Web 2.0 and the 3D Web (Virtual Worlds and Second Life®)
‘The 3D Web is born! It won't be the proprietary Second Life owned by Linden Lab in 2015, but the 3D Internet (Open Source/standards) will be there for sure! (Second Life will then become one out of many commercial, value-added providers - cf. history of AOL and CompuServe. Thinking otherwise would be like thinking 15 years ago that the (2D) Web will be proprietary, owned and run by a single company like Microsoft!)’ --M.N.K. Boulos - April 2007
Key presentations
Papers, conference proceedings, presentations, and research groups/centres
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- By the author:
- Kamel Boulos MN, Hetherington L, Wheeler S. Second Life: an overview of the potential of 3-D virtual worlds in medical and health education. Health
Information and Libraries Journal. 2007;24(4):233–245 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18005298
- Kamel Boulos MN, Burden D. Web GIS in practice V: 3-D interactive and real-time mapping in Second Life. International Journal of Health Geographics. 2007;6:51 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=18042275
- Huang ST, Kamel Boulos MN, Dellavalle RP. Scientific discourse 2.0. Will your next poster session be in Second Life ®? EMBO Reports. 2008;9(6):496–499 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18516082
- Kamel Boulos MN, Wheeler S, Toth-cohen S. Designing for learning in 3-D virtual worlds: the University of Plymouth Sexual Health SIM experience in Second Life. In Proceedings of IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in Digital Age (CELDA 2007), 7-9 December 2007, Algarve, Portugal. Edited by Kinshuk, Sampson DG, Spector JM, Isaías P. IADIS Press, 2007, pp. 401-406 (ISBN: 978-972-8924-48-5) - Full text (PDF); slides (PDF)
- Kamel Boulos MN, Toth-Cohen S. Proposal: A 'Sexual Health' Public Education and Outreach SIM in Second Life (funded by SLEducationUK.net - a 1760 m2 land was granted on 9 July 2007 - visit project Web site at http://healthcybermap.org/slsexualhealth/ - Overview Machinima--Jun 08 HD video)
- Wheeler S, Kamel Boulos MN. Mashing, Burning, Mixing and the Destructive Creativity of Web 2.0: Applications for Medical Education. RECIIS
- Electronic Journal of Communication, Information and Innovation in Health. 2007;1(1):27-33 - Full text: PDF (EN); PDF (PT) (paper also covers Second Life in brief)
- Kamel Boulos MN, Wheeler S. The emerging Web 2.0 social software: an enabling suite of sociable technologies in health and health care education. Health Information and Libraries Journal. 2007;24(1):2-23 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=17331140
- From PubMed:
- Stott D. Attending medical school in virtual reality. Student BMJ 2007 Dec;15:431 - http://student.bmj.com/issues/07/12/news/431.php
- Skiba DJ. Nursing Education 2.0: Second Life. Nursing Education Perspectives. 2007;28(3):156–157 - http://nln.allenpress.com/nlnonline/?request=get-document&issn=1536-5026&volume=028&issue=03&page=0156
- Luo JS. Virtual reality therapy: On your desktop today. Primary Psychiatry. 2007;14(4):20-22 - http://www.primarypsychiatry.com/aspx/articledetail.aspx?articleid=1057
- Bell L, Pope K, Peters T. Digital libraries on the MUVE: A virtual adventure. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 2007;33(4) - http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Apr-07/bell_pope_peters.html
- Antonacci DM, Modress N. Envisioning the Educational Possibilities of User-Created Virtual Worlds. AACE Journal. 2008;16(2):115-126 - http://www.editlib.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Reader.ViewAbstract&paper_id=24253
- Proceedings of the Second Life Education Workshop at the Second Life Community Convention-SLCC 2006, San Francisco, August 20th, 2006. Daniel Livingstone and Jeremy Kemp (eds.) - http://www.simteach.com/SLCC06/slcc2006-proceedings.pdf
- Proceedings of the 2nd Second Life Education Workshop at the Second Life Community Convention-SLCC 2007, Chicago Hilton, August 24th-26th, 2007. Daniel Livingstone and Jeremy Kemp (eds.) - http://www.simteach.com/slccedu07proceedings.pdf
- Another Life: Virtual Worlds as Tools for Learning - http://elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=44-1
- Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) in the new media classroom - http://www.ifets.info/journals/9_3/14.pdf
- Second Life as a Virtual Learning Environment - http://www.dokimos.org/secondlife/education/index.html
- Second Life: Educational Possibilities - http://www2.kumc.edu/netlearning/SLEDUCAUSESW2005/SLPresentationOutline.htm
- Educational Uses of Second Life - http://sleducation.wikispaces.com/educationaluses
- EDUCAUSE's 7 Things You Should Know About Virtual Worlds (23 June 2006) - http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7015.pdf
- LaChapelle N. Some Foundations for Second Life Pedagogy (EDUCAUSE Connect - 18 July 2007) - http://connect.educause.edu/blog/HiredEd/somefoundationsforse/44785?time=1186251052
- Kemp J. Designing in Second Life (The SLED Picayune - 2 June 2007) - http://sledpicayune.blogspot.com/2007/06/designing-in-second-life.html (see also: 'The copying of RL into SL is rather silly'--multiple with and against opinions/messages with this subject line at https://lists.secondlife.com/pipermail/educators/2007-July/subject.html and this related opinion article)
- Top 10 reasons to use SL (The SLED Picayune - 4 June 2007) - http://sledpicayune.blogspot.com/2007/06/top-10-reasons-to-use-sl.html (see also: Top 10 List Why (another take))
- McConaghy T. Using Second Life for Knowledge Transfer and Collaboration. International Workshop on Managing Knowledge for Space Missions, CalTech, July 17-19, 2007 - http://km.nasa.gov/pdf/182785main_McConaghy_Second_Life.pdf
- NIH Second Life White Paper (15 March 2007) - http://www.lib.noaa.gov/docs/news/NIH_Second_Life_Whitepaper.pdf (cached version)
- The Ultimate Virtual Library: HealthInfo Island - Presentation at the US Medical Library Association 2007 Annual Meeting (21 May 2007) - http://mla2007.pbwiki.com/
- Getting Your Consumer Health Information from an Avatar! - Presentation at EAHIL Workshop in Krakow (11-15 September 2007) - http://www.slideshare.net/digicmb/getting-your-consumer-health-information-from-an-avatar/ (full text)
- Medical & Psychological Sites in Second Life: Mind, Body & Spirit - Presentation at the Internet Librarian 2007 Conference and Exhibition, Monterey, CA, USA (30 October 2007) - http://www.infotoday.com/il2007/Presentations/D203-D204_Jacobsen.pps (see also: ‘Get a Second Life’ by same author, Elisabeth Marrapodi, in National Network vol. 32 (3) January 2008 pp. 12-13)
- Consumer Health Information Gets a Second Life - http://www.slideshare.net/CarolPerryman/consumer-health-information-gets-a-second-life
- Second Life & Libraries - http://www.slideshare.net/digicmb/second-life-libraries
- Wolverine Island (University of Michigan Medical School) - http://www.slideshare.net/umhealthscienceslibraries/whats-a-nice-library-20070731/ (SLurl)
- Eduserv Symposium 2007: Virtual worlds, real learning? - http://www.eduserv.org.uk/foundation/symposium/2007/ (view/download presentations in mp4)
- 2nd Second Life Education Workshop 2007 (in the Chicago Hilton) - http://slcc2007.wordpress.com/ (see also: http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=SLCC_Educators)
- Second Life Best Practices in Education Conference 2007 (in venues all over the Second Life world) - http://slbestpractices2007.wikispaces.com/ (see: SLCN.TV archives of the conference and this text transcript of one of the keynote sessions)
- “Measuring” the Impact of Second Life for Educational Purposes (March 2008) - http://www.eduserv.org.uk/upload/foundation/sl/impactreport032008/impactreport.pdf
- 1st iVAS-International Virtual Association of Surgeons Conference, 22 April 2008 in Second Life - http://ubimon.doc.ic.ac.uk/iVAS/m660.html
- Bourke PD. Evaluating Second Life as a tool for collaborative scientific visualisation. Computer Games and Allied Technology, Singapore, 28-30 April 2008 - http://local.wasp.uwa.edu.au/~pbourke/papers/cgat08/
- Conference: Researching Learning in Virtual Environments - ReLIVE08, The Open University, 20-21 November 2008 - http://www.open.ac.uk/relive08/
- Second Life Annotated Bibliography - http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~mpepper/slbib (see also: http://conclave.open.ac.uk/muve_teaching_and_learning/index.php/Bibliography)
- Carol Perryman, Project Coordinator of "Providing Consumer Health Outreach and Library Programs to Virtual World
Residents in Second Life" (NLM grant) - http://www.unc.edu/~cperryma/Research/Research%20page.htm (see also: Podcast interview with Carol)
- Final Project Report for HealthInfo Island Project in Second Life (Providing Consumer Health Outreach and Library Programs to Virtual World Residents in Second Life, 1 November 2006 - 31 March 2008) - http://www.alliancelibrarysystem.com/pdf08/healthinfoislandfinalreport08.pdf
- Emergency/Nursing Education Simulator (NESIM) - http://jsvavoom.blogspot.com/2007/11/another-picture-of-simulator.html and http://jsvavoom.blogspot.com/2007/11/ed-simulator-in-second-life.html
- Sim-Patient: Simulated Humans for Health-Related Training (RTI International) - http://www.rti.org/page.cfm?nav=213
- Repurposing Existing Virtual Patients (REVIP) - http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_elearning_capital/reproduce/revip.aspx and http://www.elu.sgul.ac.uk/revip/ (see also: MedBiquitous Virtual Patient Working Group - http://www.medbiq.org/working_groups/virtual_patient/ and Labyrinth - http://labyrinth.mvm.ed.ac.uk/about.asp)
- Preview--Problem-based learning in virtual interactive educational worlds - http://www.elu.sgul.ac.uk/preview/blog/ (video)
- SEAL Project - Second Environment Advanced Learning - http://www.le.ac.uk/seal/
- Virtual Human Interaction Lab - Stanford University - http://www.stanford.edu/group/vhil/pubs.html
- Education UK: An island in Second Life to support learning & teaching - http://www.sleducationuk.net/ (see also: their Second Life Core Competency Framework)
- Open SLedware wiki - http://opensledware.wikispaces.com/
- The SaLamander Project: Collaborating to develop a taxonomy of and rate sites, tools, and other stuff useful for Teaching and Learning in Second Life - http://www.eduisland.net/salamanderwiki
- IBM Research | Innovation in Virtual Worlds - http://domino.research.ibm.com/comm/research_projects.nsf/pages/virtualworlds.index.html
- Input for the Future Internet research programme (March 2008): SL/3-D Internet is now a strategic European Commission objective - ftp://ftp.cordis.europa.eu/pub/fp7/ict/docs/netmedia/UCM-Position-paper.pdf
Top educational locations in Second Life
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Health-related items - some from above SimTeach URL (What is SLurl?)
- UC Davis' Virtual Hallucinations - http://slurl.com/secondlife/sedig/26/45/21/
- Heart Murmur Sim (medical assessment experiment, built 3/06) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/waterhead/124/56/32/
- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Second Life -
http://slurl.com/secondlife/CDC%20Island/70/34/24 (info @ CDC.gov)
- Second Life Medical Library/Consumer Health Library/iViNNiE Accessibility Center at Healthinfo Island -
SLurl 1, SLurl 2, SLurl 3 (description of iViNNiE Accessibility Center)
- The Dutch Red Cross Island - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Goede%20Doelen%20Plein/41/19/32 (see also: The Danish Red Cross Island)
- Cystic Fibrosis University on Boomer Esiason Island - http://slurl.com/secondlife/BOOMER%20ISLAND/46/79/28 (info)
- The US National Multiple Sclerosis Society in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Illusion%20Factory%20West/213/78/31 (see also: MS Island VUmc, a Dutch island for MS patients run by Vrije University Medical Center, and Alzheimer Society of Ontario in Second Life)
- American Cancer Society in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/American%20Cancer%20Society/128/5/23 (info - see also: The Macmillan Cancer Information Centre in Second Life)
- MD Kiosk Health Classes (some classes are free to sample) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/MD%20Kiosk/111/109/31
- NMC Life Sciences Research Park - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Research%20Park/186/88/53
- The Scottish Medical Visualisation Network, developed by The Digital Design Studio (Glasgow School of Art) in partnership with The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and in association with Vue--The Virtual University of Edinburgh - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Vue/73/17/23 (info)
- Virtual Palomar West Hospital Powered by Cisco Technology - http://slurl.com/secondlife/PalomarWest%20Hospital/120/134/35 (info and machinima: http://virtualpalomarwest.org/ and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMtMWdlX9Z8)
- Virtual Hospital at Imperial College London - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Imperial%20College%20London/157/56/27 (info)
- Second Health Hospital, an experiment in communicating complex healthcare messages by NPL UK and Imperial College London/NHS - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Second%20Health%20London/127/222/25 - http://slurl.com/secondlife/National%20Health%20Service/125/105/27 and HealthLands: A Polyclinic for NHS London - http://slurl.com/secondlife/HealthLands/98/84/51 (info and case study)
- USF Health (University of South Florida) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/USF%20Health/57/71/50
- Ann Myers Medical Center, Sprott-Shaw College - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Hospital/143/194/22 (info)
- Nursing Education Simulator (NESIM) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cousins%20Pau/13/9/22
- A ‘Sexual Health’ Public Education and Outreach SIM in Second Life (Boulos et al.) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Education%20UK/33/63/22 (info/video, 'Broken Wing' Event--12 Sep 07 video, 'Sexual Purity' Seminar--1 May 08 video, 'Sex and Disability' Seminar--12 Jun 08 video, Overview Machinima--Jun 08 HD video)
- 3D tour of the testis - http://slurl.com/secondlife/TELRport/90/211/24 (info)
- Nutrition Game - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Ohio%20University/186/176/27 (info and case study)
- The Gene Pool - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Genome/127/129/49 (info)
- American Chemical Society in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/ACS/107/231/27
- Ollie Kubrick's "anatomically-accurate" skeleton at the ARC Automotive Research Center - http://slurl.com/secondlife/ARC%20Research%20Center/174/118/55 (info - see also: Kim Plowright's "anatomically-correct" skin for Second Life avatars and Play2Train's virtual anatomical models)
- Second Nature (Nature Publishing Group) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Second%20Nature/150/96/23 (info)
- SL Institute for Clinician Education (SLICE): The University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Medical Education's Virtual Clinic for training medical students and physicians, and exploring educational applications of virtual environments - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Aido%20Wedo/225/97/39
- Coventry University Centre for Inter-Professional e-Learning - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Coventry%20University/232/222/25 (info: blog article and http://www.cipel.ac.uk/)
- Live2Give, an innovative Second Life community for people dealing with cerebral palsy and similar physically disabling conditions - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Live2Give/141/179/29 (info - see also: Dreams, a SIM for assisting people with stroke, Asperger Syndrome/autism, and other neurological difficulties)
- Wellness Island (mental health) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Wellness%20Island/138/53/25 (info)
- The Heron Sanctuary, a community of support for all disabled people - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%204/127/66/25%7C and Virtual Ability - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Virtual%20Ability/71/124/26 (info)
- GimpGirl Community: supporting the pride and self-esteem of women with disabilities - http://slurl.com/secondlife/3DE/134/10/24 (info)
- SL HIV Prevention Center (Chilbo Community) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Madhupak/44/201/90
AIDES, a French AIDS fighting association, in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/area%2051/37/210/27- 'Ligue nationale contre le cancer' in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Europe/128/157/30 and http://slurl.com/secondlife/Europe/215/98/29
HEALTHY!: Il centro Intermedia della salute e medicina - http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISN%20VISIONS/122/40/29 and http://slurl.com/secondlife/ISN%20VISIONS/210/2/26 (oncology centre)
Places to learn Second Life developers' skills - see also: QAvimator, Holodecks, Creating for Second Life with AC3D, Second Inventory, and SL Exchange Marketplace for prefab buildings and components
Videos
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News items
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- Mapping a path for the 3D Web (CNET News.com - 8 May 2006)
- http://news.com.com/Mapping+a+path+for+the+3D+Web/2100-1025_3-6069459.html
(see also: Metaverse Roadmap: Pathways to the 3D Web - http://metaverseroadmap.org/index.html)
- At colleges, real learning in a virtual world (USA Today - 5 October 2006) - http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2006-10-05-second-life-class_x.htm
- Grand Opening Second Life Medical and Consumer Health Library (European Medical Librarians blog - 12 October 2006) - http://euromedlib.blogspot.com/2006/10/grand-opening-second-life-medical-and.html
- The CDC's Second Life (1 November 2006) - http://www.social-marketing.com/blog/2006/11/cdcs-second-life.html
- NLM Grant received for Consumer Health Library Services in Second Life (2 November 2006) - http://infoisland.org/2006/11/02/alliance-library-system-receives-grant-to-provide-consumer-health-information-services-in-virtual-world/
- Newsmaker: A brief history of the virtual world (CNET News.com - 9 November 2006) - http://news.com.com/A%2Bbrief%2Bhistory%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bvirtual%2Bworld/2008-1043_3-6134110.html
- No, Second Life is not overhyped (CNN - 10 November 2006): Is it
a game? No. Is it a marketing opportunity? Yes, but who cares? What
matters most is that it may point to the future of the Net, says
Fortune's David Kirkpatrick - http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/09/technology/fastforward_secondlife.fortune/index.htm
- IBM to fund '3D Internet' project (vnunet.com - 13 November 2006) - http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2168455/ibm-fund-3d-internet-project (see also: Building the 3D Internet - http://www.itnews.com.au/newsstory.aspx?CIaNID=42704 and this diagram by IBM)
- Educators explore 'Second Life' online (CNN - 14 November 2006) - http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/11/13/second.life.university/index.html
- Get a (second) life (FT.com - 17 November 2006) - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9b81c2-753a-11db-aea1-0000779e2340.html
- Make-believe money maker (FT.com - 22 November 2006) - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3e21a6ca-7a37-11db-8838-0000779e2340.html
- Second Life cars (CNN - 18 November 2006): Virtual world
has its own economy and its own wheels; car companies open dealerships
in virtual world - http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/17/autos/2nd_life_cars/index.htm
- Virtual pals 'soar in importance' (BBC - 30 November 2006):
Virtual communities are as important as their real-world counterparts,
many members of online communities believe - http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/6158935.stm
- Second Life - Review by PC Magazine (21 December 2006) - http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2075910,00.asp
- IBM's Five innovations that will change the way we live over the next five years - The Internet moves to the 3rd dimension (IDEAS from IBM - 09 January 2007): There will be a 3-D Internet enabling new kinds of interactive education, remote medicine and consumer experiences, and transforming how we interact with our friends and family, teachers, doctors and more - http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/five_in_five/010807/images/Fiveinnov_010807.pdf
- Second Life goes open source (vnunet.com - 09 January 2007): Developer releases code for client version of virtual world - http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2172099/second-life-goes-open-source
- Interview with the Agoraphobic Fighting the Fear in Second Life (Second Life Herald - 4 February 2007) - http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2007/02/interview_with__1.html (see also: 'Agoraphobia Support Headquarters' in Second Life, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6375097.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3251365.stm)
- Sweden opens diplomatic relations with Second Life (vnunet.com -
12 February 2007): First official embassy planted on Second Life's
digital soil - http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2174659/sweden-opens-diplomatic
- Get your Second Life live on your cellphone (13 February 2007) - http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2007/02/13/get-your-second-life-live-on-your-cellphone/
- IBM's master inventor Zygmunt Lozinski explains his vision, which
does not simply involve accessing Second Life from your phone, but
involves using your mobile as a bridge between the virtual world and
the real world (BBC - 23 February 2007, with video) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/6389469.stm (see also: http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/10/02/vodafone-insideout-allows-sl-texts-to-your-cell-phone)
- Bringing Voice to Second Life (27 February 2007) - http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/02/27/bringing-voice-to-second-life/ (see also: The Second Life Voice Viewer is Live! (2 August 2007) - http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/08/02/the-second-life-voice-viewer-is-live/ and Screaming Bee Voice Morphing in Second Life)
- Sony unveils its new 3D universe (BBC - 8 March 2007): Sony
reveals its new social networking feature for the PS3 called Home, at
the Game Developers Conference - http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6429039.stm
- Virtual worlds set for shake-up (BBC - 8 March 2007): Millions of
dollars are being spent by media firms hoping to cash-in on the success
of online games - http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/6431207.stm
- What it's like to have schizophrenia (BBC - 19 March 2007): The Second Life experiment allows a glimpse into schizophrenia - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6453241.stm
- Virtual worlds are 'worth $1bn' (BBC - 20 March 2007): Millions
of people are flocking to inhabit virtual online worlds, says research
by analysts Screen Digest - http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/6470433.stm
- Wii Interface for SL as Soon as Friday (3pointD.com Blog - 29 March 2007) - http://www.3pointd.com/20070329/wii-interface-for-sl-as-soon-as-friday
- Medicine's not-so-secret Second Life: Public health education thrives in so-called "virtual worlds" (National Review of Medicine, Canada - 30 March 2007) - http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2007/03_30/4_advances_medicine_6.html
- NMC opens new low-cost sims for rental to educational institutions (1 April 2007) - http://sl.nmc.org/2007/04/01/rental/ (details: http://virtualworlds.nmc.org/docs/NMC_announces_EDU_communities_in_SL.pdf)
- Gambling and pornography in Second Life:
- Second Life ploy for Paris garden (BBC - 11 April 2007): Parisians use
the virtual world of Second Life to put pressure on the town hall over
a redevelopment project - http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/europe/6544377.stm
- Meet the metaverse, your new digital home (CNET News.com - 13 April 2007) http://news.com.com/Meet+the+metaverse%2C+your+new+digital+home/2100-1025_3-6175973.html
- Accessibility: Soaring Beyond Physical Challenges in Virtual Worlds (Computers in Libraries - 15 April 2007) - http://www.technewsworld.com/story/56880.html (see also: SpaceNavigator--a 3D mouse from 3Dconnexion/Logitech
, UTD Accessibility Island and iViNNiE Accessibility Center at Healthinfo Island)
- The Coming Virtual Web (BusinessWeek - 16 April 2007) - http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/apr2007/tc20070416_780263.htm
- Gartner sees 80 % virtual world penetration by 2011 (Reuters - 25 April 2007) - http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2007/04/25/gartner-sees-80-virtual-world-penetration-by-2011/ (see also: Gartner says Second Life hype near peak)
- Age and Identity Verification in Second Life (4 May 2007) http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/05/04/age-and-indentity-verification-in-second-life/
- Towards Scalability/Open Source 3D Virtual Worlds' Servers: IBM Executive Calls for 'Virtual Planet'/3D Internet (PC World - 4 May 2007) - http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,131511/printable.html
- U.S. Government Presence Grows in Second Life Online World (8 May 2007): Agencies use virtual reality environment for education, outreach - http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=May&x=20070508163536lcnirellep0.2645075
- It's a world of possibilities (Guardian UK Education - 8 May 2007): Virtual campuses are springing up in Second Life, as universities discover the advantages of cyberspace - http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2074240,00.html
- IBM Goes Live with Latest Virtual Business Center (eWeek - 16 May 2007) - http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2131302,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
- Microsoft builds Second Life game to promote Visual Studio (16 May 2007) - http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/05/16/microsoft-builds-second-life-game-to-promote-visual-studio/
- Virtual world, real millions (BBC Money Programme - 1 June 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6708417.stm
- MediaGrid.org launches the Immersive Education initiative with an open call to educators, students, and professionals who have experience using environments such as Second Life (4 June 2007) - http://mediagrid.org/news/2007-06_immersive_education.html (see also: http://immersiveeducation.org/)
- Libraries on the MUVE: HealthInfo Island to Provide Accessibility Resource Center in Second Life (4 June 2007) - http://infoisland.org/2007/06/04/libraries-on-the-muve-healthinfo-island-to-provide-accessibility-resource-center-in-second-life/
- Ancient Rome brought back to life (BBC - 12 June 2007): Talks are said to have begun with Linden Labs to make the entire simulation available through Second Life - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6743991.stm (see also: Dresden's World-Class Art Gallery Duplicates Itself Online (Wired 13 August 2007))
- Virtual world sharpens mind-control (NewScientist.com news service - 26 June 2007) - http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn12136-virtual-world-sharpens-mindcontrol.html (see also: PRESENCCIA EU FP6 project and Real pain dulled in virtual worlds (BBC - 24 February 2004))
- Biever C. Web removes social barriers for those with autism (New Scientist Tech, issue 2610, pp.26-27 - 27 June 2007): Covers Autism and Second Life - http://www.newscientisttech.com/channel/tech/mg19426106.100-web-removes-social-barriers-for-those-with-autism.html (see also: Autistic Liberation Front in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Porcupine/29/177/113)
- Copyright issues and plagiarism in Second Life (The AvaStar, issue 29 - 6 July 2007) - http://www.the-avastar.com/pdfs/2007/TheAvaStar_Issue29.pdf
- SL-to-RL integration towards a better real life: Eolus Project Opens in Second Life Tomorrow (Metaversed - 6 July 2007) - http://metaversed.com/05-jul-2007/eolus-project-opens-second-life-tomorrow
- July 2007 snapshot of UK Higher and Further Education developments in Second Life (Eduserv - 20 July 2007) - http://www.eduserv.org.uk/foundation/sl/uksnapshot072007 (see also: Eduserv to fund research into eLearning in new Virtual Worlds (8 June 2007))
- Mauritians pioneer emergency preparedness training in Second Life (23 July 2007) - http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200707231437.html (see also: http://www.play2train.org/ - video)
- Sex in SL (Second Life Insider - 27 July 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/07/27/sex-in-sl/ (see also: Virtual condoms anyone? - http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2007/07/virtual-condoms.html)
- Mollman S. Wii + Second Life = New Training Simulator (Wired - 27 July 2007) - http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/07/wiimote (see also: Johnny Chung Lee's Wii Projects and video: Control your Second Life avatar with the Wii Fit Balance Board)
- Game worlds show their human side (BBC - 27 July 2007): Social scientists are starting to use Second Life and other virtual worlds as laboratories to study human interaction - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6917924.stm
- Anderson C. The Long Tail: Why I gave up on Second Life (30 July 2007) - http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/07/why-i-gave-up-o.html (see also: Rose F. How Madison Avenue Is Wasting Millions on a Deserted Second Life (Wired - 24 July 2007))
- Price C. Sex ed in Second Life (Salon, USA - 31 July 2007) - http://letters.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/2007/07/31/sex_in_second_life/view/index.html?show=all&order=desc (see also: Sex Ed Comes to Online Game ‘Second Life’ (Switched, NY - 31 July 2007), Island SLife, and Sexual Health in Second Life (Vantan.org - 15 August 2007))
- Sussman B. Teachers, college students lead a Second Life (USA TODAY - 1 August 2007) - http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2007-08-01-second-life_N.htm
- BT futurologist Lesley Gavin looks ahead to a time when real and virtual worlds mix as easily as making a mobile phone call (BBC - 3 August 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6929201.stm
- American Cancer Society Raises Nearly 115,000 Dollars During Virtual Relay For Life In Second Life (7 August 2007) - http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/78892.php
- Virtual worlds: The next Facebook? (CNN - 8 August 2007) - http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/08/07/virtual.living/
- Bain B. Web 2.0: CDC invests in Second Life real estate (Government Health IT News - 10 August 2007) - http://www.govhealthit.com/online/news/103477-1.html
- UCAS clearing in SL (16 August 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/08/16/ucas-clearing-in-sl/ (SLurl)
- Hard of hearing experience of the "wonderful" new voice grid--by SL:Eloise Pasteur (Second Life Insider - 18 August 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/08/18/hard-of-hearing-experience-of-the-wonderful-new-voice-grid/ (see also: IBM develops technology that automatically converts the spoken word to British Sign Language using speech recognition to animate an avatar - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6993326.stm)
- In Second Life, There’s No Fallout (Inside Higher Ed - 20 August 2007) - http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/08/20/secondlife
- Virtual game is a 'disease model' (BBC - 21 August 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6951918.stm (paper)
- IBM sees future in Second Life, Web worlds (Scientific American - 23 August 2007) - http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=ibm-sees-future-in-second&chanID=sa003&modsrc=reuters
- Karolinska Institutet's debut in Second Life (29 August 2007) - http://bloghud.com/id/12862
- Eye-controlled computer gaming for disabled explored (bjhc&im - 5 September 2007) - http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/news/2007/n709008.htm
- Virtual hospital opens doors (VNUNet.com, UK - 6 September 2007): Second Life hospital to demonstrate future of healthcare in London - http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/2198180/virtual-hospital-opens-doors-3448339
- Center for disabilities to hold grand opening (SLNN.com - 8 September 2007) - http://www.slnn.com/article/healthinfo-opening/
- Online worlds to be AI incubators (BBC - 13 September 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6992613.stm
- Virtual worlds open up to blind (BBC - 18 September 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6993739.stm (see also: http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/detail.aspx?id=2336)
- Metaverse 1.0: Setting the standards (18 September 2007) - http://www.lostinthemagicforest.com/blog/?p=43 (see also: WhatToStandardize | InteropWorld)
- Intel sees meal ticket in virtual worlds (InfoWorld - 20 September 2007): The 3-D Web creates a much richer online experience and pushes chip and server innovation--and it has myriad possibilities to be explored in business settings - http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/09/20/Intel-sees-meal-ticket-in-virtual-worlds_1.html
- MSoft showcases blood tracking on Second Life (E-Health Insider - 21 September 2007) - http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3048/msoft_showcases_blood_tracking_on_second_life
- Meet PCOSGurl Infinity (24 September 2007): Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Support in Second Life - http://www.nonprofitcommons.org/node/150 (see also: Project PCOS SLurl1, SLurl2)
- Macmillan Cancer Support Stirs the World's Biggest Coffee Morning in Second Life (25 September 2007) - http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk/releases/c991393.php (SLurl)
- IBM uses 3D imaging to visualise patient records (E-Health Insider - 27 September 2007) - http://www.e-health-insider.com/news/3066/ibm_uses_3d_imaging_to_visualise_patient_records (see also: Charette RN. Visualizing Electronic Health Records With "Google-Earth for the Body" (IEEE Spectrum - January 2008))
- An update of the July 2007 'snapshot' of UK Higher and Further Education Developments in Second Life (Eduserv - 30 September 2007) - http://www.eduserv.org.uk/upload/foundation/sl/uksnapshot092007/final.pdf
- Real Hope in a Virtual World (Washington Post - 6 October 2007): Story about how people are finding Second Life is helping them cope with their illnesses, and some of the details about how the healthcare institutions are catching on to the idea too - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/05/AR2007100502391.html
- Movable Life--new Web-based client for Second Life (Second Life Insider - 7 October 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/10/07/movable-life-new-web-based-client/ (see also: Movable Life and AjaxLife)
- The Electric Sheep Company Unveils New Viewer for Second Life (10 October 2007): The OnRez viewer will lower the barrier to entry for new users, and with a user interface resembling familiar Web browsers, it is focused on bringing the Web and virtual worlds closer together - http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/Aktie/12717491/News/13642736/SOFTWARE.html (see also: http://viewer.onrez.com/)
- IBM and Linden Lab Launch Collaboration to Further Advance the 3D Internet (10 October 2007) - http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/22428.wss
- Second Life Avatars Controlled by the Human Brain (Second Life Insider - 15 October 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/10/15/second-life-avatars-controlled-by-the-human-brain/
- Overcoming your virtual fears (BBC - 22 October 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7056199.stm
- Virtual Reality Game Helps Drug Addicts Recover (ABC News - 5 November 2007) - http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=3819621&page=1
- Academic research on Second Life (Massively - 19 November 2007) - http://www.massively.com/2007/11/19/academic-research-on-second-lif/
- Using Brain Waves to Control Avatars (ABC News - 21 November 2007): Japanese Researchers Make Maneuvering Around 'Second Life' More Like Real Life - http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=3898293
- Construction of the First Hospital Replica in Second Life (Play2Train - 1 December 2007) - http://irhbt.typepad.com/play2train/2007/12/construction-of.html
- A very real future for virtual worlds (BBC News - 14 December 2007) - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7144511.stm (see also: 'Exodus' to virtual worlds predicted (BBC News - 11 December 2007))
- Video games beat drugs for chronic pain (Canada.com - 16 December 2007) - http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=2cb8529a-56a7-4397-91e1-a9efe730b578&k=49980
- IEEE Spectrum: Winner: Make Your Very Own Virtual World with OLIVE (January 2008): "...The U.S. National Institutes of Health is creating a world that tests industrial workers' skills at responding to emergency disasters..." - http://spectrum.ieee.org/jan08/5838 (more info)
- YOOWALK: Walk around the Web (Neowin.net - 7 January 2008) - http://neowin.net/news/main/08/01/07/yoowalk-walk-around-the-web (see also: http://www.yoowalk.com/)
- How 'Second Life' therapy helps Asperger's patients (11 January 2008) - http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/news8/stories/wfaa080111_lj_brady.11fb5bac.html (video)
- Surgeons 'are better after playing Nintendo Wii' (Telegraph - 16 January 2008) - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2008/01/16/sciwii116.xml (see also: Virtual bodies aid surgery skills (BBC News - 2 January 2008))
- Good medicine: Maggi Savin-Baden, of Coventry University, has been awarded £200,000 by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) for a project to create virtual patients for medical students' training in Second Life, in collaboration with St George's Medical School in London (Times Higher Education - 24 January 2008) - http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=400253§ioncode=26 (project site)
- Interview with Sakai Openlife, Openlife founder (The Metaverse Journal - 12 February 2008) - http://www.metaversejournal.com/2008/02/12/interview-sakai-openlife-openlife-founder/
- Virtuality and reality 'to merge' (BBC News - 22 February 2008): In virtual worlds we do real romance, real learning, real business--Virtual reality is real reality - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7258105.stm (see also: Brain control headset for gamers (BBC News - 20 February 2008))
- Vollee hopes to bring Second Life to mobile phones (22 February 2008) - http://communities.canada.com/shareit/blogs/gamesnews/archive/2008/02/22/vollee-hopes-to-bring-world-of-warcraft-second-life-to-mobile-phones.aspx (Vollee FAQ)
- Cisco opens virtual hospital in Second Life and IBM ... doesn't (Massively - 25 February 2008) - http://www.massively.com/2008/02/25/cisco-opens-virtual-hospital-in-second-life-and-ibm-doesnt/
- IBM Opens New 3D Virtual Healthcare Island on Second Life (CNNMoney.com and others - 25 February 2008): Interactive Environment Displays IBM's Vision for Consumer-Driven Healthcare - http://www.bjhcim.co.uk/news/2008/n802040.htm (SLurl)
- Our Imaginary, Hotter Selves (Newsweek - 25 February 2008): Avatars might serve therapeutic purposes, helping those with social phobia become more confident - http://www.newsweek.com/id/112825
- MD to fight stress in Second Life (The Boston Globe - 3 March 2008): Relaxation Response program will be tested in the virtual world - http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/03/03/md_to_fight_stress_in_second_life/
- At last: flat Web browsing now “fully” integrated into/inside Second Life! (9 March 2008) - http://healthcybermap.org/MNKBoulos_htmlonaprim.pdf
- Bringing Second Life To Life: Researchers Create Character With Reasoning Abilities of a Child (10 March 2008) - http://news.rpi.edu/update.do?artcenterkey=2410&setappvar=page(1)
- Linden Lab publishes draft Open Grid Protocol (Massively - 11 March 2008) - http://www.massively.com/2008/03/11/linden-lab-publishes-draft-open-grid-protocol/
- New island, new funding support: Share the Health--Training People with Disabilities and Chronic Medical Conditions on how to Locate Quality Health Information (20 March 2008) - https://lists.secondlife.com/pipermail/healthcare/2008-March/000317.html (more info)
- Avatar Puppeteering (28 March 2008): Jeff Ventrella releases a quick simulation video on YouTube - see also: http://avatarpuppeteering.com/
- IBM and Linden Lab to Explore Enterprise-Class Solution for Virtual World Creation and Collaboration (3 April 2008) - http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080402006512&newsLang=en
- Linden Lab demos hands-free interface for Second Life (11 April 2008) - http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9916946-7.html and http://www.handsfree3d.com/ (see also: self-contained motion capture suit that allows the recording of motions in any setting)
- HIMSS' "3-D" Virtual Conference and Expo, April 23-24, 2008: Enhanced "3-D" environment for an even greater real-life experience - http://www.himssvirtual.org/net.asp (Powered by InXpo)
- McKinsey: ignore Second Life at your peril (Times Online - 23 April 2008) - http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3803056.ece
- Dubai Women's College opens Second Life campus that will be used to create learning simulations for students for sectors such as healthcare (27 April 2008): Robert Peregoodoff of the project team commented '...for people lacking vision, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit, they simply are not able to comprehend the possibilities' - http://www.itp.net/news/517605-dubai-womens-college-opens-second-life-campus
- Virtual World Therapeautic For Addicts: Study Shows Impact Of Environment To Addiction Cravings (ScienceDaily - 30 April 2008) - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428175336.htm
- Second Life - Could It Be Good For Our Health? (NHS CfH eSpace - 30 April 2008) - http://healthcybermap.org/NHSeSpaceDaveMillerSLarticle.pdf
- Christianity gets a Second Life stage to discuss Sexual Purity (APLINK itsReal - 2 May 2008) - http://aplink.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/christianity-gets-a-second-life-stage-to-discuss-sexual-purity-itsreal/
- Eduserv's May 2008 snapshot of UK HE and FE developments in SL - http://www.eduserv.org.uk/upload/foundation/sl/uksnapshot052008/final.pdf
- Web worlds 'useful' for children (BBC News - 23 May 2008): Virtual worlds can be valuable places where children rehearse what they will do in real life, reveals research - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7415442.stm
- Paralysed man takes a walk in virtual world (AFP - 2 June 2008) - http://www.physorg.com/news131631464.html
- Daily Second Life concurrency and other stats by SL:Tateru Nino
Wikipedia articles
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Second Life GIS
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- Second Spatial, The Second Life Geospatial Informatics Society, has a blog at http://blog.slgis.org/
- Digital Urban blog, written by Dr Andrew Hudson-Smith, Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London (blog archive has many very relevant posts) - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/
- Twinity - http://twinity.com/ (info)
- 3D real time USA weather data visualisation/map in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Meteora/222/165/27
- Geographic Data Experiments in Second Life by CASA, UCL - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Second%20Nature%202/202/192/117 (you will get a red arrow pointing skywards, simply fly up to the destination)
- Autodesk MapGuide and Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Autodesk/225/86/22
- Daden Prime - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Daden%20Prime/161/184/26 (see also: http://www.daden.co.uk/)
- Second Life GoogleMapper by Daden (HTML-on-a-prim) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Daden%20Prime/49/109/22
- Geographic Information Systems Research Assistance: Second Life place run by SL:mapz Oh, GIS Librarian, University of Texas at Arlington - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Info%20Island%20International/175/248/34
- Institute of Geography - University Duisburg-Essen - http://slurl.com/secondlife/European%20University%20II/145/222/26
- David Rumsey Historical Map Collection in Second Life - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Rumsey%20Maps%203/115/74/55
- Second Life Future Salon Brave New Virtual Worlds Presentation
Slides: "The future of metaverse may be expressed by the envisioned
development and merge of technologies such as Second Life with Google
Earth" - http://slfuturesalon.blogs.com/second_life_future_salon/2005/09/brave_new_virtu.html
- Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D takes on Second Life (7 November 2006) - http://www.spatiallyadjusted.com/2006/11/07/microsoft-virtual-earth-3d-takes-on-second-life/
- EnviroLink Brings Geolocated Feeds to SL (26 March 2007) - http://www.3pointd.com/20070326/envirolink-brings-geolocated-feeds-to-sl/ (SLurl)
- Retrieving GIS Data in Second Life (13 April 2007) - http://approx31.blogspot.com/2007/04/retreiving-gis-data-in-second-life.html
- Conway M. Some SL Shots...another mash-up too (18 May 2007) - http://instanceofidea.blogspot.com/2007/05/some-sl-shotsanother-mash-up-too.html
- Planet 9 Studios' GPS and avatar based social networking application for use in games, navigation and emergency response (NewswireToday - 25 May 2007) - http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/18687/ (see also: http://www.planet9.com/)
- Where 2.0: Microsoft Adds to the 3D Web--Virtual Earth's 3D Buildings (O'Reilly Radar - 30 May 2007) - http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/05/where_20_micros.html
- Flux 3D Maps - Google Mashup - http://www.mediamachines.com/maps/
- Gilster P. Virtual world requires new tools (The News & Observer - 11 July 2007): Covers the convergence of the immersive spaces of virtual worlds such as Second Life and the geographically mapped spaces of a service such as Google Earth - http://www.newsobserver.com/business/story/633261.html
- Just Ahead: The Web As A Virtual World (BusinessWeek - 13 August 2007) - http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_33/b4046064.htm
- Mobile snaps reveal invisible art (BBC - 9 August 2007): Scottish researchers are turning to camera phones to help bridge the virtual and real worlds - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6938244.stm (see also: Blurring world boundaries (BBC - 13 August 2007))
- Roush W. Second Earth: The World Wide Web will soon be absorbed into the World Wide Sim: an environment combining elements of Second Life and Google Earth. MIT Technology Review. 2007 Jul/Aug - http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18911/ (see also: http://gisconsultancy.com/blog/google/what-happens-when-second-life-meets-google-earth)
- Who Wants to Mashup SL and Google Earth? (Second Life Insider - 19 September 2007) - http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/09/19/who-wants-to-mashup-sl-and-google-earth/ (see also: http://www.xconomy.com/2007/09/18/moshing-with-metaverse-molders-in-second-life/)
- Vermonter to Put Small Towns on Google Earth via Volunteers (20 September 2007) - http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/3360-Vermonter-to-Put-Small-Towns-on-Google-Earth-via-Volunteers.html
- Real-time aviation data shown in virtual world Second Life (26 September 2007) - http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/09/26/217140/video-real-time-aviation-data-shown-in-virtual-world-second-life.html (see also: Daden Limited Demo Area in Second Life--SLurl 1, SLurl 2)
- Virtual London: Removed from Second Life at Request of Ordnance Survey (Digital Urban - 20 November 2007) - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/virtual-london-removed-from-second-life.html
- 3-D interactive and real-time mapping in Second Life (27 November 2007) - http://www.ij-healthgeographics.com/content/6/1/51
- Importing Geographic Terrains into Second Life (Digital Urban - 29 November 2007) - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/importing-geographic-terrains-into.html
- Arc to Second Life: Geographic Data Direct to Second Life (Digital Urban - 30 November 2007) - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/arc-to-second-life-geographic-data.html
- Geographic Data in Second Life (Digital Urban - 14 December 2007) - http://digitalurban.blogspot.com/2007/12/geographic-data-in-second-life.html
- McFedries P. The New Geographers (IEEE Spectrum - December 2007) - http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/dec07/5738
- Google Earth 4.3 acquires SL-like camera movements (10 April 2008) - http://www.yesbutnobutyes.com/archives/2008/04/virtual_or_real.html
- Google Maps in Second Life (Daden - June 2008) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWWnIDAy8Ic (SLurl)
Second Life "alternatives"
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News and blog feeds, mailing lists, and pre-formulated Web queries
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Thoughts/opinion
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Comparing the 2D Web to 3D multi-user, immersive virtual worlds can be tricky, and some might consider it like comparing apples with oranges or comparing the experience of reading an online health information leaflet to that of having a face-to-face meeting with a clinician. The affordances of both media are different; they are also not mutually exclusive or a substitute for one another, but rather very complementary and synergistic in many ways.
We need to especially identify and focus/capitalise on what 3D virtual worlds are best at--those (useful) things/scenarios that can only be effectively carried out in virtual worlds and not via any other 'e' medium (as effectively), and also determine the optimal formulae for blended approaches that combine 2D and 3D media.
Online leaflets and static information materials have no social component--even those materials offering single-user interactivity or asynchronous, multi-user (predominantly textual) interactivity remain seriously lacking in this respect. Second Life, on the other hand, is about 3D social networking par excellence; it has this unique 'human touch' and is instantaneous, something not found (in a similar way) in 2D social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook or in instant messaging/voice chatting services like Paltalk. Second Life is closer in many respects to face-to-face/social encounters, but also adds to them many exciting new dimensions, fantasy, and virtually endless possibilities--you name it. And let's not forget that Second Life is a collaborative 3D wiki and an immersive audio-visual spatial experience that users can edit, experiment with, and see the changes in real time!
People also have different tastes/preferences and currently the audiences of the 2D Web and the 3D Web/Second Life are overlapping but still different (read the US CDC arguments about this: "going where people are... yet another opportunity to learn and teach about public health"). Furthermore, and in support of the above mentioned potential complementarity and synergy between both media, we are starting to see the 2D and 3D Webs gradually converge and merge; see, for example, the Flux project, this blog article and this application.
So 3D virtual worlds are here to stay and eventually become one with/tightly and seamlessly integrated with the 2D Web over the coming months and years (rather than replace the 2D Web). Indeed, a recent futuristic/visionary American report entitled VISIONS 2020--Transforming Education and Training Through Advanced Technologies suggests that by 2020 (or before) we will see new jobs like "simulation and virtual environments engineers who build and maintain the components for synthetic environments, including specialised scientific software, e.g., a digital human that can be used for a variety of learning situations; specialists in building the components of simulated towns, instruments, landscapes, biological systems, or physical phenomena".
--M.N.K. Boulos - July 2007
Why 3D? This is not a full answer, but just some thoughts. Realism is key to believability and immersiveness. The differences between reading a book, seeing the movie, and watching the same movie in 3D HD (High Definition) are evident. The latter feels more easily and naturally like 'being there'. However, it is not until you are actually ("yourself") inside the scene, participating and interacting (again in a realistic and natural way), that your sense of 'being there' is "complete".
We are spatial beings, living and interacting in a 3D (real/analogue) world. Our voice communications are even spatialised (being able to discern the direction of voice/sound sources around us), and that's how the blind find their way in computerised 3D spaces.
We need a "true" space to move in and a true sense of 'connectedness' to, and awareness of, others who happen to be in the same computerised space while we are there. The ability to invite buddies where one is in a virtual space (teleporting), to see and share what one is doing/looking at, is very natural and handy.
See also: paper section entitled 'Discussion' > 'Why virtual worlds?'
Web conferencing: 2D vs. 3D (or both), or 'Why conduct events and meetings in Second Life?' Again, this is not a full answer, but just some thoughts. WebEx (http://www.webex.com/) is perhaps the leading (2D) Web conferencing solution today. But WebEx (and similars) and Second Life (and similars) are not full alternatives or mutually exclusive. In fact, one should ask the question: 'why does CISCO, the owner of WebEx, maintain a very strong presence (including healthcare-related) in the world of Second Life and regularly conduct activities there? (Same for IBM.)' Many bloggers and commentators have already discussed this and described some very early solutions attempting to combine the powers of WebEx and 3-D worlds; for example:See also: Live meetings in 3-D virtual worlds vs. conventional interactive webcasting / Web videoconferencing and more comments
--M.N.K. Boulos - April 2008
‘A tale of two graphics cards in Second Life’ - Left: low-end Intel GMA 900 card (64 MB shared graphics memory); right: high-end NVIDIA Go 7 series card (with 256 MB dedicated graphics memory). Note, for example, the lack of anti-aliasing, bump mapping and ripple water/sunlight reflection in the low-end card rendering of the scene. In-world speed and smoothness of movements are also affected, but this cannot be shown in a screenshot.
And the WindLight version of Second Life</