Socially|Mundane

No, this is not an April's Fool joke.

So, Uncle Phil (Second Life CEO - currently, anyway) went to go sit in front of some congressional meeting yesterday. Not all that sure what those greety, out-of-touch-with-the-real-world politicians are interested about with virtual worlds such as Second Life, There and so on... other than we all know what.

Those Europeans have a totally sucky situation with that VAT forced down their throat. But hey, they created and signed-on with the E.U. - so suck it up and drive-on.

Ahah! But the same is true for the United States. The greedy, lying sacks-of-sh... er... politicians sitting up there on Capitol Hill are the same ones we put there. So, if you think this meeting is just a curiosity thing... you have another think coming.

It's the first baby steps toward being taxed in Second Life (yes, I'm speaking of those in the United States) because they are so greedy and they see and hear claims like "$5-million exchanged hands today in Second Life" - which if you think about it is total bunk.

That would be $5-million U.S. worth of Linden Dollars (L$) - but, according to Linden Lab, the Linden Dollar is a token and has no value. If it has no value, how can it be used to measure any 'legal tender amount for any reason?

And, since the Linden Dollar has 'no value' according to Linden Lab, how can the U.S. Government swing an excuse to tax us?

Oh... they'll find a way. Have no doubts about it.

As for the meet... PC Magazine has a short snippet about how Uncle Phil debunks the idea there are terrorists inside SL. Good for you, Phil. I, like you, think it's a ridiculous notion.

PC Magazine sez: "Though there has certainly been discussion [about terrorism in virtual worlds], we have never seen any evidence that there is any such activity going on in Second Life," Philip Rosedale, founder and CEO of Linden Labs, told the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on telecom and the Internet.

Source

As 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

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

Tags: SecondLife, SL, CNN, Autism, Awesome