SAN FRANCISCO (12-05-95) - Arch Unix workstation rivals Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) and Sun Microsystems Inc. shared a stage with Netscape Communications Corp. at the Web Innovation show here yesterday, pledging their support for several World Wide Web standards.
Sun endorsed SGI's implementation of the Virtual Reality Modeling Language, which can be used to build 3-D interactive Web sites. In return, SGI endorsed Sun's Java programming language. Netscape joined the lovefest by pledging support for both technologies.
SGI, Sun and Macromedia also said they would define a new set of application programming interfaces (APIs). All the companies hope to speed up the interactive, multimedia and 3-D capabilities of the World Wide Web.
"We've banded together to endorse several new technologies: VRML, which enables 3D graphics; Java, which has taken the industry by storm; and now JavaScript," said Tom Jermoluk, president and COO of SGI.
"We want to raise the bar of functionality, without any single company having a lock on the industry," said Netscape vice president Marc Andreesson.
The group sees the software industry changing rapidly towards simple operating systems that can access the software components they need on the network, downloading Java applets to perform specific tasks. "To the skeptics, I say: Technology is changing faster than you think -- and most everyone agrees that it will happen," said Jermoluk.
SGI also announced plans to launch a new software suite next year called Cosmo, designed to bring the company's 3-D expertise to the Web. The suite includes the following pieces:
--Cosmo Create, authoring software that will enable users to build Web pages, multimedia titles and interactive 3-D worlds using advanced Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and VRML.
--Cosmo Code, an implementation of the Java programming language for creating cross-platform multimedia and 3-D applications.
--Cosmo Player, a browser that can also be plugged into existing browsers to extend their functionality. The Cosmo Motion engine will also be available for license by vendors with other browsers.
--CosmoMediabase, asset management software designed to make it easier to manage multimedia Web sites.
SGI will hold a Cosmo developers forum in April, with a product launch to follow around July.
Sun can be reached at +1 (415) 786-8199. Netscape can be reached at +1 (415) 528-2619. SGI can be reached at +1 (415) 290-1306. All three companies are based in Mountain View, Calif.
[Copyright 1995 IDG News Service, International Data Group Inc. All rights reserved.]