***SIGGRAPH 96 Overview
by Rob Glidden
The many tribes of the 3D media world met and mingled at SIGGRAPH in New
Orleans last week for the annual computer graphics show-of-shows.
Academics, tool makers, digital video companies and 3D fans of both the
high and low end varieties shared the exhibit hall, which some graphics
enthusiasts called "the New Comdex".
VRML continued its march to prominence and community maturation with the
last minute release of the much-heralded version 2.0 specification. The
2.0 great leap forward offers the potential of a ubiquitous Net-centric
3D viewer environment. Both Netscape (Live3D) and Microsoft (DimensionX)
promised VRML viewers for their Internet browsers.
The Electronic Theater, which highlights the year's best in 3D, was
dominated by commercials and film clips any TV watcher has seen many
times already. Of particular note though was "Chicken Crossing", an
impressive simulation/promo for Microsoft's upcoming Talisman hardware
architecture that shamed any demo for Microsoft's Direct3D. Also
impressive: "Fibonacci and the Golden Mean", which dramatically and
effectively showed the educational power of graphics.
Wave Issue 9606 8/16/96 Article 2-01