The GSN Composer is an online node-based visual programming environment that allows generating custom nodes using GLSL/WebGL. For every uniform variable that is created within the GLSL shader code editor, an input slot is automatically added to the corresponding shader node, which can be connected to other nodes of the dataflow graph. This makes online shader prototyping very fast and intuitive and frees the developer of writing many lines of support code to fill the GLSL uniform variables with values. The GSN Composer requires no login and is free-of-charge. All that is needed to get started is a web-browser and your creativity. Several simple GLSL examples are provided such that this tool is also suited as starting point for GLSL/WebGL beginners.

Starting today, Facebook is rolling out support for the industry standard glTF 2.0 file format for Facebook 3D posts. 3D objects or scenes saved in glTF can be dragged straight to a browser window to add to your Facebook account. The company is also adding the feature to its platform tools so developers can build ways to export creations to Facebook from various apps. With glTF 2.0 support, Facebook is opening up even more ways to share 3D content on Facebook from more creation tools and platforms. They’re introducing new Graph API endpoints with 3D Post support so developers can build seamless 3D sharing into any app — letting people share interactive objects or scenes directly to Facebook with just a click. Learn more about glTF and what Facebook is doing here, and check out a cool example of glTF in action here.

Google’s Chrome / Chromium web-browser has added a native glTF 1.0 parser. There are glTF utility libraries in JavaScript and other web-focused languages, but Google adding a native glTF 1.0 parser appears to be related to their VR push with supporting VR content on the web.

With the very latest open-source Chromium web-browser development code, WebGL 2.0 support is now being turned on by default for desktop (non-Android) builds.

Khronos Group contributor member ETRI has published a WebCL implementation for the Chromium web browser on Github. You can find this and many other resources on the official WebCL resources page.

Basemark, the developer of industry-standard benchmarks for performance and power consumption analysis, today launches Basemark Web 3.0 browser benchmarking tool. With the new tool, Basemark extends support from mobile devices and VR to all connected devices that run a modern web browser, such as laptops and desktop PCs.

Tweaktown talked to Martin Best, Mozilla’s Director of Platform Product Management about the future of WebGL and gaming in the browser. Martin says “We have been working to improve the performance, reach and capability of WebGL. WebGL 2 is in development and already in Firefox Nightly for testing.” Read the entire interview.

If you are a Web developer, you may know and love WebGL, the Khronos standard that defines a JavaScript binding to the OpenGL ES API. Up to now, 3D has been unique in not having a widely established format that browsers and apps have agreed to use to send assets efficiently across the Web: photos have JPEGs, music has MP3s, and movies have MP4 – well now 3D has glTF! Although the glTF 1.0 specification was released just a few months ago, in October 2015, it is already gaining friends and allies across the industry. Learn more about glTF in the Khronos Developer Blog.

Intel developers have been working on adding OpenCL support to the Quick Color Management System (QCMS) as used by the Chrome and Firefox web-browsers for color management for JPEG/PNG/WebP images containing an embedded ICC profile.

A-Frame is an open source framework for easily creating WebVR experiences with HTML. It is designed and maintained by MozVR (Mozilla’s virtual reality team research team). A-Frame wraps WebGL in HTML custom elements, enabling web developers to create 3D VR scenes that leverage WebGL’s power, without having to learn its complex low-level API. Because WebGL is ubiquitous in modern browsers on desktop and mobile, A-Frame experiences work across desktop, iPhone (Android support coming soon), and Oculus Rift headsets.

If you’re a Star Wars fan and have a computer and a smart phone, give this Chrome Experiment a try. From Engadget, “Lightsaber Escape is a Chrome Experiment that Google made in conjunction with Lucasfilm and Star Wars visual-effects studio Industrial Light & Magic. It uses WebGL for the 3D graphics, plus WebRTC and WebSocket for the real-time communication between your phone and desktop.”

WebGLStudio.js is an impressive platform to create interactive 3D scenes directly from the browser. It allows one to edit the scene visually, code your behaviours, edit the shaders, and all directly from within the app.

NASA released a new Blend4Web-powered project powered by WebGL. To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of Curiosity Mars Rover landing on the red planet, NASA has developed a web application to reflect the most prominent moments of this space mission. This app is both very informative and intriguing: you can move the rover, control its cameras and the robotic arm and even take a selfie! The 3D content is integrated with martian landscape photos linked to locations and events via HTML interface and markers. Seamless integration of these different data types is guaranteed by WebGL as a native browser technology. We believe that the successful implementation of such an ambitious project marks a significant milestone in the development of Internet technologies in general and WebGL, in particular.

Crosswalk 14 is now Beta. This release comes with the usual update to Chromium (M43)and introduces the WebCL API for devices that support OpenCL. Crosswalk Project enables you to deploy a web application with its own dedicated runtime.

Mozilla has released the latest version of its browser, Firefox version 35.0 which adds support for the EXT_blend_minmax WebGL extension. As well as many other changes of course.