Is 3D the future of the web? Well, if
VRML is any indication... no. Still, there are a few web browsers out there that attempt to bring 3D worlds to the browsing experience, or vice versa, and ExtremeTech has a
nice round-up review of three of them: 3B, Browse3D, and SphereXPlorer. 3B facilitates web browsing with an "airport" metaphor, which lets you travel to different "cities," or themed areas where you have access to different web sites. Browse3D is a bit more straightforward, offering a "three-walled room" design with the center wall showing the current site, the wall to your left showing the last page you visited, and the right wall showing outgoing links from the current page or pages you've "stickied." Lastly, SphereXPlorer lets you have multiple web pages open simultaneously, a la tabs, except scattered around a 3D environment. So, what's the verdict? None of the programs get high marks-3B comes out with a 6/10, Browse3D with a 4, and SphereXPlorer with a 5. Head over to ExtremeTech to
read the full reviews.
Tags: 3b, 3d, browse3d, browser, extremetech, review, roundup, spherexplorer
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Subscribe to commentsjamesJun 14th 2006 12:04AM
Ah, VRML, those were the heady days of thinking the future was just around the corner. How many apps did I toy with, how many 3D file formats did I export to in hopes of the ever elusive 'one'?
How long did I follow the bumpy road that was MetaCreations/MetaStream/Viewpoint? All, in the end, for naught.
I was there, in NY at MetaStream's HQ when they released their major plug-in update. The very same day the dot boom became the dot bust. What tragic timing.
Oh, sure, there are plenty of 3D plug-ins still out there, but who uses them? There are probably fewer people using it today then there were five years ago.