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Why Hasn't 3D Taken Off For the Web?

Posted by samzenpus on from the adding-some-depth dept.

First time accepted submitter clockwise_music writes "With HTML5 we're closer to the point where a browser can do almost everything that a native app can do. The final frontier is 3D, but WebGL isn't even part of the HTML5 standard, Microsoft refuses to support it, Apple wants to push their native apps and it's not supported in the Android mobile browser. Flash used to be an option but Adobe have dropped mobile support. To reach most people you'd have to learn Javascript, WebGL and Three.js/Scene.js for Chrome/Firefox, then you'd have to learn Actionscript + Flash for the Microsofties, then learn Objective-C for the apple fanboys, then learn Java to write a native app for Android. When will 3D finally become available for all? Do you think it's inevitable or will it never see the light of day?"

3 of 320 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong question by OzPeter · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The question should be ..

    What is the compelling user experience that would be enabled by 3D?

    And what do you really mean by 3D? Do you mean projections onto a 2D surface of a 3D model? Or do you mean something like the spinning displays that render voxels that you can actually walk around? Because a genuine, cheap, ubiquitous 3D display would open up all sorts of possibilities.

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  2. It has alwasy had a market by tuppe666 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why should take off? What's the drive behind it? What need does it satisfy?

    I sold medical hardware through the web using a 3rd party plug-in 10 years ago, and it was wow. Here is a small list
    Education - Planetary Systems, Engines, Inside Human Body
    Lets Break out of 2D - Streetview 3D...or walk where it is unsafe...Warzones, Mars...or even oil rigs safety training ....or lets face it the only really one. SHOPPING, no more multiple static views of item.

    As I said I did this years ago for a company, it looked great, but it was a clunky implementation.

  3. Re:Headache? by Richard_at_work · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Only if whatever solution is medically certified - my wife can view MRI's at home with full 3D capability using the supplied viewer, it just has a huge warning blazoned across it that says "this device is not certified for medical diagnostics".

    The systems she uses in the hospital for viewing MRI scans on have very high resolution screens that are colour matched regularly.