His current project is interesting, though it has no clear immediate impact on enterprise software developers. Bray has seen the next step in the Internet's evolution, and it's a 3-D experience. Bray has actually taken that next step with this week's official launch of the Map.net Website. Using the continent of Antarctica as a visual reference, Bray's company, Antarcti.ca Systems, has constructed a three-dimensional map of the World Wide Web. Users hover above, moving like a low-flying helicopter through neighborhoods of Websites.
Users are able to see the sites in detail without downloading any Webpages.
Bray was a keynote speaker at last week's XML DevCon Fall 2000. Map.net's launch was the buzz of the conference, which was overshadowed by the massive Comdex show, but still notable. Bray, who first mapped the Web in 1995, previewed the site in a keynote address at the XTech 2000 Conference earlier this year. While the engines are getting smarter, nobody would describe Web navigation as either efficient or fun. Antarcti.ca offers a productive and enjoyable public Website that gives people a view of the whole Net and lets them use it in a way that is consistent with the everyday world they live in.