There was a post here a few weeks ago (some dude dug up some old content of a 3D mesh of a cow in a Java viewer). And the old OpenGL and Java code "just worked".
"... and in their death throes, they gave onto us, technologies to last more than 2 years at a time. Sights and wonders never before seen only told, far outreaching the merciless grasp of the Holder of Shares."
RIP - SGI Vpro.
CAD vendors were what fucked over OpenGL for a long time, and it was only the fourth-quarter ill-fated kick by 3dlabs that gave it a programmable shader pipeline, and in turn set back the API development by another half-decade at least.
Look, "open" is not some magical fucking pixie dust you sprinkle over an abortion of an API to make it breathe life and grow up and change the world. If it was, audio in Linux wouldn't be such a shitshow, and neither would X, and neither would any number of other open APIs that everyone hates.
I do agree with you, though: rest in peace, Silicon Graphics.
EDIT: Derp on 3dfx vs 3dlabs.
I am hoping that if OpenGL becomes the most sensible choice, something else will grow out of it. Or if the reigns were handed over to FSF.
I don't think it's a very good comparision, but javascript is doing great out there in the wild. As is Linux, even with so many chefs.