Monthly Archives: January 2010

Wed, Jan 27 2010
Time for SL private grids?

Time for SL private grids?

Second Life is a popular destination for businesses and schools because it’s cheaper and easier to use than most other enterprise-quality virtual platforms. In addition, Second Life’s popularity... 

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Tue, Jan 26 2010
Should Linden Lab switch to OpenSim?

Should Linden Lab switch to OpenSim?

Today, Linden Lab is three companies in one. First of all — and this is where most their revenues come from — it is a community company and content distribution channel. They charge people... 

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Mon, Jan 25 2010
Business virtual needs

Business virtual needs

When most people compare virtual worlds, they do so from a technical perspective — how many concurrent users, what kind of interface is being used, what data standards are supported. Image courtesy... 

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Mon, Jan 25 2010
OpenSim continues to gain in January

OpenSim continues to gain in January

The top 40 OpenSim grids gained approximately 500 regions this month, maintaining the growth rate set in the last quarter of 2009. OSGrid gained almost 600 regions, for a growth rate of 17%. But OSGrid... 

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Sat, Jan 23 2010
OpenSim grows faster than Second Life

OpenSim grows faster than Second Life

Total regions on the public OpenSim grids increased from 5,613 in September to 7,246 in December — a growth rate of 29% for three months, or an annualized growth rate of 177%. By comparison, resident-owned... 

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Fri, Jan 22 2010
Building a 3D workspace

Building a 3D workspace

In my last column (“The 3D future“) I briefly touched on the idea of a 3D desktop to replace the current Windows interface. Nobody knows yet what a 3D workspace will look like. It probably... 

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Thu, Jan 21 2010
IEEE to build AI center in Second Life

IEEE to build AI center in Second Life

Press Release: AI Learning Center Being Built in Second Life The IEEE Computer Society is developing an Artificial Intelligence Learning Center (AILC) on IEEE’s island on Second Life and is looking... 

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Thu, Jan 21 2010
3Di offers free online meetings

3Di offers free online meetings

Press Release: 3Di, Inc. LAUNCHES FREE “3Di IMMERSIVE SEMINAR ” PUBLIC BETA SERVICE 3Di, Inc. Opens Online Seminar Service Using Avatars And 3D Virtual Worlds Free For Beta Testers 3Di, Inc.,... 

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Tue, Jan 19 2010
The 3D future

The 3D future

The dawn of the 3D age is upon us. Over a dozen immersive virtual world platforms are competing for our attention — and that’s just in the business sector. Our kids and teenagers are already... 

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Tue, Jan 19 2010
ThinkBalm compares 3D enterprise platforms

ThinkBalm compares 3D enterprise platforms

Press Release: ThinkBalm Publishes Enterprise Immersive Software Selection Guide Today, industry analyst firm ThinkBalm published “The Enterprise Immersive Software Decision-Making Guide.” This report... 

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Sat, Jan 16 2010
OpenSim retail outlets

OpenSim retail outlets

[Update: You can browse all hypergrid-enabled public OpenSim grids with Hyperica, the directory of hypergrid destinations. Directory indexes more than 100 shopping and freebie store locations.] The... 

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Sat, Jan 16 2010
ScienceSim leaves hypergrid

ScienceSim leaves hypergrid

At a time when hundreds of new hypergrid-enabled worlds are coming online, it may seem surprising that some are turning off hypergrid access. The Intel-backed ScienceSim has  recently backed away from... 

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Fri, Jan 15 2010
10 predictions for 2010

10 predictions for 2010

I just got off the phone with a company building an educational grid for a company in China — in OpenSim. They picked the platform not for its cheapness, but it’s feature set. This too often... 

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Thu, Jan 14 2010
How to hypergrid

How to hypergrid

[Update: You can browse all hypergrid-enabled public OpenSim grids with Hyperica, the directory of hypergrid destinations. Directory indexes more than 100 shopping and freebie store locations. Updated... 

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Thu, Jan 14 2010
January Hypergrid List

January Hypergrid List

[Update: You can browse all hypergrid-enabled public OpenSim grids with Hyperica, the directory of hypergrid destinations. Directory indexes more than 100 shopping and freebie store locations.... 

9 Comments | Read More »
Thu, Jan 14 2010
Intel: OpenSim supports hundreds of thousands of objects

Intel: OpenSim supports hundreds of thousands of objects

While most virtual worlds are limited to “thousands” of objects in a single location, OpenSim can support hundreds of thousands, according to a white paper published by Intel this month. As... 

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Thu, Jan 14 2010
Power users holding back Second Life?

Power users holding back Second Life?

Second Life is being held back by an “elite group” of users, according to Forrester Research, Inc. analyst Tom Grant. There is an ” Iron Law of Oligarchy,” Grant wrote this week.... 

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Wed, Jan 13 2010
Sparkle IM now supports OpenSim

Sparkle IM now supports OpenSim

Sparkle IM — an iPhone app that allows users to send and receive instant messages from inside Second Life — now supports access from OpenSim grids. “It’s been awhile since the last... 

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Wed, Jan 13 2010
Hotel magnate launches 3D meeting venue

Hotel magnate launches 3D meeting venue

Training company Immercio Ltd. is launching a full-service corporate training and meeting facility this month for small and medium-sized businesses on January 17. The facility has two locations – in... 

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Wed, Jan 13 2010
Cisco backs new virtual world

Cisco backs new virtual world

PRESS RELEASE: New Virtual World Enables Companies To Utilize Paid Online Assistants, Next-Generation Avatar United Nations Citizens Features Lifelike Stores With Digital Signage, Paid Employees EW YORK,... 

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Tue, Jan 5 2010
December OpenSim region counts

December OpenSim region counts

This list was researched in late December… then we forgot to post it because of the holidays. In November, we counted up over 6,500 regions, so we’re continuing to see around 500 regions gained... 

3 Comments | Read More »
Mon, Jan 4 2010
10 predictions for 2010

10 predictions for 2010

As 2009 comes to a close, and we can look back and see what happened this year, I’d like to make some predictions for what will happen next year. #1 – Consolidation continues throughout the first half... 

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