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October 2007
The Archives
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10.23.07Movable Redux: ToS is Scaryi recently wrote about the Movable viewer as a handy way of accessing SL without needing the client - use a Web browser to access SL, chat, and perform limited functions. OK, but buyer beware and check under the hood. Virtually Blind, a virtual legal firm, had a look at the terms of service and finds this clause: 6.2 Intellectual Property Rights. You acknowledge and agree that 3Di and/or its Affiliates retain the sole and exclusive right, title, and interest in and to the Intellectual Property Rights in this Site, the Movable Life Services, Site Code and Site Contents and all copies thereof, ...
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10.23.07Armani in Second Life: Redux (Disaster!)OK, I recently posted with joy and excitement that Armani was opening a store in SL. What a horrible unqualified DISASTER! This is NOT a store. It is a display simulation of what their real store looks like. There is no need for a recreation of their real store to be in a social environment. And as a build it was cool, tough to navigate, and empty. But forgetting that for a second - I COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING TO BUY! Oh, I did - 10 items I think? They had racks and racks of lovely looking prims. Hangers of gorgeous Armani clothes, signs of gorgeous ...
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10.23.07Countdown to History? CSI in Second Life. Can 400+ sims be wrong?Wednesday sees a special episode of CSI New York called "Down the Rabbit Hole" in which the pursuit of a killer takes Gary Sinise into Second Life. A plot summary and overview of the sim interactions describes: The episode will see Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) entering Second Life to pursue a killer who has killed a Second Life user in a case of virtual stalking gone too far. CSI:NY fans will be encouraged to join Second Life and investigate the case by following a link on the CBS website. CSI:NY will have three options for CSI-related inworld activities. The first option will allow ...
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10.19.07Second Life Version 2.0: Chinese VersionFurther evidence of the competition nipping at SL's heels, head, thighs - whatever, you get the point. In China, a Second Life clone offers comparable visuals but fewer bells and whistles, PLUS an astonishing 300 MB client download - UGH. SL has had a few more years to add to its feature pool, and I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so I watch with continued interest at how many flatterers there are out there and what they invest in trying to be "SL comparable" or at least in going lateral into other markets. Geeky Coder reviews Novoking of site here.
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10.19.07The Empty WorldIn follow-up to my posting about the tracking traffic on a sim using Jon Brouchard's new script from his Reflexive Architecture projects, I ran across a posting by Storygeek entitled Second Life is Not Empty. He hits on many of the points I do, and that in part is the purpose of Jon's Reflexive Architecture and adds a few that I think are worth considering. But to summarize a few things: you might find yourself wandering Second Life (or other virtual worlds) looking for the dots - groups of people to chat with, meet up with, or do stuff with (yeah, I ...
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10.19.07Second Life: Migration to Virtual Worlds and the Use of TimeI'm a convert to virtual spaces. I'm a convert because there's a migration happening and I like the idea of being part of a diaspora charting new territories, arriving in some new land with hopes and dreams (and a look of total mystification and bafflement). The migration is like from the Old World to the New World - from Europe to America. It's a migration because people move from where life is less good to places where life is better. People who arrive in these new worlds might end up baffled, confused, and then head back to the old country - ...
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10.18.07Ikea Virtual Walk-ThroughA stunning use of 3D to show off the IKEA product line. While it isn't a true virtual world, it's a mind bender when you think of what virtual worlds technology could look like. IKEA also provides a 'virtual kitchen builder'. It may be a proprietary platform but it certainly shows the power of the technology to engage. Also, check this great write-up by Joel at Electric Sheep describing the implications and possible porting of the virtual kitchen/product concept to other worlds.
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10.18.07Brilliant Architecture Pushes Boundaries of Virtual World ThinkingI have been so deeply impressed by the work of Jon Brouchard and wanted to share his latest thinking on reflexive architecture. I'm often stunned by the sculptural quality of some of the SL builds, by houses that are so realistic you feel you can drink the cup of coffee on the living room table, or by recreations of a streetscape that allow you to instantly transport to New York, Paris, Italy - you name it. But its always seemed to me that the point of virtual worlds is their ability to expand our concepts of objects, social environments, information, interaction, and ...
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10.18.07Real Life/Second Life/Facebook Mash-UpWell, we get closer and closer to our Facebook profiles and mySpaces having all sorts of little annexes, bedrooms, studies, virtual houses with our cross-platform avatars wandering from room to room from friend to friend a great virtual migration of our digital selves. Now, with the Facebook ability to add mini apps, two initiatives allow you to append your Facebook profile with your SL profile. One reviewer looks at two applications. For purists, this will not come as good news - the concept of the magic circle survives. And the choice to connect a RL identity with a virtual avatar should not ...
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10.18.07Virtual Water for Sale! Evian in Second Life!OK....now, if anyone believes that synthetic worlds are just a goofy collection of weird builds, sex beds, furries and griefers their opinion is bound to be changed over night with the news that Evian is now selling, um, virtual water. Well, not quite - actually, when you buy Evian in world not only is it environmentally sustainable (no plastic, no shipping, no leeching the environment) but you also get a new skin! So, this may not convert the skeptics nor make the metaverse any less weird. But back to my "this spoon is not a spoon" analogy - well, this water ain't ...
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