Metaverse Articles!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Aloha
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I originally posted this on my original blog, but deleted it, and am just reposting it here.
Aloha,
As you can guess from my salutation, I am from beautiful Hawaii. There's no place in the
world I'd rather be, but on the island of my home - Oahu.
I am a pretty busy woman. I love to shop, go to the movies, fine dining and enjoy having my share of plate lunches. I most enjoy finding new restaurants and stores. I am out of the house gallivanting most times but when I am home I am always on the net.
Online, I love to shop, listen to pod casts, peruse my RSS feeds, and explore Second Life.
OH, and I always have to have a cup of coffee next to me...Starbucks Venti Iced or Latte 2 pump mocha, 2 pump peppermint, Soy with no whip.
My life is never dull. There is always something happening. Therefore, I would love to connect with others out there, and also focus a bit on Second Life.
What is Second Life? Well, its very interesting. I first heard about it 4 years ago while at Karaoke one night with friends. Then promptly forgot what the name of the website was.
My friends would always ask me to join a MUD in the past, but I just couldn't get into it and I even remember telling them "I want a character that can do things like walk around and talk to people." I didn't like typing in all sorts of commands just to show everyone what I was doing.
Then I started playing World of Warcraft. I leveled my character up as high as you could go. Ran with the guilds and spent tons of time on Vent, in the auction house, farming and instancing. I still have my Night Elf Druid on one of the servers and go on every now and then. I'm just waiting for next expansion at this point.
However, when I finally remembered to ask what that web site's name was again, it was already
April 2006. I signed on right away, only to find that my laptop could not handle Second Life.
My graphics card was not powerful enough.
Then, last year I could finally go on to Second Life after buying a new desktop. It was so neat, but I was very frustrated.
Moving around in Second Life is very different from moving around in World of Warcraft. I would try and move my character forward, and just when I wanted her to stop, she would keep moving forward in-world and stop just a little too late. I'd fall off a bridge, or into the water.
When these things happened I would bang my mouse on my computer table, and make a long drawn out sigh.
I didn't realize I was doing this, but everyone else in the house felt my frustration.
The graphics card on my brand new computer was still not good enough. (Yes, I bought one of those cheap desktops that was on sale, nothing special).
So... back to the computer store I went to upgrade my graphics card, and got another another
monitor while I was at it so I could have a dual monitor setup.
My other half also tweaked my system to perfection, and then I was in business. I could go onto Second Life with enjoyment.
Let me explain that Second Life is a Metaverse. The Internet in 3D.
I think metaverses like Second Life are the direction the Internet will be going in the next 5-10 years. There are other metaverses, but right now Second Life is the largest.
In this world, there are all sorts of places you can go. There are Gardens, Libraries, Stores,
Night Clubs, Concerts, Universities...the list goes on an on. Real Life people like Attorneys,
Musicians, and even book authors come on and do their thing.
You can own land, or open your own store. There possibilities are mind boggling. Oh, and you might be able to make a little bit of money. Or you can spend it all.
If you buy or sell things, you pay with Linden Dollars, which are exchanged with real world money.
Be aware that if you're not familiar with online gaming, or 3D worlds, there is a steep learning curve. However, once you know the basics, it all just seems to just come to you.
Interested?, then give Second Life a try. Your first account is free, and there are many places in-world that give out free items.
However, if you want to be more than just a spectator, you will need to get a premium account with Second Life or pay a landlord, land baron, or realty company in-world so you can own a bit of virtual land.
After you sign on, the first step is to create your Avatar. An actual character that can walk around, go traveling, and even attend classes.
There are some big companies on Second Life already...Circuit City has a store
there. They have a big screen T.V. that shows movie previews, and there are some
products on the shelves that you can look at. Sometimes you can click an item and it
will take you to the product's web page on the store's website. Sometimes it works
and sometimes you get a page thats no longer valid, but you can still search for what
you're looking for. (This store closed down, they have their own sim now, its here.)
Sony BMG has a place here and its HUGE! There are mini video/audio rooms you can
make yourself comfortable in and listen to some of the music or watch a video.
As the days go by I will explain more. Right now I need to get to sleep.
Have a great day!
