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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Sunday, 26 August 2007 |
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Opinion by Russell D. Chapman of Plano, TX USA Virtual worlds offer a chance to be something you're not - like someone who spends time with family, for example In this place, people design their own physical appearance, assuming new and sometimes bizarre forms. Most men are about 7 feet tall, women about 6 feet. Everyone is as young, old, beautiful or strong as he or she wants to be. Some are human in form, some look like ghostly samurai and some resemble Harvey, the invisible talking rabbit. Residents unsatisfied with their appearance can change at will, for a price, sometimes adding angel or butterfly wings, a prehensile tail, fox ears or other, more intimate, embellishments. There are amusement parks, bars, office buildings, airports, nightclubs, lakes, islands, boats, hotels, roads, concerts, stores, cars, embassies, resorts, a stock exchange. People meet, work, play, marry. They engage in "adult" activities. They buy, develop, lease and sell land. They have their own currency. Their own newspapers inform them of community news and events. Residents establish and run businesses, create and sell products, provide services, all tax-free. READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/coll...
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Sunday, 26 August 2007 |
Second Life Gets 'Real' at Conference By WILLIAM MARRA Two men dressed in furry rabbit costumes danced the night away. A scantily underclad female vampire gleefully played dominatrix to a male vampire who obediently sat on the floor and mischievously snarled at her. A man wearing retractable wings showed off his stuff, while another in a see-through top went around spanking people with a wooden paddle. "It's just like being online at a party," said Marsha Ellstrom as she observed the scene Saturday night at the Second Life Community Convention's "Leather and Lace" Masquerade Ball here in Chicago. READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/stor...
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Saturday, 25 August 2007 |
By Mary Hayes Weier
IBM, like other businesses, plunged into Second Life partly in search of a new profit stream. I bet it never considered employees would use Second Life to strike the company.
The Register in the U.K. is reporting that a trade union that represents 9,000 IBM employees in Italy is planning to strike IBM next month in Second Life to protest its stance on salary increases.
Interesting stuff. My first thought was, that's kind of cowardly; why use the Web and a collection of avatars if you're trying to instigate real-life change? Norma Rae would be so disappointed. But actually, it's kinda clever. And creative. It shows that even with the business world's enthusiasm for Second Life, it remains a democracy.
READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/20...
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Saturday, 25 August 2007 |
No matter how futuristic the internet may seem to be, the fundamental truths of human nature will always endure thereBy Marina Hyde
The Guardian 'Life is pain," deadpans the swashbuckling hero of the movie The Princess Bride. "Anyone who says different is selling you something." I'm afraid that this was the quote that drifted across my consciousness on Thursday as the latest news of how the internet has changed everything - again - was unveiled. According to an Ofcom study, we are all spending more time online and on our mobiles than ever, with pensioners spending longer surfing the web than any other age group. And women - they're at it too, more than men in key demographics, with the general consensus seeming to be that this is a marvellous and life-enhancing thing. You know, not just for the people trying to sell them stuff. READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2155944,00.h...
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 25 August 2007 )
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Friday, 24 August 2007 |
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CHICAGO - One of the predictions in the lead-up to this weekend's Second Life Community Convention here has focused on the potential for lots of talk about organization. There are plenty of critics who claim, however erroneously, that Second Life is a mess both structurally and technologically. And Linden Lab's decentralized and laissez-faire approach to the largely user-created virtual world, it could be argued, has allowed its identity to be shaped by its most prominent and press-worthy residents--who are, on occasion, blowing up buildings, stealing identities, and barraging lectures with oversized flying man-parts. We won't really know until tonight at the earliest (more likely tomorrow) if there is indeed focused discussion about an evolution toward more order for Second Life. But one announcement timed in conjunction with the convention has hinted toward a "yes": the launch of the Virtual World Radio Network, which aims to be a hub for Second Life news and financial information as well as cultural programming. A live stream is available both in-world--the VWRN is giving free virtual radios to interested residents--as well as over the Web. READ IT ALL AT:
http://news.com.com/8301-13577_3-9765...
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Written by Xavier Mohr
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Friday, 24 August 2007 |
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By Ian lamont Of all of the emerging Internet media that are discussed in the tech press, social virtual worlds have made one of the more notable splashes in the past year. Second Life has been alternately celebrated and slammed. There was a big hoo-haa over Sony Home when it was first announced, as well. Second Life and Home aren't the only players in town, however. At the State of Play V conference this month, several other social virtual worlds were on display. They provided an interesting contrast to Second Life, in terms of the interfaces, environments, and growth plans. I am going to describe one of them here: Makena Technologies' There.com. There.com has an interesting history and experienced development team -- these are the same folks who have worked with the U.S. Army on military simulators and Virtual Laguna Beach for MTV. Nevertheless, There.com has had a constant struggle to get more recognition, and has lived in the shadow of Second Life. At State of Play, this was demonstrated during the opening night's entertainment, which featured a documentary ostensibly about virtual worlds, yet was almost entirely about one virtual world -- Second Life. READ IT ALL AT:
http://www.computerworld.com/blog...
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