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Press Release: Online Science Project Launched by CU Nobel Laureate Receives $2.5 Million to Enhance Middle School Science Two students tweak the ramp of a skateboarder in Energy Skate Park, sending her on a steep track that ends in a wild loop. They measure the energy of her motion asRead More →

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One of the key early decisions to game design or creating a virtual currency platform is designing the price and exchange rate of virtual currency. Unfortunately after it’s been released, it’s also one of the most difficult to change, because the change impacts the userbase and economy of the systemRead More →

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Press Release: Onstream Media and Trade Show News Network Release Findings of Groundbreaking Virtual Event Survey POMPANO BEACH, FL – Onstream Media Corporation, a leading online service provider of live and on-demand Internet broadcasting, corporate web communications and virtual marketplace technology, and Trade Show News Network (TSNN), the world’s leadingRead More →

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Last week, ProtonMedia made a formal announcement about a project I first reported on in September  of this year that ProtoSphere, the 3D enterprise collaboration and learning tool, is  now fully integrated with Microsoft’s  Lync Server 2010. The Lync server is a software product that unifies enterprise voice, instant messagingRead More →

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Press release: SpotOn3D announces collaborative partnership with Purdue University The Virtual Collaboration Laboratory within the Purdue University Department of Organizational Leadership and Supervision (College of Technology) announces the beginning of a collaborative partnership with SpotOn3D — a software firm whose main objective is to bridge the gap between the 2DRead More →

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San Francisco-based Tipodean Technologies will open its Canvas Web-based viewer next week to a select group of beta testers, but Hypergrid Business got a sneak peek this week. A test version of the viewer will go live on Monday. “We will see how big of a load it is,” saidRead More →

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ReactionGrid released a groups module for OpenSim this week and announced plans to upgrade to the next version of OpenSim “early next year.” According to its announcement, ReactionGrid’s group module will be rolled out to all region on ReactionGrid over the next two weeks. ReactionGrid doesn’t just run its oneRead More →

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Expos2 to Showcase V3 Platform at Virtual Edge Summit 2011 Ashland, OR – Expos2, the most competitively priced virtual events provider and industry leader based on number of events sold, today announced the company’s participation at the Virtual Edge Summit 2011, scheduled on January 12-13, 2011, at the MGM ConventionRead More →

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California-based Katalabs has just released a free iPad and iPhone-friendly Web-based virtual world viewer, KataSpace, which works in conjunction with the open source Sirikata virtual world server software. KataSpace is built on the WebGL and HTML 5 Web standards, which means it will run in browsers without a plugin, andRead More →

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Press Release: ON24’s Webcasting Market Share Leadership Earns Prestigious Industry Recognition SAN FRANCISCO, CA– ON24, Inc., the global leader in webcasting and virtual event solutions, announced today that it has received — for the second year in a row — one of the prestigious Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards. ThisRead More →

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WonderSchool, a startup formed by Els Von Tol and myself, is a portal for schools where they can build their own virtual world, or use an existing one, and give their users access to software programs.  Today, WonderSchool offers live Alice workshops for teachers in the Netherlands and Germany. AliceRead More →

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Press Release: I/ITSEC: Unity Powers 3D Virtual Training Simulations for the Defense, Military, Aerospace and Homeland Security Industries ORLANDO, FL and SAN FRANCISCO, CA– Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity development platform for games and interactive 3D on the web, iOS, Android, consoles and beyond, announced that D2 TEAM-Sim andRead More →

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Press Release: Teleplace to Showcase Immersive Government Collaboration and Training Deployments at I/ITSEC 2010 Conference Attendees Will Learn How Air Force, Army, Navy, vGov Use Teleplace for Virtual Enterprise-Class Training Environments ORLANDO, Fla.–Teleplace, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise-class immersive collaboration and learning solutions, today announced it is exhibiting atRead More →

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Like many aspects of life sciences today, speaker programs are being cut due to budgetary constraints and the tightening regulatory landscape. I read a recent article by Bill Cooney in PharmaExec that highlighted this trend, reporting that speaker program activity is down 30 percent or more at most pharmaceutical companies.Read More →

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Much has been discussed and written about virtual environments achieving levels of immersion and interactivity that rival (and some believe exceed) face-to-face meetings. Much has also been written about increasing the retention of information shared in world. Interacting in a virtual environment But to many, the whys and hows surroundingRead More →

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Much has been said in recent years regarding the benefits and substantial returns an organisation can achieve by integrating an Online 3D Environment into their everyday operations. Indeed, examples and demonstrations of the power and financial savings 3D collaboration can bring to businesses have been researched, developed, trialed and documentedRead More →

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Press Release: Tipodean launches Canvas, a Web-based viewer for Second Life and OpenSim, which is built using Unity 3D Tipodean Technologies is pleased to announce the preview launch of Canvas, a web-based viewer for both Second Life and Opensim. Licensed from IBM, Canvas is unique in that it is highlyRead More →

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It’s easy to get frustrated with the pace of technological change. My wish list of OpenSim features gets longer with every day that I use the platform — but I’ll save it for my Christamas wish list post. Today, I want to express how thankful I am for what hasRead More →

A virtual mine in Second Life is a compelling educational experience. (Image courtesy Sand Castle Studios. )

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Press Release: Using the Virtual World to Explore the Real World Problems of Fossil Fuels Environmental Documentary Deep Down Launches Interactive Virtual Mine in Second Life for Communities and Educators to Take Action in Solving the Power Crisis Virtual worlds can provide a comprehensive environment for education, storytelling, collaboration, andRead More →

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Press Release: Ball State University’s IDIA Lab launches next-generation immersive learning experience on Blue MarsMassive New Site Features Fully Interactive, Detailed Replicas of 1915 Panama- Pacific International Expo, Japanese Temple, Virtual Museum and More MUNCIE, IN and HONOLULU, HI, Nov 23, 2010 — Ball State University’s Institute for Digital IntermediaRead More →

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Press Release: Greenbuild International Conference & Expo CHICAGO — The U.S. Green Building Council Education Department announced an innovative virtual tour of their headquarters. The project is in the final stages of testing and is expected to go live within the next few weeks. The renovation of USGBC’s offices wasRead More →

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We just found out about a wonderful write-up on the real-time animated training video we recently created for the Exergen Corporation.  The magazine, Executive Healthcare Management, is a well respected trade publication for healthcare management professionals and has a two page Q&A spread with Dr. Francesco Pompei, founder and CEORead More →

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The OpenSim economy continued to grow this month, with both the OMC currency and the I’z currency from InWorldz growing in users and transactions. The OMC, a convertible currency from Austrian virtual currency exchange operator Virwox, is now accepted on 18 different grids — AnSky Grid, Avatar Hangout, FrancoGrid, GermanGrid,Read More →

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One of the things every grid owner should be concerned with is the possibility that one of the grid’s users will be using, selling or transferring content that infringes upon another’s copyright. While both technological measures and contractual limitations can be utilized, the fact remains that neither of them  canRead More →

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Press Release: Club One Island opens its doors to the public for access to revolutionary digital weight loss program Island Holiday Party is the healthiest party of the season, and a first in the 3D world SAN FRANCISCO and SECOND LIFE – The holidays just got a whole lot healthier.Read More →

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Press Release: First of Its Kind Event Technology Solution Integrates Physical & Virtual Events CHICAGO — Event organizers can now extend the reach of their physical event to reach online audiences and build online communities easily with an integrated virtual events platform. And event managers can now get a moreRead More →

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Press Release: The Green Book: An Enterprise Guide to Virtual Worlds Guide Lists Over 50 Virtual World Solutions for Businesses and Organizations The Association of Virtual Worlds has just published the first Business Guide to Virtual Worlds listing over 30 virtual world solutions, vendors, or providers, for businesses and organizations.Read More →

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Press Release: ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere Works with Microsoft Lync Server 2010 ProtoSphere now provides an immersive collaboration layer for Microsoft Corp.’s latest enterprise class unified communications platform LANSDALE, Pa.–Have you heard? Word on the street is that ProtonMedia’s ProtoSphere Lync Edition 2010 now has the best-sounding and most scalable Voice overRead More →

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Press Release: The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds Is Now Available Free from the Association of Virtual Worlds The Association of Virtual Worlds has just released the new edition of  The Blue Book: A Consumer Guide to Virtual Worlds listing over 250 virtual worlds and is pleasedRead More →

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Press Release: Build Your Own Interactive 3D Virtual Environment in Minutes with EON Creator IRVINE, Calif. – EON Reality, the world’s leading interactive 3D software provider, announces EON Creator, a new 3D creation tool used to simplify the implementation of engaging Interactive Virtual Learning Environments (IVLE) for training and educational purposes.  The software in itsRead More →

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Press Release: New venture to deliver decades of applied research and cognitive application development to learning in simulated environments Three firms will combine expertise to deliver highly interactive and responsive 3D virtual reality environments Round Hill, Va. — Cranial Tap, Inc., a leading developer of virtual world solutions, announces aRead More →

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Investors in virtual companies listed on the Second Life Capital Exchange lost most of their money, according to a new research report. The report, which covered the time period between May 2007 and December 2009, showed that investors bought US$145,000 worth of shares in initial public offerings of virtual companies.Read More →

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I work with a number of clients who exhibit at a virtual trade show for the first time.  They find that once they complete their first virtual trade show, that each successive show is simpler.  However, for the very first one, they’re often in need of some guidance.  Here’s ourRead More →

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Until recently, it has not really been possible for residents of virtual worlds to use their real life name. While Second Lifeâ„¢ has had its Custom Name Program for some time, residents have understandably balked at having to pay Linden Research, Inc. a fee of $1,000 (plus $500 per annum)Read More →

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OpenSim grid hit a new peak this month, with 13,564 regions on the top 40 grids, a 9 percent increase from last month’s 12,425 regions — a gain of 1,139 regions. Meanwhile, total registered users on these grids grew 8 percent from 129,797 in mid October to 140,053 today. OSGridRead More →

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MissionV – 3D Immersive Technology in the classroom for the support of exceptionally able and twice exceptional students What if you were told of an amazing untapped, sustainable national resource that has been discovered yet is not being exploited? I’m pretty sure your interest would be piqued, particularly in the currentRead More →

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The Virtual Worlds Education Roundtable, a group of educators working in Second Life, is expanding to a new grid on the OpenSim platform. The group — originally called the Second Life Education Roundtable — began looking for expansion locations earlier this fall after Second Life announced the shut down ofRead More →

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I spent the last few days reading Virtual Justice by Greg Lastowka. Lastowka outlined some legal issues that arise in virtual environments. Who owns what? What rights — if any — do you have when buying or creating digital content? It is important reading for anyone involved in virtual digitalRead More →

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Ever since Crista Lopes, professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine invented the hypergrid in 2009, people have been debating whether grids should be on or off the hypergrid. On the one hand, the hypergrid is very cool. You can teleport from one grid to another, hopping aroundRead More →

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The majority of OpenSim grid residents said that their grids were “excellent” overall, with community and support getting the highest marks across the grids. Technology and content of the grids scored slightly lower, however, with the majority of users rating these two factors “pretty good” or “just okay.” In addition,Read More →

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Exactly how many people can a region in OpenSim support? How many people could meet for business meetings or presentations in an OpenSim region? Allow me to illustrate with this piece of string and a tape measure. There are unfortunately many variables to consider, so much so that it isRead More →

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Press Release: “Create Once, Experience Everywhere” 3D/VR Format Unveiled for Immersive Education Cross-platform Open File Format Enables “Create Once, Experience Everywhere” 3D/VR Content for OpenSim, Open Wonderland, Open Cobalt and other platforms BOSTON, MA – November 09, 2010 – The Immersive Education Initiative today unveiled iED 3D/VRâ„¢, the open andRead More →

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According to a white paper released yesterday by by U.K.-based virtual worlds and chatbot solutions provider Daden Limited, chatbots are increasingly becoming smarter, more connected and more emotional and, as a result, more useful to companies and organizations that use them to provide customer service on websites and in virtualRead More →

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OpenSim users overwhelmingly said that they would “absolutely” recommend the platform to others. Out of 114 people who responded to our survey this week and answered this question, 84 percent said they would “absolutely recommend” it, with only 1 percent saying they would “absolutely not recommend” the platform. Of theRead More →

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OpenSim hosting company New Voice offers full OpenSim regions for just $9.90 per month. So what do you actually get for this amount of money? A region in Second Life, after all, costs $300 — not to mention a $1,000 setup fee. There are no setup fees with New Voice.Read More →

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The power of first impressions is either ignored or overlooked. Perhaps the poor state of design in Second Life is due to myopia—no one can see his or her own face objectively. A stroll around the Aloft group in Nonprofit Commons is a lesson in visual frustration. (Because the 30Read More →