Princeton is dropping 4 sims in Second Life as a result of the OpenSpace fiasco. More info on what is going into the digital void here at Primperfect blog:

"But for me, a key point of the loss of the Princeton voids is not the disappearance of the installations, stunning as they are. It’s the loss of the exhibition space and, underlying that, the fact that one of Second Life’s most prestigious institutions and supporters is quietly scaling down."

For the people out there that are convinced that Second Life is a game without a purpose--they should consider the ultimate purpose of Linden Lab is to sell virtual land.  Seeing the virtual world as a fake land development project helps you understand why LL does certain things and how it prioritizes activities (ie, Land Store, Raising Prices, Seeking better markets)

Well, if you missed Viva La Vida--you really missed something great in the virtual world. AuraKyo Insoo turned prims into a vibrant story of birth, life, war and deliverance. It gave a taste of what rezzable art may become in the future--a shared experience rich in feeling and impact.

We had to zap the entire build as a result of the OpenSpace rip-off by Linden Lab. We consolidated that OpenSpace with 3 others into a single full sim that is now hosting the Greenies Lawn. AuraKyo may rebuild her show there, but we have also invited her to use a full sim at our Private Grid.  We will update on where you might find her work in the future.

Hamlet Au (aka Wagner James Au) of New Worlds Notes metaverse fame teleported in on his real world tour of the real world to visit us in our modest London global headquarters.  We had lots of chats about lots of stuff (some of which I remember, yeah there was the necessary stop at a pub in Camden even).  While these are certainly, trying times both inworld and irl, we share the optimism that all the virtual stuff is really headed somewhere fantastic.

He wrote a little piece about seeing us set-up the opensim test that we are running now.

Au used to work at Linden Lab and has a great insight into what they intended to make and what it has become.  And of course while the grid is very much about technology and collaboration, the soylent green grid is also about people and Hamlet knows all the players and has seen it all emerge over the last few years.

Sony PS3 is launching its much anticipated console-based virtual world tomorrow. The Industry Standard reports about the closed beta: "I’ve been in the closed beta and played around with Home, which has been tested by thousands of users for months now. I created an avatar, or animated virtual character, using the highly realistic 3-D character creation tools that Sony provided." Other features include:  ability to create your own nightclub, watch movies with friends (on your tv, not pc), areas on demand (cloning), and parental controls. Home also launches with brands Ligne Roset and Red Bull.

The console players have some significant advantages over virtual worlds like SL:

Reuters finally has departed from Second Life. The last post on their site http://secondlife.reuters.com/ is ironically about Coca-Cola staying in SL (although in a much more modest presence).  Eric Krangel (previously known as Eric Reuters) has slide over to Silicon Alley Insider where he says: "Is Second Life dying? No, but the buzz is gone." Er...the buzz buzzed-off in 2007 dude after the CSI flop and tons of corporates leaving in early 2008. The wishful thinking maybe what has finally stopped--did someone say minus 1700+ openspaces?

We wrote about the challengesfacing Linden Lab back in early September--same issues are still open.

Visit Plasma City and explore 4 sims build by artists and creators. Check-out 2 wacky, wild rollercoasters. The whole set of areas will be vaporized (again) on 01 Dec. Check it out while you can.

Please add photos to the Rezzable Flickr Pool and tag "plasma" so we can have something to remember this great project. Big thanks to all participants! 

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Plasma City is closing down at the end of November as we planned, hurry and check-out before it all gets zapped. There are many areas to wander through including 2 amazing rollercoasters. There are tons of random and free things also to see.  More information about Plasma City here. Please post new photos to the Rezzable Flickr group here tagged "plasma".

Here's a little wake-up call for all us that think being inworld is kinda cool, from the venerable London Times Online we get this snarky insight into the future of virtual/online experience: "Of course, avatars are dolls, which must be ventriloquised by their cyber-parents."

Roger Scruton continues this line of reasoning with: "But the dolls are getting more realistic, and who knows, maybe soon they will be able to read each other’s body language, and begin to respond directly, presenting their watchful parents with moral dilemmas that they had never foreseen. The new “dream children” may soon possess all the attributes which their creators wish for but do not possess, and will be able to copulate in cyberspace with the dreams of other people, in a sterile caricature of erotic passion."

hmmm...maybe Roger is a Gorean?

Forbes reports that the MIT Media Lab is getting funding from Linden Lab to mess around with real/virtual concepts (they call it X-Reality) and a bunch of kit.: "Later in November, Paradiso's team of seven Ph.D. students plans to switch on 45 PDA-sized devices mounted on the walls of the Media Lab's building. Each is equipped with an iPhone-like touch screen, a version of Second Life's software, wireless connections, cameras and a variety of audio, motion and infrared sensors."

Looks cool enuff. Bet they getting more than $10,000 worth of LInden Dollars on the backend of this project.  And of course some of the OpenSpace revenues will be used for this type of stuff I guess.  But is it really about research with MIT or about the very future of Second Life? What is the point of the Second Life anyway? Is it a game? An RP for lost people? Is there really any robust technology on this platform?