Monthly Archives: February 2011

Fri, Feb 25 2011
How not to work for free

How not to work for free

When aspiring freelance writers ask me for advice about how to get started, here’s what I always start out with: Don’t do anything that other people are willing to do for free. So if you love... 

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Thu, Feb 24 2011
Brouchoud offers virtual architecture overview

Brouchoud offers virtual architecture overview

Leading virtual architect Jon Brouchoud has created Virtual Architecture 101, a 3D exhibit on Architecture Island in Second Life — and there are some nice lessons there for anyone looking to build... 

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Thu, Feb 24 2011
Virtual Edge Institute offers virtual events certification

Virtual Edge Institute offers virtual events certification

Virtual Edge Institute Announces First Certification Program for Digital Events Strategist Comprehensive training program to accelerate adoption of virtual meetings, events, and conferences Pleasanton,... 

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Wed, Feb 23 2011
Aurora-Sim newest option for OpenSim servers

Aurora-Sim newest option for OpenSim servers

OpenSim grid owners now have another option for their grid server software — Aurora-Sim. This branch of OpenSim, still in “pre-alpha” stage of development, promises more security features... 

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Mon, Feb 21 2011
Expert: Copyright bigger threat than patents to OpenSim

Expert: Copyright bigger threat than patents to OpenSim

After ReactionGrid announced plans to patent a process for deploying and managing OpenSim earlier this month, the open source community responded with dismay. In comments on the initial announcement, and... 

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Mon, Feb 21 2011
NewWorldGrid to cut self-hosted regions

NewWorldGrid to cut self-hosted regions

The non-profit NewWorldGrid will stop allowing self-hosted regions to connect as soon as the grid completes its upgrade to the latest version of OpenSim. “We are currently starting tests on the current... 

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Fri, Feb 18 2011
Rod Humble: Here’s how Second Life can rule the world

Rod Humble: Here’s how Second Life can rule the world

The transition to 3D immersive environments is inevitable. Just look at the video game market. When kids are deciding what game to spend their $50 bucks on, they’re more likely to pick an immersive,... 

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Fri, Feb 18 2011
Research groups get ‘supersized’ regions in ScienceSim

Research groups get ‘supersized’ regions in ScienceSim

Press release: Fashion Research Institute Oversees Another Round of the Science Sim Land Grant Program with Intel Labs New York, NY  – Fashion Research Institute has been collaborating with Intel Labs... 

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Thu, Feb 17 2011
Hypergrid currency exchange adds Avination’s C$

Hypergrid currency exchange adds Avination’s C$

Austria-based VirWoX began trading Avination’s C$ virtual currency today. VirWoX is best known as a leading exchange for Lindens in Europe, and for its hypergrid-enabled OMC currency. Frank Kappe “Given... 

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Thu, Feb 17 2011
Watson On Jeopardy: One small step for AI

Watson On Jeopardy: One small step for AI

They say it’s not the winning that counts but the taking part. Watson managed to do both — but perhaps the winning actually counted for less. All the indications are that Watson’s win... 

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Wed, Feb 16 2011
ScienceGrid back on hypergrid

ScienceGrid back on hypergrid

The non-profit, research-focused ScienceSim grid is now accessible via hypergrid teleports again, after more than a year of no hypergrid connectivity. ScienceSim turned off the hypergrid last January,... 

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Wed, Feb 16 2011
Radiology education goes 3D

Radiology education goes 3D

Press release: ARRS Introduces a 3D Option for CME Education The American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) is taking a leadership role within their industry by offering their attendees the ability to attend... 

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Wed, Feb 16 2011
Vivox voice provider doubles users in 2010

Vivox voice provider doubles users in 2010

Press release: Vivox Doubles Online Voice Chat User Base in 2010, Now Serves Over 45 Million Significant Online Audience Firmly Establishes Company as the Leader in Voice Services for the Social Web NATICK,... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
OpenSim grids embrace copyright protection

OpenSim grids embrace copyright protection

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been surveying the owners of all the public OpenSim grids about what their grids are all about. We asked about hypergrid, currencies, maturity levels —... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
Avination explodes; OSGrid sweeps clean

Avination explodes; OSGrid sweeps clean

The number of regions of the 40 largest OpenSim grids went down this month for the first time since July, from 15,623 to 13,069, a loss of over 2,300 regions, a result of a long-overdue housekeeping on... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
ProtoSphere adds ComplianceWire integration

ProtoSphere adds ComplianceWire integration

Press release: ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere Now Integrated with Kaplan EduNeering’s ComplianceWire LANSDALE, Pa.—ProtonMedia and Kaplan EduNeering have integrated their technologies to create a new... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
OMC hypergrid currency gained popularity in 2010

OMC hypergrid currency gained popularity in 2010

In the past year, the OMC virtual currency has gained both popularity and usefulness, with both the total currency in circulation and the number of grids it’s available for use on growing. The OMC,... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
ProtonMedia gets Microsoft certification

ProtonMedia gets Microsoft certification

Press release: Microsoft Certifies ProtonMedia with Silver Unified Communications Competency LANSDALE, Pa.–ProtonMedia has achieved Microsoft’s Silver Unified Communications competency,... 

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Tue, Feb 15 2011
China school programs in 3D

China school programs in 3D

Changchun is a city in northeast China known for its auto plants. David Deeds “We’re the Detroit of China,” said David Deeds, IT manager and teacher at the Changchun American International School.... 

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Mon, Feb 14 2011
Report: associations’ virtual events to triple

Report: associations’ virtual events to triple

According to a new report, virtual conferences are not longer a novelty for associations and are expected to triple in number this year. And while reducing costs remains a major driver for virtual events,... 

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Sun, Feb 13 2011
OpenSim Grid Info

OpenSim Grid Info

There are hundreds of OpenSim grids, most of them running quietly on private servers, behind corporate, school and university firewalls. The following two tables cover just the publicly accessible grids.... 

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Thu, Feb 10 2011
Report: Game-based learning 2-3 years to mainstream adoption

Report: Game-based learning 2-3 years to mainstream adoption

Press release: 2011 Horizon Report Identifies Six “Key Emerging Technologies” for Higher Education. Today, the New Media Consortium (NMC) and EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) jointly released... 

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Thu, Feb 10 2011
SpotOn3D launches developer program

SpotOn3D launches developer program

OpenSim grid developers Powersynch, LLC — the folks behind the SpotOn3D group of grids – launched a certified developer program today. Philippe Pascal The... 

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Thu, Feb 10 2011
Avaya announces on-demand pricing for web.alive

Avaya announces on-demand pricing for web.alive

Press release: Avaya Launches Cloud-Based, On-Demand Immersive Web Collaboration for Businesses BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Avaya Inc., a global leader in business collaboration systems, software and... 

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Wed, Feb 9 2011
Arizona school goes virtual with VenueGen

Arizona school goes virtual with VenueGen

Chris Lineberry is the principal of the Florence Virtual Academy in Florence, Arizona, about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, serving students in grades six through 12 who live in the district – or anywhere... 

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Wed, Feb 9 2011
Hypergrid permissions coming to OpenSim

Hypergrid permissions coming to OpenSim

Many grids today have hypergrid turned off, for fear that content will be taken from their grid to a less secure grid, copied, and distributed illegally. OpenSim developers are working to create a hypergrid-wide... 

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Tue, Feb 8 2011
Utherverse rolls out virtual karaoke

Utherverse rolls out virtual karaoke

Press release: Utherverse Announces Interactive Virtual Karaoke to its Massive 50,000 Site Virtual World Web (VWW) Network Working with Karaoke Innovator SingSnap Allows Singers to Perform for Live Audiences... 

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Tue, Feb 8 2011
Failure to Disrupt: Why Second Life Failed

Failure to Disrupt: Why Second Life Failed

Am I being premature? Second Life has outlived its many obituaries. This is not an obit. At the same time, only the most ardent SL-cheerleaders would deny that the virtual world has stagnated. In the... 

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Mon, Feb 7 2011
Lessons of the NBC agreement with Battlestar Galactica fans

Lessons of the NBC agreement with Battlestar Galactica fans

In early December, I wrote about the cease & desist order sent by lawyers representing the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation to the Frank Lloyd Wright Virtual Museum in Second Life – which had recently... 

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Sun, Feb 6 2011
3D text effect with OpenSim

3D text effect with OpenSim

OpenSim makes for a good, and free, tool for 3D animation work. I have spoken at conferences and webinars on the use of Second Life for creating video for branched scenario-based eLearning because it... 

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Fri, Feb 4 2011
VenueGen hopes to be the WebEx of virtual meetings

VenueGen hopes to be the WebEx of virtual meetings

There are three main ways today to have a 3D virtual business meeting using your browser – VenueGen, Altadyn’s 3DXplorer, and Avaya’s  Web.alive. Of the three, VenueGen stands out by actively... 

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Fri, Feb 4 2011
No Excuses for Poor Signage

No Excuses for Poor Signage

It was an honor to present to the Nonprofit Commons in Second Life. A wide range of organizations were represented by their avatars in the central arena. There to discuss signage, I discussed tips and... 

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Fri, Feb 4 2011
Blue Mars releases free iPhone, iPad apps

Blue Mars releases free iPhone, iPad apps

Press Release: Blue Mars now easier to access with launch of application for iOS devices Blue Mars Mobile Now Available for Free on App Store HONOLULU, HI– Avatar Reality, developers of the premium... 

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Thu, Feb 3 2011
Why should virtual events look like in-person events?

Why should virtual events look like in-person events?

Since we launched Altadyn nine years ago, we regularly hear the questions: Why should virtual events look like in-person events? Why meet in a 3D space? Why use an avatar? Why isn’t the virtual... 

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Wed, Feb 2 2011
American, Japanese virtual habits differ

American, Japanese virtual habits differ

Online virtual worlds boast an expansive global fan base, and effectively communicating with and marketing to this diverse user base can present opportunities for professionals. At TinierMe, an avatar-based... 

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Tue, Feb 1 2011
CliniSpace takes virtual medical training to the browser

CliniSpace takes virtual medical training to the browser

Colleges and medical institutions have been trying out immersive virtual environments for training and teaching for years, but one new service, CliniSpace, is trying to take ease-of-use a big step forward... 

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