[NCLUG] Is VRML dead?

[Marcio Luis Teixeira]

Yesterday I went out looking for some cool VRML viewers for Linux and some 
cool web sites to look at but I was disappointed on both counts. As far as I 
can tell, VRML is pretty much dead. Is this true?

When VRML first came out, it was understandable that it flopped pretty badly 
because it required an expensive Silicon Graphics workstation that cost more 
than your average lung transplant. But in the intervening years, things have 
changed. Today a $300 Wal-Mart PC comes with built-in 3D acceleration and you 
can buy an earlier generation 3D acceleration card on eBay for very cheap (I 
recently put a second-hand Radeon 8500 in my 233Mhz Pentium II, and I am 
blown away by the performance).

Its a shame that now that such technology is available to everyone, the only 
thing you can do with it is play violent first-person shooter games. 
Certainly it seems to me like it is a great time for VRML to make an 
impressive comeback. With Microsoft is focusing its efforts on games (with 
DirectX and the X-Box),  I wonder if Linux could be come a major player in 
the niche of more serious 3D graphics.

Just an idea to ponder.

Marcio Luis Teixeira