A VRML Web
It's More Like Real Life
VRML, it's pronounced vur'mel and it's not just another plug-in.
To a growing community, VRML represents the seeds of a new Web.
A Web more like the real world -- experiential, interactive, continuous,
and, of course, three dimensional.
VRML 2.0 is transforming the Web into a medium that is less like
reading a magazine and more like real life. HTML took the Internet and
made it accessible to millions of people who are comfortable with 2D
graphical user interfaces. VRML is going to take the Internet and the
World Wide Web (WWW) to the next level by making it accessible to the
billions of people who would rather watch TV than shuffle application
windows. This power of VRML is illustrated by three main points.
We are hard wired for 3D!
We naturally organize information spatially. Think of receiving a phone
call at your desk. During the call you write down the person's phone
number on a Post-It note and stick it off to your left. A week later
you go to call that person back and you think "where did I put
that phone number." In your mind, you picture the Post-It and look
over to see that it is exactly where you left it. That is the spatial
map that we all have in our heads to keep track of this database called
the world. VRML is the key that will unlock the power of this natural
ability and unleash it on the current chaos of the WWW.
Put some order on the current 2D chaos
The current metaphor for the Web is starting to break. Almost every Web
surfer has a bookmark list that runs off the edge of the screen. Even
if you thought you were clever and tried to categorize the list, it now
runs off the side of your screen! Also, take a look at your monitor,
most of you have multiple application windows open and are constantly
trying to shuffle around to get to what you want. These problems are
inherent to organizing information on a 2D surface. There are only so
many pixels to go around. With 3D if you need more space you simply
move forward, or you turn your head. In 3D you get infinite screen real
estate for a finite number of pixels on the monitor.
Find what you weren't looking for, but wanted anyway
Real estate agents have long chanted the mantra, "location,
location, location." The value of proximity is high in the real
world. Locations infer some kind of relationship that we use to
organize data. An example of how this works is illustrated by a trip to
your favorite restaurant. On your way to the restaurant, you pass by a
new bookstore. Being a lover of the written word, this is of great
value to you and you go inside. You weren't looking for a bookstore,
but finding it was extremely valuable to you. If you had teleported
directly from your home to the restaurant, you would have never found
the bookstore. The value came from your travel and from the location of
the bookstore relative to the restaurant.
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