One 3D Format to Rule Them All

prostoalex writes "Three-dimensional graphics for the Web always seemed like a great concept that's not there yet. Five years ago many publications saw a great future in 3D-Web, but somehow things just haven't been moving in that direction. Apparently, the status quo is not making companies in this field happy and so the big guys, including Intel, Macromedia, AutoDesk, EDS et al. formed a 3D CAD working group. They claim that 'the need for a common 3D format becomes clear in a simple perusal of the Web, where the volume of 3D content is minuscule -- well under 1 percent.' The article is published in the latest issue of Intel Developer Update magazine, which is also available as a PDF."

Comments

Still no obvious *need*

[ranulf]

They claim that 'the need for a common 3D format becomes clear in a simple perusal of the Web, where the volume of 3D content is minuscule -- well under 1 percent.'

Note that this just says that there is hardly any 3D content. Just making yet another file format available is not going to create more content. Sure, it'll ease migration of file between applications, but little else.

And anyway, wasn't VRML supposed to be the de-facto standard for 3D on the web?

Standards are a *good* thing

[VisualStim]

As someone who runs a 3d oriented online community (PoserPros), I think a standard for 3d content is long, long overdue. We will soon be launching a 3d asset store for our community, and if the browsers had a full featured 3d standard today, it would just open that many more option to display our content to our members.

Re:SLURP ON MY DONG

[Anonymous Coward]

VRML is the future!

Re:maybe there's a reason

[armyofone]

That's all well and good for people/companies with high-speed connections. The problem is that, just like with Flash and other bandwidth-hogging technologies, this has the potential to be used for Evil as well as Good.

Sears.com has an online parts ordering system that's pretty slick. It incorporates Java to bring up schematics for power tools and such. Cool idea, but it sucks at dial-up speeds. I needed a rebuild kit for my lawnmower last year. I was able to order it, but I cursed them the whole way because they didn't give me an alternative to their slow-as-molasses way of doing things on their web site.

Now, will bandwidth eventually catch up? Most likely so but, in the meantime, this has the potential to negatively impact the web experience for many.