The latest browsers (Chrome 10.x, FireFox 4.x, Opera 11.x, and Internet Explorer 9) are out now, and they include a cool new graphics technology called the Canvas Object, or just the 'canvas'. This adds a standardized way to do 3D graphics in your browser window using just HTML (Although you have to use the new HTML 5 specification to gain access to the Canvas object functionality, but HTML 5 is built into all the latest browsers.)

For a demonstration, check out this link which shows some heavy 3D calculations being done only with Javascript and the basic canvas functionality!

This is leads everyone to some pretty awesome standard abilities for web programs, without a menagerie of weird plug-ins, as it's been up until now. Native 3D as easy as standard HTML5 and standard Javascript! (Think about that for a bit! WayCool!!)

Check out the Canvas support for basic effects on DOM elements in the latest version of the jQuery UI Library. [At first, it's confusing, a bunch of black graphs with different squiggles on them. It'll make sense once you click on the separate squiggles - it describes how the size of the element is going to change while the effect runs. It's just a simple effect that resizes the element, but it's a look at how Canvas is going to change the way things work in Web Apps. In a few years, I don't think we'll even recognize them any more! (Think of looking at an old HTML 1.0 page, compared to what's coming.) ]

Time to go study this fully!