks_and_robots.jpg Shrek was created on Linux, movie professionals are using Linux ( as I am now ) because it is open source, and can be adopted, customized, extended, modified to fit our needs. Active Worlds is a big player in a tiny market, as are ParallelGrpahics and Blaxxun, but ... VRML & Java3d, VRML & 'pure' Java are less limited, and more powerful. With the VRML Loaders from Sun we can animated H-Anim Avatars, they accept and respond to clicks on Sensors, and can move multiple joints in complex animations ... H-Anim Avatars are a part of MPEG-4 which will be hugely important video streaming technology if infighting, lies, threats and unethical conduct don't divided us and kill it, and let Microsoft dominate another market. With the Sun VRML Loaders ... We can and _ HAVE_ created complex animations with Web3d's VRML based H-Anim Avatars ... Lies and unthical conduct from Justin Couch, Aaron Walsh, Prentice Hall and those working under National Science Foundation Grant: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/servlet/showaward?award=9809209 have hurt a wide range advancements that could better our industry, community, country and world, but eventually, truth will prevail. A limited, proprietary solution to a small market is a minor victory, we have greater goals and are making progress in achieving them. -- Paul, Java Developer & Web Animator ----------------------------------------------------- "Imaging the Imagined: Modeling with Math & a Keyboard" Complex animation of VRML with Java3d: Works -- NOW -- ------------------------------------------------------ http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/java3d_and_vrml.html [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Hello all, > Bruce Damer here (who rarely contributes to but often reads this list). I > have been following the development of VRML then X3D for 6 years or so and I > think the fundamental problem is that there is almost never any discussion of > user experience, of applications, of design of 3D spaces, or of success > stories. > > I really believe that a focus on language design is precisely the wrong place > to put a lot of energy. I believe this is the single factor that has led to > the lack of acceptance (business failures and even ridicule) of > standards-based web3D and its very slow evolution. Years taken to define a > language and protocols and then create platforms that then can be finally > used by non-nerdy designers and then end users (the real customers) is almost > certainly a process doomed to fail. > > HTML and the web succeeded precisely because the process of defining a basic > language (a couple of dozen tags) went by quickly with a small group, little > debate, and then the focus became content and easy ways to create it (tie-ing > in WYSIWYG desktop publishing systems to generate the basic HTML tags for the > early web). > > In 3D we have worked extensively with Active Worlds and now Adobe Atmosphere. > Both environments specifically set out to downplay the underlying coding of > 3D models and cut to the quick in getting people engaged in a lot of content > and interaction. In fact Active Worlds was conceived by its original > developer, Ron Britvich, to enable folks to build in real time inside the > platform 3D using a lego like metaphor such that they would not have to ever > see a 3D modeling tool. AW is a success by most definitions, the company > having survived the dotcom period and pretty much the entire early VRML > industry. With virtually no marketing, their worlds have more "ordinary" > users and in my opinion are a better place to experience web3D than anything > that has emerged from the process on this list. We just held our annual > Avatars cyberconference where the largest venue was in Active Worlds. In six > weeks the content produced there by volunteers really turned heads and we had > a great turnout in the environment. You can see the pages on this event at > www.ccon.org/conf01 > > Adobe Atmosphere is also on a development path where first and formost it > must appeal to the high standards of the content developers of the Adobe > customer base. The last thing people want to worry about is the minute > details of how objects or scenes are constructed and delivered. In fact > Atmosphere is increasingly becoming a kind of "3D operating system" with many > different 3D formats, behavioral mechanisms for gesture and animation, media > types, and scripting, being thrown into a common bucket for an increasing > variety of applications that users and clients are demanding. > > I posit that 3D modeling tools will never, ever, appeal to a large content > creator audience and that sole reliance on 3D "wireframe type" modeling tools > for scene construction is the kiss of death for any web3D effort. World > building wizards, lego-like construction, pre-canned database-driven scene > construction, and procedural methods of making 3D are worth pursuing to > attract much more web3D content and users. > > Lastly, discussions of underlying technology, such as X3D or VRML internals > are off putting and confidence destroying to people producing for serious > projects. I do not doubt therefore the reasoning why many companies shy away > from being involved in processes of standards definitions or discussions like > the ones on this list. Indeed it may really be bad for business. > > That said I really appreciate being invited, together with Michael Kaplan of > the Atmosphere project, to present at the Web3D meeting in February in Tempe. > In addition, I am interested in our company, DigitalSpace, participating in > the December 20th meeting of the Web3DC. However, as with Adobe, we live and > die on web3D being able to really deliver satisfactory experiences to > designers, paying clients and users in 3D space, not on achieving an ISO > spec. So if we are part of these meetings, can we be given some assurance > that we will not be there only to listen to a discussion of X3D file formats > and low level technology? Will there be a space and time at these meetings to > look at and talk about the (very few) successes in Web3D from the user/client > perspective and what we really have to do to appeal to a broader audience? > > I for one am happy to stay out of this process if it continues on the current > track as it would distract from our main task, developing meaningful web3D > for clients. However, I detect a new openness for alternative voices and so > would like to see if there is now a place for not often listened to members > of the web3D community like ourselves. > > You might not always agree with some of the things we might have to say, but > we hope that we are coming to a time when a new plurality of voices can > produce a more balanced (and we believe more likely to succeed) effort. > > Respectfully, > > Bruce Damer > Principal, DigitalSpace Corporation > www.digitalspace.com cc: Rita Colwell, Director, NSF; Prentice Hall. =========================================================================== To unsubscribe, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "signoff JAVA3D-INTEREST". For general help, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and include in the body of the message "help".
