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Procrastination and Virtual Worlds as ‘Work’

November 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I just wanted to briefly post a piece as I’m more than acutely aware that it’s been well over a month since anything new has appeared here. It’s definitely not due to a lack of interest in virtual worlds, and it’s not just because life has been busy. It’s a combination of reasons but there are two that dominate.

First, I am studying for my PhD and my research focus is on the use of virtual worlds in simulating clinical situations for health professionals. So on top of the rest of my life, the little time niche I have for virtual worlds tends to be taken up with that, plus some. Following virtual worlds developments since starting this site in 2006 has been no end of help in my studies, but I obviously need to delve even deeper and that comes at the expense of chasing information outside of my fairly narrow research area.

Second, and I feel like I’m being a philanderer saying it, but I’m enjoying plain old gaming more when I do have spare time. It’s why I set up a blog dedicated to MMOs, because my recreation time is pretty much taken up in that sphere. There’s quiet the community of writers there, because each person is very passionate about their MMO and they love writing about it.

So what does that mean for The Metaverse Journal? Nothing drastic really, unless we’re able to build a larger community of writers.  If you love virtual worlds, no matter which one it is, and you’d like to have a forum for your opinions, then drop us a line. Even with the lesser activity we still have tens of thousands of individuals drop by each month. I’ll still be adding content here and there as well.

That’s really the worst-case scenario: a couple of posts per months at best. Unless of course you have any other suggestions – I’d love to hear them!

Filed Under: General News, Op-ed, Virtual Worlds

Best Rock Cover Band Opening Songs

October 31, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If like me you’ve been in a rock covers band or three, you’ll know that the first song of the night is important for a couple of reasons. First, if there’s an audience there, it’s the initial impression that can sometimes set the tone for the whole gig. Second, whether you’ve had a good sound check or not, it’s the time for your sound person to get their levels right.

For the hell of it, I thought I throw together a list of what I think are great rock songs a band could open with and make a big impression. I’ve kept it 1970s to today, and it’s all obviously subjective. I’d love to hear your thoughts in comments of opening songs you’ve had that have gone down a treat.

One other disclaimer: some of this songs would require a major commitment to pull off well – personally I think there needs to be more of that approach as it gets too easy to decide to play Sweet Home Alabama or Mustang Sally instead…

Here we go, in no particular order:

1. John Mellencamp – I Need A Lover

The album version of this song gives every member of the band a chance to jump in boots and all:

 

2. Hothouse Flowers – Hardstone City

The Hothouse Flowers themselves have opened with this and for good reason – it kicks arse:

3. Boy and Bear – Feeding Line

If you’re outside of Australia you may not know this song. Even so, have a listen and tell me it wouldn’t make a good opener:

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4. U2 – Where The Streets Have No Name

A worthy inclusion although I doubt a lot of bands actually cover this:

5. The Who You Better – You Bet

Not for the faint hearted – particularly if you play bass, but what a song:

6. The Killers – Somebody Told Me

’nuff said:

7. REM – Me In Honey

This is a bit of a left field REM choice but it’s always made a great impression on me as a potential opening song – particularly if you have both a male and female vocalist.

8. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band – My Love Will Not Let You Down

If it’s good enough for The Boss to open his 10th night at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2000, it’s good enough for me. Also watch the clip to see a true band master at work:

9. Spacehog – In The Meantime

10. Fountains of Wayne – Stacy’s Mom

Some will argue this is definitely saved for later in the night but it has a good place as an opener:

The Impossible Dream: Dave Matthews Band -Drive in Drive Out

If you’re in a cover band that can pull this one off, I hope you’re aware you have a very bright future. Drummers in particular should listen to this one from start to finish:

Over to you: what openers have worked well for you?

Filed Under: General Tech, General Tech, Music Tagged With: ,

Vale: ABC Island in Second Life

September 21, 2012 by 3 Comments

As I wrote a few weeks back, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s presence in Second Life is about to come to a close. The 22nd September sees the curtain fall, but not without some festivities prior. Particularly this Saturday 22nd September when the final party occurs. (Here’s the SLURL to teleport to ABC Island)

I’ve been an admin on the island (in name only – I’ve had no active involvement really) since 2008 and I’ve seen it evolve and grow over that time. As you’ll see below, it’s made an impact on a lot of people.

I wanted to take some time to posts some memories from a number of people who’ve called ABC Island another home at different times since 2007.

Tiffy Vella:

So sad…I was born there, and owe many old friendships to SL’s ABC Island.

Laura Seabrook sent through these great pics and descriptions:

Australia Day picnic for that year. Elsie (my AV is sitting middle back in sun dress. At right is Wolfie Rankin

Special “Rockit” quiz show held on that day as well

Part of the anniversary fun was the building of a chute you could ride down by sitting inside a giant marble. Lots of fun in MOUSE view. This was the view at the end

Lecture held at the Island. Can’t remember the topic but I think it had something to do with law

Chatting with Wolfie while making an “Elphaba” outfit, in the entrance to the sandbox tower

Exploring Laneways in 2008, before it was demolished

Katisha Honi:
ABC Island for myself is, and from conversations with a lot of visitors I’m not alone, a place where we grew up as an avatar. ABC Island was and still is a friendly relaxing laidback environment, someone said it was just how the Australian-run sims that made them this way. Personally I had visited ABC within my first week of being in Second Life, and it was the friendships I made that kept me coming back. Once I had found my feet and was looking for “something to do” I wanted to give ‘admin-ing’ a go, I had always wanted to work in television, and well ABC would be the closest I could get.
Over the last 5 years or so, I’ve gone from doing sandbox duties to event runner and recently we got the keys to the sim and redesigned it. Finally, not only for me but for a lot of admins, ABC island was kind of like a big sandbox that we could play in. I think whether you ‘discovered’ ABC island 5 years ago or 5 months ago, the common theme has been “but where will I go now?”
Saying goodbye to ABC, is like saying: Goodbye….old friend
Juko Tempel:
One of my favourite things was the Sandbox, and in particular I remember a day when we built a pond on one level.. it was just a spontaneous group activity that started with one idea and grew and grew as we all found things in our inventory or built new things..http://www.flickr.com/photos/jukotempel/2420554975/in/photostream/. I had a similar experience when Diag Anzac and Gary Hazlitt and I got together one day to build the beach area on ABC Island http://www.flickr.com/photos/jukotempel/1678133214/.
 
One of the great things about SL, and the Island provided by the ABC, is the opportunity to meet people and do things together, to create fun ‘places’, with a real sense of the presence of those other people and a location rather than just a text box for interaction.
I wanted to give the final word to…
Wolfie Rankin:
Notice though, how many of us Second Life users still keep our SL names for our other Social Networks?I gained “Rankin” from there.Not long ago I seriously considered changing my name to Wolfie Rankin.

I didn’t go through with it because I realised what the advantages of having two names was to me.

SL gave me a lot of confidence in talking to others, which I didn’t have before that, and was a real boon when I was still recovering from illness.

Thanks ABC, and Thankyou to the other Admins.

 Now it’s over to you: post your memories, links to pics or related stuff in comments!
Filed Under: Australian News, General News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With:

Mayo Clinic in Second Life

September 13, 2012 by 1 Comment

Looks like an interesting session of the non-profit commons in SL this Friday:

 

This Friday, September 14th, Nonprofit Commons is happy to feature Brian Kaihoi (Svea Morane in SL), of the Mayo Clinic. The Mayo Clinic has had a presence in Second Life since January 1, 2009, which has grown now to 4 regions. They have been working to provide consumer health information, patient care services, internal work team support, and even modeling physical spaces inside SL before they build the buildings. Most significantly, they have found many partners in SL who share similar goals and values, that can work with the Mayo Clinic to have a larger impact on patient care. This presentation will report on Mayo Clinic’s virtual world activities in the areas of patient care, research, education and administrative services.

Brian Kaihoi has been with Mayo Clinic for 35 years. During that time he has held a variety of administrative and operational positions. As a member of the consulting staff of Mayo Clinic, Brian has worked with the Mayo Medical School and Mayo School of Continuing Medical Education on content development and delivery strategies. Currently, Brian is the Mayo Foundation Web Administrator, working with all Mayo Clinic Web activities, and works with the Center for Innovation, which is finding ways to transform the way health care is experienced and delivered.

Follow him on twitter at @bkaihoi

About the Mayo Clinic:

Mayo Clinic:  Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. Doctors from every medical specialty work together to care for patients, joined by common systems and a philosophy of “the needs of the patient come first.” Mayo Clinic is governed by a 33-member Board of Trustees.  Every year, more than a million people from all 50 states and nearly 150 countries come to Mayo Clinic for care.
www.mayoclinic.orgJoin us in Second Life!

Nonprofit Commons Weekly Meeting
Friday, September 14th, 8:30 AM SLT / PST
Plush Nonprofit Commons Amphitheater
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Plush%20Nonprofit%20Commons/88/126/26

AGENDA

• 8:30 am Introductions
• 8:40 am TechSoup Announcements
• 8:45 am Mentors Central
• 8:55 am Main Speaker: Brian Kaihoi (Svea Morane)
• 9:30 am Open Mic / Announcements

http://nonprofitcommons.org

The mission of the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life is to create a community for nonprofits to explore and learn about virtual worlds, foster connections, and discover the many ways in which nonprofits might utilize the unique environment of Second Life to achieve their missions.

Filed Under: General News, General Tech, Health, Virtual Worlds

Sad Smoke Detector Is Sad

September 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Filed Under: General Tech, Humour, Quick snippets from the web

ReactionGrid retreats from OpenSim

August 26, 2012 by 2 Comments

Hypergrid Business has an interesting piece on the change in direction for ReactionGrid. We’ve followed them closely over the years (including our distinctly retro interview with CEO Kyle Gomboy back in 2009 and our Jibe walkthrough from earlier this year).

The changes aren’t a great surprise and funnily enough reflect my own thinking for my own studies where I’m pretty firmly in the Unity3D camp for what I need to achieve.

Here’s a snippet of what ReactionGrid have had to say:

Florida-based ReactionGrid, a pioneer in OpenSim hosting for corporations and educators, is scaling back on its OpenSim business in favor of its Unity-based Jibe platform, and considering closing down its namesake grid.

“We will focus on very high level OpenSim work only,” ReactionGrid co-founder and CEO Kyle Gomboy told Hypergrid Business.

However, the company will continue to provide hosting for JokaydiaGrid, which is focused on serving educators.

“We are pushing educators to Jokaydia,” Gomboy said.

Meanwhile. the company’s view of its namesake grid is “evolving,” he added, and the grid might even be closed.

“We’re debating that now,” he said. “I’d like to keep it up as a portal of sorts for a bit but we’ll be deciding that soon. The push is to promote Jokaydia Grid as our choice for educators which is who primarily use ReactionGrid the world.”

ReactionGrid was one of the first companies to offer OpenSim hosting, with brand-name customers like Microsoft.

You can read the full article from Maria at Hypergrid Business here.

As mentioned, it’s no great surprise but definitely an end of an area.

What’s your take on things?

Filed Under: General News, Op-ed, Virtual Worlds

The future of the Metaverse: If there has been a failure, it is ours

August 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

www.botgirl.com on Linden Lab’s recent moves:

Fleep Tuque posted a fascinating essay yesterday with the provocative title, “Why Anyone Who Cares About the Metaverse Needs to Move Beyond Second Life; Now, Not Later.” It was a lucid and heartfelt account of Linden Lab’s transition from an ideal-driven group of Metaverse enthusists, to a market-driven corporation going after the gaming market. She also did a great job describing the impact that the corporate changes had on the Second Life community, of which she has been a long-term leader.

 

I was one of the Metaverse idealists she described so well. I thought that there would eventually be a seamless integration between Second Life and OpenSim that would eventually be extended to other platforms via open standards. I also believed that virtual worlds would soon move into the mainstream and be commonly used in people’s business and personal lives. I was wrong.

 

Linden Lab is now actively working to distance Second Life from OpenSim. One of the leading OpenSim grids recently announced that they’re abandoning the platform to focus on its own Unity-based product. Although there seems to be some growth in hypergrid compatible OpenSim participation, proprietary 3D chat room and social gaming platforms like IMVU to have a lot more momentum.

 

Unlike Fleep, I’m not convinced that Linden Lab is the main cause of the virtual world’s failure to actualize our idealistic vision. Sure, they would have been more successful if they hadn’t wasted so much time and resources on their ill-conceived forays into chasing the corporate market; if they had communicated well and reached out positively to the Second Life community over the years; if they had not pulled the rug out from under us so many times, such as the OpenSpace fiasco and the elimination of educational discounts. But even if they had done everything right, I don’t think the Metaverse ideal would have been embraced now outside of the current small niche.

Filed Under: From the metaverse community, General News, Virtual Worlds

Project to Improve Graphics Rendering in Second Life

August 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Via Linden Lab

 

One of the challenges that virtual world creators face is the trade-off between rich visual detail and geometric complexity. Ideally, by adding more and smaller faces to an object, a designer can model different surface textures and create realistic variations in the interplay of light and shadow. However, adding faces also quickly increases the size of the model and its rendering cost. Normal and Specular Maps are ways to address this by allowing for the appearance of a complex surface without actually modeling fine scale geometry.

A Normal Map is an image where the color codes indicate how the renderer should reflect light from each pixel on a surface by modifying the direction that the pixel “faces” (imagine that each pixel could be turned on tiny pivots). This means that pixels on a simple surface can be rendered so that they appear to have much more detail than the actual geometry and at much lower rendering cost. Light and shadow are rendered as though the surface had depth and physical texture, simulating roughness, bumps, and even edges and additional faces.

Similarly, a Specular Map allows each pixel to have its own degree of reflectivity, so that some parts of a single face reflect sharply, while adjacent pixels can be dull.

 

The open source developers of the Exodus Viewer are contributing Viewer support for Normal and Specular Maps, as well as some additional controls for how light reflects from faces. Linden Lab is developing the server side support so that this powerful tool will be available in Second Life.

 

Design and development are under way. Watch this blog and the Snowstorm Viewers page for information on when test Viewers with these new capabilities become available.

 

For additional information, or to learn more about how you can participate in the open source program, please contact Oz@lindenlab.com.

Filed Under: General News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With: ,

ABC Island to Close in Second Life

August 13, 2012 by 12 Comments

It’s not surprising but sad all the same: the wonderful community-driven project that is ABC Island in Second Life, is to close on the 22nd of September.

The island has been a staple of the Australian Second Life scene since March 2007, and it’s undergone a number of iterations since then (check out a lot of them here).

Given the relatively small number of Australian visitors the sim gets compared to its heyday, it’s not a shock that the ABC are redirecting the funds. That doesn’t make it any easier for the small and dedicated bunch of volunteer admins of the sim.

We’ll have more details on farewell arrangements / spontaneous wakes etc as we find out ourselves.

Filed Under: Australian News, General News, Virtual Worlds Tagged With:

The Secret World: A Review

August 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

FunCom’s new MMORPG The Secret World is a universe full of magic, deception, and darkness. You play as a member of one of three secret societies – the Illuminati, the Templars, or the Dragon. Regardless of which society you choose, you’re probably still the bad guy, sent all over the world to guard your secrets and fight rival factions. A lot of the time, you won’t even know why you go where you do – you’re not the boss.

But it’s not a different world to the one we live in. Not really. Instead, it’s an underground version of the modern world. Granted, the real world is probably not infested with monsters, but in The Secret World, parts of it are. Those parts have been cut off from the rest of the world, their infections and invasions covered up by governments. You roam these areas, supporting your society and trying to help people along the way.

Because the game is based in reality, The Secret World is low fantasy. There’s a little bit of magic, but most of the weapons are guns, swords and hammers. Buildings and environments are modern, and there are no elves or orcs to be seen. It’s a refreshing change, and something entirely new in the MMO space.

See on www.stuff.co.nz

Filed Under: From the metaverse community, Virtual Worlds

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