Articles By: Maria Korolov

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,... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

OpenSim retail outlets

OpenSim retail outlets

The number of Web-based distribution channels for OpenSim goods is growing steadily. Rexxed: Complete regions available, as well as tools, skins, terrains, and even animations for OpenSim grids. MyOpenSim... 

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... 

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... 

How to hypergrid

How to hypergrid

We’ve covered this topic before, but OpenSim is constantly evolving, so we need to bring our instructions up to date. First, a few basics: A hypergrid teleports looks a lot like a regular teleports,... 

January Hypergrid List

January Hypergrid List

Motu Aruo hypergrid gate The following is a list of currently active hypergrid destinations. It’s not an inclusive list — there are hundreds of standalone grids that are hypergrid accessible,... 

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... 

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....