devurandom.org | Latest from Deryck's ma.ganolia.com feed

What's in my reader?

I do a lot of online reading. Here's a sampling from my ma.gnolia feed.

Panda3D on Mac from p3dapp

I've been playing with Panda3D because of the awesome Python interface to learn more about game programming. Getting it installed on Ubuntu was nothing since the Panda3D site provides a .deb. But getting this up on my Mac was a pain. This forum thread, specifically the first post, made it super easy. Includes a download for Panda3D compiled for Mac as well as instructions for copy the parts around and updating your path.

Tags: 3D, games, programming

doctype - Google Code

Google Doctype is, in Mark Pilgrim's own words, "an encyclopedia for web developers by web developers." Looks very cool. There are several parts to this.

The first is using the wiki component of Google code hosting to document the Web (document from the developer's perspective). It's like Wikipedia just for web development. The second part is a library of JavaScript, CSS, and HTML reference code, largely a set of tests. It does include "goog" which looks to be a JavaScript library akin to YUI or mootools. Also, I was struck by Mark Pilgrim calling himself a "technical writer" in the Doctype video I just watched.

There's a lot to use and understand here, and I'm only just beginning to read through all this. (Via Simon Willison.)

Tags: google, javascript, web, development, docs

Google Friend Connect

I only looked at this briefly, but it looks to me like a lightweight way to implement open social on a site without having to be a full social gadget container. Or maybe better said it's one simple way into being a social gadget container site. I could very easily be misunderstanding this, since I only looked quickly at the pages. Will return to it later.... and comment more here when I do.

Tags: google, web apps

Social Graph API - Google Code

I have just gotten around to playing with this social query service from Google. It's pretty nice, I have to say. Basically, you query for a list of relationships against a certain URL, or group of URLs, and you get back the data in JSON. You can either parse the data directly in a callback function in JavaScript, or parse the structure in some server-side program. I'm quite sure I'll end up making use of this very soon.

Tags: google, web apps, apis, services

The GPL and Principles

I've been enjoying reading the last few pots from Ian Bicking. This is the most recent as of this linking, and he has some thoughtful and insightful comments on the principles that underpin the GPL. A couple posts earlier he talks about the GPL vs. the permissive licenses. He's very fair, avoiding the territory of flame wars, and though I generally prefer the GPL exactly for the principles it conveys, I do understand that there are pros and cons either way, and each license has strengths and weaknesses.

Tags: open source, freedom, free software, gpl, license

Henry Jenkins Speaks at a Harry Potter Meeting in Teen SL

Henry Jenkins dressed as Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series speaks about Harry Potter and fan culture at a meeting in teen Second Life. Sometimes teens will complain on the SL blog that the teen grid doesn't get the same attention or love at the main grid, but Henry Jenkins is a pretty exciting guest. Nice to find this video of the meeting. There is also a linked clipped on this page of Henry's avatar dancing at the party. (Via New World Notes.)

Tags: second life, avatar, convergence, fan, culture

An Illustration of the Cosmology of the Grid

Hilarious illustration of the inter-working of all the various parts of Second Life. Don't let the faux 19th century academia-inspired title fool you. Or rather, let the title tell you all you need to know. :-)

Tags: second life, art, funny

What I've Learned: Vint Cerf

Incredible. Absolutely amazing quotes from Vint Cerf in this piece from Esquire. He plays WoW with his son, gives Al Gore props for the Internet, offers his thoughts on Second Life, and then offers up my favorite quote from the last several months of online reading:

"At the roots, people are still people."

In the context of a discussion about the Internet, this is a powerful statement, and one anyone who spends much time online can readily agree with. The Internet, in the end, is just a reflection of the people it connects.

Tags: internet, web, people

asleep on the job

Best photo taken of a Linden. I love that she titled it "asleep on the job" with no clue who M Linden was. :-) (Via New World Notes.)

Tags: second life, lindens, linden lab

collapsing geography: apoc week 13 aka the future of virtual worlds

Cory Ondrejka has some really interesting slides up from his recent seminar lectures. The thing I like most is that this "future of" talk isn't really future predicting as much as trend spotting. I think he's got several excellent predictions and ideas in these slides.

Tags: virtual worlds, virtual world development, second life

Archive for Mark Kingdon at ClickZ

Some old writing, but probably a good insight into the person who will be CEO of Linden Lab starting next month. (Via New World Notes.)

Tags: second life, writers, writing

Web space lounge -- ESC Portfolio

This screenshot of Electric Sheep's work on a virtual world in the browser is nice looking. They're using Ogoglio for the sever component and Papervision3D for the client. The look is nice certainly. When I was in Arlington this past week, Jesse demoed some Papervision stuff to me, and I was certainly impressed. This from ESC continues to impress. Of course, this is no where near what Second Life is -- a single night club in no way compares to an expansive and varied virtual world -- but it is impressive for a low barrier to entry alternative that runs in the browser.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, esc, web

Reuters/Second Life -- Linden Lab picks online marketing executive as CEO

Reuters breaks the story that marketing executive Mark Kingdon will become the CEO of Linden Lab. An interesting story, and though I don't know that side of the technology business well to know anything about Mark, what is mentioned here seems to hold promise for the future. It seems like a smart choice, and one that plays well to Rosedale's strengths, too. Seems like a good move, and a nice article from Reuters. For breaking SL news, Reuters seems to own that area for now.

Tags: second life, linden lab, news

Out to Pasture -- White Paper on VW Platform Evaluations

I find myself agreeing with Giff, even though I've had some criticisms of the virtual-world-in-a-browser posts earlier. I do think the space between the Web and the virtual world is an interesting area in which to work, and I love to see someone develop in this area. Right now, it's an all or none proposition -- you either work on the Web or in a virtual worlds. I think sites could build in some of the social aspects of an immersive 3D experience and see positive results in the blend.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, web, development

New World Notes: Is WindLight Frustrating Some Second Life Educators? (Updated)

I commented on this post back when it first appeared, and I only just today returned to see the follow up comments. There is some fascinating stuff in the comments, most notably Qarl's statement that he has reached out to Nicholaz Beresford and that he and other developers in Linden Lab are beginning to do something to try to improve the open source program, I would imagine in an attempt to address some of Nicholaz's concerns.

While I think it's a good move to address the concerns, I always take these kind of things with a grain of salt -- i.e. Nicholaz's statement that he's done with Second Life development. I can't tell you the number of times I've seen this sort of thing on open source mailing lists, forums, Web sites, etc. There is always some valid concern in such criticisms but I could do without all the hand waving and drama, no offense meant to Nicholaz.

Tags: second life, open source

Linden Lab lowers prices, estate owners rebel - Massively

For a lot of the things SL residents get upset about, this one is much ado about nothing IMHO. The main reason for this supposed "devaluing" of property is that people have bought into the metaphor that they are indeed buying land, albeit virtual land. Ownership is a great metaphor, but in this case it's causing some harm. When you "buy" land in Second Life you are really leasing server space, so any expectation of recouping the value of said lease on "sell" is wishful thinking. Granted the SL economy has worked like this often, but I don't see any way this is sustainable.

I think you can certainly sustain a model that buys an island and divides it up into smaller pieces to sell for a profit, but this notion that land has a value that remains stable or increases the same way RL land works is just not likely. At least not with a single company maintaining the servers. I'm not sure you would want to anyway, given the dynamics of a virtual economy. For example, new hardware is always going to appear; therefore; the old server will naturally devalue. Linden Lab's move makes sense to me for these reasons. It's just a shame residents can't see past the metaphor in this one case.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, virtual land, economics

Google App Engine - Google Code

Now that I've had a day or two to digest this, I think this plays a part in Google's Open Social efforts. One of the coolest features of App Engine is the Google account integration, which gets lost a little as people outline all the Big Table and other such features around scalability. So how do I see this playing in the larger Open Social picture? One of the hardest things about Facebook apps is trying to scale them, and Google has effectively taken this off the table. Of course, you could deploy a Facebook app from App Engine, but the integration points -- i.e. Google account integration -- fit better for Google-based social apps. And I do love that it does WSGI and smells a little like Django.

Tags: google, web apps, deployment, scalability

Video on Flickr!

I think this is a good move for Flickr. The player is nice looking and fits well into the photo stream. I like, too, that these videos are limited to 90 seconds, and that Flickr is trying for the idea of a "long photo." It's video in the context of what Flickr already is, rather than just another video sharing source.

Tags: photos, video, sharing

Here Comes the Open Source Metaverse - GigaOM

Nice overview from Wagner James Au of the leading work he saw at Virtual Worlds 08 in terms of companies and products trying to bring about an open 3D Web. While he leads with the line that any of these might make Second Life the Netscape of the virtual world movement, I don't see it. At least not with the current contenders.

Now, I'm not so naive as to think that Second Life is unstoppable. I think any technology can easily be replaced, especially when 15 years is the whole of human history we've lived on the Web. As a comparison to any other human endeavor, that's quite a short time. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, but I will tell you one thing Second Life has that none of the products profiled in Au's piece have:

Metaphor.

Second Life may be a name that leaves you open to an onslaught of first-life-less-nerds-in-mom's-basement jokes, but the name does tell you everything you need to know. And the metaphor is woven throughout the experience of the technology. As a developer I'm watching QWAQ, Project Wonderland, OpenSim, and RealXtend because these are interesting to me as technologies, but as compelling metaphors they leave me wanting, which is why I don't see any of them supplanting Second Life's dominance anytime soon.

Technology is only as useful as the concepts it embodies, and after all, it's humans that use this stuff, right? Metaphors are woven all through are computer use, and in some ways you could argue that the only fault of Second Life is that the technology doesn't live up to the promise of the metaphor. So if you really want to compete with Second Life, start thinking about the story you're telling with your technology.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, development, metaverse, metaphors

Second Life Simulator v1.20.0.83683 Rollout Completion - Official Second Life Blog

Havok4 is upon us. This is going to make a significant difference in Second Life stability.

Tags: second life, physics

Audio Stream from the House Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee Hearing on Virtual Worl

Just linking it up for anyone who may want to listen in. Fascinating so far. It's a Windows .asx stream, so if you're on a Mac or Linux you'll need the appropriate setup.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, congress, hearings

Out to Pasture -- Blog Archive -- What is a virtual world?

I've been following the things Giff is writing at the ESC blogs the last few days, mostly because I'm fascinated by the turn from Second Life to a focus on lighter, Web-based virtual world experiences. I get where he's coming from now, at least in terms of wanting to do what's possible with technology now, wanting simpler user experiences, etc. Nothing wrong with that. I am, however, still skeptical that virtual worlds via the web browser will take hold in any interesting way without something like Second Life driving it. His question on this post gets to the heart of why I feel this. He asks "what is a virtual world?" Or when he rephrases it "what does 'Metaverse' mean to you?"

To me the metaverse is not just a style of interaction with information -- information is secondary to persona. The metaverse is about my digital self. On the Web we only describe ourselves -- Genesis fan, avid reader, lover of comic books -- in the metaverse we can actually *be* this, actually show off who we are, real or imagined. I'm sure my love of comics plays into my avatar's winged look. And beyond my persona, the metaverse means location to me, i.e. my persona doing something, moving through some where. That's the "world" part of virtual worlds to me, a person in context, a person interacting, living, and working with innumerable other personas.

So for me, a virtual world is not about communication or interaction at all (though these can happen there). I think the Web gets communication and interaction really well, but I don't think the Web can do persona and place very well. At least not in the way a fully realized, 3D virtual world can. I do think one can exist quite happily with the other, one enhancing the other. But they really are two very different things, IMHO.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, virtual world development, avatar, self

Linux.com - After a year of open source, Second Life looks ahead

A nice "year in review" type article on open source efforts at Linden Lab. This piece covers what has already been opened as well as directions for the next year. While we won't likely see a release of the complete server source this year, the protocols of the server are being documented, as well as parts of the backend code being opened.

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, open source, interoporability

Linden tightens the reins on its brand - Reuters/Second Life

I haven't seen much noise about this among those covering SL, so it's nice to see Reuters give it a little attention. While I totally get that this is par for the course for a company -- that if you don't protect your brand, you loose it -- I'm interested in how you square this from a practical stand point with your community. It's sort of like Google wanting to be ubiquitous in search and then getting upset when people say I "googled" for something. Lindens need SL to be *the* platform for a 3D web, but they also have to protect their interests. So where does Second Life the product end and Second Life the world created and owned by it's users begin?

Tags: second life, virtual worlds, linden lab

Out to Pasture - Blog Archive - Second Life for Second Life?

Hmmmm, is anyone reading this the way I am? Are ESC effectively saying, "it's been fun, but we're done with Second Life?"

Tags: second life, virtual worlds