Planet 11 Announces Virtual Dubuque, I0
David Cauliflower, President of Planet 11 Studios, proudly unveiled Virtual Dubuque, IO today.

"With Virtual Raleigh-Durham, we've basically completed all of the major metropolitan areas in the country. We've decided to move on to minor, but no less important, places."

Virtual Dubuque is the first of several minor metropolitan areas Planet 11 plans to roll out within the year. In the works presently are Virtual Daly City, CA, Virtual Ely, NV and Virtual Wichita, KN.

"The nice thing about places like Wichita and Ely is that they're flat and there isn't much there," says Cauliflower. "We wanted to do places like Gilroy, CA and Poughkeepsie, NY, but all those trees are gonna make the poly-count skyrocket."

Cauliflower plans to do these kinds of cities when browsers have better frame rates.

VRML May Support New Physics
With real physics implemented, developers have now discovered how the old Newtonian model doesn't jive with reality. In an expected move, the VRML Consortium has called for submissions on how to implement new physics.

"Basically, virtual trees are falling in virtual woods, no one is around but they're making noises," says the president of the VRML Consortium. "That's a bad thing."

The problems surfaced when newbies on the www-vrml list began to complain that they couldn't get SpotLight to act as both a wave and a particle.

Papers are due at the end of the month.

Microsoft Buys 4 more VRML Browsers
In response to the Netscape/SGI deal combining the Live3D and Cosmo VRML browsers, Microsoft has acquired four more VRML browsers, bringing their total to six.

"We own almost every VRML browser there is," said the VRML spokesperson at Microsoft, who refused to be identified. "Netscape thought they could catch up to us by doing the deal with SGI, but we're sending a clear signal that we're bigger and better, and gosh darn it, people like us. So nya nya nee nya nya."

The new browser, called Microsoft WorldviewLiquidCosmoHeat (WLCH) will support the full VRML 4.0 spec. It will be available in four variants, one each written in Java, C++, Pascal, Python, OpenInventor, and VisualBasic. "We'd like users to have a choice -- if they like VisualBasic, they can download the Visual Basic version. If they feel a Java browser would better meet their needs, they can download the Java browser. And those warm, fuzzy and huggable folks who like Pascal, can avail themselves of the pleasure of the Pascal version."

According to ultrasecret sources, the browser will have several undocumented features and extensions. "We saw Netscape playing with the Mirror node extension and we've retaken the lead with the one-way mirror node, which will be called ActiveMirror." The company is also rumoured to be interested in acquiring a browser written in LOGO.

Grassroots Movement To Support SmellTexture
One of the working groups in the VRB is pushing hard to get the SmellTexture keyword implemented in VRML 5.0.

The idea started several years ago when John Gluck, Editor of VRMLSite Magazine suggested it in his article "Top Ten VRML Keywords Rejected By ISO".

"I was only joking," said Gluck. "It's amazing how many people take you seriously when you're only having a little fun."