The Seventh Sun, "News from the Virtual World"

Using Virtual Worlds for Business and Learning

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

ABSEL keynote
Once a year, a prestigious group of gaming elite meets to discuss techniques and strategy, and also to enjoy the good company of like-minded serious gamers. These are not the "hard-core gamers" described by Chris Melissinos, Chief Gaming Officer of Sun Microsystems. Rather, they are the original serious gamers--educators from the top business schools from around the world.

Real Life Engineering with Second Life Tools

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

A bridge to somewhere
Legislative earmarks, the topic of much recent national debate, are congressional provisions directing approved funds to be spent on specific projects. Perhaps one of the most well-known earmarks is the Gravina Island Bridge, dubbed the "Bridge to Nowhere" by Ketchikan resident Charlie Arteaga.

Earth Day in Second Life

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Irony meets innovation
On April 22, 1970, the first Earth Day prompted millions of Americans to voice their concern for the degrading state of the environment and to demonstrate across the country for a sustainable planet. This powerful mobilization led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the federal Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Toward a Server-Enforced Security Model

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Stopping the bad guys
Second Life software architecture consists of an open source client viewer and back-end server code. Security checks are often written into the client code. Now that there are several client viewers--the official SL client, Windlight, and OnRez, to name a few--these viewers may or may not share certain security constraints. This has resulted in serious security exploits.

Naked Avatars Raise Awareness of Intellectual Property

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Stealing the clothes off our backs
By now you've probably seen the jaw-dropping ads--the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals' (PETA’s) anti-fur campaign, "I'd Rather Go Naked." The content may be PG, but the impact of seeing Eva Mendes and Alicia Silverstone tastefully au naturale is quite stunning.

An Interview with Chez Nabob

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Originator of the "naked avatar" campaign
An intellectual property rights awareness campaign launched in March features some of Second Life's most well-known content creators posing in the buff. Certainly an attention getter, the idea is to educate as many residents as possible about the issues, effects and consequences surrounding the theft of intellectual property in Second Life (SL).

Public Broadcaster RTV Slovenia Launches Second Life Island

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Brings news, culture, music and fun to community
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA, EU-MMC, new media department of Slovenian public broadcaster RTV Slovenija is entering Second Life on March 29th. The island, called MMC, is an extension of its Multimedia Center. The purpose of their Second Life presence is to extend its web community into Second Life by allowing users to schedule and hold events.

Klingons Opt for Vulcan Peace After Scrape with Romulans

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

Message from QatanI

May you live long and prosper. I am sure you never thought you would hear these words from Captain QatanI' sutai-DevnoH, the Elint Commander of the Klingon Assault Group (KAG). As the new Klingon Ambassador to Second Life, I raise a Vulcan salute in the manner of my cousin Spock. You see, like Spock, I am half-Vulcan.

Freedom of Expression World Map

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

The purpose of this map is to raise awareness of the growing problem of government-imposed restrictions and sanctions that limit access to online information and restrict the free expression of opinions, beliefs, and ideas. The .pdf version of the map will be continually updated with notes to track specific incidents, country-by-country, as information becomes available.

Traffic Report

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

The Seventh Sun is now read in over 2,085 cities worldwide. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our new readers who joined us in the past month from the following cities...

To Our Readers:

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:30:00 -0700

With this combined March/April edition, The Seventh Sun goes bimonthly and will be published once every two months. We will continue to publish articles to our web site in HTML format with RSS notification just as frequently as always--maybe even more so--but you'll see the high-production-value PDF version only once every other month. We feel that this is sustainable and will allow us to pursue other opportunities as we continue to develop The Seventh Sun into a viable, revenue-generating publication.

To Our Readers:

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:26:43 -0800

This month marks the first anniversary of The Seventh Sun. When we first published The Seventh Sun in February of 2007, little did we imagine that our little "newspaper" about our adventures in Second Life would turn into a web magazine with readers in over 1,800 cities worldwide.

Metanomics from Cornell: What the Wall Street Journal Missed

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:06:49 -0800

An emerging field of academic study that deals with the economic, legal, and regulatory issues of virtual worlds.

An Interview with Beyers Sellers

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:06:17 -0800

Surfdaddy Orca interviews Beyers Sellers about the use of virtual worlds for policy research and e-commerce.,

Beyers Sellers is the avatar of Professor Robert Bloomfield director of Graduate Studies and Business Simulation Laboratory at Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.

The Newseum: The world's largest newsstand comes to Second Life

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:03:58 -0800

A 3D digital reproduction of the new Newseum in Washington DC is ready to open its doors to the international community that inhabits the virtual world of Second Life.

A conversation with Larry Gillick: Lost eyeballs, hyper-local super-niche content, and the digital future

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:02:19 -0800

Larry Gillick discusses the origin of the Newseum project, and the challenges and opportunities ahead for the news industry as it prepares to embrace the "next media."
Larry Gillick is Assistant Professor of Digital & Broadcast Media/Arts Communication at Shenandoah University in Virginia, and a former reporter and anchor for U.S. Armed Forces Television.

Freedom of Expression World Map

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:01:44 -0800

Gigs' Corner: Get Ready for LSL Mono

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:00:55 -0800

When Linden Lab looked to overhaul the aging Linden Scripting Language (LSL), Mono emerged as a potential solution.

Journey in Second Life: ROCK ON!

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:00:24 -0800

Journey Island, a meeting place for fans, where-- with a little luck--you may run into the core of the 2008 Journey lineup, virtual versions of Neal Schon, Ross Valory and Arnel Pineda still going strong.

Klingons Invade Second Life: Message from QatanI

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:59:55 -0800

I am Captain QatanI' sutai-DevnoH (QatanI Damdin in Second Life), Quadrant Commander of the Dark Phoenix. Back when I first entered the online 3D world called Second Life, I joined the crew of the independent warship (Bird of Prey) IKV Bortas.

Website Traffic Report

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:57:43 -0800

The Seventh Sun is now read in over 1,834 cities worldwide.

Fool's Gold: The Rise and Demise of Second Life Finance

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0000

ATMs promise "More than Expected" in a Lose-Lose Proposition. Of the many stories unfolding in the wake of the Second Life banking crisis, the rise and fall of the Arbitrage Wise financial empire will be one for the books -- or for Hollywood, if he’s lucky.

Diegoland Hosts Continuing Education Students

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0000

A field trip into Second Life for continuing education students? Randall Cornish and Carolyn O'Barr take a group of students into the virtual world. First stop: Champion Valiant's Diegoland.

Panic! Second Life bank closures raise many questions

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

The chaotic scene at JT Financial was not unlike the stock market crash of 1929. Following Linden Lab's January 8th announcement that it would give banks until January 22nd to "settle up on any promises" and "honor valid withdrawals," harried Second Life avatars scrambled to withdraw deposits.

Premier Broadcast of MetaNetworkNews

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

On January 19th, MetaNetwork Media will officially launch its much-anticipated news division, MetaNetwork News, in a multi-sim, day-long extravaganza. The festivities will begin with a morning address by Cadence Juran, CEO of MetaNetwork Media, followed by the premier broadcast of MetaNetwork News.

San Diego Community College Offers Free Field Trip Into Second Life

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Game or Parallel Universe? -- If you're in the area, you might enjoy taking a field trip into Second Life, courtesy of the San Diego Community College Continuing Education Program. Tour guides Randall Cornish and Carolyn O'Barr will be taking a group of students on what promises to be the "journey of a lifetime" into the virtual world.

Avatar of the Year | Our Top 10 of 2007

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 06:53:18 -0800

We consider ourselves privileged to weave graphical stories about the creative artists, engineers, business people, academics, and other pioneers who are laying the foundations for the emerging metaverse. One of these pioneers graces the cover of this issue as "Avatar of the Year" for his work creating a forum for virtual world developers.

HiPiHi World - A visit to virtual China

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:36 -0800

HiPiHi is a virtual world very similar to Second Life. Parts of it are stunningly beautiful, and it offers the potential to "bridge the worlds" of East and West through the use of 3D Internet technology.

American Federation of Scientists Virtual Worlds Review

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:33 -0800

The Seventh Sun: News from the Virtual World was honored recently to become one of two Second Life (SL)-originated virtual world discussion web sites listed by the Federation of American Scientists.

Comparison Shopping: How much does it cost to sell virtual goods online

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:31 -0800

What's the best way to shop in the virtual world? Are you one who enjoys wandering around the mall, or would you rather do a quick search, find what you want, click to buy it and be done with it?

The Merchant's Guide to Shop OnRez

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:29 -0800

The Merchant's Guide to Shop OnRez: Selling Virtual Goods Online by Pollywog Gardenvale -- A sneak preview of a book to be published this Spring by Pollywog Press.

Holiday Shopping

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:27 -0800

A shopping guide of virtual decorations for the holidays.

Tips from the pros: CNN + SKY NEWS = SUCCESS

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:25 -0800

One of two articles that describe a formula for success for aspiring journalists who want to learn more about the industry.

The hottest TV studio in Second Life: Sky News

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:22 -0800

It was cold and rainy the day Sky News launched its official presence in Second Life, and Armin was working in the back of a satellite truck parked on location at the Hay Festival in the UK.

IMVU: Instant Messaging with a 3D Viewer - A facebook for avatars

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:20 -0800

You may recall the banner ads--the IMVU logo with its cute blue font and pictures of cute avatars.
IMVU is a 3D avatar-based instant messaging system with extensive user-created content, Facebook-style avatar home pages, and a cute and sexy anime style.

Gigs' Corner: Taming the Linden Lab Beast with JIRA

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:19 -0800

Want to find out the latest statistics on Linden Lab’s software development efforts? I’ve aggregated the statistics at a public beta site at Rob Linden’s request.

Virtual Information Project Update

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:16 -0800

3D Mind Map work moves to Rockcliffe University Research Park
In the November edition of The Seventh Sun I introduced you to our work on Virtual Information Technology (VIT). The VIT group is developing new ways to visualize information in a 3D mind map using Mindjet’s Mind-Manager Pro 7.

Investor Watch -- Virtual World Movers and Shakers

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:14 -0800

HiPiHi, the subject of this month’s feature article, was founded in October 2005 in Zhongkuanchun, Beijing. The primary founders are CEO Xu Hui and Rao XueWei.
Novamente LLC is a privately held AI software company aimed at creating a powerful Artificial General Intelligence system and then leveraging this system for the creation of revolutionary software applications.
IMVU, Inc. is a Palo Alto, California-based startup founded by Will Harvey, a video game developer and founder of There.com.

From the Wire

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:12 -0800

Quincy Jones III, CMP’s Newest Internet Evolution Blogger Declares Digital Media the New Hip Hop
ThinkerNet blogosphere features QD3 and more than 80 world-famous Internet expert contributors

Website Traffic Report

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:08:08 -0800

Congratulations to San Diego, California, the grand prize winner of The 2007 Seventh Sun Traffic Competition! In second place is New York, followed by London.