WebGL is coming to browsers whether we want it or not, bringing hardware accelerated 3D graphics without the need for Flash or Java. However, it does rely on functioning OpenGL drivers on the client system. For most people, this isn’t an issue, but for people running Windows it might. For those few people who have working DirectX drivers, but no OpenGL drivers, a new project is on the horizon to transparently translate between the two.
The goal of ANGLE is to allow Windows users to seamlessly run WebGL content by translating OpenGL ES 2.0 API calls to DirectX 9 API calls.
Current browser implementations of WebGL depend on having OpenGL 2.0 drivers present to render content, however these drivers are not available on many computers. ANGLE is an early work-in-progress, but when complete, it will enable browsers to run WebGL content without requiring users to find and install new OpenGL drivers.
You may think this is unnecessary, and I’ld agree. However, people using older windows laptops with Intel integrated graphics chips have no functioning OpenGL driver, but a working DirectX driver. These systems, while horribly outdated, are very prevalent and widespread. While ANGLE may serve a niche market, it seems an important (albeit temporary) piece in bringing WebGL to the masses.
I have a crappy Intel GMA 3100. No OpenGL 2 for me. It can run Quake Live, Unity3d, etc. though. So good for Google for bringing webgl to the masses.