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VastPark ‘vs’ Second Life: is it really a contest?

August 13, 2009 by 3 Comments

vastpark Serge Soudoplatoff is a French entrepreneur and VastPark investor I had the opportunity of spending a morning with on his recent Australian visit. He has written an interesting piece comparing Second Life and VastPark from an IT architecture viewpoint. There’s not a lot to disagree with, but I do wonder whether VastPark is going to gain the momentum it needs to ensure its arguably superior architecture gets the widespread adoption it may deserve.

It’s an increasingly aging comparison, but it’s like the VHS vs Beta days – in the end it comes down to popularity and in that respect, VastPark currently isn’t in the game when compared to Second Life. The test for the underdog is to secure that first big win in market share – it’s a strategy I have no doubt is being explored by VastPark in parallel with the very methodical approach to development displayed over recent years. Not that it should be a linear competition: it’s the ability for any company to offer a highly interoperable platform that’s likely to have ongoing success.

Additionally, I don’t believe VastPark see themselves in the ‘keeper of the world’ role that Linden Lab occupies. In that respect, Metaplace is probably a better comparison, with the end-user purchasing a world and using the supplied tools and plugins to create. Second Life certainly has content creation at its core, but Linden Lab also run the ‘government’ and economy, with the myriad of ramifications that has. VastPark will no doubt have it’s own terms of service, but I’d be surprised if they don’t have a different focus than Linden Lab’s.

Without wanting to sound like a fence-sitter, both VastPark and Second Life have incredible things to offer. Hopefully both will provide key components for an ever-improving virtual worlds experience. The only certainty is that neither will do it on their own.

Filed Under: Australian News, Op-ed, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

Brands under the hammer in Second Life

August 13, 2009 by Leave a Comment

smolinaro-aug2009 The Second Life blogosphere is igniting with the news that the listing guidelines for Second Life’s marketplace, xStreetSL, have been tightened up.

Essentially, it’s now prohibited to sell any virtual goods that resemble a real-world brand. That’s no shock and probably reasonable. The contention is over the ban on avatars that resemble actual celebrities. It’s a pretty silly ruling that’ll be essentially unenforceable outside of the xStreetSL website. Admittedly, protecting brands is a balancing act for any company, but this appears to be an over-protective move.

Let me throw out another conundrum likely to occur in the future as a result of this decision. Let’s say an avatar becomes a celebrity in its own right. Its shape, clothing and skin may have been created from scratch or different aspects purchased from vendors. Could said avatar argue they are now a brand and prevent people creating avatars that resemble them? Avatars-as-brands well and truly exist now – it’s the policy developments like these that continue to push well beyond the traditional boundaries of intellectual property law. It’s going to take some serious legislative work in the medium term to create some solid ground under virtual world content creators.

Filed Under: General News, Law and virtual worlds, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: , , ,

The Progression of Teaching Maths As Times Change

August 13, 2009 by Leave a Comment

TEACHING MATHS IN 1970
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of the price. What is his profit?

TEACHING MATHS IN 1980
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is 80% of the price. What is his profit?

TEACHING MATHS IN 1990
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is $80. How much was his profit?

TEACHING MATHS IN 2000
A logger sells a truckload of timber for $100. His cost of production is $80 and his profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.

TEACHING MATHS IN 2005
A logger cuts down a beautiful forest because he is selfish and inconsiderate and cares nothing for the habitat of animals or the preservation of our woodlands. Your assignment: Discuss how the birds and Possums might feel as the logger cut down their homes just for a measly profit of $20.

TEACHING MATHS IN 2009
A logger is arrested for trying to cut down a tree in case it may be offensive to Muslims or other religious groups not consulted in the felling license. He is also fined a $100 as his chainsaw is in breach of Health and Safety legislation as it deemed too dangerous and could cut something. He has used the chainsaw for over 20 years without incident however he does not have the correct certificate of competence and is therefore considered to be a recidivist and habitual criminal. His DNA is sampled and his details circulated throughout all government agencies. He protests and is taken to court and fined another $100 because he is such an easy target. When he is released he returns to find Aboriginals have cut down half his wood to build a camp on his land. He tries to throw them off but is arrested, prosecuted for harassing an ethnic minority, imprisoned and fined a further $100. While he is in jail the Aboriginals cut down the rest of his wood and sell it on the black market for $100 cash. They also have a leaving barbeque of Possum and pheasant and depart leaving behind several tonnes of rubbish and asbestos sheeting. The forester on release is warned that failure to clear the fly tipped rubbish immediately at his own cost is an offence. He complains and is arrested for environmental pollution, breach of the peace and invoiced $12,000 plus GST for safe disposal costs by a regulated government contractor.

Your assignment: How many times is the logger going to have to be arrested and fined before he realises that he is never going to make $20 profit by hard work, give up, sign onto the dole and live off the state for the rest of his life?

TEACHING MATHS IN 2010
A logger doesn’t sell a lorry load of timber because he can’t get a loan to buy a new lorry because his bank has spent all his and their money on a derivative of securitised debt related to sub-prime mortgages in Iceland and lost the lot with only some government money left to pay a few million pound bonuses to their senior directors and the traders who made the biggest losses. The logger struggles to pay the $1,200 road tax on his old lorry however, as it was built in the 1970s it no longer meets the emissions regulations and he is forced to scrap it. Some Kiwi loggers buy the lorry from the scrap merchant and put it back on the road. They undercut everyone on price for haulage and send their cash back home, while claiming unemployment for themselves and their relatives. If questioned they speak no English and it is easier to deport them at the governments expense. Following their holiday back home they return to Australia with different names and fresh girls and start again. The logger protests, is accused of being a bigoted racist and as his name is on the side of his old lorry he is forced to pay $1,500 registration fees as a gang master. The Government borrows more money to pay more to the bankers as bonuses are not cheap. The parliamentarians feel they are missing out and claim the difference on expenses and allowances.

Your assignment: You do the maths.

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor

Idiots of 2008

August 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Number One Idiot of 2008.

I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control centre in our local Hospital.. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little
daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants.. I told her that she better bring her daughter into the emergency room right away…

Number Two Idiot of 2008.

Early this year, some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out
of the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the river, they noticed a Rescue Helicopter coming towards them.. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locator beacon that activated when the raft was inflated.. They are no longer employed at Boeing or any other airline for that matter.

Number Three Idiot of 2008.

A man, wanting to rob a Bank A , walked into the Branch and wrote ‘Put all your muny in this bag.’ While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller’s window.. So he left the Bank and crossed the street to the Bank B.. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the teller She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn’t the brightest light in the harbour, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank A deposit slip and that he would either, have to fill out a Bank B deposit slip or go back to Bank A .. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, ‘OK’ and left.. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank A.

Number Four Idiot of 2008.

A guy walked into a little town corner store with a shotgun and demanded all of the cash from the cash drawer.. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of Scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf.. He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but the cashier refused and said, ‘Because I don’t believe you are over 21.’ The robber said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him because she didn’t believe him.. At this point, the robber took his driver’s licence out of his
wallet and gave it to the clerk.. The clerk looked it over and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and she put the Scotch in the bag… The robber then ran from the store with
his loot.. The cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that she got off the licence. They arrested the robber two hours later…

Number Five Idiot of 2008

A pair of robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers.. The first one shouted, ‘Nobody move!’ When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him..

Number Six Idiot of 2008.

Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly.. He decided that he’d just throw a brick through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run.. So he lifted the brick and heaved it over his head at the window.. The brick bounced back knocking him unconscious. It seems the liquor store window was made of Flexi-Glass… The whole event was caught on
videotape…

IDIOTS IN FOOD SERVICE:

My daughter went to a local McDonalds and ordered a burger.. She asked the person behind the counter for ‘minimal lettuce.’ He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg..

IDIOT SIGHTING:

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, ”Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?? To which I replied, ‘If it was without my knowledge, how would I know??’ He smiled knowingly and nodded, ‘That’s why we ask.’

JUST AN IDIOT :

When my husband and I arrived at a car dealers to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it.. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the drivers side door.. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. ‘Hey,’ I announced to the technician, ‘its open!’ His reply, ‘I know – I already got that side.’

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor

Healthcare Support Groups in Virtual Worlds

August 11, 2009 by 4 Comments

(originally posted over on Metaverse Health)

As promised, I wanted to spend some time going over the recent handful of peer-reviewed papers submitted for the health-focused recent issue of the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research.

First cab off the rank is the paper titled The Growth and Direction of Healthcare Support Groups in Virtual Worlds by John Norris. Its focus is a review of four virtual worlds (Second Life, Kaneva, There and IMVU) and the breadth and popularity of support groups in existence around health issues.

For the regular virtual worlds follower, there’s nothing too surprising in the findings, but they’re noteworthy all the same:

– Second Life support groups revolved predominantly around disabilities and mental health issues in regards to numbers of members.

– IMVU groups also featured mental health issues heavily,mainly due to a very popular ‘Suicide, Depression, and Relationships’ group.

– There.com skewed toward general health topics with a significant cohort of interest in the disabilities area.

– Kaneva had a slightly different focus on Gay, Lesbian and Transgender issues, as well as autism.

There is a caveat openly referred to by John Norris in his work: the numbers of participants in these groups are relatively small, particularly when compared to the burgeoning 2D health support space with its myriad discussion forums and other community mechanisms. That said, he makes some good assertions:

1. That the advent of virtual worlds provides another means for people to seek highly customised healthcare support, meaning the potential for finding the exact niche being sought is higher as adoption grows.

2. That, like any emerging area of healthcare, there needs to be more research done on the efficacy of the approach.

3. That the lack of access to good quantitative and qualitative data poses a challenge for those who see the need for more research.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: ,

Beautiful Kate: the Second Life aspect

August 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Over the past year we’ve had the absolute pleasure of playing a small part in Beautiful Kate, the recently released film directed by Rachel Ward.

You can read about the project in much more detail here. Here’s a short machinima we created to showcase some of the work done:

Filed Under: Techgeekery Tagged With: , ,

What Do Retired People Do All Day?

August 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment

Working people frequently ask retired people what they do to make their days interesting.
Well, for example, the other day my wife and I went into town and went into a shop.
We were only in there for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket.We went up to him and said, ‘Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?’

He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.. I called him a Nazi turd. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tyres..

So my wife called him a *&^*-head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote.

Personally, we didn’t care. We came into town by bus. We try to have a little fun each day now that we’re retired. It’s important at our age.

Filed Under: Age, Email Joke Graveyard Tagged With:

The Frog

August 10, 2009 by Leave a Comment

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.

‘Miss Whack, I’d like to get a £30,000 loan to take a holiday.’

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it’s okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, ‘Sure. I have this,’ and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused , Patty explains that she’ll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, ‘There’s a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow £30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral.’

She holds up the tiny pink elephant. ‘I mean, what in the world is this?’

(folks, you’re gonna luv this)

The bank manager looks back at her and says….

‘It’s a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan, His old man’s a Rolling Stone.’

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor Tagged With: ,

The Watch – virtual worlds in the news

August 9, 2009 by Leave a Comment

1. Abeceder (UK) – Virtual world experiences increases racial bias. “They say you should walk a mile in a person’s shoes before judging them. Virtual reality technology offers this possibility by allowing us to control a digital representation of another person. Unfortunately, the first ever investigation of racial perspective-taking in an immersive virtual environment has found that assuming a different racial identity leads to increased racial bias, not less. Victoria Groom and colleagues invited 98 participants, half of whom were of White ethnicity, to view a photograph of either a Black or White person of the same gender as themselves, and to imagine they were that person. Next the participants donned a virtual reality headset which transported them to an empty room where they were interviewed for a job, still playing the role of that other person. Crucially, half the participants could see their new identity in a mirror in the virtual room, and as they answered some introductory questions they spent at least a minute observing their adopted selves in the mirror.”

2. Virtual Worlds News (USA) – Weblin Closes, Users Transitioned to Club Cooee. “Layered virtual world Weblin is ceasing operations, according to a company newsletter sent to registered users today. Media reports attribute the closure to a lack of funds. Weblin users are being invited to transition Club Cooee, a site run by the former Weblin principals Jan Andresen and Christine Stumpf.”

3. Escapist Magazine (USA) – Virtual Worlds and MMORPGs: The Best and Worst of Humanity. “The three years Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza spent making his MMORPG documentary Second Skin were a bit of a wild ride, as he saw how much good these worlds could do for people, and just how badly they could spiral out of control. Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza was a life-long console gamer until a friend introduced him to the MMOG space via SOE’s Star Wars Galaxies. Though Escoriaza would eventually quit SWG due to the time investment, the experience – and the idea of real people choosing to take on virtual responsibilities – stuck with him. The seeds from that eventually blossomed into his feature-film documentary, Second Skin, which premieres tonight.”

4. Newsweek (USA) – The Sound of One Hand Clicking. “Luis Figueroa lives down the street from UC Merced, the newest campus in the University of California system. So it’s not surprising that the 21-year-old studies from the comfort of his own home. But he’s not enrolled at Merced: from his living-room computer, Figueroa is earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration at Columbia College in Missouri, some 2,000 miles away. At $630 per course—about $1,800 per semester—his online degree will cost far less than even in-state tuition at UC. Not only that, Figueroa is able to continue working full time in a management-training job with AT&T in Merced, a job he feels lucky to have in the current economic climate. “Once I realized I had time constraints, I knew the traditional classroom wouldn’t work,” he says. “Courses online are open 24 hours a day, and I’m able to go there any time I want.”

5. PSFK (USA) – Digital Immortality and Death 2.0. “Without coming across as too macabre and curmudgeonly, we’ll simply say that with dawn of the internet, the business of death has gotten a lot more complicated these days. Consider that wills once existed for the sole purpose of ceding ownership of physical objects, and quests for immortality – things like cryonics, transhumanism, fountains of youth and religion (ahem) – remained firmly planted in the realms of fantasy, but as the lines between our real and digital worlds continue to blur, these customs have changed. The things we leave behind, from virtual businesses to entire online lives, now have an immaterial existence and longevity all their own.”

6. CNET (USA) – Second Life for returning veterans. “Veterans are often reluctant to seek therapy for service-related conditions, but rather than write them off, scientists are creating a virtual online community where servicemembers can find the camaraderie and resources to ease their return to civilian life. The “Transitional Online Post-deployment Soldier Support in Virtual Worlds” created by the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) will be ensconced within a corner of the virtual landscape of Second Life, a popular online 3D grid where people interact through avatars (PDF). Also known as Coming Home, this world will contain three main areas: one for social activities, one for competitive and collaborative gaming, and one for resources. The resources area will be staffed by artificial intelligence-driven virtual characters available 24-7 to steer veterans to the appropriate support and therapies.”

7. Times Online (UK) – The top seven social networking sites for kids. “How do you know when a social networking site isn’t cool anymore? The day that your dad joins up. A new study has found that young people are turning their backs on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Meanwhile, the number of 35 to 54-year-olds using such sites has rocketed by 25 per cent in the last year. So what can you do if you don’t want to be poked by your mum or added by your gran? Here’s a round up of the coolest sites and virtual worlds for children – just make sure you hide this page from your parents.”

8. Mass High Tech (USA) – Viximo seeks to turn virtual goods into real profit. “It’s hard enough for online retailers to get consumers to spend money on real goods and services — but one Cambridge company is betting that sites will want to get into the business of selling virtual goods. Venture-backed Virtual Goods Market Inc., which does business as Viximo, provides a white-label virtual goods store with gifts and personal accessories designed to complement online identities and messages. When Viximo launched in 2007, the company’s founders thought publishers of virtual worlds like Second Life and massively multiplayer online role-playing games would be among its core customers, said co-founder Brian Balfou.”

9. IGN (USA) – Artificial Emotions at Gamescom 2009. “The future of computer games in all facets awaits visitors at the trade show “gamescom 2009″. Held in Cologne for the first time, Europes leading games industry gathering draws not only the interested public, but first and foremost, experts and professionals from across the globe. At the Artificial Technology GmbH booth (Hall 4.2, Booth K27) the heads of the company, Frank Gwosdz, Serein Pfeiffer and Daniel Renner, will shed light on the inner workings of EKI One 2.0, their new full-version modular middleware for emotional and artificial intelligence. ”

10. Wired (UK) – Does a healthy virtual life mean a healthy real life? “pparently having a slim avatar encourages Second Lifers to get healthier in real life. Researchers at RTI International have published a report in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, which reveals that a healthy virtual life can impact attitudes towards fitness in real life. The team interviewed 29 Second Life residents. According to Science Daily: “Half the participants were interviewed by a thin avatar and half the participants were interviewed by an obese avatar.” They were then quizzed about their levels of physical activity both in the virtual and real worlds. “

Filed Under: General News, Virtual Worlds, Virtual worlds in the media Tagged With:

To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

August 8, 2009 by Leave a Comment

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down..
2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don’t Disguise Your Voice!
3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that..
4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks. Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.
5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Cheques, Write ‘ For Marijuana.
6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.
7 Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.
8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is ‘To Go’.
9. Sing Along At The Opera.
10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can’t Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.
11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream ‘I Won! I Won!’
12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling ‘Run For Your Lives! They’re Loose!’
13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, ‘Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.’

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity:

14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Filed Under: Email Joke Graveyard, General humor

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