Hack’s Haven

Last week I read with great interest about Philip Rosedale’s decision to step down as CEO of Linden Lab. Peppered throughout the article are quotes like this:
“Second Life’s growth has slowed after a period of rapid expansion. Rosedale’s replacement will face the difficult task of regaining that momentum…”
and
“The virtual world’s subscriber base and user […]

Listening to the business voice mail has become a routine first thing in the morning.  However, this morning was different. Apparently congressman Tom Cole wants to award me a congressional order of merit! Here is the transcribed voice mail and sound file:
“Hi. This message is for Mr. Eric Hackathorn. My name is Michelle […]

As I sit here with less than an hour on the clock before the weekend, I realize this is not an average Friday. After over thirteen years in my current division, next Monday I’m being kicked out of the proverbial nest. Assuming I don’t hit the ground and splat, I’ve been tasked […]

It was bound to happen eventually. I’ve been discovered buying “video game arcades” on the government dime. Before I’m sent to Guantanamo Bay how should I respond to this email?
Good Morning, Eric - On August 2, 2007, you made purchase card transactions in the amounts of $377.96 and $234.72 from Second […]

What started as a weekend getaway with the National Science Foundation has turned into a nine day marathon with connections in more government agencies than I knew existed. Granted, the inner workings of Uncle Sam were never my forte, but by the time this trip is over I hope to have the unnecessary ability […]

Speaking of government involvement in virtual worlds, check out today’s announcement:
“There will be a U.S. Federal Government consortium organizational meeting for Second Life in Washington DC, July 11th from 1:00-4:00 at the National Defense University. The consortium hopes to find ways to share resources, work collaboratively on projects, streamline funding and contracting processes, […]

While not as recognized as the DOD or IRS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is yet another fine U.S. government agency. Thankfully, they don’t collect taxes on virtual profits or monitor virtual gambling habits. Instead, they are more interested in understanding the *real* Earth and fostering an environmentally literate society.
That said, […]

If you care about the performance of the Second Life grid please lend your support to Cristiano Midnight’s Open Letter to Linden Lab. As Second Life and other virtual world platforms become business critical applications, these basic issues will need to be addressed.

My first attempt at “machinima” designed to lower the entrance barrier for NOAA’s virtual land in Second Life. Be kind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is8YX32GAyQ

Someone needs to build a virtual panorama camera head like the one described here:

Figure 1: Peace River Studios PixOrb camera head
The tools are now available to accurately control a virtual camera angle to the point where you could reconstruct a quicktime VR file composed of virtual snapshots.
Why would you want to do this? Right […]