24 ms·

Nice, but until Microsoft support WebGL, it doesn't seem like it'll ever be that useful...

kaib 16y ago
Let me disagree. Within certain demographics, high tech loving makers, you can sometimes get away with using WebGL: http://tinkercad.com http://tinkercad.com Our stats indicate the IE is much less of a problem than expected.
marshray 16y ago
By that logic, until Microsoft supports Android and iPhone they will never be useful.
- chc 16y ago
  I think the GP is wrong, but that's a very unfair characterization. A website is not cognate with a mobile phone OS.
  - marshray 16y ago
    You're right of course - it's not that great of a comparison. On the other hand, have you looked into modern UI architectures? Particularly on mobiles, they look a lot like operating systems aspiring to be web sites...
melling 16y ago
I would think most WebGL apps would apply mainly to entertainment, which people will do at home. Home users can simply be directed to download a browser that supports WebGL. They are all free.
forgottenpaswrd 16y ago
Yeah because MS is necessary for anything... Oh wait, Android, Opera, Chrome(>10%market share), Firefox(at least 20%market share), Safari and iOS... people now can make a living without caring for what MS does or not, just add "You need a standards compliant browser" with links and care only for the people that does. MS is using this trick with Hotmail: You need IE version X to benefit from the amazing features hotmail has.
corysama 16y ago
Useful for what? Grandparents and stuffy offices stick to IE, but the majority technical users are running FF/Chrome/Safari/Opera. It would be a bad idea to write a B2B or photosharing app that requires WebGL. But, games, art, visualization and optional site-bling can benefit a great deal. Like most new tech, it's a good plan to target techies first and let the late adopters come in after the kinks have been worked out. Even though the spec has hit 1.0, the dust hasn't nearly settled on the implementations. Lots of demos only work on specific browsers or have been broken by browser updates. Meanwhile, MS is apparently extremely devoted to not breaking sites that used to work when they put out new updates. I'm personally OK with MS waiting until WebGL solidifies before putting out their first implementation (hopefully...).
nkassis 16y ago
Useful enough for me and my crowd (Neuroscientist). I've not had many users complain (none actually) that they had to install Firefox or Chrome. Mainly because the tools we useful enough that the effort was worth it to them. I think if the games and toys are enough fun, people won't care that they have to run it in a different browser. Hell look at how many people buy new computers just to run the latest games. 3D on the web in my mind will be most useful for games and I believe scientific visualization and engineering applications which are usually people who don't care about installing a different browsers.

kaib 16y ago

Let me disagree. Within certain demographics, high tech loving makers, you can sometimes get away with using WebGL: http://tinkercad.com http://tinkercad.com Our stats indicate the IE is much less of a problem than expected.

marshray 16y ago

By that logic, until Microsoft supports Android and iPhone they will never be useful.

chc 16y ago
I think the GP is wrong, but that's a very unfair characterization. A website is not cognate with a mobile phone OS.
- marshray 16y ago
  You're right of course - it's not that great of a comparison. On the other hand, have you looked into modern UI architectures? Particularly on mobiles, they look a lot like operating systems aspiring to be web sites...

melling 16y ago

I would think most WebGL apps would apply mainly to entertainment, which people will do at home. Home users can simply be directed to download a browser that supports WebGL. They are all free.

forgottenpaswrd 16y ago

Yeah because MS is necessary for anything... Oh wait, Android, Opera, Chrome(>10%market share), Firefox(at least 20%market share), Safari and iOS... people now can make a living without caring for what MS does or not, just add "You need a standards compliant browser" with links and care only for the people that does. MS is using this trick with Hotmail: You need IE version X to benefit from the amazing features hotmail has.

corysama 16y ago

Useful for what? Grandparents and stuffy offices stick to IE, but the majority technical users are running FF/Chrome/Safari/Opera. It would be a bad idea to write a B2B or photosharing app that requires WebGL. But, games, art, visualization and optional site-bling can benefit a great deal. Like most new tech, it's a good plan to target techies first and let the late adopters come in after the kinks have been worked out. Even though the spec has hit 1.0, the dust hasn't nearly settled on the implementations. Lots of demos only work on specific browsers or have been broken by browser updates. Meanwhile, MS is apparently extremely devoted to not breaking sites that used to work when they put out new updates. I'm personally OK with MS waiting until WebGL solidifies before putting out their first implementation (hopefully...).

nkassis 16y ago

Useful enough for me and my crowd (Neuroscientist). I've not had many users complain (none actually) that they had to install Firefox or Chrome. Mainly because the tools we useful enough that the effort was worth it to them. I think if the games and toys are enough fun, people won't care that they have to run it in a different browser. Hell look at how many people buy new computers just to run the latest games. 3D on the web in my mind will be most useful for games and I believe scientific visualization and engineering applications which are usually people who don't care about installing a different browsers.