This sort of technology is not only awesome it’s based on Open Source software. Definitely full of WIN.
Popularity: 8% [?]
Tags: augmented reality, maps, online video, open source, OSS, star charts, Video
Recently I reviewed Nortel’s web.alive beta, Lenovo’s elounge. web.alive, which is a 3d browser based virtual environment using the Unreal 2.5 engine. As a result of my review I was contacted by the guys at Mellanium who are also using the Unreal 2.5 engine. They’ve developed a way to import Autocad models straight into the Unreal environment. So effectively you can use the same computer models inworld as you use on the production line, whether it be for architecture or industry. By the way, this also reduces one of the barriers against delivering real world goods from a virtual world.
Mellanium have also been working with the web.alive guys and the video above shows me wandering around their proof of concept – an apartment block. It was filmed entirely within the web.alive enviroment – yes, that means it was shot using my browser and FRAPs. FRAPs isn’t supposed to be able to do that but it can with web.alive.
I found it a little laggy and I tended to spurt forward every now and again, but in general it was a pleasant experience. The Apartment model is fantastic with great textures. It really heralds a potential new yardstick for modelling in virtual worlds. Especially given that it only took 15minutes to import it in world. Truly amazing stuff.
Enjoy the video. Apologies for the ‘almost subliminal’ title. Both blip and youtube gobbled it during conversion.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Tags: apartment, autocad, eLounge, lenovo, machinima, mellanium, proof of concept, web.alive
The financial crisis is likely to hit the fine dining industry very hard. Already there have been reports of exclusive London restaurants slashing their prices in order to maintain a steady flow of clientele and therefore subsequent cashflow. Competing on price, however, is never a wise, or usually profitable, strategy, so dining establishments need to look for alternate ways to bring in the customers. One easy way is to develop a social media strategy to connect with your customers and create a community of regular diners.
Popularity: 95% [?]
Tags: cms, Engage!, facebook, flickr, google alert, restaurant, Social Media, social networking, strategy, twitpic, twitter, twitter grader, youtube
Following in the footsteps of Nokia Friendview, Google has decided to delve into the world of location-based mobile social networking. Google Latitude is a free addon service to Google Maps Mobile that allows users to add friends and share current location and status updates with them. Of course this requires that the user have a GPS enabled mobile phone.
Popularity: 29% [?]
Tags: friendview, google, iPhone, maps, mobile, nokia, social networking
Over the last few years business has shown a great interest in using virtual worlds for enterprise. Everything from seminars and conferences to virtual trade shows and retail. However, after an initial flurry of activity many soon abandon them. For some the required learning curve is too high to be an effective tool. For others the return on investment is not high enough. Whatever the reasons, no virtual environment seems to have really delivered what enterprise needs for its mass adoption. That may be about to change.
Popularity: 64% [?]
Tags: conferences, conventions, eLounge, lenovo, nortel, retail, seminars, unreal engine, virtual trade shows, web.alive
Episode One of our new video blog: Skribbin. In this episode we review the virtual world: Twinity.
Popularity: 31% [?]
Tags: checking out, machinima, mirror world, review, Second Life, skribbin, twinity, virtual worlds
I was planning to bring you a video review of Twinity but unfortunately a series of technical issues have resulted in us being able to do so. Hopefully the issues will sorted soon and we’ll be able to show you this cool new virtual world and social media platform.
UPDATE: The review is available here.
Popularity: 23% [?]
Tags: houstonwehaveaproblem, oops, twinity, Virtual WorldNokia Beta Labs has released a new experimental social networking client for their S60 range of phones called Friend View. Friend View is described as a “social location service that helps you to keep up with your friends and family, meet them more easily, and randomly share with them what you do and feel.” Basically it is twitter with a GPS updated map. So if you’re trying to network with your friends but can never actually find them check out Friend View and see if that helps.
Download the client and add me as a friend: my username is skribe.
Popularity: 26% [?]
Tags: nokia, s60, social networking, twitter
Tableau is one of those little boutique shopping sims that make shopping away from strip mall sims such a joy. It’s beautiful, offbeat, fun, and its shops are just a joy to poke around in.
Designers and builders featured here range from artist Toast Bard, the eclectic Nylon Pinkney, freebies goldmine Forseti Svarog, builder Ingrid Ingersoll, and the operatic House of Lu.
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Popularity: 26% [?]
Tags: Ava Lu, Forseti Svarog, freebies, Ingrid Ingersoll, Nylon Pinkney, Prue Lue, Second Life, shopping, Tableau, Toast bardDid a spot of Foo navigation in Second Life (where I type random words into Search and teep to the first available hit I get, whatever it is), when I came across Liquid Heat.
Hmm, pirates, castles, and mystical elvish ruins. It’s not Tahiti as I know it, but you gotta go with your Foo.
So the builds are scaled somewhat on the big side, and there’s a tendency to vast empty rooms. Or little empty rooms. (I eventually found a scripted object in the inn that you could actually play with, but that was a case of the exception that proves the rule.)
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Popularity: 12% [?]
Tags: Affiliates program, franchising, Liquid Heat, Second Life