In its continuing bid to become the Web developer's toolmaker of choice, Silicon Graphics will provide the Windows crowd with a software bridge between Java and the troubled Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
The Mountain View, California-based company said Monday that it will port Cosmo Code, its Java development tool, to Windows 95 and Windows NT. Combined with Cosmo Worlds, the company's VRML authoring tool, SGI hopes to better compete in the booming personal workstation market. The company is betting on VRML as a way to extend its dominance in high-end 3-D graphics into the mass market - and Java as the means to that end.
Monday's announcements further SGI's "second Web" initiative, launched in January, that would consist of Web sites with 3-D VRML interfaces powered by Java.
"Java and VRML are the foundation technologies for the 'second Web,' as they enable rich interactive content over the highly constrained bandwidth of today's Internet," said John McCrea, director of marketing for Cosmo products.
The move is part of SGI's strategic evolution into the software business - especially for the Windows market, as PCs become more powerful and begin to edge into its core workstation business. A significant company reorganization eight months ago created the Silicon Interactive Group, a software division developing Web applications, as well as Alias/Wavefront products.
Easy Java authoring on more affordable machines could prove a boon to Web designers.
"We very often decide not to go with custom Java applications, based on our budget parameters," said Robert Holmes, director of production for Free Range Media, a company that provides Web and intranet design, digital commerce, and custom software solutions. "This gives us the ability to offer those solutions to a broader portion of our clients."
SGI also said that CosmoPlayer, its VRML browser, will comply with the new JavaBeans specification, which allows developers to mix Java with other software components. Also, CosmoPlayer's external authoring interface (EAI) is a quick way for developers to incorporate VRML content that has the same platform-independence as the rest of their Java code. CosmoPlayer is already available for Windows; a version is slated to be bundled with the MacOS this year.
"[Java and VRML are] used for different things and used by different kinds of people, but the team of designers, artists, and developers who are making this new medium will be making use of both technologies, and we'd like to be the company that delivers a complete tool set for them," said McCrea.
A flexible and friendly 3-D authoring tool is vital for the survival of VRML technology, says Forrester Research, which in February deemed 3-D "not ready for prime time."
"This is the sort of infrastructure that's necessary," said Forrester senior analyst Mark E. Hardie. "The fact that they're creating stronger links between Java and VRML helps everyone. Now, we have to see some good content."
