What’s this? Looks like Microsoft might finally be getting on the WebGL bandwagon with the release of Internet Explorer 11. A new video posted on Vine from Internet Explorer depicts a young browser (just go with us here) getting busted by its browser father for a baggy full of HTML5. The father asks, “What’s next? WebGL?” And scene.
This short teaser certainly suggests that IE11 will finally offer support for the WebGL, which gives browsers the capability to render 3D graphics. WebGL is based on a JavaScript API and is compatible with other Web standards. Microsoft previously shunned it due to security concerns, but this video suggests that the company now has a workaround for it. Internet Explorer is currently the only major browser not supporting WebGL –Firefox, Opera, Chrome, and Safari all support it, which makes it easier for developers to build applications that work on every browser. Even the new Google Maps is based on WebGL, along with several in-browser games.
The Verge believes that Internet Explorer 11 will definitely include WebGL support and will be released as part of the massive Windows 8.1 update that’s slated to begin previews in June at Microsoft’s Build developer conference. Originally known as Windows Blue, the update to Windows 8 is expected to right many of the perceived “wrongs” in the operating system, including the lack of a “Windows Start” button and giving users the option of booting directly to the desktop.
