Johan's blog
Project Wonderland: is there a life for Java 3D?
I have been working with 3D on the Internet since a long time. I remember one of our first "3D multi-user avatar chat" somewhere in the late nineties.
We used VRML 2.0 to create a virtual world, connected to a Java back-end.
It was really impressive, but I couldn't navigate in it myself. Computers were much slower than today, there was almost no commercial interest in 3D,... and did I mention that we used vi to code this environments?
Today is different. Actually, yesterday was different. Yesterday, Second Life became a hype. Honestly, I still don't understand exactly why. 3D has grown since the late nineties, and Second Life is just another proof of this. What I heard through many media, however, was that the Internet used to be 2D, and Second Life made it 3D. Dooh!
Now that the Second Life hype is decreasing, it is time to have a look at what technologies might lead us to a real 3D web.
Last week, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about this. And surprisingly, they mentioned Project Wonderland. I remember it was
called "the Open Source SecondLife" during last year's JavaOne conference.
As a Java-developer, I really hope that Project Wonderland will make it. I wouldn't be surprised if we see more media interest in Project Wonderland after this year's JavaOne.
More info: https://lg3d-wonderland.dev.java.net/index.html
