Microsoft PressPass – Microsoft Licenses Industry’s First Java-Based VRML 2.0 Implementation From Dimension X
NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 5, 1996 — Microsoft Corp. today announced it will license a portion of Dimension X Inc.’s Liquid Reality
™
, the industry’s first Java-based virtual reality modeling language (VRML) platform. Microsoft plans to incorporate VRML 2.0 support as a downloadable ActiveX
™Control for Microsoft® Internet Explorer 3.0.
VRML 2.0 is emerging as a way for consumers to interact with complex 3-D worlds over the Internet.
Liquid Reality is a platform that enables people to communicate ideas and concepts in a more natural way over the Internet. Developers create and deliver 3-D interactive content using the Java-based Liquid Reality platform, which includes editors, application services and a high-level VRML 2.0-compliant API, called Liquid Reality Core. Microsoft will license the Liquid Reality Core for reading, writing and viewing VRML 2.0.
”
The Liquid Reality VRML 2.0 viewer, based on high-speed DirectX
™APIs, takes the viewing of 3-D worlds on the Internet to the next level of performance,”
said John Ludwig, vice president of the Internet platform and tools division at Microsoft.
“Dimension X’s VRML viewer offers capabilities to exploit the transparent hardware acceleration offered by DirectX, high-speed Virtual Machine (VM) and the just-in-time (JIT) compiler native to Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0. Consumers will experience exciting levels of realism and interactivity in 3-D worlds on the Internet.”
“This announcement clearly establishes Liquid Reality as the leading VRML 2.0 implementation,”
said Karl Jacob, CEO of Dimension X.
“We are very excited about Microsoft’s Java implementation and leveraging the high-performance multimedia DirectX APIs. To be blunt, Microsoft technology rocks!”
Through an HTML document, consumers can view and interact with richly detailed and textured 3-D scenes. With the Dimension X implementation, developers can embed behaviors into an object through Java and the Visual Basic® programming system. VRML 2.0 environments are being deployed in Internet-based 3-D applications such as interactive advertising, collaborative engineering, 3-D chat and worlds, online multimedia presentations and entertainment.
“Dimension X is clearly the most exciting player in the VRML 2.0 industry,”
said J. Neil Weintraut, partner, Twenty-First Century Internet. The Dimension X technology, complemented by Microsoft’s comprehensive API infrastructure and technology, will deliver the industry’s highest-performance VRML 2.0 implementation on Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0
Microsoft will integrate VRML 2.0 within ActiveX and DirectX, leveraging Java compiler technologies to provide seamless browser integration and high-performance rendering. For use with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0, VRML 2.0 will be implemented as an ActiveX Control that takes advantage of the built-in Java support. Furthermore, Microsoft’s implementation of VRML 2.0 will utilize Direct3D
™
and DirectSound
™
real-time rendering services, enabling transparent access to hardware acceleration on the broad base of 3-D graphics and audio hardware.
“Microsoft’s unquestioned strength in systems software and tools, combined with Dimension X’s deep mastery of Java and VRML 2.0, has given the entire VRML community a platform of incredible flexibility and versatility,”
said Mark Pesce, creator of VRML.
Dimension X, founded in March 1995, is the leader in providing Java-based platforms and tools for communicating ideas and concepts over the Internet. Liquid Motion
™
, a 2-D Java tool, and the Liquid Reality platform provide a comprehensive solution for content delivery on the Internet.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, ActiveX, DirectX, Visual Basic, Direct3D and DirectSound are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Liquid Reality and Liquid Motion are trademarks of Dimension X Inc.
For online product information:
Microsoft Web site: (http://microsoft.com/)
Dimension X Web site: (http://dimensionx.com/)
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