According to the reports, the project has been built using the Torque engine, with WebSphere Application Server and WebSphere Message Broker on the backend, with dynamic provisioning of servers. This is awesome stuff. I frequently refer to Message Broker as “my pet product”, since it’s the product I’ve specialised in for the past 8 years of my professional life. I’m going to probe further into exactly how the middleware stack is being utilised.

As we’ve been evangelising virtual worlds within IBM (I’m not a full-time Metaverse Evangelist, but Ian and, in the past, Roo have frequently been kind enough to put me forward as a speaker on the topic when they’ve been unavailable), the question has arisen as to “why we’re even bothering with all this game stuff”. Well, as someone whose day job has been in enterprise middleware and transactional systems for the past several years, I’ve always seen some of the key connections here. The 3D Internet environment needs to be supported by a multitude of technologies, and enterprises with well-defined Service Oriented Architectures are well placed to have their systems connected to the next-generation environments. If they are going to be successful, Virtual Worlds need hardware to run on, they need some of the enterprise-quality levels of availability, security and service that we’ve become accustomed to in business, and they need to be able to connect up to existing systems. A product like WebSphere Message Broker is ideal for helping to enable this, as it essentially provides the ability to connect to any “legacy” backend and mediate requests on behalf of the avatar needing the data.

So, check out Beyond Space and Time, enjoy it, and you’ll probably forget all about the middleware that enables it to run - which is exactly how it should be. The whole project really does bear out some of the stuff that we’ve been discussing over on eightbar for the past couple of years, and I’m completely thrilled to see it launch.

Anyway, end of digression and onto today's pictures!

There's an increase in interest for professional use. That includes networking, researching, and running a Second Life business as well as conducting real-life business.

via Virtual Worlds News: Social Research Foundation Survey Shows Increase in Professional Use for Second Life >>

Full study on Metanomics.net by Robert Bloomfield: Professionals see their future in Second Life

I've never really been one for the 'Pooch-in-a-bag' look, basically because it's a trend that seems to be associated with blonde haired, pink-wearing, squealing bints who dye their chihuahuas all the colours of the rainbow and view their pooches as fashion accessories rather than a chum for life. Having said that, I can sort of see why you'd want to carry a doggy around..basically you're babifying (is that even a word?) your faithful four-legged friend, and I certainly do that with Indiana in real life. Alas, you can't buy bags to carry Staffies around in...you'd break your back trying and I know that Indy would just chew the bloody thing to death. So yet again Second Life manages to make a real-life desire a virtual reality. Yay for me!
I was gifted this beautiful pet carrier and puppy by Carrie Tatsu, the uber-creatrix behind 'Zoobys', which is for me the *best* place to purchase virtual animals. If you want quality infused with realism and originality then there's just no alternative choice. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of worthy animals out there made by all sorts of peeps, but for me Zoobys are the best, and always my first choice I'm biased then, BUT even if I wasn't I'd still be blown away by this latest release, 'The Z Pet Carrier'. For your Lindens you get a scripted bag with an animated puppy and *tons* of options...seriously folks, so much thought has gone into this I can't even begin to tell you how amazing it is! For starters the bag looks wonderful. You have puppy safely ensconced within the confines of a large, comfy designer holdall which has great detailing, such as sculpted shoulder straps and other amazing little extras (more on those shortly) There are 10 ( 10!! I know!!!) fabric options so it will match EVERYTHING in your wardrobe, Not only that, BUT the textures are selectable on different areas of the bag, eg front, sides and pocket, so you can mix and match your textures if you like that sort of thing! ( See! I told you it was amazing..you haven't heard the best of it yet!) You also have a myriad of options to customise your bag even further- front chain, back chain, buckles and straps, funky keyholders, pin and buttons. There's even a sweet lil' bone to stash in the bag pocket in case your puppy gets the munchies:) The straps can be brown or black, and the detailing is just superb, from the shape of the bag to the buckles everything looks hideously expensive and my best guess is that it must have taken an age to create. BUT that's not all-your puppy is animated too! You can name her, play with her and allow her to bark should you so wish. She also has a cutsie little collar that you can interfere with, lol- it's colour change and there's even a diamond for bling. Not that you need to bling this up in any way, shape or form- it's one of the most exciting items that I've seen on the grid in a long while and I love mine to bits! As if all the components I've already mentioned aren't enough, there's also two poses that allow you to hold your bag in different ways, as well as a built-in walking anim. Carrie has basically thought of *everything*, in fact I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there was a kitchen sink hidden underneath the pup's derrière! So when you see me in world me and my puppy, Poppy (named after Indiana's best Beagle friend) stop and say 'Hi', and coo in admiration at Carrie's handiwork. It is seriously astonishing and tons of fun, not the mention probably the ultimate fashionista accessory for the season, and you simply *must* have one dahling. I really hope that Carri creates more of these, with different breeds and other animals (please make a cat version-that would be fab!) but until then I'm one happy Kitty exploring the grid with my pup tagging along....wee!

As always, I am not done with this but will publish my "preliminary findings" anyway because I have always seen this blog as a conversation rather than a publication.

The really interesting question for me at the moment is why is it sometimes more interesting to talk about Second Life than it is to actually be in it?  For the past two days there has been no real technical reason to not enter the world but I have done so sparingly.  I am not avoiding anyone or anything in the world.  I miss my friends.  But, for some reason, I don't feel the (certainly what at one point was an overwhelming) desire to actually log in.  Ok, I don't want to make this sound like an accusation but I guess that because I haven't seen anyone in there the few times I logged in that I just rapidly grew bored and despondent and hit the quit button to go find something more interesting to do.  I think we have all gone through it or are going through it.  I plan on spending my afternoon in SL though.  My sister leaves at 12pm my time and that always de-stresses me to the point where I can feel comfortable playing with my dollies.

Back on art for a second.  Burning Life left me cold.  Ya it was 22 sims and I saw maybe 1/2 of 1 sim but I have seen it before.  Digital sculpture can have a certain wow factor but like Black Swan, I don't get the meaning of it.  Perhaps virtuality of this sort is too new and there hasn't been time for an aesthetic theory to either embrace it or to develop independently from within it.  But that is putting the cart before the horse to say that the theory must pre-exist the expression.  I ponder this quite often.  Apart from the McMansions, how does one make art in Second Life?  Often I think it's impossible.  Or, at least, the medium does not support any traditional notion of what art is.  Ah, it occurs to me that this is what Dusan Writer meant about Second Life as a story box.  I remember talking to Scott about this ages and ages ago.  The primary aesthetic experience in Second Life is literary.  The problem with such a characterization (and I believe Scott expressed this) is that it seems to suggest that Second Life "reality" is fictive in the negative sense.  I disagree however because my understanding of "the literary" is that it is more truthful than the common place meat world lies we tell ourselves to get us through the day.

Structural economy is what moves me.  Too many of the "best of the best" creators in Second Life don't have a clue what the term means.  But, Icha, don't you build houses that need 1000 prims just to park the car?  Where is the economy in that?  Well, I never said that I was moved by any of my own builds and structural economy doesn't mean prims or size of build, it means economy of thought.  Something I have not demonstrated in this rambling mess of a blog post.  But, after all, you can only covet what you do not possess.

See what I mean.  I log into SL and nobody is here.  Twi is logged in and a few other people that never call me and I am not in the mood to speak to them either.  I just want to chat with my close friends :-(

I'm a very happy Kitty tonight indeed:)

Right-rant over! In other news I've had a few pressies land upon me for which I am exceedingly grateful, so here's a huge thanks going out to Lawra Fredrikson (Nekorifik) Peter Stindberg (Greene Concept) Carrie Tsatsu (Zoobys) and last, but not least, Emeriselle Theas (Orchid Dreams).  I'll be sharing their bounty with you via the next few posts, so prepare to be impressed....and a final note, *IF* you've sent me stuff to review recently and it hasn't appeared OR you haven't received a recognition from me PLEASE contact me as my inventory appears to be doing some VERY strange things at the moment which makes me think I've lost items.  Put simply, if you send me something I try to always respond, so if you haven't heard from me chances are I ain't got the goodies.  My mum brought me up to be polite you see so if I haven't responded then that's not a good sign...

Finally, If you look at my Flickr picks you'll see a few skin shots and I'll be talking about those too in the very near future...Lots to do this week then, AND my holidays are over-back to the real world again tomorrow.  OH JOY.

Suggested Environment Settings

1. Open World > Environment Settings > Environment Editor
2. This will open the Environment Editor window. Click on Advanced Sky.
   
3. Now a window named Advanced Sky Editor will open. Choose the desired preset. (I use Incongruent Truths or Sheer Surreality myself)
   
4. Close Advanced Sky Editor and open Advanced Water Editor. Choose Glassy preset.

Remember... these settings will cross regions with you until you log off. If you want to return the environment to normal go to World > Environment Settings > Rever to Region Default!

So after many weeks of building finally I am taking photographs of the project! Here are the sub-themes and images captured from with-in...

In a rather striking article this week, Forbes recognizes hipsters as possibly the one demographic group that’s still happily consuming, at least in the retail sector. The article argues that while hipsters - here very broadly defined - might not make a lot of money now, they are a huge, powerful consumer group, and marketing dollars spent to capture them now will likely pay off in the future. Not to mention the fact that, even today, retailers which cater to the “creative class” are thriving while the rest of the retail industry struggles:

Why Microsoft's Gates/Seinfeld Went Viral and 'I'm a PC' Ads Didn't
According to Visible Measures, which charts online video viewing trends and has measured the videos associated with Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign, the Seinfeld/Gates ads are squashing the "I'm a PC" ads by a margin of 4.3 million viral video views. Both ads had about equal video placements (about 75 each). Visible Measures points out that while the Seinfeld/Gates clips came out two weeks earlier than the "I'm a PC" ads, Seinfeld/Gates drew twice as many viewers their first week in market than the PC ads did. After two weeks in market, Visible Measures says, "Seinfeld/Gates was still collecting more than 700,000 views per day, while the 'I'm a PC' clips had tapered off to less than 50,000 views per day." Why might this be? Microsoft sparked a dialogue in the Seinfeld ad that isn't there in PC ads.

Connecting to people all over the world is becoming more real everyday and technologies that are spawning within and from virtual worlds make these connections tangible and REAL.

The hype that surrounded Second Life has diminished - hype can last for so long, however because of the hype entrepreneurs the life blood of business innovation, have seized the opportunities that Second Life offered and are now delivering platforms, applications and services that lead to global citizens working intimately together across distances that previously were unimaginable.

Fully animated avatars that have been perceived as impostors, pretenders of who they really are, are being replaced with Fully Animated Avatars of who you really are, if in business then who you are on LinkedIn, if more social, then who you are on Facebook. One such platform is Twinity

It is now time for Business, corporates companies all over the world to realize that Virtual World Technology is Real, Virtual Worlds coupled with Web 2.0 social applications and existing technologies are allowing for connectivity that could mean less travel, less cost, less time away from families, less harm to the environment, even less fatigue.

I recently was told of how IBM's implementation of virtual worlds within IBM had achieved greater collaboration and I can only conclude that this has lead to alot less expenditure by IBM and decisions made faster, without the need to travel away from love ones.

Victor Keegan of The Guardian wrote an article titled We'll all be citizens of the virtual world he concluded with....

Virtual worlds are only just beginning. During a period of financial collapse and worries about global warming, they could prove an ideal safe haven.

I suggest to you virtual wolds have begun - time is now for business to embrace and not wait.

You can be a real citizen in a Virtual World.

Please join the independent GLOBAL ARTS & POLITICS - ONLINE OPEN DEBATES about the Burning Life (BL) / Burning Man (BM) 2008 theme:

"THE AMERICAN DREAM"

Thursday 2 + saturday 4 +  sunday 5, october 2008:
At SL 3 pm PDT ( = CEST 00:00 midnight) - till about SL 5 pm PDT (=CEST 02:00)

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* What is your association with "The American Dream"?

* Does your playa creation at BL fit this theme, and why did you do so?

* Did you decide not to join BL this year because of the theme 'The American Dream', why exactly?

* Did your visit at BM or BL change your views and opinion on "The American Dream"?

* What should be the theme for BM and BL in 2009? (Should BM and BL always have identical themes?)

+ Any other issues you can bring in about the BL theme

.

Please join the discussion with voice and text chat around the campfire at the Meta.Live.Nu information-remix-art exhibition "Grid Gypsy Camp: Brazil"

􀀀

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Burning%20Life%20%28Tigris%29/222/222/22

.

Please be respectfull to eachother, even towards The American Dreamers! ;)
No insults please, nor other violations of the BL and SL Network Principles of course.

By joining the debate, you give permission for it to be logged and recorded for possible publication later on the web under a non-commercial creative commons license.

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After thursday 2 october, follow-up debates will be saturday 4 and sunday 5 october, same topics, same time, same place.

Sunday 5 october (last day of the Burning Life festival) we will have a round-up of all 3 debates.

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Please join the SL group 'Meta.Live.Nu'  for latest news updates.

And please check the EVENTS CALENDAR

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Fans Reconstruct Doctor Who's Trashed Past

LittleBigPlanet Transforms Players Into DIY Gods
LBP, out in October for PlayStation 3 allows players to design and build their own game levels, with unique objects and challenges. Unlike the abstruse 3-D design and physics programming that most game development requires, this experience is meant to be as simple, intuitive, and addictive as the gameplay. "We're all really into music," says Alex Evans, cofounder of the game's developer, Media Molecule, "and we see this as a form of jamming." People have used the tools to create musical instruments, as well as tanks, slingshots, and gigantic monsters that make my crude effort look pathetic. (Sony used the game in lieu of Power Point at a recent press conference.) Best of all, LittleBigPlanet lets anyone upload and share their works as easily as YouTube clips.

A tad lax on the blogging front at the mo-number of reasons for this but the main one is I'm on my RL holidays at the mo so am busy sleeping. (I kid you not, it's my favest thing ever apart from drinking tea and eating pork scratchings) Plus I've been in a foul funk with Second Life too..it's just not right at the mo. Everything is taking ages to rez, there's grey goo everywhere and quite frankly I've been losing my temper with it..BUT I ventured into world long enough today to sweep into Gritty Kitty for the latest hair offering from Mr Sprocket, 'Crystale'. Isn't this a dish? The hair is lovely and messy, with great texture and loads of colour options...of course, for me it just had to be black! Best of all Noam has added his usual quirky touch to the proceedings with a colour change bow. This hair is so divinely feminine and lends itself to all sorts of trends..it's very 'French', but works very well ( as you'd expect) grunged up to hell or nekoed to death. I've gone for a classy look here- teaming the style with a dress from Malt Fashions and earrings from Yummy. I love it...and it reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in 'Roman Holiday'...what do you think? Now all I need is for Noam to create a bob like no other....I wonder if he'll rise to that challenge?
Incidentally..I fibbed about the pork scratchings, I *HATE* them, but not about the tea..in fact I'm off to make a brew right now. Fancy a cup?

This is another room-based virtual world (working on both Mac and Windows!) , comparable with 3BRooms, Vivaty and JustLeapIn, seemingly addressing the teen crowd (their motto is "get a room"...) like Google's Lively does. Facebook App included. The music in the video on their homepage is a little annoying after a few seconds but it looks like they have better web and media integration than Lively (which is not hard, I admit). It is still in closed beta and I hope I can get an invite soon to be able to test it. It's been a Techcrunch50 winner and the official Metaverse evangelists of IBM Hursley have been playing around with it, too, so it could be a promising approach.

..but only minor ones. Certain areas of this site are getting neglected because I'm lazy. I never said I wasn't honest did I? Seriously though, it takes effort to keep the site going and you become somewhat obsessed by your page stats on a daily basis, so you're constantly striving to keep things nice and fresh. With that in mind, I'm going to be working on the 'Essentials' area, and I'm going to relaunch that page with a new look over the next couple of days. As for my witchery section, that too will be tidied up but no major changes this time..other than attempting to include more specific reviews...but at this time of year that should be much easier as the market becomes flooded with all things Witchy..( some novelty, some not so)Hey, in case you hadn't noticed the site has now surpassed the 25k mark...PHEW! Next stop 30K..if I can hit that before Samhain I'll be a very happy Kitty indeed! ( Incidentally, like the picture? I was in a Haute Couture mood...dress by 'Indulgence' (Didn't they used to be called 'Hub'?) and hair by the ever amazing ETD) Thanks as ever for your support..and watch this space!

Trying an 'alternative' lifestyle in SL can be a tad pricey should you decide that after all your investment pretending to be a wolf or a squirrel isn't actually for you. Take Neko for example - there are some utterly stunning skins and various cat like appendages out there to be make you completely feline fantastic, but they come at a price, and if you decide that it isn't your scene then you'll be sorely out of pocket. I dabble with Neko occasionally if I'm in the mood, but I'm far from hardcore. However I do own a few pairs of scripted ears and tails in different colours that were quite expensive, so imagine my utter delight when I found these superb freebies by Kosh up for grabs on SLX. To make them even better than your average ear and tail sets they come scripted *and* fitted with piercings too! Utterly splendid and well worth trying..plus they're black so they go with everything. I really rate these, and I had a look around the Kosh mainstore and was quite impressed by what I saw..defo worth checking out if you're into grunge and metal shenanigans. Anyways, if you're feeling Neko curious then why not indulge and give these freebies your attention? Here's the link to the SLX ad...Happy Neko! (Please note, you can only just see the tail on this pic, but trust me on this, it's really very good)

Anyway, Nokia video basically showed your mobile phone had replaced, your wallet/plastic cards, camera, GPS, your favourite online 3D gaming platform, postcards, written letters, even your keys to doors and cars.

Now, 8 apx. years has passed, and I stuble upon an article about MIT Emerging Technology Conference. Note the word Emerging !

At the conference Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie explained that he sees the industry evolving into 'spatial computing'.

So we just connect a mobile phone, google street view, microsoft photosynth, a computer disguised as a table, and a lot of other online services. Which is of course cool, but this was sales pitch years ago!