French IT Recruitment - Theme of the Day

Having only just written about the meme thing that is the German urban colonisation of Second Life, I have just become aware of another...

June looks set to be French IT Recruitment month in Second Life. For those who know me, French IT is something close to my heart - or at least, my wallet. So having had a tip-off that there was a new meme/theme about, I got down to a bit of serious Googling and quickly turned up some interesting factoids. OK... interesting to me, at any rate.

First up, we have the French recruitment company TMPNEO. I don't know if they're related to the TMP who have been in Second Life for a while now, but I do know they are pushing a recruitment fair in SL running from 19th to 21st of June, at their island - unsurprisingly named TMPNEO (or at least, that is the implication). The fair, rather clunkily named Neo Job-Meeting, is recruiting for the French IT firms:

• Capgemini
• Unilog (part of LogicaCMG)

and also non-IT firms:

• Alstom a power and transport company,
• Areva, an engineering(?) company,
• L'Oreal - because I'm worth it.

You need to register by 11th June to get an invitation.

Almost at same time as this event, Accenture, the global IT and management consultancy, will be hosting their own recruitment drive aimed at the Francophones of Second Life. On the 18th June they will host Accenture Speed Recruiting, but since this is by invitation only, again you need to get that application in. (Or maybe you need to get your application in by that date - my French is appalling). Catch the vid on their website - it's quite impressive.

Anyhoo - if you are fluent in French, an SAP or SOA architect and fancy big money in return for being worked into the ground, then this could be your golden opportunity.

PS: I work for one of these... Can you guess which one?

PPS: BBC2's "The Money Programme" is being broadcast live in SL on Friday, 1st June from Avalon island - at 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00 (UK time).

FirstLook Viewer with Windlight

Linden Lab have just released an updated version of the Second Life so-called "Firstlook" viewer. This is, in effect, a beta test client running on the main grid - and normally runs a few weeks ahead of its release as the official client for Second Life.

The new feature today is the addition of Windlight environmental effects, which bring realistic - some might say "hyper-realistic" - skies and attendant ambient life to Second Life. Here are some examples, experimenting with the rich array of configuration options available:



This follows Linden's acquisition, a little over a week ago, of Windward Mark, the developers of the Windlight software. Now that's what I call a quick turnaround!

Ludwigsburg Looking to SL

It's funny how memes and themes sweep across SL. Hot theme of the moment is the "Euro-urbanisation" of SL - with the councils of a number of European cities deciding to stump up cash for some virtual real estate. A few months ago, it was the Dutch leading the way, but latterly it has been German towns and cities who have latched on. Recently I posted about Augsburg, but cities across Germany are rushing in to Second Like.

Another one to add to this list is Ludwigsburg. What's that? Never heard of it? Neither had I until I stumbled upon the island - which is currently in a very early stage of development, as you can see:

In RL Ludwigsburg has been settled since pre-Roman times, but the current city only came into being in the early 18th.C, when a large castle was constructed there by Eberhard Ludwig, Duke of Wurttemberg. Originally intended as a pleasure-palace, the Duke - picking up on a hot theme of his time - decided to build a city as well. In the years that have elapsed since then it has grown to a population of around 87,000. And shortly it may add a few dozen more as it sets up in Second Life. The intention, from the little information available, is to provide shops and other features, under the general banner/brand of Ludwigsburg - an approach not dissimilar to Augsburg. I guess only time will tell...

Augmenting Augsburg

Augsburg, a substantial city in Bavaria and capital of Swabia, has been on one map or another since 15BC. But so far it has been missing from the Second Life map. This oversight has now been addressed, with Augsburg augmenting its real world existence with a new 2-sim presence in Second Life.

The site opens formally in a couple of days, but is already allowing in ramblers, wanderers and nosy neighbours to wander its streets and check out its shops. Although 2 linked sims, there seems to be a clear distinction between them - and in truth, neither bear much resemblance to the city that gave them their name. The more Southerly sim contains the typically Bavarian architecture (to the point of stereotypical tweeness) along with some distinctive city buildings, like the Rathaus which, as the name does not suggest, is the Town Hall.


The site looks like it has only a passing connection with Augsburg itself, as most of it is taken up with shopping malls, dance halls and what appears to be private residences, often constructed in styles that bear little resemblance to any architecture to be found in Southern Germany. That said, it has a lot happening - with many links to websites, a lot of interactivity and I suspect, with the clubs and dance halls, should prove popular with the burgeoning German Second Life population.

The formal launch is on May, 29th at 16:00 (CET? SLT? It doesn't say! D'OH!!**), with live music and no doubt other events to tickle your jaded palates.

** I am assuming CET, since 16:00 SLT would be 1:00AM CET.

Italian Variations

A couple of quickies for this post:

First off, it looks like virtual Venice has opened officially in SL. When I snapped the following pictures I noticed a large crowd of people, some tables bedecked with virtual victuals and lots of formal seating. Being in no way fluent in Italian I thought it best to remain aloof from proceedings. The sim I found slightly disappointing, perhaps because it is so ambitious. The builders have used photo textures to replicate many of the city's famous buildings - and I'm not sure they work terribly well. One or two would be fine, but there are just too many in my view. Also - and this would be difficult - one doesn't get the feeling of the city from the sim. I say "difficult" because I find Venice very intimate and close, bordering on the claustrophobic - but this sense seems to be missing in the wide, sunny paths and piazzas of this sim.


Next door is the sim for the Veneto region, in which Venice is situated. This is still under development, but it appears to be aimed at promoting key aspects of the region, inclduing tourism and agriculture. It also provides a handy teleport into virtual St Mark's Square.

The last Italian site I wanted to mention is IW Bank, an online bank that targets cool, trendy tech-savvy Italian 20-somethings (apparently). Their sim is not open to the public yet - but when I saw the Satellite Map, I was amused by its use of branding in the construction:

virtual Manchester goes for Big Chips

Tonight the UK's Second City (unless you are from Birmingham) - Manchester - opened its 4-sim presence in Second Life. Despite some trumpeting in the Press and the web, this is apparently NOT the official opening, but rather a soft launch to trial it. This being the case, why in God's name, use the occasion to host a RL-SL simulcast of the Big Chip 2007 Awards? An event whose website unabashedly states: "This is almost certainly the first time an awards ceremony has been shown live in Second Life. The virtual ceremony will be the launch party for a new area in Second Life – Manchester UK." I'm not sure that the first assertion is true, while the second does rather suggest that the island is officially launched - unless the Mayor is going to come and cut a virtual ribbon next week, which is by no means impossible.

I won't go further into the background of the sims - since it is in this post from January.

The Big Chip Awards are described as the top awards for ICT and "New Media" outside London. I attended the Second Life event, which at least saved me the 75 quid I would have had to find to stand a chance of attending the RL event. But before talking about the build, let's take a look at my snapz:


The place has a distinctly unfinished look to it, and I think the build team will be hard pushed to complete it by next week. I am not privy to the inside story on this and can only go from my observations - having tried to access the sim on many occasions. After its initial acquisition it seemed to show no progress of note for months. It is only in the last 4 to 6 weeks that I have spotted a sudden surge in build effort (using the Satellite Map as a rather poor measure). It feels like a deadline had been set - this award ceremony - but the construction did not start at a time that would allow a successful build.

As a result the site feels half-empty and disjointed, with the shells of a number of Manchester's iconic buildings dotted around the landscape. Few, if any, have anything inside. The build quality is hard to assess right now, accepting the soft launch argument, but if pushed I would say... umm... "rushed."

There were problems with the streaming too... both audio and video suffered huge delays, rendering the award show both unwatchable and unlistenable to. A shame, since presumably a significant effort was put into this. It was not due to sim overload, as there were perhaps 15 people present at the time.

I'm sorry to be so critical of the build. I know and love the city of Manchester (though not their football teams), and perhaps for this reason I feel even more disappointed than I might otherwise.

As for the longer term usage of the SIMs - I think I will wait until it is "officially launched" before popping back to investigate further.

Oh... and I finally met Nic from the excellent Kzero blog:

Hi Nic!

Texas State Technical College West Texas

Enough of such tomfoolery. I've been trying (off and on) for some time to get in to the 3-sim island of Texas State Technical College (TSTC). If you take a look at it on a map, perhaps you'll understand why. One of the sims has been modelled to resemble the college logo, while another looks to be remarkably detailed and complete. Yet on previous attempts I have not been able to get in. Today, while at something of a loose end, I gave it another go - and lo & behold, I got in.

I was immediately presented with a notecard explaining that the site is still under development, but despite this management of expections I was heartily impressed with the quality - and quantity - of the build to date. The build team comprises members of the college Digital Imaging and Design department, I suspect augmented by some experienced SL builders. For example, in addition to the staples of sim design, like a dancefloor, the site includes a games area and a photo studio. The textures are well-worked and lifelike (even if they don't come out that way in the pictures below). I've also included a picture of the TP map, to give you an idea of the layout and facilities.





The college has provided a website dedicated to its "vCampus". As they explain it: "One of the main draws for educators in using Second Life is for the improvement of interaction and expression among learners. This 'three-dimensional', virtual reality experience is a great advantage over the traditional online learning systems that education currently embraces. Faculty and staff have worked diligently together to allow TSTC West Texas to debut our first course offerings in Second Life during the summer 2007 semester."

One nagging question in my mind is: Who is this aimed at?
The sim makes for an impressive campus, but there is limited meeting space (so far) and little indication of how it could be used for education. Rather, it looks more like a showcase - a demonstration of what can be achieved. As usual, if you know better, then please post a comment, as I would like to know what objective(s) the sim is designed to meet.

UPDATE: See the comments for a response on the questions posed above. Thanks Nicka.

Download Dog

While I found the Microsoft island egg hunt too time-consuming, I cannot say the same for the hunt for Download Dog. This wild-eyed mutt has visited a number of locations - well, 3 actually - in Second Life, and left a clue at each one. Once you've found them then you can find your way to said hound and enter yourself in the Download Festival SL competition, to win an Epiphone Les Paul signed by various of the bands appearing at this year's festival.

I've touched on all this before, so that was just a preamble to the piccy of the dog:


Cute huh?

Sony Ericsson

I've been waiting for the Sony Ericsson island to open in Second Life for quite a long time, and yet - as so often happens - once it did open, I missed it entirely. Seemingly, it opened in March, fully 2 months ago (surely not? I'm sure I've tried since then?), to tie in with CEBIT'07.

The company used Second Life to launch its phones at a kind of virtual CEBIT stand - and produced this fetching video to go with it. The bearded bald bloke in the video is NOT me, by the way. The virtual stand included a competition to win some fancypants phone - but I have to confess that I hate phones at the best of times, and ones with 1,001 additional features leave me cold. I'd rather have several machines that did their jobs well, than one machine that did several jobs with mediocrity.

There's lots to pick up here, if you want freebies. Many of these fancy phones are being given away free - in SL only. But be aware that they don't actually do anything - so you are, in effect, picking up a (coolly detailed) advert to stuff in your inventory. The T-shirts were decidedly mediocre too - so I didn't bother. Besides. I like my Japanese T-shirt!

As for the stand - well, it is what it is. It looks fine, if a bit uninspiring now. It may have served its purpose - though this could be arguable. I understand that the site was not heavily visited (too say the least) during CEBIT, which begs a question around return on investment (ROI). I doubt that the island has come remotely close to paying for itself yet.

Anyway, if you didn't watch the video, here's a few piccies for you:

Icarus

As a Second Lifer who is also addicted to twitter ("I am Al Kronos, and I am a twitterholic") I find that I am in good company. Twitter seems very popular with SLers, for reasons I cannot fully fathom, though my theory is: it is not a microblog (as often portrayed) but rather a group of Special Interest Groups. Thanks to twitter (and more latterly Jaiku) I have met a number of people with SL interests, and this has translated into SL itself, where these same folk are now my friends in the virtual 3D world.

One such person is TerryAnn Antonelli. She has been posting "tweets" about the build work she and her partner, Deeeep Witte, having been doing at their home island: Icarus. I have read these with growing interest, since it seems they're doing some cool stuff - and I finally got around to paying a visit today.

There is a lot here for the visitor to take in, but you can ease yourself into Icarus by taking the guided tour aboard a metallic dragonfly (room for 2 apparently). This will take you on a leisurely tour of the main points of interest - but you might need to rummage on your own to get down into Hades, or indeed locate Heaven... (just like in RL, some might say)

This is a fascinating place - with so much happening in it. Yet it is a private build, part-funded by renting. The vast majority of the island is open to ramblers and rummagers, and handsomely repays the time you put in. Thanks to TerryAnn and Deeeep for their patience in answering my meandering questions - sorry I have not got round to mentioning: the Tree; the Holodeck; the VR room; the 3 suns; the main island itself. (But now I have... so that's OK) There's loads more I've missed - but then I don't intend to visit just the once - unlike certain commercial builds I could mention! So those things I have missed I will track down on future visits.

Anyway - enough rambling - here's the pictures:



Your hosts, one of the floating platforms, and a looming angel thingy:



In Heaven...


In Hell:


The route to Heaven or Hell can involve a resting place a bit like this - though hopefully not quite so Gothic in my case:

Up the Amazon - Part II

I've been meaning to return to the Amazon Developer Islands for a while, having said there were a number of things I'd missed out on my first posting. However, having been back I think I actually managed to capture the key features first time round. That said, it is a site that repays repeat visits - so here is a brief outline of some of the stuff I missed or forgot first time around.

One feature that many people will not have spotted is the bridge that crosses over to the hovering meeting areas. Why won't they have spotted it? Well... because it isn't there. Or rather, it isn't there until you start walking across the river. Then, as if by magic (or, more likely, cunning scripting) the bridge creates itself as you walk across. I'm not sure how long it stays around once you've crossed, but it's a neat trick. Choose the right place though, otherwise you will end up with wet feet.

Elsewhere, you can pull a lever to raise a set of stepping stones (the script problems have now been resolved!) to cross the narrower river stretches.

I didn't mention it first time around, but there are a number of meeting and presentation areas on the island, sized to suit your requirements. There is also a private zone which (I believe) is underwater, though through clever use of light and texturing it looks like you are in a bone-dry viewing chamber.

There is also what looks like a large sandbox, set in an old Aztec/Mayan/Incan/dunnowhat fortress. At least, that's my best guess given (a) I can't access it and (b) it's full of non-Amazonian crud.

No pictures this time around - sorry.

Synaxon On SL

Adjacent to VMOA, posted earlier, is the sim for Synaxon AG.

Formerly known as PC-SPEZIALIST Franchise AG (a bit of a mouthful, that one), SYNAXON AG "offers franchise opportunities for entrepreneurs in the field of personal computer (PC) hardware and computer services retail. The Company's key segment is the Franchise segment, which deals with the sale of licenses to information technology (IT) stores, allowing them to trade under the PC-SPEZIALIST name. As of December 31, 2005 (Google had nothing more recent to add), the Company had more than 2,500 franchise partners within the German, Austrian and Luxembourg markets, with expansion planned into further European markets. SYNAXON also operates through the Cooperation segment, which focuses on purchasing advantages and the provision of central services. It is comprised of the specialist retail cooperations MICROTREND and AKCENT, and the systems vendor association iTeam. SYNAXON AG is headquartered in Bielefeld, Germany."

Given some of the slightly odd phrasing, I am guessing this text is a translation from German - but at least it is a lot better than a Babelfish attempt.

The sim itself is OK - some nice office buildings and a pleasant beachside area - though nothing to get too enthused about. I am not sure what SYNAXON hope to get from Second Life. I notice there seems to be a great deal of unused office space here - but I could find no real information to hint at its possible use. Its proximity to VMOA - the sims share a border - means that it will be difficult to secure the border if they plan to host private meetings for franchise-holders. Anyway, while you mull that over, here's a piccy of the beach area:

Virtual Museum of Art

A couple of months ago, in the days when there was only about 4million Second Life accounts, I made brief mention of an island called VMOA. Information was somewhat thin on the ground, and the mighty Google proved to be all-but-useless. The best it managed on that occasion was "Very Mixed-up Orangutans in Antarctica" - a site it now steadfastly refuses to find. However, I can now reliably inform you that this is the Virtual Museum of Art, dedicated to the work of Austrian-born artist, Gottfried Helnwein.

Those of you into certain forms of metal music may already be familiar with his unsettling images, as his output includes covers and artwork for both Rammstein and Marilyn Manson. He now has an island on which to showcase his work in Second Life.

The Museum dominates the island on which it stands, rising to 3 storeys, and stretching across the full width of the sim. Inside it is dark and cool, and the display is large and well constructed. There are several galleries, featuring different phases of Helwein's work. I have taken a large number of pictures, which should give you a good idea of the content.

Many of the pictures may give you a sense of unease and discomfort; they are not "easy viewing." I asked a few friends to take a look, and in their responses, they were even more uncomfortable than me. The unease could perhaps be dispelled if there was information available, explaining the context and purpose of the images. Otherwise one is left to draw one's own conclusions.

The most disturbing images relate to children. Some bring to mind wartime photos of dead children: dusty faced; eyes closed; a deathly pallor. In others a girl with a bandaged head is shown - a vulnerable innocent - in a number of threatening situations. With the recent focus on child pornography and Second Life, these images are given an extra dimension of discomfort. I will state that there is nothing pornographic here - but the symbolism apparent in the images makes for challenging viewing.

I found the exhibition both interesting and thought-provoking, and many of the images are quite stunning. Here is a sample so you can judge for yourself:






I have chosen not to include the more troubling images.

Autodesk

Most of this article I have already posted at 3pointD but there are few modifications for the serioulsy geeky and eagle-eyed:

I am not sure if there has been much ballyhoo about this, but Autodesk have at last opened their island in Second Life. Autodesk is the company behind what is arguably the world’s leading 2D and 3D modeling software, and so it seems a natural fit for them to be in Second Life. Indeed, Autodesk’s Maya product has recently been highlighted by Linden Lab as an appropriate tool for the development of the soon-to-be-launched sculpted prims. The island would appear to be the work of design firm Clear Ink, though they have made extensive use of the Canadian designer and builder, Second Life resident Scope Cleaver.

The island is divided into a number of areas:

The “Orientation” area provides a small seating area, but more importantly, around the perimeter are a number of links to external Web sites, other parts of the island and a few notecards and freebies (well.. a T-shirt at any rate). Most of these relate to Autodesk, but there are also links to a Second Life FAQ and a guide to cool sites to visit.

The “Stage” area comprises an open-air auditorium, capable of hosting about 50 people (about the maximum that one SL region can handle), plus a number of smaller screening areas that would typically host around 10 people each. Each of these venues has an active video screen, on which promotional videos can be seen. The main auditorium is hosting a fortnightly series of meetings. Unfortunately, I missed today’s by a couple of hours. The next one,”Using Second Life as part of your Architectural Practice”, will be on May 29th at 10:00AM SLT

The “Concept Demo” area illustrates a number of uses to which Autodesk products can be put. As seems all the rage at the moment, one of the examples is an airship.

The “Building Demo” area illustrates the use of Autodesk in designing homes and other buildings. There seems to be the suggestion here that you would used Autodesk to model a house in SL, making it available to prospective buyers who could then modify the decor and furnishings to suit their tastes. A kind of "suck it and see."

The “Virtual Studio” area turns out to be a showcase for Crescendo Design, who use Autodesk in Real Life to design eco-friendly housing.

The build quality is all you would expect of Scope Cleaver, who specialises in finely built, ultra-modern office buildings and equipment. Unfortunately, there was no one around when I beamed in (a couple of hours late for their inaugural presentation) and, indeed, in the time it took me to write this blog entry, there has only been one other visitor. If you would like a guided tour, then times when an employee will be available are posted:

• Mondays and Fridays 10:00AM SLT (18:00 BST or 19:00 CET)
  
• Wednesdays 3:00PM SLT (23:00 BST or 00:00 CET)
  

Another Airship or 2

Just a quick post: Following a link from Natacha Chernov's blog, I TP'd over to the island of Lovelace to see yet more Second Life dirigibles. As Natacha is big on steampunk, you can safely assume that the island is named after Ada, rather than Linda. The island is still showing signs of extensive construction, but it is a nice place to go... if you ignore the giant wicker man who may be waiting for you to come round for a barbecue.

The main feature is the huge zeppelin with strange wavy tentacles, that looms over the island. But there is a smaller, cuter dirigible for those with a fear of octopii and other cephalopods. If all of this has spooked you out, there is a church where you can go for a bit of tranquil chill.

Download Festival coming to Second Life

The following is a lift from Easier Lifestyle - though at least I researched the links:

Download Dog, the mascot of Download Festival, Britain’s largest alternative music festival, has for the very first time been let loose in the internet-based, virtual world Second Life. The Second Life Download Dog is unique in its design, specifically animated as an interactive avatar.

The communities built within Second Life and the Download Festival are an essential factor in both of their success. Second Life now boast an online community of over 6 Million, and each year has seen the Download festival increase its audience now bringing together 80,000 dedicated fans to Donington Park each June. This massive Download audience has been key to forming their online community that meets each year to provide feedback and shape the future of the festival. Using only independent artisans and existing locations within Second Life, the competition works like a treasure hunt, the first within the metaverse*.

Users will have to follow a trail left by the Download Dog to be entered into a prize-draw to win an Epiphone Les Paul guitar, signed [by] artists playing the festival this year. Organisers have been working extensively with the Second Life community to bring this competition together and the Download Dog’s avatar has been created by Nomasha Syaka, who is regarded as the most talented sculptor and builder in Second Life.

Festival director, Stuart Galbraith said: “Having the Download Dog integrated into Second Life is a fantastic opportunity for both communities to interact and bring the Download Festival to a world wide audience. Our online community has made Download Festival the essential event that it is today and bringing this to a wider audience is a concept that is extremely exciting.” Rohan Freeman of The Sine Wave Company, who are involved in the Dog’s venture into Second Life said of the competition “Second Life has tens of thousands rock and alternative fans doing weird and wonderful things. When Live Nation wanted to run a competition for all their people, it was easy to bring everything together and draw on the creativity of lots of people all at once. Second Life is a community, and the people building it care about that community. Feedback from citizens I am dealing with is excellent. Because we are getting them involved.”

* I'm not sure Microsoft/Millions of Us would agree with this assertion.

UPDATE: Follow this link for competition instructions.

The Frogman Show - Movie

The Frogman Show, a popular Japanese TV cartoon and now, movie, has been brought to Second Life by leading Japanese builders, Melting Dots at Kaeruotoko Island. If you want to get a flavour of the show, there's a number of clips on YouTube - as you might hope/expect, it is totally crazy. I've been struggling to find details (in English) about the show, but I am reliably informed that the "frogman" in question is the pseudonym of the sole animator, and that the 30-minute TV show is all produced using Flash.

Kaeruotoko Shokai is the company behind the runaway success of the show and a number of other Flash-based projects; "a gung ho visual contents brand...A charismatic force in web animation which could only be chaired by the FROGMAN himself."

The island itself is largely submerged, and only a small area of land is actually in use. The main plot offers a number of weblinks and a movie theatre, where trailers can be viewed. There are also several freebies, ranging from caps and T-shirts, to a couple of free avatars, which is good.

The whole place is garish and cartoony - just like the show - and I have to confess that I rather like it.

Dogfights and Airships

Recently a number of folk have pointed out the number of airships filling the skies of Second Life - the one at Microsoft Island being the most recent. Therefore I was delighted to find not one but, well, loads of airships when I TP'd into Dogfight Island.

I was at a loss to get the inside information on the island - actually 2 sims - when a notecard popped up, and saved me all that work of tracking people down and quizzing them at length.

So here goes...
"The Second Skies sims are themed around an alternate mid-20th century. It is a world with a steampunk past and a retro-futurist future. It is the world that is home to films like The Rocketeer or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, and most notably games like Crimson Skies. The skies are filled with zeppelins and air pirates... and adventure. Role-play is not required, however, things built or rezzed in the sim must not conflict with the theme. "

It then goes on to give some cracking examples of what's "in" and what's "out", before going on to explain:
"We're not terribly strict about this, but we're also quick to respond to flagrant violations. For example, if you rez a Cessna, it's technically not theme but it'll probably slide by without complaint, as long as it's for the moment and not a permanent part of a build. OTOH, we routinely return anything C-Tech on sight. People wandering around in NASA uniforms will likely be unmolested, but Clone or Stormtroopers get bounced out of the sim immediately."








The card concludes by making the point that this is not a general combat sim - it is intended only for use in air-to-air combat. I fancied mucking about with the pictures to give them a steampunk look, but during my researches I found this blog, which has such great pictures that my attempts would have looked rubbish by comparison.

Sprouting Tufts

Tufts University, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, have an island in Second Life. I picked up a notecard, which I will now quote from liberally:

• "This Second Life island is an experimental studio environment for the course 'Physical Planning & Design.' The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the fundamental ideas and tools in the work of planning and designing the built environment. As a capstone project for the course, we are developing a physical plan and design for vacant land surrounding the Forest Hills MBTA Train Station. On this island, you will find a 1/2 scale model of the Forest Hills site. We will use the Second Life environment to both conceive our plan and then to present our ideas. We will make a final presentation of our ideas on Wednesday, April 25, 2007 at 9AM ET. The public is welcome to join us here in Second Life for the presentation."

So I'm a few weeks late then. Ho hum.

The build is not dramatic (though it is interesting to see half-scale, I'm not used to that in SL) - but then that is not its purpose. Rather, it shows yet another means of innovating using 3D environments. I wonder whether they found that SL helped?

I don't have the SLURL to hand, but use the "Search" facility on "Map" and look for "UEPP Tufts".

Aarhof Shopping Mall - where RL and SL meet

I've been suffering with withdrawal symptoms - and I keep getting drawn back to Dutch sites, no matter what I do. Here's another that I actually stumbled on a few weeks ago - but couldn't resist the temptation to blog it this time round. It's a shopping mall - nothing special about that, and that's why I didn't bother blogging it first time. However, I thought I'd take another look - mainly because I can't access the Sky News sim, and I was at something of a loose end.

This is Aarhof Shopping Mall - and what makes it a little more interesting that yer average mall is that it is the Second Life equivalent of the Real Life Aarhof Shopping Mall. I will let you digest the content of the notice below:

So - aside from being an extrusion into the Virtual World of a real, bricks'n'mortar building - you can also buy stuff in Second Life that will be delivered to you in Real Life. OK... this, too, is not new - but it's certainly not commonplace in SL. Also, the mechanism is not exactly cutting edge, as it is basically a matter of linking you to the relevant website. I was also surprised at how few outlets actually offered website links. Also, the mall is not targeted particularly at SLers, in that there are no SL-only shops in here (for skins, SL clothing and the like). On the plus side, there's plenty of freebies for all those so inclined - clothing, pets, lamps and other stuff.


As you can see, the build looks quite realistic - a lot of effort has been expended making the shops look like their counterparts in RL, with inordinate quantities of transparent photo textures. I quite like it - even though I am struggling to see how the site will be used. OK, there are some links to websites, but large swathes of the mall seem to be there simply to look like RL. It seems like a waste to me - but maybe they have a cunning plan. If you know, then do tell.

Microsoft / MOU Egg Hunt

OK... I give up. I found the first egg, solved the riddle and thought: "Oooh! I quite like this." But after hunting for the second egg for a what seemed like an age, without success, I've decided to get on with the rest of my life - real and virtual. I know plenty of people have found it, and indeed have collected all the eggs. But for me? I simply can't be bothered. Which is a shame, because the actual logic problems would appear to be quite good fun.

I was talking with the first winner, Little Penguin, who informed me that only 3 of the eggs were really hard to find - the second being on of them. Yeah... well, I'd agree with the latter statement! More interestingly, only the first 3 eggs are on the Microsoft sim. The others are dotted around various sims, and not all of them are Millions of Us builds. Which set me thinking...

If this build was for Microsoft, how come you are led a merry dance around the grid - on a hunt that has virtually nothing to do with the client? If the build was actually ready months ago (as I believe may be the case), how come the island wasn't opened at Easter - when an Egg Hunt would make more sense? I'm just a bit confused about the marketing messages here; who is actually the client?

Then, picking up on a tweet from Prokofy Neva, how come the front entrance to the main structure on the Microsoft island is now so difficult to access, cluttered as it is by all manner of crapahoolie?

BMW gets Interactive

After sorting out some teething problems, BMW have finally got their "energy efficiency" flying machine in full working order - and it's been worth the wait. Unfortunately, you can't just go and grab a copy for yourself. You have to arrange a test flight by contacting the tireless Munich Express (his girlfriend must be getting seriously p*ssed off with him by now!), who will sort you out.

Here's a couple of piccies of the flying machine - I call it that, because I can't think of a better expression, although the term rather conjures up images of the Wright Brothers, rather than a sleek Sc-Fi beast like this. If you look closely, you will see letter "H" on the 2 engine pods, while the pilot's pod is, one hopes, a place where s/he can breathe (so that'll be Oxygen then). Putting this all together, we end up with H2O... so we have a water-powered(?) vehicle, using Hydrogen as the actaul fuel. Nice model, huh?


Yeah... but how does it feel to fly? I'm usually really crap when it comes to operating machinery. This rule applies in RL as well as SL - but SL is particularly challenging. So it was with some trepidation that I took the helm. I found the H2O to be responsive without being to "jinky", and when I put the pedal to the metal, it went like a bat out of Hell. So that's the BMW brand preserved then. :-)

It also sped across the linked sims without a hiccup. I've had awful problems in the past with vehicles attempting to cross sim boundaries - but this little beauty took no notice of such inconveniences. And that meant I was able to get much more out of the flight. It was actually quite thrilling (I lead a quiet life), though next time I will use Mouselook mode - which should be awesome.

Two comparisons flashed through my mind as I was razzing about in this beastie. The first was the German rocket plane the ME-163, in that the H2O is small and incredibly fast; the second was the Schneider Trophy, as my flight involved flying low across the sea and low-lying islands in a single-seat plane with 2 dangly pod things.

Microsoft? Whatever....

I made a pre-launch visit to Microsoft island tonight - along with its sibling, Microsoft Winners. Why pre-launch? Well, for one thing, I tend to find launch events a bit too busy and laggy - but also, because Microsoft have cunningly contrived to hold their launch at 6:00PM SLT - which in English money is 2:00 AM GMT on Friday morning, or for my more Continental chums, 3:00AM CET. Some of us have got work in the morning!

So what am I to infer from this? Microsoft are pitching at the Far East market perhaps? Or trying to appeal to American developers who don't have daytime access to Second Life? One thing seems certain - we poor Europeans (the ones who are currently flooding into Second Life, by the way) can wait until we get home on Friday evening to see what all the fuss has been about. Thanks MOU and Microsoft - cute strategy.

So enough with the complaining, and the yabbering. What's the build like? It is, after all, from those Masters of the Metaverse at Millions of Us. Well, you may already have seen the "blimp" video on YouTube, which I personally found unhelpful. The blimp looks like it is about to feature in some kind of launch event game - but there is scant information about this at the moment. I have captured an island map for your delectation, but I was somewhat underwhelmed. Aside from an interminable series of stairs to reach something that has something to do with the blimp, the island seems to have 2 main features - a sandbox and a huge pavillion. Inside the pavillion is a blimp-like object (I shall call it a 'BLO') that serves as a theatre or auditorium. Dotted around the edges of the pavillion, at various heights, are smaller chat areas (quite nicely branded with the Microsoft 4-square logo). Outside, you will find a dancing area - though it looks oddly placed if it is intended as a permanent fixture. It looks more like something that will be taken down in a week or 2 (or maybe less). There is a clone of the dance are on the "winners" island - which I assume will be the preserve of the winners of whatever competition has been dreamt up.




Ther island is aimed at Visual Studio developers - and in my view, they would be far better served going to the Defy All Challenges website. This has some great videos, mixing RL and SL. Maybe this island will rock once it has opened officially - but for me, despite some nice build features, it feels a bit flat. What is more, it has sat there, seemingly twiddling its virtual thumbs for months. I understand that no real changes have been made to it in 4 or 5 months - and that is certainly my perception. I have checked this island on the Satellite Map, off and on, since late last year - and have noticed no real changes for some time.

So anyway - there you have it. Pop along and make your own mind up - but I had high expectations, that this site has not lived up to...

Up The Amazon - Part I

Amazon yesterday soft-launched their 2-sim Amazon Developer island, targeted at developers using Amazon Web Services. While acknowledging that it is not complete, they are keen to start getting feedback from interested SLers so they are better able to launch a fully rounded offering in a few weeks time.

The build has been done by my very good friends at Virtuool, and cool wolf-man Joshua Culdesac's paw-prints are certainly all over it. If you've not seen their work before, can I commend you to this article and this one. Unusually for me, today's article is only "Part I". Why? Well, I simply didn't have enough time to fully explore the island last night, yet still picked up more information than I can comfortably blog in one sitting.

Given the company name, the island is naturally themed on the Amazon , though it also has a more general South American vibe going on: pumas roar at you from the bushes; alligators snap at you as you take a cruise in a fishing boat that would not look out of place on Lake Titicaca.

There is so much going on here it is going to take me some time to untangle. For starters, on arrival there is a 3D model of the island over which lies a glass plate, strong enough to bear your weight. As you click on information panels, a little guide-bot scoots across the plate and illuminates the destination on the island that matches your selection. Quite simply - brilliant!

I then took a cruise, whose gently meandering route took me past many of the buildings, before I jumped ship for a closer look. One area that I particularly enjoyed is the hovering meeting rooms. These could almost double as "speak your weight" machines, since they track (and display) the load in the room, and adjust the speed of the rotors accordingly, so as to keep you hovering in the same place. Niiiice....



I scouted out the Web Services Museum, but this is still awaiting its display cabinets. However, it did remind me that Joshua has developed a cool tool for building such structures. I had seen a demo of the building tool a couple of months ago, so it's good to see it put to use here.




This build is full of interesting, diverting details - almost to the point of overwhelming you on a quick visit.

What I love about Virtuool builds is:

• the sense of humour
• the left-field imagination
• the clever use of scripts to provide engaging animations and effects
• ... and lots of other stuff too...

Seeing the reaction on 3pointD, I am absolutely delighted that one of the nicest wolfmen I know (while not forgetting Piper - sorry!!) - and one of the best builders around - is starting to get the recognition he deserves. This has raced to the top of my SL Innovations table. But, with all the praise and plaudits he's been getting, I wonder if he will still talk to me now?

PS: Oh... the green rocky thing that comes up to provide a path across the river?... is it supposed to keep going up? :-)

In a Heartbeat

Today I ventured out among the far-flung islands of the Western Oceans of Second Life, and found landfall at Heartbeat Digital island (to be honest - this isn't very far out!). The company "creates custom Websites and high-value Web software for Fortune 500 companies and other industry-leading organizations" and is based in Manhattan. They specialise in web software for Life Sciences and Financial Services companies.

Bill Drummy, CEO, gave a speech recently entitled “YouTube, MySpace and Us” which included the following statement: "It’s important to realize that virtual worlds like Second Life represent an entirely new paradigm that will enormously affect how people interact online in the future. At the same time, these sites are ‘bleeding edge’ for most people today. Only 15% of Second Lifers return regularly.” He concluded with: "...nobody knows anything – yet. This is all extremely new; business models are gestating. That spells opportunity, but it also requires experimentation." I think I'd agree with that!

My chum VeeJay, over at Mindblizzard, was not entirely complementary about the build when he stumbled upon it a few weeks ago. However, I am a much more generous chap (evidently) as I reckon that the build is still incomplete. At ground level it comprises only a small, Victorian-era "orangery" with a fairly full description of the company and somewhat erratic teleport. The rest of the island is lush grass and the odd tree. Above ground is a huge airship, stretching the length of the island - and above that is a solid expanse that blocks a satellite view of the whole place.


The airship is reached using the quirky teleport. It houses a couple of meeting areas and a dance floor, along with a couple of gondolas for more (virtual) face-to-face meetings. However, the whole thing feels decidedly unfinished. I don't know if they are taking a breather, but it is not in its final configuration - or so I would hope. I am encouraged in this thought by the fact that I can find no press releases announcing its presence. Oh... some quite nice particle effects by the way.

Incidentally, VeeJay commented on the island claim date as July, 2004. However, I am not sure this isn't a bug (or feature?) of Second Life, as I have encountered a number of "new" islands with "old" claim dates. Perhaps more instructive is that the owner, Praetor Hax, was "born" on 14th Feb, 2007 (although he has an older alt dating back to 2005). I am therefore happy to reserve judgement until more has been done - assuming more is actually done! If you know anyone from Heartbeat Digital, please ask them to comment, correcting me on any errors or misunderstandings.

Hamburg Chamber of Commerce

You may have read recently that in April more Germans accessed Second Life than Americans. I have already noted on many occasions the number of Dutch builds in progress - and I have been particularly intrigued by the arrival of Dutch towns, such as Zoetermeer of Koolhoven. Well, not to be outdone by the Dutch, the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce has decided that German towns also need representation in Second Life and have acquired an island. It is being constructed by German build company Metaboys - a new-looking 4-man team from Hamburg.

To quote liberally from the notecard I picked up:

• Hamburg Chamber of Commerce is one of Europe's oldest chambers of commerce, with a wealth of experience in international relations, commercial know-how, and democratic culture. And one of the youngest and most dynamic in terms of commitment for its members. It is the voice for the Hamburg business community and a partner, facilitator and representative for some 139,000 companies, that is a total workforce of about 849,000 people... [It] is the first chamber worldwide in Second Life.

Although the build remains at an early stage it is apparent that the island is divided into 2 principal areas - the Chamber of Commerce and the "Hamburg @ Work" initiative., which seemingly aims to bring together media, IT and telecommunications companies - although to what end remains something of a mystery to me.

Anyway... here's some piccies of progress to date:

Incidentally, this seems to be another of those sites that has been officially launched, even though it is a long way from completion. Why do people do that?

Al turns down Visa

Nic at the excellent KZero recently reported on Visa Europe's first foray into Second Life. I was surprised he'd got in, as it looks highly incomplete on the Satellite Map view. But since he got in, I thought I'd give a try too - and sure enough it is open to the rambling fraternity.

I thought Nic was being a tad harsh in his appraisal, but having given the island the once-over I am inclined to agree with him. The build is somewhat rudimentary, offering no real information and comprising an admittedly attractive walkway and a cluster of Visa-brand boxes - and that's about it.

Visitors are asked for their views - but it feels forced, insincere and badly misjudged. The idea, of course, is to encourage notions of crowdsourcing, social networking and community - just what we SLers thrive on. However, to my eyes at least, this looks lazy and poorly thought out.


The reason that occurs to me is that Visa Europe has not really done its homework - and has failed to use one of the many excellent build and marketing companies that have a solid understanding of Second Life dynamics, opting instead for what looks like a couple of relatively inexperienced(?) contract builders. As a result they stand to compromise the brand through a largely inept introduction into SL - and the fault for this lies largely at their own door.

I found the following at mad.co.uk:

Sandra Alzetta, senior VP of innovation at Visa, said: “Visa has approached Second Life in the interactive manner of the world itself. What we have created is very much a work in progress which we are hoping to see grow organically through user participation, we are looking for visitors to our island and our member banks to input into our presence in their world.

“The island was chosen for its proximity to the mainland, whilst also allowing for space to develop and grow. The Second Life world is one that is at the forefront of technology and as such is complementary to the extensive work that Visa undertakes in researching and developing new technologies.”

Oddly, it's not really close to the mainland - and even if it was, so what? I'm sorry but this sounds like someone with no inworld experience, making questionable decisions based on an absence of actual knowledge - and (as I said earlier) not using companies who can supply this knowledge. I wonder what the launch party will be like?

Music and Politics

The island of misneach is owned by SL group Four Winds Entertainment, who describe their mission as "to provide quality entertainment to SL residents." The island is under construction, but already has areas set aside for 2 bands:

• First up are The Invaders, a Milwaukee-based Ska band; I would never have associated Ska with Wisconsin.

• Then there is On A Sun, also from Milwaukee, who specialise in a blend of electronica and rock.

Beyond that, the island has a multi-floored dance block, a couple of outdoor screens and a beach area for more relaxing pastimes. Presumably as a bid to cover some of the expense of running an island, there is a small number of shops for rent. You are also invited to leave a tip in order to cheer up Sad Bob.

The build, which has a look of the able and enthusiastic amateur about it, clearly has a number of weeks before it is completed.

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Progressive Island is home to a number of... well... progressive organisations. It is the place to sign up for the YearlyKos Second Life convention in August (blogged before). It also hosts IFAW (the International Fund for Animal Welfare); the Wes Clark 2008 election group; NTEN (Nonprofit Technology Network); Trellon - "a political consulting firm specializing in the Internet and New Media" - and a number of other, smaller micro-sites.

Construction is still in progress, mainly under Nobody Fugazi, with one building (at least) still to be be completed. The island is group owned by Team Trellon.

Al locks on to Loxon

The number of closed sims is getting to be a right pain in the proverbial at the moment. I reckon I am able to wander at will through maybe only 10% of those I try and visit. But one that I have been able to access, even though it is relatively new and still under construction, is Loxon. This sim belongs to Loxon Design & Media, based in Munich. The sim is part of a small German enclave that includes BMW, Softlab and Phase 4, all of whom I have featured in this blog in previous postings.

Loxon have broken their sim into a number of islands, seemingly with the intention of bringing their clients into Second Life. Only one of these is operational at the moment: Zorro Film, also based in Munich. Zorro seem to be a movie production and/or distribution company. Their presence in Second Life comprises primarily a movie theatre, where promos for 4 of their films (including the wonderfully named "Full Metal Village" by Sung-Hyung Cho ) can be viewed. You can grab freebies in the form of a variety of T-shirts. I broke with my normal reserve about picking up crap - and grabbed a "Full Metal Village" T-shirt. Outside the theatre there is a talking cow(!) - part of the "Full Metal Village" promotion. The Zorro site opened officially on 26th April - though this passed me by entirely.

High above the island there is a meeting room, accessed by rezzing the Zorro-Liftboy, who will scoop you up and fly you up to the high-altitude platform.

Elsewhere, the sim is far from complete. There is a sandbox, and a main island that is still in the early stages of construction. The build all appears to be the work of Bruce Mantis, whose profile identifies him as the builder of the neighbouring Softlab island too.

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Incidentally, I also visited the island of Japan Zipang Japone. This site has barely started construction, and I have no idea what it is going to be. I mention it only because it is adorned with a number of unfeasibly armed Transformers, like these:

More on Sun's MPK20 Project

Here is a link if you want to view a demo of the new Sun MPK20 virtual 3D environment for commerce. It shows off the principal features rather nicely. Nicole Yankelovich, who seems to be providing the demo, has said Sun intend to roll this out internally within 6 months. Subsequently, presumably once the bugs and glitches have been nailed. it will be made available outside the company.

Also - PC Advisor magazine has listed their top 8 Second Life businesses. Can you guess? Oh.. go on...

No? OK - they've gone with:
IBM
Pontiac
Sun
Dell
Reuters
Cisco
H&R Block
Geek Squad

Just thought you might like to know.

A Blogger Blogged....

I see Team Mascot has blogged about my own bit of building in Second Life. I think he's been a tad over-generous in his assessment, but thanks anyway!

It has to be said that New Alville lacks thematic coherence, does not employ a 24x7 greeter and does not provide freebie T-shirts or other inventory-filling crapola. Also, it makes no effort to advertise its presence. In fact, it seems there is a distinct reluctance to make itself known.

On the plus side, it is actually open to ramblers wishing to pop by for a chat... or have a hot tub session in one of the 2 giant coffee cups.

:-)

Spazitalia

Naming your company can be a tricky business these days. Once upon a time, unless you were a multi-national, you didn't have to worry too much about language issues. But with the arrival of the internet, and more latterly, 3D environments like Second Life, your choice of company name becomes more important, as you now need to consider whether it is "safe" in other languages. And so it with Spazitalia, an Italian company whose mission is to "promote Italian products abroad and foreign products in Italy. In this case we create an Italian site, independent from the original, which takes into account the specific needs of the Italian market in terms of graphics, the use of internet and new technologies, methods of payment etc." Personally, I'd recommend they think again about that name.

Anyway, Spazitalia have taken the logical next step - and extended their building and marketing capabilities into Second Life.

Most of the island is given over to small stalls - the Spazitalia Fair. The intention would appear to be to encourage Italian small-to-medium sized businesses to come and set up a virtual marketplace. However, I am not convinced that the size of the stall is really adequate for a 3D environment. The aim may be simply to provide links to websites - in which case the stall size is OK, but this would be a wasted opportunity in using the 3D space.

Although nearly complete there is clearly construction work still in progress, with a disco area, a forum and a couple of other buildings still in need of a little more attention.

More New Islands for May Day

Another quick trawl has picked out the following new/under construction islands:

BCI Navigation & DIAMNAV: BCI Navigation's principal activity is to design, manufacture and sell technological applications. The Group offers cartography and embedded navigation systems. Navigation system products include position systems like GPS, mobility applications and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for route calculations and navigations to points of interests. Under Cartography, the Group offers SNN that covers the various aspects of collecting, storing and viewing maps online. Their other products include bciPDA, a navigation software and bciCSG. The Group operates only in France.

Brabantstad: Brabantstad is an agglomeration in the south of the Netherlands (D'OH - bloody Dutch again!). It consists of the five biggest cities (and the surrounding areas) in the Province of North-Brabant. With its ca. 0,6 million inhabitants and high-technology and industrial performance it's one of the biggest economical regions in Europe, comprising; Breda; Tilburg;'s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch)';Eindhoven;Helmond. It is also one of Holland's one of Europe’s most dynamic and lucrative economic areas. It is conveniently close to 2 other new islands: Eindhoven and Tilburg. It looks like every town in the Netherlands is playing catch-up with Zoetermeer!

Becker GPS Lounge: Becker produce satellite navigation systems with route calculation, dynamic navigation and a display of special destinations in 37 European countries and a choice of 17 languages. I wonder how they will cope in a virtual world, with teleport as the prime mode of transport? Then again, it might be nice to know of "traffic hotspots" in advance!

VOK DAMS: VOK DAMS - a marketing company with offices in North America, Germany (their base) and Asia - have actually launched in SL, according to this press release. However, this presence is somewhat rudimentary - to say the least. Another case of rushing to press release before having enough on the ground.


Finally, we have the enigmatic cluster of islands: snet1 to snet4. There are a few possibilities here, of which the prime contenders would appear to be SNET or SNET - that is: "Société nationale d'électricité et de thermique"; "Southern New England Telecommunications" or "Servicio Nacional de Estudios Territoriales". Any other guesses??

Oh... I have spotted such a mind-numbingly large number of new universities and colleges I will need to collate them all before presenting them for your edification. Also, according to my stats, we are only about 3000 accounts shy of the 6 million resident mark.