MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (Feb. 12, 1996) - In a move that promises to introduce powerful and practical 3D applications to the Internet, Silicon Graphics, Inc. and Netscape Communications Corporation today announced that 56 Internet leaders have agreed to support "Moving Worlds" as the next-generation implementation of virtual reality markup language, known as VRML 2.0.
Moving Worlds is an open, platform-independent specification for dynamic 3D environments on the Internet. Silicon Graphics led the development of Moving Worlds in cooperation with Sony, WorldMaker and other members of the VRML community. Moving Worlds maintains VRML's conformance to open standards and leverages JavaTM and JavaScriptTM to create behaviors, motion, and interactions. It also enables third-party Plug-Ins to be used unmodified, adding useful 3D capabilities to Web-based database, design and other real-world applications.
The companies announcing support for Moving Worlds are:
"Silicon Graphics has taken VRML to the next step with Moving Worlds," said Tony Parisi, co-author of the VRML 1.0 specification and chief technology officer at Intervista Software. "We are pleased with Silicon Graphics' efforts to promote open standards for tomorrow's 3D Internet."
Recently submitted to the VRML Architecture Group for review, the Moving Worlds specification represents a major step forward in the evolution of the 3D open standard for the Internet. Support for the proposal came from all over the Internet through such techniques as web-based polling booths and mailing lists. To encourage further application development based on the proposed standard, Silicon Graphics will make source code broadly available throughout the industry.
To make the benefits of 3D technology available to all Internet users, Moving Worlds emphasizes practical applicability and relies on standard desktop computing power. Its sophisticated software architecture allows 3D data sets to be scaleable for viewing on a variety of computer systems ranging from low-cost Internet PCs to powerful 3D graphics workstations.
"In leading the development of Moving Worlds, Silicon Graphics faced a tough design problem: How to make high-performance three-dimensional graphics work over the narrow bandwidths of the Internet on a wide variety of computers," said Tom Jermoluk, president and chief operating officer of Silicon Graphics. "Moving Worlds brings the power of visualization to a much broader class of applications and a vastly larger user base."
The newly proposed standard is also marked by its extensibility and provides many features that enable developers to create 3D software applications and content for the Internet. Fully-integrated Java applets can be used to create motion and enable interactivity and JavaScript allows scripted communication between different objects both inside and outside the 3D environment. Additionally, Plug-Ins can be placed inside of 3D worlds to provide services ranging from streaming video to slide presentation.
Together these capabilities create a platform for the development of full motion, live content and animation; lifelike physical behaviors and reactions within a 3D environment; multi-user capabilities; and scalability ranging from importing 3D objects into HTML to navigating through virtual worlds. It is application-ready, and includes connectivity to databases.
"Moving Worlds is extremely exciting because it extends Netscape Navigator into a whole new dimension," said Marc Andreessen, vice president of technology and co-founder of Netscape. "Moving Worlds enables developers to build 3D applications and content that leverage all the technologies supported by the Netscape software platform: Java, JavaScript, advanced HTML, frames, and Plug-Ins. Netscape is committed to integrating 3D technology into the Netscape software platform and to providing a seamless blend of 2D and 3D elements to bring rich, lifelike activity to the Internet."
The Moving Worlds version of VRML enables Web-based applications to include:
For developers who want to learn more about Moving Worlds, Silicon Graphics will conduct training sessions at the Netscape Internet Developer Conference March 5-7 in San Francisco (call 1-800-225-4698 or visit the Web at http://www.netscape.com to register), and at the Silicon Graphics Developer and Cosmo(TM) Forum May 21-23 in San Jose, Calif. (call 1-800-770-3033 or visit the Web at http://www.sgi.com/Support/DevProg to register).
Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of Netscape servers, development tools and Netscape Internet Applications(TM) to create a complete platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, CA.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance visual and enterprise computing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and symmetric multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, commercial, scientific and creative professionals through direct and indirect sales channels. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems, interactive consumer and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
MEDIA CONTACTS AT COMPANIES SUPPORTING MOVING WORLDS
| Company | Contact | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adobe Systems Inc. | Rick Brown | (415) 962-6060 | ribrown@adobe.com |
| Aereal Inc. | Adrian Scott | (415) 243-8922 | adrian@aereal.com |
| Alias|Wavefront | Franca Miraglia | (416) 362-9181 | fmiraglia@aw.sgi.com |
| Asymetrix | Ann Bagley | (206) 637-5859 | annb@asymetrix.com |
| Aurum Software | Chuck Donchess | (408) 654-3425 | |
| Autodesk Multimedia | Pete Samson | (415) 507-5764 | prs@autodesk.com |
| Andersen Consulting | Guan Kai Yeo | (415) 843-2132 | davecon@cst.andersen.com |
| Borland | Knox Richardson | (408) 431-1201 | krichardson@borland.com |
| Black Sun Interactive Inc. | Dia Cheney | (415) 263-6836 | dia@blacksun.com |
| Bluestone | Mel Baiada | (609) 727-2600 x104 | mel@bluestone.com |
| Bryce-Meta Tools | Holly Fisher | (805) 566-6200 | hfisher@metatools.com |
| Caligari Corp | Jill Ryan | (415-513-8800) | Jill_Ryan@mcleanpr.com |
| Chaco Communications, Inc. | Dr. Dan Greening | (408) 996-1115 | greening@chaco.com |
| Chyron | Ken Shaw | (408) 988-2167 | |
| Cognicon, Inc. | Grant J. Munsey | (408) 252-1135 | grant@cognicon.com |
| Computer Associates | Bob Gordon | (516) 342-2391 | 73232.1005@compuserve.com |
| Construct Internet Design Co. | James Waldrop | (415) 357-0100 x103 | sulam@constructnet.net |
| Coryphaeus Software Inc. | Bruce Sinclair | (408) 395 4537 x279 | bruce@coryphaeus.com |
| Criterion | Mike King | mking@criterion.canon.co.uk | |
| Creative Labs | Russ Lujan | (408) 428-2321 | |
| Digital Dialect | Michael Case | (818) 905-5410 | mcase@digitald.com |
| Dimension X | Lexi Sonnenberg | (415) 296-0100 | lexi@dimensionx.com |
| EDS | Maxine Levy | (214) 605-6206 | |
| Electronic Arts | Pat Becker | (415) 513-7523 | pbecker@ea.com |
| First Virtual Holdings, Inc. | Beverly Parenti | (619) 793-2700 | beverly@fv.com |
| Headspace | Mary Coller | (213) 876 4857 | dotcalm@sirius.com |
| Hot Wired | Andrew Anker | (415) 222-6200 | aa@hotwired.com |
| IBM | Susan Scott-Ker | (914) 766-1463 | susansk@vnet.ibm.com |
| Informix, Inc. | Cecilia Denny | (415) 926-6420 | cdenny@informix.com |
| Integrated Data Systems, Inc. | Michael Hilgenberg | (912) 236-4374 | mikeh@ids-net.com |
| Intervista Software Inc. | Tony Parisi | (415) 434-8765 | tparisi@intervista.com |
| Macromedia | Miles Walsh | (415) 252-2106 | Miles_Walsh@macromedia.com |
| mFactory | Hamish Forsythe | (415) 548-0600 | hamish@mfactory.com |
| NetDream, Inc. | John Marshall | (310) 820-8783 | johnm@netdream3d.com |
| Netscape | Andrea Cook | (415) 528-6711 | andreac@netscape.com |
| OnLive! Technologies | Trudy Nicolay | (408) 777-2173 | trudy@onlive.com |
| Organic Online | Jonathan Nelson | (415) 284-6888 | |
| Paper Software, Inc. | Mike McCue | (914) 697-2440 | mmccue@ix.netcom.com |
| ParaGraph International | Leonid Kitainik | (408) 364-7726 | kitainik@paragraph.com |
| Polhemus | Ed Costello | (802) 655-3159 x238 | e_costello@polhemus.com |
| Planet 9 | David Colleen | (415) 247-7997 | colleen@hyperion.com |
| Ray Dream, Inc. | Teri Campbell | (415) 960-0768 x121 | teri@raydream.com |
| SEGA of America | Dan Stevens | (415) 802-3996 | dan.stevens@segaoa.com |
| Silicon Graphics Inc. | Carl Furry | (415) 933-3365 | furry@corp.sgi.com |
| 7th Level | Mary Crisp | (214) 498-8184 | MaryC@7thlevel.com |
| Smart Valley, Inc. | Kathie Blankenship | (408) 562-7795 | KathieB@svi.org |
| Sony Corporation | Rodger Lea | 011-81-3-5448 -5437 | rodger@csl.sony.co.jp |
| Starfish Software, Inc. | Te Smith | (408) 461-5899 | tesmith899@aol.com |
| Superscape, Inc. | Andrew deVries | (415) 772-8431 | andrew_devries@p2pr.com |
| 3D WEB | Mike Conduris | (415) 956-0222 | mike@3dweb.com |
| 3D Labs | Neil Trevett | (408) 436-3456 | neil.trevett@3Dlabs.com |
| Visual Software, Inc. | Katie Cotton | (818) 509-3700 | kcotton@ata.com |
| VIVID Studios | Anita Corona | (415) 512-7200 | anita@vivid.com |
| VREAM, Inc. | Ken Gaebler | (312) 477-0425 | info@vream.com |
| WorldMaker, Inc. | Duncan Fraser | (415) 824-6452 | duncan@worldmaker.com |
| Worlds Inc. | Rob Schmults | (415) 281-1300 | robs@worlds.net |
Copyright © 1996 Silicon Graphics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Trademark Information