http://www.sgi.com/Headlines/1995/April/vrml-webspace.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)

Silicon Graphics And Template Software Bring 3D Graphics To The World Wide Web

New WebSpace Viewer to be Ported to All Major Platforms

MOUNTAIN VIEW, California (April 3, 1995) - Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI) today announced that it has teamed with Template Graphics Software, Inc. to develop and distribute WebSpace, the first commercially-available three-dimensional viewer for the World Wide Web. The two companies will make WebSpace available for all major UNIX® platforms, Microsoft Windows, Windows NT, and Power Macintosh® systems.

The viewer will work in concert with popular Web browsers including those from Netscape Communications Corporation and Spyglass. With the WebSpace viewer, users can: fly through 3D worlds, exploring event venues, cities, libraries, museums, tourist resorts and imaginary places; inspect 3D models of products in on-line catalogs; and visualize information such as stock market trends in 3D.

"3D presents a powerful new paradigm that will change the face of the World Wide Web," said Way Ting, vice president and general manager of Silicon Graphics' Visual Magic Division. "With the WebSpace viewer and the combined efforts of Silicon Graphics and Template Graphics Software, 3D will be pervasive and broadly accessible on the Web."

VRML is the Standard

The WebSpace viewer supports Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), an open, platform-independent file format for 3D graphics on the internet. Silicon Graphics' Open Inventor, a widely accepted, object-oriented 3D graphics toolkit, provides the framework for VRML. Similar in concept to the core Web text standard HyperText Markup Language (HTML), VRML encodes computer-generated graphics into a compact format for transportation over the network. As with HTML, a user can view the contents of a file--in this case an interactive 3D graphics file--as well as navigate to other VRML "worlds" or HTML pages. In addition, VRML is infinitely scaleable so that as users navigate through virtual worlds and approach objects, greater levels of detail emerge.

Seventeen companies and organizations today also announced their support for VRML-based 3D graphics on the World Wide Web. These companies include: AccelGraphics, Inc., Brown University, CERN, Digital Equipment Corporation, Intergraph, NCD, NEC Technologies, net.Genesis Corporation, Netscape Communications, Oki Advanced Products, San Diego Supercomputer Center, Spyglass, Tenet Networks, Viewpoint Datalabs International, Inc., the University of Darmstadt, Wavefront Technologies and 3Dlabs Inc.

"3D graphics is the last great media type to come to the Internet, infinitely changing the way users interact with the Web." said Terry Baker, president of Template Graphics Software in San Diego. "We are impressed at the commitment Silicon Graphics has to the Internet and are pleased to be joining forces in the delivery of this core technology to all users of the World Wide Web."

The WebSpace viewer was developed with the Open Inventor object-oriented 3D toolkit. Based on the industry standard OpenGL application programming interface, Open Inventor dramatically simplifies 3D graphics programming. Template Graphics is a licensee of the Open Inventor toolkit and provides it for all non-Silicon Graphics UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh systems.

Beta versions of the WebSpace viewers will be available on the Web by the end of April. Non-supported versions of the viewers will be available at no charge and will be downloadable from several public ftp sites on the World Wide Web including web sites from Silicon Graphics and Template Graphics Software. Template Graphics Software will also offer supported versions for $49.

Template Graphics Software, Inc. (TGS) produces open systems-based software tools for application developers of Fortune 500, government, independent software vendors (ISVs), and academic and research organizations. TGS has offered standards-based graphics tools since 1982 and is the leading independent software supplier of cross-platform graphics tools based upon PHIGS+, OpenGL and Open Inventor. TGS, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is a member of ANSI/ISO graphics committees and the OpenGL Advisory Forum, and is active in establishing new standards and directions for computer graphics technologies.

Silicon Graphics, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of high-performance visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive 3D graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Silicon Graphics and the Silicon Graphics logo are trademarks and WebSpace, OpenGL and Open Inventor are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. UNIX is a registered trademark of the X/Open Company Ltd. in the United Kingdom and other countries. Microsoft Windows, Windows and NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Netscape Communications is a trademark of Netscape Communications Corporation. All other mentioned companies and products are trademarks of their respective companies.

WebSpace is part of the WebFORCE product family.

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