3D: Flash vs HTML5
Out of context: Reply #27
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- Mojo0
@Boz: Thanks for replying.
I couldn't agree more, Flash has done 3D for a long time, and when Molehill comes I think it really opens the web to a new realm of possibilities, with proper GPU access Flash can now do serious gaming and clientless 3D applications over the web, and it's already proven itself to be powerful today. I have no doubts that Molehill is technically a better solution.
VHS & Beta.
I think WebGL will be used casually, as mentioned, cross-platform games etc, but at the moment appears to be developing slowly and is very limited. I don't believe that WebGL will catch up with Molehill any time soon. However, I still suspect there is a place for WebGL, other than cross-platform games.
I can imagine the benefits of building sites in our mature markup, and easily adding in 3D to enhance a website's interaction, and take HTML websites more into the realm of the 'Flash Microsite' area, which is good because for information and the structure of the internet, HTML makes the most sense. It really is a bit shit at the moment when you view a content heavy site in Flash and you can't easily print a selection, zoom text etc.
The future of Flash?
There's a clear direction of 'general purpose' (not micro or 'rich experience' sites) websites getting more 'rich' as presentational/interactive technologies (CSS3, device APIs etc) mature and become more widely supported.
Will the improvement of HTML5 technologies (inc CSS3) mean that Flash becomes less and less relevant for 'rich' (as defined above) sites? We can clearly see that people are now able to do some of the things Flash could only do, in HTML.
And following on from that question, does the future of Flash lie in GPU 3D?
Side questions:
> Is Flash becoming less relevant as a tool for developing applications because of Silverlight maturing?
> Will 3D ever really be an important part of 'general purpose' websites? VRML v2 anyone?