From: Bullard, Claude L (Len) (clbullar_at_ingr.com)
Date: 12 February 1999
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:yoame_at_wolfenet.com]
>
>
> For those of you reading this far - thanks for bearing with this rant, I'd
> love to hear from you too,
> -Alan Taylor
>
>
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