PostHeaderIcon Firefox Helmet a Reality: Second Life by Thought

Clint Eastwood in FirefoxAs the article states: 'eat your heart out, Luke Skywalker.' A new technology in headsets will allow people to game and otherwise use the computer and control certain aspect by thought. Anyone remember the old movie "Firefox"? [Gawd I love that movie!]

In the movie, the pilot of a top-secret Russian jet was exponentially more deadly because of the though controls, accomplished through sensors in the helmet. The pilot only needed to think "fire missiles" and away they went, tracking the target the pilot was thinking of. Well, it seems such a pilot helmet is not too far-off. An article in USA Today highlights a new product that does htis:

And in a preview of possible future applications, EPOC's ability to both read an emotional state and transfer facial gestures — a smile, a wink — from a player to its on-screen character also makes it a natural for virtual-world games such as Second Life, says Le.
"Emotiv's elegant, lightweight EPOC headset is a piece of cutting-edge technology that grants Yoda-like telepathic powers, allowing players of computer games to move items on screen with merely their thoughts. Due for release by year's end, the $299 device will come bundled with an adventure game in which players complete tasks for an Asian sensei."

So, how can this device apply to Second Life? Well, the closing statement of the article makes it pretty clear: To me able to visually emote by animating your face on screen, such as frowns, smiles, winks and blinks and so on. Though, such a headset might be a bit overpriced and overkill for such simple animated emotes in Second Life, it might be on your Christmas list of you also are a gamer with other genres...

Source: USA Today

PostHeaderIcon Second Life good for the disabled

It's no secret by now that Second Life, with all it's frustrating problems of stability and bugs, and all the seedier side of things, such as cybersex and griefers, also is a great place where real good things can happen.

We've heard about how corporations are using the virtual space as a way to cut costs and make meetings and collaboration far more efficient than is can be in the real world. How educators are using it for experiments, educational curriculum and even as long-distance learning centers. and then there are those whose real lives can be changed in a positive way through their virtual lives.

I personally know of a couple people who, in real life dread going into public for a couple reasons. One of whom was in a car accident a couple years ago and is unable even to speak or move around easily, find that Second Life allows her to be 'normal and beautiful' again.

We've also read stories about how the psychological affects of SL can be 'damaging' to many and, yet highly positive to others.

CNN.com has a great story of the latter. Featuring a few residents, the story centers around how Second Life is being used to help those within the autistic spectrum and their families.
"For people with autism, we've found it's a very nice way of setting up situations they might come across in their everyday lives," Bignell said. "For people who have social, emotional, communicational problems ... we can get them familiar with an environment before they actually try it out in real life."

iReport: 'Naughty Auties' battle autism with virtual interaction - CNN.com
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PostHeaderIcon Is the great mystery of "search ranking" finally solved?

Unlikely.

At least, we're a little closer, thanks to Jeska Linden and her timely blog post.

Now - where are all the residents who complain about Torley posting tutorials when only posts about the grid's stability should matter? Will they chastise Jeska for this 'irrelevant' post, too?

What will no-doubt be one of the more popular and most visited posts on the Second Life™ blog, Jeska Linden reveals tips that will help merchant and other residents improve their search rankings. However, the post makes it seem somewhat as though the Lindens, or at least most other than the engineers and developers, are still a bit in the guessing stage.

Either way, this blog post is timely, if late, and will no doubt start the frenzy of activity as resident merchants frantically work to implement these tips
"Over the last few months, we’ve compiled some of the best practice tips and guidelines to help improve the relevance and search ranking for your classified ads, parcel listings, object descriptions, profiles, etc."

Tips to Improve Your Search Ranking « Official Second Life Blog
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PostHeaderIcon The 'Voice' of Reason

Our wonderfully cheerful Second Life friend Torley Linden posted more tutorials this morning, subject: voice controls. Unfortunately, the gripers and voice-haters come out of the woodwork again. In all the blog talkbacks, 90% of the 'squeaky wheels' dump on Torley and anyone who tries to speak any reasoning to them. Of course, it's the loud minority that gets all the attention. So be it.

Of the few talkbacks that try to speak some reason - whether it's the fact that the voice abilities in Second Life have hardly any load or bearing on how SL itself operates - the 'voice-haters' still insist forcing their ideas down everyone else's throat. Simply because they don't want to be found out they are really a guy playing a girl in SL - in secret.

Or some other secretive reason they desperately don't want others to know about.

What other reasonable, plausible cause would they have for their vile hatred of a pretty simple, and incredibly useful technology? And they always find a way to justify their hatred: "Sl is unstable and voice is the cause" or "fix SL instead of putting features" and so on.

Okay - if that's the case... and voice as a feature is hosing the Grid - then let's remove the voice feature from Second Life.

While we're at it, let's follow another suggestion made in the talkbacks: Let's remove all "flexi" (flexible prims) capability. But why stop there?

Let us also remove all particle effects, too. Those can cause huge lag in a crowded area where they might be overused. Oh, wait - all 'networked' vending machines should be abolished as well. Come to think of it, since we are talking about the grid's performance issues - I think all textures and screenshots uploaded should automatically be limited and resized to 128 by 129 pixels in size.

Oh, but wait... water should not be animated and the particle clouds used in the currently 'traditional' viewer (as opposed to WindLight) should be abolished, too. Oh, and WindLight itself should not be introduced. In fact - scripted prim attachments should also be abolished. After all, those "MultiGadgets" can kill a sim if you get more than two or three on the same sim together. So... no more scripted HUDs, please!

In fact, let's also just remove all scripted objects completely.

OH! I almost forgot... if you get more than say six or seven people in the same location - especially on the mainland - grid performance and stability (from these individuals' perspectives) drops drastically low. It's horrible!

So let is also abolish all avatars. No more avatars to clog the system performance! There! That will solve everything! Someone please put this suggestion into the Public JIRA, quick!

In fact - it's the easiest solution of all: remove all avatars and you won't have to bother with removing all those other features that cause grid instability I suggested above.

The grid would be ridiculously stable then, wouldn't it? It doesn't matter how popular all these 'features' are. The important thing is that grid instability is vastly unpopular. And since all these things combined are the cause of it - they should all be abolished!

So... among all the talkbacks - DaQbet put it most eloquently:
DaQbet Kish Says: "Obviously Im parroting what I see as nothing more then speculation offered up as fact. After a almost a year of reminding people that Voice is a choice and that many things can cause lag the voice haters still cant resist attacking anyone who dares to mention Voice and Second Life in the same sentence. Why no lashing out at Troley’s many other helpful tutorials other then to take cheep shots when ever the opportunity arises. Ill comment no further. And once again thank you Torley for your efforts."
So - all you voice-haters: just turn it off and nevermind. Stop forcing your ideas and 'solutions' down everyone elses throats and keep to yourself.

All you bling-haters, turn it off in your viewer and nevermind. See above.
All you particle-haters: turn it off and nevermind. See above.

All you script-haters: turn around and walk the other way. I don't see how you can turn those off!

Source: Second Life Web Log

PostHeaderIcon ALAS! A "voice" of reason!

Image © Linden Lab, Second Life is a registered trademark of Linden LabOur wonderfully cheerful Second Life friend Torley Linden posted more tutorials this morning, subject: voice controls. Unfortunately, the gripers and voice-haters come out of the woodwork again. In all the blog talkbacks, 90% of the 'squeaky wheels' dump on Torley and anyone who tries to speak any reasoning to them. Of course, it's the loud minority that gets all the attention. So be it.

Of the few talkbacks that try to speak some reason - whether it's the fact that the voice abilities in Second Life have hardly any load or bearing on how SL itself operates - the 'voice-haters' still insist forcing their ideas down everyone else's throat. Simply because they don't want to be found out they are really a guy playing a girl in SL - in secret.

Or some other secretive reason they desperately don't want others to know about.

What other reasonable, plausible cause would they have for their vile hatred of a pretty simple, and incredibly useful technology? And they always find a way to justify their hatred: "Sl is unstable and voice is the cause" or "fix SL instead of putting features" and so on.

Okay - if that's the case... and voice as a feature is hosing the Grid - then let's remove the voice feature from Second Life.

While we're at it, let's follow another suggestion made in the talkbacks: Let's remove all "flexi" (felxible prims) capability. But why stop there?

PostHeaderIcon The Second Life® Brand Center - about time?

inSL BannerI think it is about time.
There have been a lot inquiries to Linden Lab about getting a hold of the Second Life logo for use in or out of world. So this new logo program is a good idea and, no doubt, it wasn't invented yesterday. These things take a lot of time to prepare and build, long before such an announcement.

So, do you plan to sign-up? I do. Though, I do have reservations about the claim to trademark over the initials "S" and "L" - whether it's used in context with Second Life or not.

And yes, I stole their banner right off their page! But i have 90-days to apply and make myself legal. >:)

Though I am still laughing really, really hard at all the childish replies on the blog post.
could also use the inSL logo in marketing materials, on your website, on your letterhead, in conference materials, in presentation slides, on promotional items, on product packaging, and in other areas where you wish to promote your contributions to the Second Life world.

Second Life | The Second Life® Brand Center

Blog post here: http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/03/24/introducing-the-second-life-brand-center/
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PostHeaderIcon Copybot, copybot 2.0, Prim duplicators... BUNK I SAY!

Note the similarities - in fact, two are IDENTICALA. D. Laboratory has a great thread posted on their site. Holy wowzers - the crass boldness of some thieves is astonishing. What I really want to know is: how did 'she' react when she was called-out in the open to be a bald-faced thief and liar?

Okay - so here's a quote of a quote from the site [names removed in respect, and from me it's just hearsay, so I implore you to go over there and read this article - link at the end of my rant - quotes are [sic]]:
[21:23] [Original creator]: i changed the price to $0
[21:23] [Original crator]: can you get a free copy?
[21:24] [Alleged thief]: i dont want a copy of shit i have in my inventory .. thiose legwarmers are a STRAIGHT UP RIP!

Woohoo!

Okay - you really have to read the article to understand the 'woohoo' part.

Now my take on all this copybot nonsense:
Okay - it's not all nonsense, but it comes close. Copybot itself is not 'nonesense', but I feel the overhyped reactio to it is, or at least mostly is. Back in summer, 2006, copybot found its way into the wild. The entire grid went stupid.

What I mean to say is - it was worse than someone shouting "fire!" in a crowded theatre. The panic was insane and everyone went nuts. As it turns out, most of it was hype.

PostHeaderIcon The 26th Group - ummm, Yes.

Prokofy Neva noticed what many of us did and wrote a great article over at the SL Herald about the 26th group Concierge clients of Linden Lab received.

Now, love her or hate her, it's a good article. Finally, she writes for them again as, in my mind, their stories are ridiculously amateurish and intentionally written to cause friction and sensationalism. So are many of Prok's writings. But at least Prok can write.

I am not a Linden lover. But I do respect them and the gargantuan task they have, a delicate balancing act in many of what they do. Constantly being beaten up by the whiners and 'better-than-thou' crowds, especially in the blogs, and definitely in their own Second life blog.

PostHeaderIcon No payment info? No search - WOOT!

"No payment info on file" - finally! Being a premium user or, at the very least, having payment information on file finally has it's benefits, and damned good ones they are:

Tateru Nino of MASSIVELY reports:
"Sharp-eyed Wildefire Walcott has spotted (and we've spent the last few hours checking and verifying it across a number of accounts) that the profiles of Second Life accounts that have no payment information on file are excluded from the new Linden Lab search system."

I've been using Linden Lab's web search for several months now, and I never could quite figure why it either never displayed certain people in the results, or it would display their name, but you have to be in-world to view their profile. Finally, someone has put two-and-two together and found the real answer!

Now this is great news.
In my view, anyway.
I use a bot, too.
One, sole, single, lonely-old bot.
In fact, you can look at his profile: Blackthorne Destiny.

I don't know if he'll show-up in in-world search, but when you find him you'll notice something you won't see on most other bots: He is an enigma, a blank, a complete mystery.

Okay, maybe not a mystery.

PostHeaderIcon Xerox bets R&D future on pap

I had no idea Xerox was in SL.
But, since it's all top-secret and non-public access, it comes as no real surprise.
So there we were at one of the most famed research labs on the planet - where things like the PC, Ethernet and laser printers had their start - and the CTO of Xerox took us through a Romper Room journey into in the trite and vacuous. For example, Vandebroek bragged about Xerox's creation of a Second Life research and development center as one of the ways the company is encouraging openness. Unfortunately, only authorized Xerox folks can visit the site. Even worse, Vandebroek polled the 160 or so people in the audience to find out how many even use Second Life, only to discover three timid hands going into the air. Her jaw dropped in shock.

Xerox bets R&D future on pap | The Register
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PostHeaderIcon Could "Second Skin" Trigger Second Thoughts?

[youtube=transparent]

So there is another documentary out about MMORPGs and Virtual Worlds. This one apparently focuses on World of Warcraft and Second Life. View the trailer and read the review. According to this movie - it's all bad. At least, that's one I'm getting from the reviews I've read thus far.

No, I don't really have any interest in seeing it. But hey, who am I to judge, right?

Quote from the article:
"More and more, I see people exploring their wildest ideas and fantasies online, and more and more, I see some of those same ostensibly happy folks ready to tear each other to bits over the tritest slight.
"I know people who sit on message boards for hours a day playing semantic one-upsmanship, taking cheap ironic shots in some bizarro quest to pass as pseudo-intellectual on a given subject. I know others who seem to think passive-aggressive or just plain incendiary behavior in chat channels is the new Feng Shui.
"Blizzard's World of Warcraft played a role in wrecking the marriage of a relative (of course I blame the player, not the game). It may have been a major factor in delaying someone else I know a full year toward their terminal graduate degree.

"Ask any psychologist: Going online removes basic communicative cues developed over evolutionary eons. It's called the disinhibition effect, and it can be as toxic as it is liberating."

Game On Could "Second Skin" Trigger Second Thoughts About Online Gaming?
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PostHeaderIcon Second Life Nuked. Again.

Like the Rezzable Dinosaurs, SL went kablooey. Again.
I really should have known better!

I was working on a few things. Suddenly, I noticed the scripts weren't working. No response. They weren't resetting. In fact, it was bizzare: I got the old error that there are no scripts in the object.

Of course there are scripts in the object. I'm looking at them. Just put them in there as a matter of fact.

So I took the object back into inventory and set it out again. Now, the delay in the object jumping out of world and into my inventory should have beena loud, bright clue. But it went eventually and I was multitasking in Fireworks and Photoshop at the time, so my full attention wasn't in-world.

When I set the object out again, the scripts should have reloaded. Nothing. Hmmm...

Okay - let's restart the sim.

I go back to work off-line and return about 10 or 15 minutes later. "Region unavailable, you are being moved to a nearby [read: half-way across the SL globe] location." I end-up at my home location, currently set to Naoki's shop.

Okay - I go to map and search for my estate. There it... why is it still red, reading "offline"? Okay - just stand there, go back to offline work. 10-minutes later, search the map again. Funny. Still offline. Must be my viewer.

I log out and back again. STILL offline. Okay - contact support.

So, in the chat, TJ tells me he'll get the sim marked to return to online status, but that it might be very slow because of the database issues. I thank him and move on.

Not two-minutes later comes the Linden in-world notice to not perform any land transactions or L$ transactions at all. LL BLOG is updated.

I laugh.

Yes, laugh.

I am not going to whine and be all pissed-off because the database is borked, my sim is down and all money I earn in SL is in or on (vendors and servers) that sim - so as my sim is offline and effectively dead to the SL world... I laugh.

I don't consider SL to be a game. But I don't stake my life on it either. And, I have no doubt the Linden weekend crew are jumping through bootstraps to get things working again.

So, back to offline work for me... with a chuckle and a smile.

Did the Sunday database borking piss you off?
If so, I can only shake my head and ask why?

References: Rezzable Dinosaurs Go Extinct

PostHeaderIcon CAD software in Second Life?

Siemens is one of those companies using their presence in Second Life the right way.

They are actually expanding their presence with regard to their "PLM" software, a Computer Aided Design application suite. Now, I'll admit I had no idea Seimens even made CAD software. But this is a fascinating use of Second Life to further information and educate potentials on it.

A quote from Design News:
"Recognizing the growing importance of 3D life in the virtual world, Siemens PLM Software is expanding its presence in the popular Second Life community with a new tool that lets visitors create their own 3D Razor Scooter while exposing them to the possibilities of CAD software."

To me, this is awesome.
I've heard about other companies doing similar things, such as Dell computers allowing residents to build their own customized computer, and then being able to purchase a real life version of their own creation. This is pretty cool and I'd likely go try it, except that I prefer a more 'vertical' brand of system than the off-the-shelf brands (even if it is customized.)
"Virtual communities like Second Life are increasingly becoming important collaboration forums for companies, according to a new report from Forrester Research Inc. titled “Getting Real Work Done in Virtual Worlds.” The report notes that virtual worlds have advantages over other approaches to communication and collaboration, including the ability to “let people work with and share digital 3-D models of physical or theoretical objects.”

I thought this was an interesting read - not as much about the PLM software or Siemens themselves, but in how they are using Second Life to their own advantage.

It would appear that corporations coming into Second Life are finally starting to 'get it'.

Full article here:
Siemens PLM Software Expands Presence in Second Life - 3/4/2008 4:59:00 AM - Design News
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PostHeaderIcon Linden Dollars are Real Money. Proof Positive.


It doesn't matter what Linden Lab or anyone else says about Linden Dollars. Linden Dollars (L$) are a real world currency. It's as if Second Life, even though a 'virtual world' is like it's own country.


TechNewsWorld has a great article that evaluates virtual currencies and why they are so important to the very survival of the virtual world it supports. So, if you want to know how the virtual economy actually works - in relation to the real world and how Linden Lab requires a stable one to even survive... read the following article. maybe then you'll understand why the Casino and Banking issues are real issues for Linden Lab.



Exchanging Real Money in Virtual Worlds

This solution is cost-efficient for the consumer, as "real world" payment instruments and corresponding costs are also decreased. The consumer feels more closely affiliated with the community as the game character is fostered. Finally, the virtual currency has to be convertible to real world currencies, which allows the consumer to retract the money from the virtual world at any time. In summary, consumers are motivated to use the virtual currency and are retained as active participants.

PostHeaderIcon Second Life and Real Art



Wow.

SL itself is the medium for a Chinese artist and his creations are mind-numbing. if you get the chance, you absolutely have got to visit these builds.

Here's the original story:
Chinese Artist Uses Second Life as Lucrative Artistic Medium
“RMB City… doesn’t restore the full present, nor does it recall our reminiscence of the past. It’s a mirror that partially reflects; we see where we were coming from, discover some of the ‘connections’ that fill the pale zone between the real and the virtual, the clues of which get disturbed, enriched, and polished.”

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