Every day, several new revisions of OpenSim are committed to the subversion repository. Bugs are fixed, new directions are discussed during office hours or on IRC; there's limited but official involvement from IBM, and obviously Linden Labs is aware of Opensim, and talking with OpenSim people too. Things are happening, and much progress is made.
This wouldn't be surprising if Opensim were carried by an active community of dozens or hundreds of developers. But if you check out the project stats, it's really quite a limited group who's actively contributing code. They are doing a good job and deserve some public praise.
So, here's to the opensim developers!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Technorati Trouble
A quick note .. yesterday I found out that Technorati hasn't updated my blog for the last 22 days, despite manual pings etcetera. My other blogs are fine, but this one isn't. Working on it..
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Onrez viewer - first experiences (and some screenshots)
A couple of minutes ago, I've downloaded and installed the OnRez viewer. I must say, I'm inpressed with what I've seen so far. For instance, it looks cleaner and more tight when compared to the normal SL client (wich I will call the LL client, as of now). At first sight, OnRez looks much more intuitive than the LL client as well.
I've tried it on Second Life, and on my OpenSim install, and both seem to work ok. At that time, OnRez was using around 120 MB of RAM. Then, I started the LL client in order to compare the two, both usage and memory wise. All over sudden, the memory usage for OnRez dropped to 16 MB, and the waves turned funky.. after I quit the LL client, and restarted OnRez, all was back to normal.
Might have been a bug, though, because when restarting OnRez, I got an upgrade notification for a newer version! That was fast :-)
A couple of screenshots of my OnRez viewer can be found here.
I've tried it on Second Life, and on my OpenSim install, and both seem to work ok. At that time, OnRez was using around 120 MB of RAM. Then, I started the LL client in order to compare the two, both usage and memory wise. All over sudden, the memory usage for OnRez dropped to 16 MB, and the waves turned funky.. after I quit the LL client, and restarted OnRez, all was back to normal.
Might have been a bug, though, because when restarting OnRez, I got an upgrade notification for a newer version! That was fast :-)
A couple of screenshots of my OnRez viewer can be found here.
Monday, October 22, 2007
OpenSim update
I've been quite busy working on a couple of OpenSim installs, one at home behind the firewall, and another one at a cheap hosted environment. Both installs run on Linux: one on CentOS (see my installation adventures here) and one on Fedora Core. Fedore proved to be the bigger challenge, because that one runs at the hosted environment. Their default install of Fedora does not include any development tools, so I had to download and install several packages (mono, nant, a whole lot of libraries and stuff) in order to be able to compile and run a mono based opensim environment. Maybe we should work on a comprehensive overview of what's needed in such an environment!
In the mean time, I've got the hang of downloading the code, installing and running the stuff, both in standalone and in grid mode. But, I think it's too early yet to allow others to use the environment. A teacher at my daughters' school has expressed interest in using my sim for educational purposes, and it's something I very much would like to do, but there's a couple of issues that may need to be solved before we're ready for that.
One of the most important issues in my opinion, is the lack of persistence in avatar customization, inbetween sessions. Every time you login to an opensim environment, you're reset to the default avatar - Ruth, a female. You can create new bodyparts and clothing, and you can wear those too, but once you logout, those modifications are (partly) gone. The next time you login, you have to go into your inventory and reselect the bodyparts and clothing you want to wear.
In grid mode, I have not been able to store new items in my inventory at all. Only the default inventory items are stored in the MySQL database, nothing new gets added. For a user, there is no inventory persistence in grid mode, it seems.
Another issue: customizations in terrain are not persistent between server reboots. Somehow, every time I restart the server, the terrain is reset to a relatively small flat pancake island. I've been experimenting with larger islands, and modified terrain, but I haven't been able to make much progress there - yet.
The good news is, these are known issues, and several of them are being worked on for the next release, 0.5. Remember, OpenSim is still alpha software which is being built by volunteers, so we can't and shouldn't expect everything to work. Tomorrow, I hope to take a look at the OpenSim Office hours, where OpenSim development will be discussed. That should be interesting.
In the mean time, I've got the hang of downloading the code, installing and running the stuff, both in standalone and in grid mode. But, I think it's too early yet to allow others to use the environment. A teacher at my daughters' school has expressed interest in using my sim for educational purposes, and it's something I very much would like to do, but there's a couple of issues that may need to be solved before we're ready for that.
One of the most important issues in my opinion, is the lack of persistence in avatar customization, inbetween sessions. Every time you login to an opensim environment, you're reset to the default avatar - Ruth, a female. You can create new bodyparts and clothing, and you can wear those too, but once you logout, those modifications are (partly) gone. The next time you login, you have to go into your inventory and reselect the bodyparts and clothing you want to wear.
In grid mode, I have not been able to store new items in my inventory at all. Only the default inventory items are stored in the MySQL database, nothing new gets added. For a user, there is no inventory persistence in grid mode, it seems.
Another issue: customizations in terrain are not persistent between server reboots. Somehow, every time I restart the server, the terrain is reset to a relatively small flat pancake island. I've been experimenting with larger islands, and modified terrain, but I haven't been able to make much progress there - yet.
The good news is, these are known issues, and several of them are being worked on for the next release, 0.5. Remember, OpenSim is still alpha software which is being built by volunteers, so we can't and shouldn't expect everything to work. Tomorrow, I hope to take a look at the OpenSim Office hours, where OpenSim development will be discussed. That should be interesting.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
virtual synagogue
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Rome; we also visited the Grand Synagogue there, in the original 'ghetto'. I wondered if there would be synagogues in SL too? The answer of course, is yes. Btw, I am not really doing much in SL lately; I've been busy building my own OpenSim world for my kids :-)
posted by Sered Woollahra on IR SHALOM using a blogHUD : [permalink]
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The nail on the head
A year ago, when Second Life became a hype, many companies went there as fast as they could, put up big impressive buildings - and then nothing happened. Some of them pulled out again, others evaluated the failures and learned some valuable lessons. As did Cisco:
As they say.. read the whole thing. And learn from it ;-)It turned out people wanted to log on to Second Life to hang out with friends and play casual games, not visit a 3-D version of a corporate Web site.
....
“Two or three months in we bulldozed everything we’d done. It’s now a place for meetings (with customers and employees) rather than repurposed Web content,” Renaud said. “If I can have an intimate talk with 50 people a week, man, I’ve won the lottery.”
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
IBM to partner with Linden Labs
Now here's some important and very welcome news: today, IBM and Linden Labs announced a partnership. The two companies intend to work on some areas of key importance. Here's a very short list:
But in the mean time, read the whole thing!
Update: read the official IBM Announcement as well.
- avatar interoperability: take (some) properties of your avatar (e.g. assets, name, identity certificates and more) from one virtual world to another
- integration with existing business processes: existing business applications and data repositories should be able to interact with virtual worlds
- secure transactions - in and across worlds
- open standards for interoperability with the current world wide web
But in the mean time, read the whole thing!
Update: read the official IBM Announcement as well.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
RL interference part II
Again, RL is interfering with SL activities. There will be no posts until sometime mid next week. Until then, I'm going to spend some days exploring one of the roots of our RL civilization, in a mediterranean setting. Guess the destination ;-)
Monday, October 1, 2007
Synchronicity - when and where
My employers' website has been IM enabled for quite some time. You can chat with one of the CEO's, the commercial director, sales people and the front office desk (the reception), if they are online. This means that we offer an element of synchronous communication in a generally asynchronous environment, the 2D world wide web.
Recently, I asked my colleagues what their experiences with being online on the website are. It seems that while there is a lot of useless chatter, and even, incidentally, some harassment towards the sales ladies, there are also useful contacts. In some cases, these have resulted in actual sales, but not much. But, as it has been very positive for our image in the marketplace as an innovative company (there are not many CEO's online like ours), it's still a positive experience.
From asynchronous to synchronous, from 1-1 to 1-many
Written communications seem to move from asynchronous to synchronous at an ever higher pace. In the business environment, we moved from paper and snailmail, via email, to instant messaging in a couple of decades. There is another shift under way: from 'one to one' communications, to 'one to many'; from a personal letter, to a phone call, to group email, to online meetings, blogs and more recently applications like Twitter, which can be used to tell the whole world what you're doing in "140 characters or less". Broadcasting one's thoughts or opinions is easier than ever.
The 3D fit
In my opinion, the advent of 3D environments fits in with these developments. The 3D environment begs for synchronicity, as it were. I have spent quite some time in Second Life; the most rewarding and useful hours have been, those, where I interacted with other people. IBM briefings and meetings, blogger meetings, the people you meet incidentally at sites of mutual interest: these encounters offer something that's not easily repeatable in the 2D world wide web. Chat rooms and online meeting rooms may offer the same basic functionality (communicate with n people at the same moment), yet it cannot be compared with a 3D immersive experience. Viewed like this, environments like Second Life really belong in the "social software" world.
IBM virtual business office
IBM seems to be aware of this. They have had a Virtual Business center in SL for a few months now, which is being staffed by RL people. I have been over there for a couple of times, and twice there was someone there, indeed; unfortunately, both times these avatars were 'away'. Apparently, it's possible to summon them back to life by pressing a nearby button, but I have not attempted that, not having a real need to buy something from IBM at the time :-)
Associated cost
But it does point out an interesting difference between "being online on a website" and "being online in Second Life". For my colleagues who are supposed to be online on our website, no extra effort or time is required. When they logon to our internal IM infrastructure, they are automatically online on the website, as well. They can continue to work, without having to spend time or effort on "being online". There's almost no visible cost, but it brings positive PR (the CEO is online, which keeps surprising people) and even some sales.
What if we would require them to be online on a Second Life site? This would definitely require more time and more energy, and would result in far more visible direct costs. The return on investment would have to be substantially, in order to justify these costs. I don't see that happening anytime soon, not on the scale and size of companies like the one I work for.
Concentrate..
At this time, I think the best way to make use of the synchronous communication advantage of a 3D environment, is by concentrating the in world presence. For instance, be there at published, fixed hours, like the recruiters of a bank I am aware of. Or, have targeted meetings for your (prospective) customers at, again, published, fixed hours. One other bank has investors' meetings every two weeks at thursday night, chaired by someone on the CxO level; they are actively trying to foster a community around these meetings.
Early Adopters mistake..
During the Second Life boomlet at the end of 2006, early 2007, many a company built an in world presence, only to be disappointed later on when almost no one came to visit them. Perhaps, some of these companies jumped the SL bandwagon without really thinking about what the differences between 2D and 3D presences are. Static content and asynchronous communication is fine on a 2D website, and for many purposes it's perhaps the best medium. But a 3D environment like Second Life asks for synchronicity, community and activities. Now there's a couple of buzz words to think about!
Recently, I asked my colleagues what their experiences with being online on the website are. It seems that while there is a lot of useless chatter, and even, incidentally, some harassment towards the sales ladies, there are also useful contacts. In some cases, these have resulted in actual sales, but not much. But, as it has been very positive for our image in the marketplace as an innovative company (there are not many CEO's online like ours), it's still a positive experience.
From asynchronous to synchronous, from 1-1 to 1-many
Written communications seem to move from asynchronous to synchronous at an ever higher pace. In the business environment, we moved from paper and snailmail, via email, to instant messaging in a couple of decades. There is another shift under way: from 'one to one' communications, to 'one to many'; from a personal letter, to a phone call, to group email, to online meetings, blogs and more recently applications like Twitter, which can be used to tell the whole world what you're doing in "140 characters or less". Broadcasting one's thoughts or opinions is easier than ever.
The 3D fit
In my opinion, the advent of 3D environments fits in with these developments. The 3D environment begs for synchronicity, as it were. I have spent quite some time in Second Life; the most rewarding and useful hours have been, those, where I interacted with other people. IBM briefings and meetings, blogger meetings, the people you meet incidentally at sites of mutual interest: these encounters offer something that's not easily repeatable in the 2D world wide web. Chat rooms and online meeting rooms may offer the same basic functionality (communicate with n people at the same moment), yet it cannot be compared with a 3D immersive experience. Viewed like this, environments like Second Life really belong in the "social software" world.
IBM virtual business office
IBM seems to be aware of this. They have had a Virtual Business center in SL for a few months now, which is being staffed by RL people. I have been over there for a couple of times, and twice there was someone there, indeed; unfortunately, both times these avatars were 'away'. Apparently, it's possible to summon them back to life by pressing a nearby button, but I have not attempted that, not having a real need to buy something from IBM at the time :-)
Associated cost
But it does point out an interesting difference between "being online on a website" and "being online in Second Life". For my colleagues who are supposed to be online on our website, no extra effort or time is required. When they logon to our internal IM infrastructure, they are automatically online on the website, as well. They can continue to work, without having to spend time or effort on "being online". There's almost no visible cost, but it brings positive PR (the CEO is online, which keeps surprising people) and even some sales.
What if we would require them to be online on a Second Life site? This would definitely require more time and more energy, and would result in far more visible direct costs. The return on investment would have to be substantially, in order to justify these costs. I don't see that happening anytime soon, not on the scale and size of companies like the one I work for.
Concentrate..
At this time, I think the best way to make use of the synchronous communication advantage of a 3D environment, is by concentrating the in world presence. For instance, be there at published, fixed hours, like the recruiters of a bank I am aware of. Or, have targeted meetings for your (prospective) customers at, again, published, fixed hours. One other bank has investors' meetings every two weeks at thursday night, chaired by someone on the CxO level; they are actively trying to foster a community around these meetings.
Early Adopters mistake..
During the Second Life boomlet at the end of 2006, early 2007, many a company built an in world presence, only to be disappointed later on when almost no one came to visit them. Perhaps, some of these companies jumped the SL bandwagon without really thinking about what the differences between 2D and 3D presences are. Static content and asynchronous communication is fine on a 2D website, and for many purposes it's perhaps the best medium. But a 3D environment like Second Life asks for synchronicity, community and activities. Now there's a couple of buzz words to think about!
Monday, September 24, 2007
Building with my daughter on our OpenSim
This is me and my eight year old, building on our OpenSim island:
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RL air traffic in SL
This is the US West Coast as recreated at the Daden Prime build. It shows RL air traffic (to or from LAX) in SL. A nice example of RL data mining! It's a bit similar to the way IBM did Wimbledon; they gathered RL game data at the tennis court (using high speed cameras) and used that data to plot the course of the ball at a virtual tennis court in SL. A RL tennis game in SL with a couple of seconds delay.
posted by Sered Woollahra on Daden Prime using a blogHUD : [permalink]
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Installing OpenSim 0.4 on CentOS 5 (updated 06-02-2008)
This weekend, I had the pleasure of installing OpenSim 0.4 on CentOs 5. The OpenSim project wiki has a page on installing OpenSim, which helped me on the way. But it wasn't complete enough for my taste, so here's my experiences. Enjoy!
Install Mono
First off, it was clear I needed to install Mono, even though the Opensim wiki page only mentions this for Mac OSX. For installing Mono on CentOS, I found a howto here: "Installing Mono on CentOS 5". The first thing was easy: get the latest build with wget.
Based on instructions found here I also modified my .bashrc file, and added these parameters:
Nant
At this point, I was not able yet to correctly compile and install the OpenSim software. Without any clear error, NAnt didn't do what it was supposed to do. I decided to download and install Nant. The OpenSim wiki page doesn't specify this as a separate task, but I had to do it nonetheless. Again, after downloading and unzipping I executed this trinity:
After this, I was able to successfully install OpenSim itself using the commands on the OpenSim install page; but because Nant wasn't anywhere in my PATH, I had to execute them like this:
I could have fixed the path, but figured that could wait until later. This worked, in any case, so I proceeded to start OpenSim.exe for the first time. Initially that seemed to work, the console logging looked good, but then I hit this snag:
libgdiplus
This didn't help. I poked around the internet for a while, and then decided to do the thing I should have done in the first place. The error says it can't find a dll, so I decided to check if the darn thing is indeed missing! It turns out it is indeed not there, and I should have installed libgdiplus (libgdiplus.so) together with Mono. I retrieved libgdiplus from this mono project page and again, I executed the configure - make - make install trilogy. Also, I didn't forget to modify the LD_LIBRARY_PATH statement in .bashrc to point to the correct install path for libgdiplus.
After that, OpenSim started just fine. I was able to run OpenSim in standalone mode, and we were able to connect to the thing.
Some useful configuration data is in this file:
It contains the sim name, master avatar username and password, ip addresses, ports and stuff like that. Handy in the first stages of configuration and running OpenSim. According to this blogpost it's possible to run multiple regions on one OpenSim installation by cloning and then modifying this default.xml page. Haven't tested that, though!
Next up: I'm going to try to run in grid mode. I actually tried that yesterday using these instructions, but that didn't work yet. Probably my error, as I've seen others run in grid mode, even though it's officially 'not supported' for OpenSim 0.4.
Update 05-02-2008: OpenSim 0.5 Earlier this week, I upgraded an earlier install of OpenSim 0.4 on a recent RedHat distro to OpenSim 0.5. It seems that the instructions above still hold true for OpenSim 0.5!
Install Mono
First off, it was clear I needed to install Mono, even though the Opensim wiki page only mentions this for Mac OSX. For installing Mono on CentOS, I found a howto here: "Installing Mono on CentOS 5". The first thing was easy: get the latest build with wget.
# wget http://go-mono.com/sources/mono/mono-1.2.5.1.tar.bz2Next, after bunzipping, tar -xvf etcetera, I installed Mono using the instructions linked above, like this:
# wget http://go-mono.com/sources/xsp/xsp-1.2.5.tar.bz2
# wget http://go-mono.com/sources/mod_mono/mod_mono-1.2.5.tar.bz2
# ./configure --prefix=/<installed_path >/mono
# make
# make install
export PATH=/bin:$PATH <
export PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/installed_path >< /lib/pkgconfig:$PKG_CONFIG_PATH
export MANPATH=/ installed_path >< /share/man:$MANPATH
export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/installed_path >/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
At this point, I was not able yet to correctly compile and install the OpenSim software. Without any clear error, NAnt didn't do what it was supposed to do. I decided to download and install Nant. The OpenSim wiki page doesn't specify this as a separate task, but I had to do it nonetheless. Again, after downloading and unzipping I executed this trinity:
# ./configure --prefix=/< installed_path >/nant
# make
# make install
After this, I was able to successfully install OpenSim itself using the commands on the OpenSim install page; but because Nant wasn't anywhere in my PATH, I had to execute them like this:
# cd opensim
# ./runprebuild.sh
# ./< installed_path >/bin/nant
I could have fixed the path, but figured that could wait until later. This worked, in any case, so I proceeded to start OpenSim.exe for the first time. Initially that seemed to work, the console logging looked good, but then I hit this snag:
Failed generating terrain map: System.TypeInitializationException: An exception was thrown by the type initializer for System.Drawing.GDIPlus ---> System.DllNotFoundException: gdiplus.dllAccording to the OpenSim troubleshooting page, which is called "slightly outdated" by the site maintainers, this problem is caused by incorrect versions of software on the operating system level. It was suggested to include 'unstable' packages when updating the system, as to get the newest versions. This didn't seem such a good idea, as the stability of my system is quite important to me. However, I did update or install some tools with these Yum commands, as suggested on a related website:
#yum install glib*
#yum install libtiff-devel.i386
#yum install libjpeg-devel.i386
#yum install libpng-devel.i386
#yum install giflib-devel.i386
#yum install libexif-devel.i386
#yum install libX11-devel.i386
#yum install fontconfig-devel.i386
#yum install freetype-devel.i386
#yum install libtiff-devel.i386
#yum groupinstall "Development Tools"
libgdiplus
This didn't help. I poked around the internet for a while, and then decided to do the thing I should have done in the first place. The error says it can't find a dll, so I decided to check if the darn thing is indeed missing! It turns out it is indeed not there, and I should have installed libgdiplus (libgdiplus.so) together with Mono. I retrieved libgdiplus from this mono project page and again, I executed the configure - make - make install trilogy. Also, I didn't forget to modify the LD_LIBRARY_PATH statement in .bashrc to point to the correct install path for libgdiplus.
After that, OpenSim started just fine. I was able to run OpenSim in standalone mode, and we were able to connect to the thing.
Some useful configuration data is in this file:
<installed_path >/opensim/bin/Regions/default.xml
It contains the sim name, master avatar username and password, ip addresses, ports and stuff like that. Handy in the first stages of configuration and running OpenSim. According to this blogpost it's possible to run multiple regions on one OpenSim installation by cloning and then modifying this default.xml page. Haven't tested that, though!
Next up: I'm going to try to run in grid mode. I actually tried that yesterday using these instructions, but that didn't work yet. Probably my error, as I've seen others run in grid mode, even though it's officially 'not supported' for OpenSim 0.4.
Update 05-02-2008: OpenSim 0.5 Earlier this week, I upgraded an earlier install of OpenSim 0.4 on a recent RedHat distro to OpenSim 0.5. It seems that the instructions above still hold true for OpenSim 0.5!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Welcome to my world!
Yay - it works. I've got an OpenSim up and running on my own Linux box. I created user accounts for my kids and wife. My daughter is too young for Second Life or even the teen grid, so she's happy her daddy created his own place for her. It's just that, well, it's a bit lonely there, so I'll have to let her girlfriends in as well, I'm afraid.
So what's up next? Dressing up the place a bit, importing other stuff, like a male body shape for instance :-)
So what's up next? Dressing up the place a bit, importing other stuff, like a male body shape for instance :-)
Installing OpenSim
I've been busy tonight, installing the latest OpenSim build on my Linux server at home. Had to install Mono and Nant first, that took some time but wasn't too hard. All stuff installed and compiled ok. Finally, I was ready to run opensim.exe. Unfortunately, this yielded an error:
This error is actually described in the OpenSim troubleshooting page on the wiki, but those instructions, to include unstable packages, are for Debian. I'm running CentOs with Yum, so that's a bit different. Besides, I'm running some other stuff on the box that I'd rather keep online as much as possible, so I'm not sure running unstable packages is such a good idea.
Hopefully we'll be able to find a solution! I had hoped to get my own sim up and running tonight, but shortly after I hit this snag, my wife came home from her nightshift.. which means I'm done for now, time for an RL drink together!
Failed generating terrain map: System.TypeInitializationException: An exception was thrown by the type initializer for System.Drawing.GDIPlus ---> System.DllNotFoundException: gdiplus.dll
This error is actually described in the OpenSim troubleshooting page on the wiki, but those instructions, to include unstable packages, are for Debian. I'm running CentOs with Yum, so that's a bit different. Besides, I'm running some other stuff on the box that I'd rather keep online as much as possible, so I'm not sure running unstable packages is such a good idea.
Hopefully we'll be able to find a solution! I had hoped to get my own sim up and running tonight, but shortly after I hit this snag, my wife came home from her nightshift.. which means I'm done for now, time for an RL drink together!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
OpenSim Ruth
I just paid a visit to Zion on OpenSim Ruth. I'm going to keep an open eye on OpenSim. Or maybe run one myself!
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The future of virtual worlds
I touched upon this subject yesterday: there are currently no universally accepted protocols or (de facto or de jure) standards for virtual worlds, like HTTP is on the internet. This lack of standardization means no interoperability between virtual worlds, no exchange of data, avatars or objects between them. When you're in one virtual world, you can't teleport to another!
Of course, several companies and individuals try to fill that gap. There's much at stake: those who create the set of protocols that will eventually rule the metaverse (so to speak), stand to gain a lot of influence - and a lot of money as well.
There are quite a few contenders. I have named a few in the past: Multiverse, a proprietary platform, launched in early August. Yesterday, Metaplace announced they are ready for alpha testing. Metaplace is created by Areae, a company, but is completely built on open standards, to make it open and extendible.
In the mean time, Linden Labs is also contemplating the future. The current Second Life grid cannot scale to the numbers of avatars that Linden Labs would like to see, in a couple of years; a new architecture is necessary. Linden Labs proposed such a new architecture at The First Architecture Working Group Meeting. Linden Labs wants this redesign process to be as open as possible, given the circumstances; you can read about it at the Architecture Working Group wiki. We're all welcome to participate. Linden Labs' current proposal explicitly allows thirdparty hosted sims to be connected to the SL universe, be it as standalone sims or tied together in the grid. Of course, this is all quite preliminary.
Some people just can't wait; they are building their own simulator software, as you can see at opensimulator.org. There are a couple of public grids available to opensim users, for instance osgrid.org or Ruth. A description on how to connect to Ruth can be found on Vint Falken's blog. I like the fact that I can use the default Second Life client to connect to OpenSIM worlds!
I think I'll be watching these developments closely in the coming months. Important things may happen!
Of course, several companies and individuals try to fill that gap. There's much at stake: those who create the set of protocols that will eventually rule the metaverse (so to speak), stand to gain a lot of influence - and a lot of money as well.
There are quite a few contenders. I have named a few in the past: Multiverse, a proprietary platform, launched in early August. Yesterday, Metaplace announced they are ready for alpha testing. Metaplace is created by Areae, a company, but is completely built on open standards, to make it open and extendible.
In the mean time, Linden Labs is also contemplating the future. The current Second Life grid cannot scale to the numbers of avatars that Linden Labs would like to see, in a couple of years; a new architecture is necessary. Linden Labs proposed such a new architecture at The First Architecture Working Group Meeting. Linden Labs wants this redesign process to be as open as possible, given the circumstances; you can read about it at the Architecture Working Group wiki. We're all welcome to participate. Linden Labs' current proposal explicitly allows thirdparty hosted sims to be connected to the SL universe, be it as standalone sims or tied together in the grid. Of course, this is all quite preliminary.
Some people just can't wait; they are building their own simulator software, as you can see at opensimulator.org. There are a couple of public grids available to opensim users, for instance osgrid.org or Ruth. A description on how to connect to Ruth can be found on Vint Falken's blog. I like the fact that I can use the default Second Life client to connect to OpenSIM worlds!
I think I'll be watching these developments closely in the coming months. Important things may happen!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
so many books, so little time..
Some of these redbooks have helped me tremendously in the past, most notably the one about Lotus Domino 6 on Linux. Maybe they should republish that one for Domino 8, now that it's out.
posted by Sered Woollahra on IBM BUSINESS CENTER using a blogHUD : [permalink]
Metaplace, the easy platform? (updated)
| Earlier today, I noticed a news item on Metaplace. I took a look at their website, and their product looks very interesting. |  |
Metaplace promises to ease the process of creating a virtual environment. In fact, it should be easy enough for anyone without real programming experience, to create a new virtual world in a couple of minutes, stick it up a website, and have at it. Of course, you can program it for all kinds of games, MMORPGs, chat environments et cetera; but creating a basic environment should be fairly straightforward.
Much like Multiverse, Metaplace wants to be a platform. Metaplace has the advantage that no programming seems to be necessary to get started. Also, there's no need for a separate client, it should work in the browser. These advantages could drive adoption significantly. Multiverse however has 3D, which is currently lacking in Metaplace, with no timeline being given as to when that will be available. That's quite a big thing to miss, frankly, but we'll see how that works out.
Linden Labs of course wants Second Life to become a platform as well, but as long as they don't open source or sell the server code, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
update Ok, so Linden Labs isn't sitting on their hands either. They are hosting a discussion on the future of Second Life which may have huge implications in this regard. The best news: we're all invited to join the discussion. Read the linked blogpost for the juicy details!
One other 'minor' point regarding Metaplace: I haven't been able to locate information on pricing, licensing and other legal stuff. If anyone else has, I'm interested!
But, even with licensing information and 3D missing, I immediately applied for alpha testing. My daughter really, really wants to try virtual environments, but there's not much there for Dutch speaking girls under the age of ten. I'm quite interested in trying my hand at building a virtual environment for her and her friends. Let's hope I get the chance!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Metaversed meeting
Koz Farina was to kind to forward my Metaversed meeting snapshot to me. Here it is:
Tonight it's the Metanomics 101 meeting, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it due to activities. Maybe I'll catch the rerun on slcn.tv - if they have reruns!
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Tonight it's the Metanomics 101 meeting, but unfortunately I won't be able to make it due to activities. Maybe I'll catch the rerun on slcn.tv - if they have reruns!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
A cool picture of the Metaversed meeting
When attending the metaversed meeting friday evening, I took a couple of snapshots and emailed them to pix@bloghud.com. They should have appeared on my bloghud page, but that, unfortunately, didn't happen. Koz Farina, the bloghud guy, did some investigating (thanks!) and found the second snapshot, stuck somewhere in the system. The first one apparently never made it to bloghud's mailbox. Koz will forward me that second snapshot; hopefully it will appear here later.
But for the time being, make sure to view this picture , posted by Metaversed's Nick Wilson. It is a beautiful picture of the roundtable meet. I'm on the picture as well; at approximately 17.30 as it were, in my grey t-shirt.
Lessons learned: if you don't want to lose a snapshot, also save one to the harddisk..
But for the time being, make sure to view this picture , posted by Metaversed's Nick Wilson. It is a beautiful picture of the roundtable meet. I'm on the picture as well; at approximately 17.30 as it were, in my grey t-shirt.
Lessons learned: if you don't want to lose a snapshot, also save one to the harddisk..
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