WebKit going 3D with WebGL

There will be a day in the not-too-distant future when playing 3D games in your browser -- without extra plugins like Flash or Unity -- will be a reality.

The WebGL project, which has quickly made the blogging rounds this morning, combines aspects of HTML 5, JavaScript, and the OpenGL 3D drawing engine in an effort to create 3D graphics that appear right in your browser. Thus far, it's only beginning to show up in WebKit (the engine powering Safari and Google Chrome), but the glimpses as seen in the video above really show the power in these browsers.

[Via Download Squad]

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Source: http://blog.wolfire.com/2009/09/preview-of-webkits-webgl-can…

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There will be a day in the not-too-distant future when playing 3D games in your browser -- without extra plugins like Flash or Unity --...

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elliot

Can this be used for video playback? Like as a replacement for FLV or h.264?

September 15 2009 at 1:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

elitesouthwd

I agree with Wilson. It's not polite to rip off other sources, and attribute the article to a sister blog in your network (which just happens to be "published" exactly 30 minutes before MacRumors made the post).

As far as ad blocking goes, it's an arms race and always will be. Just like piracy, terrorism, virii, etc, ads and ad blocking will always be trying to outsmart the other.

As a corporate web designer, I can't really imagine any way using 3D could be useful in delivering content to an end user. It'd be nice for effects, and it seems just about it.

I wouldn't want a silly advertisement bogging down my system, so I'll most likely disable WebGL, if it hits the Gecko rendering engine.

September 15 2009 at 10:05 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Willson Smith

Please start crediting your sources, that video is from Wolfire.

September 14 2009 at 6:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

brian

And unfortunately, there will be a day in the not-too-distant future when annoying 3D ads in your browser will be a reality, and they won't be easily blockable BECAUSE they don't require plugins. (If they're still hosted on dedicated ad servers, server-based blocking will still work, thank God.)

September 14 2009 at 4:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to brian's comment

Grant Buell

True, but what advertisers are going to do shouldn't determine the progress of technology. Ad blockers will catch up.

September 14 2009 at 5:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply