Q: Is threre any friendly soul out there who coud in plain english explain to a nerd wannabe what the heck is "open GL " and how is it being used?

A: I am afraid my English is not that good to be plain... Here is a small excerpt from an OpenGL Overview:

"OpenGL¨ is a software interface for applications to generate interactive 2D and 3D computer graphics. OpenGL is designed to be independent of operating system, window system, and hardware operations, and it is supported by many vendors. OpenGL is available on PCs and workstations."

In fact, OpenGL was developed by Silicon Graphics to take the place of the old GL (Graphics Language) used for their Graphics Supercomputers. On the PC platform, WindowsNT has built-in drivers for OpenGL. The latest generation of graphics accelerators implement OpenGL on their hardware (many of them using the GLiNT chip from 3D Labs)

To learn EVERYTHING about OpenGL follow these links:

  • At SGI, the birthplace of OpenGL:
    http://www.sgi.com/Technology/openGL/opengl.html

  • A short OpenGL Overview at:
    http://www-hep.llnl.gov/HyperNews/embed/babardiscuss/graphics/2.html

  • A list of PC based graphics accelerators (most of them use OpenGL):
    http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~bm/3dcards/3d-cards1.html

  • For more info on GLiNT accelerators, check 3D Labs at
    http://www.3Dlabs.com/

    I think this will be enough for the start ;o)
    Have a nice reading...