Monthly Archives: February 2010

The Maria Awards

The Maria Awards

Can’t wait for Oscar night? I know I can’t. So here at Hypergrid Business we’re doling out our own awards. First, a little video introduction. This is a little sailboat trip that OpenSim’s... 

Five mistakes of hybrid events

Five mistakes of hybrid events

Last week I attended two conferences simultaneously, one in Cancun, Mexico (MPI Meet Different) and the other in Santa Clara, Ca. (Virtual Edge Summit)  Such is the life of a virtual traveler!  While... 

Virtual worlds? Bah!

Virtual worlds? Bah!

If you think that the virtual worlds are over hyped, and the metaverse of hyperlinked OpenSim grids will never amount to anything, you don’t have to think up an original blog post — just take... 

ThinkBalm distillery helps firms choose virtual world vendor

ThinkBalm distillery helps firms choose virtual world vendor

Press Release: ThinkBalm’s “The Distillery” — an immersive technology selection experience Source: ThinkBalm What do whiskey and enterprise immersive software have in common? Not much, unless... 

Will Second Life be the next Netscape?

Will Second Life be the next Netscape?

Two major things happened before the World Wide Web took off in a big way. One was the fact that individuals were able to create Web sites and link them to other Web sites. Once individuals did it —... 

Viewer envy is bitter, and stings

Viewer envy is bitter, and stings

Last summer I decided to open a virtual office for my company. I don’t just write for Hypergrid Business — I run a company with staff in China and India, among other locations, providing outsourced... 

OpenSim must wait to use new viewer

OpenSim must wait to use new viewer

OpenSim users will have to wait before they are able to use the new Second Life viewer on their grids because the core OpenSim software is currently being rebuilt, developers say. The are compatibility... 

Virtual worlds pose compliance risks

Virtual worlds pose compliance risks

The very aspects of virtual world that make them appealing to some enterprise users, such as the collaboration tools, also make them risky from a compliance perspective. These risks include the communication... 

New Second Life viewer offers easier navigation, in-world media

New Second Life viewer offers easier navigation, in-world media

Second Life released a new version of its viewer today, Second Life Viewer 2 Beta, offering easier navigation and additional functionality. The biggest single improvement is the ability to see media on... 

ProtonMedia offers high-end collaborative learning platform

ProtonMedia offers high-end collaborative learning platform

ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere is a high-end virtual world platform for grownups — and has a price tag to match. Typical costs range from $250 to $1,000 per user, depending on the degree of customization... 

What if content management were 3D?

What if content management were 3D?

I recently saw the Michael Douglas/Demi Moore 1994 movie called ”Disclosure.” In the movie (which explores sexual harassment in the workplace), Michael Douglas was working for a computer... 

Report: 39% of firms to increase virtual events spending

Report: 39% of firms to increase virtual events spending

Press Release: New Report Signals Fundamental Shift in Marketing Industry as Virtual Events Further Integrate into Traditional Marketing Mix The newly released 2010 Virtual Market Outlook report from... 

MakeMyWorlds CEO to speak about virtual expos

MakeMyWorlds CEO to speak about virtual expos

Hélène Zuili, CEO of MakeMyWorlds presents a case study titled “Real World Expos in Virtual Spaces” in Second Life today at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern time at a live taping of the Virtual Worlds... 

OpenSim growth sets new record

OpenSim growth sets new record

Love on OSGrid (image by Lisa Roffo.) Virtual world users continued to show their love of OpenSim this month, with a record-breaking increase in total regions counts on the biggest public grids. The top... 

ProtonMedia Upgrades ProtoSphere

ProtonMedia Upgrades ProtoSphere

Press Release: New release extends ProtoSphere’s lead as the enterprise-ready 3-D virtual world for collaboration, meetings, and learning LANSDALE, Pa.–Today ProtonMedia released ProtoSphere... 

Five questions for Caleb Booker

Five questions for Caleb Booker

(Image courtesy Caleb Booker.) Today, online events producer Caleb Booker debuts a new video series devoted to, and filmed entirely inside, virtual worlds. The program, “Virtual Worlds Keynote,”... 

Team Bonding with a Virtual Workforce

Team Bonding with a Virtual Workforce

(Image courtesy Jason Christensen.) A growing number of companies are instituting virtual workforces allowing the employees to be closer to their customers and working in a remote environment. These remote... 

Top 5 Requested Second Life Features

Top 5 Requested Second Life Features

I was reading something about how a small cadre of vocal power users can skew the development of a virtual world platform, and it got me thinking about the kinds of things corporate clients I’ve worked... 

Laid off Wonderland developers to continue project

Laid off Wonderland developers to continue project

Project Wonderland developers say they will continue working on the virtual world platform, despite being laid off after Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems. “I was laid off along with most... 

Oracle cuts off Project Wonderland

Oracle cuts off Project Wonderland

Sun’s open source virtual world platform — Project Wonderland — will not be receiving any support from Oracle, which is currently in the process of acquiring Sun, according to the developers. “We... 

OpenSim developers warn against patents

OpenSim developers warn against patents

As OpenSim continues to enjoy a sky-high growth rate and alternatives lose ground, a new gold rush may be in the works — to patent as many key technologies as possible, before other companies do. That... 

Forterra sells OLIVE to SAIC

Forterra sells OLIVE to SAIC

PRESS RELEASE: SAIC Purchases Simulation & Collaboration Product Line From Forterra Systems Inc. Company Adds On-Line Interactive Virtual Environment (OLIVE(TM)) to its Simulation Portfolio MCLEAN,...