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second life

Linden Labs New CEO Slowly Rezzing

After last month's resignation of Linden Labs founder and CEO Philip Rosedale, Kotaku readers have had only one question on their minds - is there any way I can get Grand Theft Auto IV early? The answer, of course, is no, but the knowledge that the Second Life company shall soon be in good hands will help massage the disappointment out of your collective furrowed brow. Former CEO of digital communications agency Organic Inc., Mark Kingdon is only one alphabetical space away from having an awesome last name. What he does have is an MBA from the Wharton School of Business and a BA in economics from UCLA, and he's just thrilled to be here.
"To me, the CEO role at Linden Lab combines perfectly my passions for art and design, business and technology. Until Second Life, we experienced the digital world passively in two dimensions. By enabling users to create a rich and immersive virtual world, Second Life is transforming the way we connect, collaborate, learn and transact online.
Kingdon will assure the role of CEO on the 15th of May, spontaneously appearing in the office with his hair attached to his ass and a boot sticking out of his chest, his clothing still loading. It's an SL thing. More »

6:20 PM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Mike Fahey
813 views, 21 comments

Latest by trigger2: I sort of find Second Life interesting. It's interesting to me to see how whacky people are when they are given some tools and set free. But man, Second Life needs a MAJOR overhaul in technology. It is painfully ugly and more »

clip

Jon Stewart On Second Life

In case you missed it, Jon Stewart offers the funny on the recent virtual worlds Congress Hearings. Avatar Heroes [The Daily Show Thanks, TC!]

7:30 AM on Tue Apr 8 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
8,967 views, 62 comments

data

Some Japanese Know of Second Life, Most Don't Play

Does Second Life show any signs of life in Japan? In late March, goo Research online polled 1,091 folks online about their knowledge of Second Life. Keep in mind: This is an internet poll, and it shouldn't be taken for anything other than that!

Finding include that only 1.3 percent of folks polled are currently playing it. That's not very many! 5.6 percent used to play. Hit the jump for the full number crunching.

More »

1:00 AM on Mon Apr 7 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
1,912 views, 30 comments

not again

Second Life Goes Before Congress

Hat tip to OriontheSmiter for pulling this up — don't know how the royal we missed it, seeing as how it took place on April Fool's (really). But a House of Representatives telecommunications subcommittee held a hearing on online virtual worlds April 1, and that included the requisite avatar-making and getting-hip-with-the-kids by the panel members.

Second Life is a convenient punching bag for gamers, and I feel kind of bad caning on it two days straight. But it invites the abuse with this kind of oblivious, self-serious self-parody: Rep. Ed Markey's avatar gaveling the online hearing, and in the public gallery there is "a goth character with feathered wings, a pink cat, a phantom with shimmering gray dreadlocks, a winged grasshopper, women in tube and bikini tops, and a naked man floating through the air." At least the griefers didn't show up to overrun the meeting with flying penises.

More »

9:00 AM on Sun Apr 6 2008
By ogood
4,568 views, 34 comments

Latest by Ehardergardens: is that chick wearing a glasstron, a hoodie , and no pants? and is that cyber-rachnid thing slinking in to collect itself some sustenance and a feel? I think a Discovery Channel Extreme Ecosystems investigative documentary is called more »

griefers

Inside the Minds(?) of Griefers

Sorry if this one is a little late to the party. But it's the weekend, time for some longer think pieces. And besides, finding posts for Kotaku on the weekend is a bit like drafting a fantasy team. (Alright, World of Warcraft violence study, I'm going with you if ... DAMMIT. McWhertor took it ...)

Here's an article out of Wired I spotted shortly after coming aboard. It's a great look at Second Life and EVE Online griefers, whose behavior is truly sociopathic — in those communities. In the real world, they're average ordinary /b/tards and SA Goons — OK so they're probably sociopaths in the real world, too.

More »

2:00 PM on Sat Apr 5 2008
By ogood
10,587 views, 155 comments

virtual worlds

NASA Wants Second Life On The Moon

A sense of community is important to NASA. That's why they opened a NASA mansion for parties and just hanging out, hacking software and making Uranus jokes. But the NASA mansion was only good during the night. NASA's Andrew Hoppin explains how Second Life allowed connections during the day.
...we got employees from all around NASA - the 10 geographies around the country - showing up at these Tuesday afternoon meetings. We formed a community of NASA and non-NASA, started coworking in Second Life. Cultural change started to take place at the agency...
But Hoppin would like to see this cultural change happen far, far outside the agency: More »

10:40 AM on Fri Apr 4 2008
By Mark Wilson
1,831 views, 12 comments

Latest by Purple Dave: @BtownDesignGuy: All they need to do is invent the ansible. Oh, wait. Wrong sci-fi property. Um...can I do the countdown? Ten. Nine. Eightsevensixfivefourthreetwooneblastoff. more »

second life

Samsung's Second Life Mobile A Bad Idea

Second place mobile manufacturer Samsung has revealed a Second Life client for their phones that will allow the relatively small horde of visitors to the virtual world and their legion of alts access to the grid and related services wherever and whenever the whole thing hasn't crashed. This is a monumentally bad idea. As a Second Life resident for nearly a year now, I know people who only leave the world in order to buy groceries, and some of them already carry their laptops around when they do that, just in case they catch a stray wireless signal. We don't need to be able to connect to SL from anywhere. Sure, you'll be able to have quickie unicorn cybersex in the bathroom at work, but at what cost?

Samsung Unveils Mobile Application for Second Life [koreatimes via Gizmodo]

9:40 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Mike Fahey
2,636 views, 42 comments

Latest by freespeech: I think your wrong, those women would play second life!!!!!!!!!!!!! They don't know any better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! more »

education

Second Life and ESL Instruction

A while back, we mentioned a journal article on using MMOs to aid second language acquisition. Now Forbes has a piece discussing the same issue, only with Second Life. The author spoke with several teachers about their approaches to using SL to educate:

Another popular way to teach English in "Second Life," says Boahn, involves role-playing and quests. "I once dressed up as a pirate, had a ship and everything. I was kind of rough on the students," he admits. "I put some of them in cages, and had them confront language in a shock-and-awe kind of way. They seemed to like it, and they learned all sorts of new words, like 'loot' and 'booty.'"

Boahn's approach may appear nontraditional, but he feels a new medium calls for a new way of teaching language. Even using the game's English interface gives students a chance to practice what they've learned. "We like to encourage teachers to see 'Second Life' itself as a classroom," he says.


Well, certainly sounds slightly more engaging than my go 'rounds with intensive language instruction, even if it is only Second Life. The whole 'implement technology in the classroom' push is frequently lost on me, but I can certainly see the utility of using virtual worlds or MMOs in some applications.

How To Spark Remote Learning [Forbes via Worlds In Motion]

2:00 PM on Sat Mar 29 2008
By mgreene
1,123 views, 33 comments

Latest by uranutan: @Kitsunexus: You are why I hate furries. Unlike any other groups with odd fetishes, furries can't handle that their interests are considered strange and disgusting my most non-furries. You don't see people with necrophilia fetishes complaining about people finding that more »

linden labs

Second Life CEO Stepping Down

Linden Labs founder and CEO Philip Rosedale is stepping down. The Second Life developer will seek a CEO with more management and operational expertise. Rosedale will stay on as chairman of the company's board. Even though SL has been the victim of hype machine backlash, the company says that no crisis has lead to Rosedale stepping down. What's more, the company added that an IPO was under consideration. Says the Linden founder:

I will be 100% involved and fulltime at Linden Lab. Second Life is my life's work, and I am not going anywhere.

Because at some developers you hafta work with dicks, but at Linden Labs you get to work with flying dicks.
Rosedale Stepping Down [BBC]

6:40 AM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
3,120 views, 27 comments

Latest by Josh*: @v00deux: I think "looking at cartoon wangs during work hours" probably IS enough to get fired in a few places more »

book

Is Virtual Sex Really Cheating?

With all the talk about sexuality in games following the Mass Effect drama, it's interesting to see discussions centering around purposeful sex in games, such as Second Life. Author Tim Guest's new book, Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds, takes a close look at the alternate lives, including sexuality, lived by people in Second Life. He spent months investigating virtual worlds and the people who inhabit them, from part-time virtual escorts, to a very serious virtual hitman, and many other personalities. In a Q&A with Nerve.com's Screen Digest, Guest reveals some of the interesting questions of morality, legality, and love that arise from the experience:

More »

3:40 PM on Tue Mar 11 2008
By torif
6,917 views, 66 comments

Latest by freespeech: I think he did do some extensive work on this subject but of course that will not be in the book.!!!!! more »

free to play

'The Power of Free to Play'

Adrian Crook had an interesting presentation at the GDC Worlds In Motion Summit on the issue of free to play games - where they've been, where they're heading, good things, bad things .... He's put up the slides and speech over at his website, and while the narrative redux is apparently not as zippy as the original presentation, it is an interesting listen.

Crook points out some growth challenges to free to play, though he notes these are definitely not deal-breakers for the business model. First, there are virtual property challenges. "At some point that's going to be decided by the courts. Hopefully we're out ahead of it," Crook said, pointing out Eric Bethke's forward-thinking endeavor to create an avatar bill of rights. Second, there are differing broadband speeds. And rising development costs will become an issue now with the advent of Electronic Arts' highly-polished Battlefield Heroes. Larger-scale F2P products are going to raise the quality bar, Crook says.

The talk clocks in at a little over half an hour, but if you're interested in the free to play model, it's definitely worth taking a look at.

The Slidecast from my F2P GDC Presentation [Free To Play]
Adrian Crook Talks Free To Play [Worlds In Motion]

10:30 AM on Sun Mar 2 2008
By mgreene
1,551 views, 8 comments

virtual fantasy

FFX Creatures Invade Second Life

Every time I post a Second Life story here we get tons of comments reminding us that SL is not a game, which I won't argue with...but it is chock full of gamers. Not a week goes by that I don't run into something awesome and gaming related, whether it be discovering that someone I am talking to is a player in the gaming industry, or simply running into some amazingly cool creations, like these Final Fantasy X creature avatars my friend Keiko stumbled across in her travels. They are, as you can see, amazingly detailed replicas of FFX summons as well as the most adorable Chocobo you're likely to find. Each avatar comes with special attacks taken straight from the game, and the Ifrit and Bahamut versions both come with two color schemes - normal and Yu Yevon. Created by Second Lifer Damien Fate, the avatars cost 1000 Linden each (around $5) and never fail to impress the hell out of everyone who sees them, FF fans or not. Damien is currently working on the ever-creepy Tonberry, with Ixion on the way after that. You can find them for sale in SL here, or hit up Damien's YouTube to get a look at the creatures in action. Damn fine work.

11:20 AM on Mon Jan 28 2008
By Mike Fahey
3,717 views, 38 comments

Latest by skullpanda: It's weird how much hate mongering there is about second life. more »

portal

Still Alive In Japanese Sung By Computer

A Japanese friend of mine on Second Life (currently an employee of Unicorn Sexxings R' Us) pointed me towards this video she uploaded of Portal's "digging itself inside your brain to live" ending theme "Still Alive", translated into Japanese and completely computer generated, voice and all. It's amazing the sorts of things you run across while shopping for fake clothes with arguably real money while chatting with a girl dressed up as an anthropomorphic horse, isn't it?

Caek is Delishas [S.K.Y.]

2:20 PM on Tue Jan 22 2008
By Mike Fahey
4,917 views, 67 comments

Latest by Bokusatsu_Tenshi: For more stuff like these, YouTube Vocaloid. Some stuff works, some don't. Oh, and YouTube Still Alive for tons of versions... there are some very very weird and disturbing. :P more »

ces08

3D Mouse for Second Life

When playing Second Life, do you ever sit and think to yourself, "geez, I really wish that I could do all this pesky moving with only my mouse hand, so I had my other hand free to make my avatar gesture at other players"? Really? Well, then Sandio has a mouse for you. The Sandio 3D Game O2 Mouse lets players of second life move in all directions, fly, and crouch by using the mouse. It can also be used for RTS and RPG games for improved navigation and camera manipulation, or with CAD programs like Google SketchUp.
The mouse will be available for demo at CES, and is on sale in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and China, for US$79.99. More »

2:40 PM on Mon Jan 7 2008
By torif
2,569 views, 34 comments

Latest by 2kreative: @sugardeath: Don't Autodesk make Autocad? - Regardless I know alot of industry people who actually use sketchup and then import back into CAD or 3ds Max - tis popular! A mouse with a joystick... yes please! more »

kids

Online Worlds Do It For The Kids

Second Life may pull in big numbers, attracting furries, virtual real estate moguls, corporations desperately attempting to appear "hip" and Something Awful forum goons raining penises down upon the unsuspecting, but it's online worlds targeted at kids that are drawing attention from executives. Take Webkinz, for example, the online world that sees wee lads and lasses logging on to the tune of six million uniques per month. That's three times the amount who logged on a year ago. Similarly, according to the New York Times, Club Penguin, which involves dressing up penguins platonically, has seven times the traffic of Second Life.

Everyone's getting into it, for those of you not aged in the single digits, including Disney, Lego, and Mattel. The goal? Shill wares to kids while they play free games, establish brand recognition, then help them "graduate" to the next-generation of online worlds, whether it's Pirates of the Caribbean Online, World of Warcraft or simply fantasy baseball. Oh yes, it's quite dastardly. Good thing I'll be raising my kids with good Quaker morals and no electricity.

Web Playgrounds of the Very Young [New York Times - thanks, Duane!]

4:00 PM on Mon Dec 31 2007
By Michael McWhertor
1,803 views, 19 comments

Latest by O-Z: Sounds about right. I have a niece who couldn't tell you her own address but is already well-versed in dumping cash online for virtual jeans, tube-tops and costume jewelry. more »

second life

Second Life CTO Quits/Fired

Depending on who you believe Cory Ondrejka, Second Life's chief technology officer, has either quit or been fired.

The Associated Press reports today that Ondrejka, who they describe as a "colorful Navy veteran who delights in mocking creationism", has resigned and will depart at the end of the year. Ondrejka, who helped write the code the created Second Life for Linden Lab, declined to comment to the AP.

But his internal email about the matter popped up over on Massively:

More »

8:03 AM on Fri Dec 14 2007
By Brian Crecente
4,646 views, 45 comments

academia

'Taking Out the Trash' - On Virtual Worlds and Academia

There's an interesting response to a pretty bitter piece by Malcom King in On Line Opinion, 'Australia's e-journal of social and political debate,' over at Terra Nova. Now, I think the author of the Australian piece makes some good points about the overhype of the potential of virtual worlds - let's face it, there's been an onslaught of media that's been heralding the amazing potential from on high. But talking of "faddist academics" and "the fall of the humanities and the decline of post structuralism" (Then why do I spend 3 hours a week talking about Japanese history in a post-structuralist framework? We're obsolete? REALLY?) really damages his overall point. Which is precisely what they take up at Terra Nova: More »

1:00 PM on Sun Dec 9 2007
By mgreene
1,924 views, 28 comments

Latest by Digado: I've also red this article and found King just making some wild assumptions based only and entirely on his own misunderstanding of digital communcation. 1. Virtual Worlds don't replace reality to its users, they copy and compliment the real world for more »

second life

Second Life's Got Some Vulnerabilities

Dean Takahashi of the San Jose Mercury News revealed that people can take advantage of a known QuickTime problem and become virtual pickpockets in Linden Lab's Second Life. Steve over at PlayNoEvil points out that "anything can that actually affect the integrity of the game or business application should be completely independent of these services to ensure that a breach in 'the other guy's stuff' doesn't affect the security of your business - especially casual applications and services that do not see themselves as having security functionality." Linden Lab confirmed the vulnerability, but the researchers who exploited the flaw were quick to note the issue can be resolved with a simple patch. Still - I think Steve's got a point: More »

4:00 PM on Sun Dec 2 2007
By mgreene
3,101 views, 39 comments

Latest by yaba: The thing about vulnerabilities is that it is endless. in the software industry there are tools that do black box testing which is a process of torturing a software device in order to find all the possible vulnerabilities. I wonder more »