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WHAT'S NEXT? _The application of VR_002
May 9, 09:53 AM · Manki Park
Context
Virtual worlds will be categorized into three “worlds” which are as follow; the Real World, the Digital World (2D Web,Internet), and the Virtual World (3D Web) (4). As mentioned before several times, virtual worlds are emerging universes, ranging from MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online games, such as World of Warcraft [www.worldofwarcraft.com/index.xml], and Metaverses (Virtual Worlds that are primarily social vs. game oriented, such as Second Life), to MMOLEs (focused on learning and training environments), to Intraverses (putting up a virtual world inside the corporate firewall), to Paraverses (often also called Mirror Worlds, such as Google Earth) [www.earth.google.com] (ibid).
What is next?
Virtual Worlds will be improved by technology and acceptance for the future and next generation. However, environments such as Second Life are moving and evolving so fast.
1) Virtual Browsers – Many experts and participants expect that the introduction of a “virtual browser” as the next breakthrough, allowing avatars and cyberspaces on the users’ screen to interact and move easily between users in virtual world, installing 3D web browsers (2). Eventually, it aims to build 3D web or Internet. It is quite necessary to form multi-user environments and achieve personal virtual spaces as Internet innovation. For example, SL and other virtual worlds have been developing the post-2D Web platform, transforming it to a 360-degree 3D experience (4). Personally, I wonder how can be utilized avatars and virtual world to attain 3D web browsers or 3D Internet.
2) Ubiquity)– this technology would be used for mobile phones and net books that are fundamentally for communication. Through the combination of these digital gadgets and virtual technologies, data sent by the server to a mobile phone can be displayed on the phone’s screen or on external display devices such as a head-mounted stereoscopic display system (3). These displays can be connected to the mobile phone and home pc or other ways as communication devices.
The application of SL and other virtual worlds have possibilities to become the next generation interface for connections, content, and collaboration.
Bibliography
(1) Hemp, Paul. “Avatar-Based Marketing”.
Harvard Business Review. June 2006: pp.48-57
(2) Guissani, Bruno (2006) “Second Life: the next platform”.
Lunch over IP: Bruno Guissani’s Running Notes on People, Places, Technologies and Ideas. 31, Oct. 2006. www.lunchoverip.com/2006/10/there_is_a_medi.html
(3) Media freaks 3D Animation Studio Blog (2008) Virtual Realities in Mobile Phones Sun, Oct 19, 2008 http://blog.media-freaks.com/virtual-realities-in-mobile-phones/
(4) Susan Kish (2007) Virtual Worlds: Second Life and the Enterprise, Xing, Zurich, Switzerland
URL References
Defining and Understanding Virtual Worlds
Google Maps is changing the Way we see the World
The beginning of Metaverse sevice via a game console and its meaning as to PS3 Home _The application of VR_001
May 9, 09:37 AM · Manki Park
Metaverse service is evolving novel technology based on the combination of communities and communication, following marketing, games, education as virtual innovation. I strongly introduce Sony’s ambition (over Second Life and Nintendo), novel game for playstation 3 (ps3), the Home that is produced by Sony Computer Entertainment with focus on role playing game – users for PS3.
According to Sony, service of the Home has clear visions and purposes as core contents that allow users to communicate with each other through this game console, PS3 and encourage them to build their virtual game communities as well as use game contents (1). Furthermore, it is likely that the Home is fundamentally focused on Metaservice in relation to some aspects of social interaction, game marketing and entertainments. Its service largely consists of 6 categories such as Home square, Home café, personal space, game space, Cinema and shopping mall respectively.
The beginner of this game can select their own avatar and offer personal space formed one room sized-space in flat as personal spaces (1). Basically, users can easily communicate with other user via text and headset system or real-time avatars technology as moving other space without any limits (2). Moreover, it contains different kinds of expression as a communication method not only speaking language but also gestures and finger or sign language (ibid).
What is the most important feature of this game is that it is quite different from existing Metaverse services like Second Life and There.com at a point of offering various contents that are fundamentally connected with game modules in virtual world (2). That means that only Sony can realize this kind of novel game contents business in Metaverse service or game contents service as first model or try. This is because Sony has a huge capital to lead new game trends in Metaverse service, offering the high quality of contents such as Sony games, Sony films and Sony music, which is distinguish from other service structure (1).
Home enables users to select contents and virtual communities depending users’ purpose and needs. In contrast to no contents in SL, Home shows killer contents to tempt users through Sony’s powerful contents companies like Sony Pictures and even Music for entertainment elements without any admission (1). It may be that it will be one of dangerous business models in Metaverse service. However Sony believes that it appears have considerable potential business model. They also think that the only high quality of content is only way and answer to survive and control new paradigms in the market (ibid).
Bibliography
(1) Asakura Rage ( 2000) The Ambition of Sony, Seoul: Bada books.
(2) Yakee Zmuto (2001) IT Revolution, from Sony, Seoul: Munhwa books.
(3) Watanabe Hiroyoshi (2008) , Destructive Trends, Seoul: wongjin books
Url Refereces
‘Sony Brings Gamers ‘Home‘’, Forbes
‘Sony Launches PlayStation Home’, Business Week
‘Sony launches PlayStation virtual community’, Associated Press
‘Sony’s Home Opens To 15 Million PSN Accounts’, Gamasutra
‘When Will Sony’s ‘Home’ Come Out of Beta’, , 2008.12.12 PC Magazine
Virtual society has no content?
May 9, 04:51 AM · Manki Park
The concept of communities
According to Toennies, ideal-type of communities are small, stable and homogeneous collectivities based on integrated and shared cultural traditions, beliefs and values (3). Correlatively, ideal-type of societies are encompassing, dynamic and mean heterogeneous social systems unified by specific cooperations and purposes between communities that are mutually dependent by cognitive orientations (ibid).
Virtual communities
In Online Multiplayer Games, users still created “communities” where they were united by common narratives, benefits and purposes. However, “Second Life (SL)” is innovative. That means it could be considered as communalistic organization. Furthermore, SL offers users a platform or environments for an infinite various specific activities managed and controlled by individuals and corporations (2). Everybody who wants to joint in this social life created their own space or a single universe with focus on being interoperable with other users or communities even if they use the same protocols and software scripts (ibid). SL provides an environment that enhances sharing through interoperability (ibid). All avatars are also interoperable. They can perceive each other and engage into mutual communication, and even objects can be constructed so that they react to each other.
Deficits of SL as communities
Nonetheless, SL takes some deficits. There have not any cultural center and value consensus, the complete lack of mythology for future goals and developmental perspectives and even history or events like sickness and death (2).
Graham stated that Second Life has no narrative (1). That means it has no soul. It is an unruly chaos without any mythology and a real story (1). This is because all of its residents and all objects were built as artifacts. So, it seems to be very empty and leaves cold.
There are no “rules” and the world is largely capable of anything the users wish it to be or do. It isn’t enough to buy a piece of virtual land and put something on it. Without story, without mythology, without a living and progressing narrative…without goals and dreams…what’s the point?” (Graham 2007).
SL is just a platform as tools. It is not the mission of its creators (Linden Labs) to provide any meanings, plans and purposes for its evolution (4). SL is just the medium, not the content. This lack of content shows that the cohesion of SL is not based on any common values and goals, but on completely focused content-free media of social communication (1).
Ultimately, SL is organized around two opposite poles: On the one hand, integration is based on commercial benefits, just money: the universal medium of economic exchange (4), and on the other hand, integration is constituted by sociality (2).
Useful websites
All Ian Lamont’s Posts in computer wold blogs
Second Life is being hailed as the next MySpace
Is Second Life a brave new world?
Bibliography
(1) Graham Alan (2007) What Second life should learn from Myst. Web 2.0 Explorer (Blog), posted at March 23. http://blogs.zdnet.com/web2explorer/?p=343
(2) Hans Geser (2007) A real virtual society. Some macrosociological aspects of “Second Life”.
(3) Toennies, Ferdinand (1887) Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, Leipzig: Fues’s Verlag.
(4) Kirkpatrick, David, 2007, Second Life. It’s not a game. Fortune Jan 23.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/22/magazines/fortune/whatsnext_secondlife.fortune/index.htm
Portable toaster
May 8, 11:20 PM · Manki Park
Portable toaster mixing a butter knife is produced by the company, C-net creative. This new device is designed to use busy people. Just hold and spread this toaster on breads as using real butter knife. And children also use this easily and make special pattern like star and circles without any specail instructions so that they expect it will be a hit cooker for housewives and children. The woking priciple of this new cooker is based on the technology of ceramic-iron that make heat easily, adding a heat sencor that is helpful to protect being burned. Thats nice!! I will call my mom..
The evolution of cyberspace
May 8, 08:46 PM · Manki Park
When I meet this word, cyberspace at first, it was abstractly considered as being accessible to anyone who wants to represent their desires or needs inside of there to overcome their physical or mental disorder as hiding the real identities without order and morality in darkness.
The concept of cyberspace is initially coined by Gibson in his well known science fiction novel, Neuromancer (3). It is currently defined as a computer-generated landscape where is link to all people, computers and various information as virtual space of a global network. This means that cyberspace is not an isolated and inaccessible world.
Yes, that means that cyberspace is considered as one of the most important characteristic of computer-supported communication systems to create artificial “common heres” linked to outside physical space by setting the communications of two or more people into a shared environment (1).
Recently, cyberspace has become a more and more dominant impacts on our society in terms of commercial marketing on the web in business, education and entertainment. This is because all these “virtual places” as the part of the same universe (with help of software protocols and servers) are no defined distances between different places (1). Furthermore, its shape and concept is based on social interact in the digital, visual, or imaginary system due to computer programming language and the 3D content creation application such as 3D maya and max.
However, it should not be realized and perceived as just 3D virtual world where human can enter or move through, interacting with both computers and human beings. It is required to know where it comes from and how it evaluates from the notion of mental space.
According to Peter Anderson, it could be described as a window in mind. People want to see a view beyond the window, which reflects human beings’ needs for cyberspaces (3). I think minds would be humans’ first cyberspace and they can recognize this space unconsciously. It could be called as a mental space over exterior world. The illusion of a mental space is a product of mind and our artefacts in mind are the contents of this illusion to realize a stable representation or real identity independently (3). Also, it is helpful to overcome physical limits. Personally, I believe that mind of humans want to avoid physical limits and aims the utopia world to accomplish their adherence.
Currently, humans’ desire is evolving with the development of technologies that make it possible to store and manage humans’ memories and re-experience through cyberspace. Yes, it is not restricted to access to cyberspaces – a shared, but non-physical environment where people can enter collectively as active environments.
Ultimately, cyberspaces let humans recognized a spatial matrix) and help to realize the spatialization of mental spaces into many media forms such as games, scientific visualizations, and multi-user environments over the window of mind.
Useful websites
The Psychology of Cyberspace
Jenna’s Writing for Cyberspace Blog
Bibliography
(1) “Architects in Cyberspace: Post Revolution Architecture in Eastern Europe” in Architectural Design Profile No. 118, (London, 1995)
(2) Peter Anders, Envisioning Cyberspace; Designing 3D Electronic Spaces (McGraw Hill: New York, 1999)
(3) William Gibson, Neuromancer (Ace Books: New York, 1984)
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