Fandom Con Ends Tonight

 

 

 This past weekend was the second and last one for the SL Fandom Con. On Saturday July 29 was the  "Fancy Fandom" event, "All fandoms have their fancy, and we want to see it! Embrace the theme of the night and show off your unique style on the red carpet. From elegant gowns to avant-garde designs, let your creativity show through."

The event lasted from around Noon to 2 PM SL time. When I dropped by, only about half were in fancier outfits. But there were some interesting looks. Probably the most unique, but more than a little disturbing, were three skeleton-like robots in ladies gowns' dancing away in front of the DJ booth. Thankfully they weren't out to terminate anyone, just move to the tunes. 

Today, Monday July 31 is the last day for events in the Fandom con. It is unknown how long the sims, and exhibits, will remain up. The event is a fundraiser for the Relay for Life in Second Life.

*Correction* There was a date error earlier, it has been corrected.

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "Panel: Robots And Drones"

   

"Panel: Robots and Drones"

Saturday April 24, 

10AM to 11 AM

From toys to surveillance to autonomous flight on another planet, robots and drones are becoming a part of life in the 21^st century. We are on the threshold of advances in AI and universal surveillance that will bring benefits and risks to society. It is time to discuss the implications of these new elements in our world.

 

A 16-minute YouTube to get you started: Why do Boston Dynamics Robots dance? And could Elon Musk be right that superhuman AI is only around five years away?

Mathew Burr

For more information, Click Here. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/67/129/32
   

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "Emerging Technologies – The Future is Here!"

 

"Emerging Technologies - The Future is Here!" 

Saturday October 10

10 AM to 11 AM SL time

A  presentation by Phil Youngblood, PhD.

Every technology, from fire and the wheel long ago, to quantum computers and companion robots today, is at some point an “emerging technology,” that is, an application of science well beyond ‘concept’ or experimental stage, something that is very real but is not mainstream yet. Emerging technologies may only be known by those who follow the field closely or may be known more widely, but most people have not yet experienced them firsthand… but soon will!

What are the emerging technologies of the 2020’s? Join me as we examine eight interrelated technologies that will shape your world in the next decade:

— 5G communications
— artificial intelligence (new applications)
— 3D printing (new applications)
— brain machine interface
— immersive spaces (like SL)
— augmented/virtual reality
— autonomous transport
— robotics

For more information, Click Here. 

 https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/114/206/30

 

Scenes From Burn2

While the Halloween season has brought plenty of haunted houses and costume parties around Second Life, that's not all that's going on. Taking place on Burning Man - Deep Hole and four other sims is the Burn2 art and music festival. This year's theme is "I, Robot," and many of the exhibits involved robots. But there was also plenty of music performed by DJs, and other performances such as dances.

See the pictures in Events.

Burn2 Begins

On Friday October 19, the Burn2 event started. The largest annual art and music festival in Second Life, it is based on the Burning Man festival which takes place in the summer. The event will go on until October 28, though the builds will likely be up for a little longer. This year's theme is "I, Robot."

As usual, the center build is "The Man," a man-shaped structure of wood that will be burned near the end. Often a towering figure, or on a tall base, this year's Man is a smaller one on a large wide base. Elsewhere is "The Temple," which resembled a firey oven.

With the theme "I, Robot," artists were invited to make exhibits with robots as a theme. Some expressed hopes or fears of a world filled with intelligent robots. Others were simply amusing.

And besides the exhibits there were events by DJs in which people danced to the music. The festival will last a while, but not forever. Be sure to drop by before October 28.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/115/86/24

Game Review: Robocraft

Xymbers Slade recently came aross a game called "Robocraft." In the game, one builds armed robots and sends them against those of other players. So what was Xymbers' view of the game?

Read Xymbers' article in Other Grids and MMOs.

Steamed Custard

Becky Shaman, or rather her alt Joshua, has been exploring around. Her journeys recently took her to the Custard Developments, a steampunk themed area. Joshua found scenery to explore, as well as a couple near-freebie vehicles to take home to drive.

Read more in Places.

"Flesh Dreams" at Burn2 by Ub Yifu

Gemma Cleanslate's been busy with her ranger duties at Burn2. But she did have enough time to write about one exhibit that stood out: "Flesh Dreams" by Second Life artist Ub Yifu. In his work, Ub took Burn2's theme of "Cargo Cult" and gave it a different perspective. While the events ended on Sunday, the exhibit will still be up a few more days.

Read Gemma's article in Design.

*Addition* An error kept the article from loading earlier. It works now.

Press Release: National Space Society Holding Contest to Celebrate Moon Landing

The National Space Society in Second Life will hold our annual commemoration of the First Moon Landing from 1pm to 7pm SL (Pacific) time on July 20. Prizes will be awarded during the event at 6pm SL (Pacific) time in the contest area at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/62/131/3005 .

Theme:
    Lunar Robotics - Build a piece of robotic equipment that would be useful in a moonbase to advance science, industry, or infrastructure in some innovative way.
   
Prizes:
    L$ 10,000 First Prize - Sponsored by First Responder/Confederated Response Force and by Archivopedia LLC
    L$  7,500 Second Prize - Sponsored by the National Space Society in Second Life
    L$  5,000 Third Prize - Sponsored by the Oregon L5 Society in Second Life

Rules:
    256 prim equivalent land impact maximum per entry.
    Maximum size 15m x 15m x 15m per entry.
    Scripting is not necessary, but will be considered favorably.
    Mesh and sculpted prims are allowed.
    Efficiency of land impact and script load will be considered favorably.
    All entries must be an original design and each prim be the creation of the participant.
    All entrants must provide a notecard describing the build.
    No weapons or mature themes allowed, and all builds must adhere to the Terms of Service of Second Life at http://secondlife.com/corporate/tos.php
    We reserve the right to limit the number of entries based on space and sim resources available.
    We require at least one copy of the entry build which will become the property of NSS in SL: unlocked with copy, mod, no trans perms (extra consideration for full perms); full perm copies of all texture files used; and full perm scripts in order to judge suitability, algorithms and efficiency, and to enable customization for our own purposes. By entering you will be granting us non-commercial, non-exclusive rights in all of these.
    Decisions of the judges will be final.

To Enter:
    You must request admission to the "NSS Contestants" role in the National Space Society group from either Ariel Miranda or Banker Tomorrow.
    Once you are wearing the "NSS Contestant" group tag go to the contest area:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/National%20Space%20Society/62/131/3005
    Select a numbered building platform that is empty and rez a placeholder on it with your name as creator (a basic prim will do.)
    You have until 5pm SL (Pacific) time on July 20 to complete your build, keeping the above rules in mind.

Please direct any questions or comments to Archivist Llewellyn or Ariel Miranda.

We are the in-world presence of the National Space Society, an international organization of like-minded people, from the interested public to grassroots activists to astronauts and space scientists.

National Space Society website:   http://www.nss.org

NSS in SL group:   http://world.secondlife.com/group/17a08f4d-3ed6-8ba0-5a6e-91c4218b35cf

Meetings are held here weekly at 3pm SL time on Mondays

National Space Society (128, 152, 1260)

"Our Vision:  People living and working in thriving communities beyond the Earth, and the use of the vast resources of space for the dramatic betterment of humanity."

SL Youtube: Drone War

An interesting youtube of a sci-fi shooter game in Second Life. The objective, shoot down the robots, and get to a nuclear bomb in time. More info here.

"Drone War is an innovative first-person shooter game in Second Life. Your mission is to deactivate a nuclear bomb in a hidden laboratory while being pursued by several drones and enemies. Can you complete the challenge before time runs out?"

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Eye on the Blog: “CEO Rodvik Humble Shares What's New in Second Life”

On Monday, Linden Lab’s CEO Rod Humble/Rodvik Linden personally posted on the official blog, “It’s been a little while since I last updated folks on Second Life. Earlier this year, I noted several areas we would be focusing on. Let me update you on each area and share with you our plans for the remainder of the year. But first, we’d like to give a warm welcome to our newbies! August was the biggest growth month for Second Life in nearly four years! I hope you all take the time to try out the many different activities in Second Life — there’s everything from clubbing to boating. You might even to want to try your hand at making something new. As a side note, one of the easiest ways to find new things is to check out the Destination Guide in the log-in screen of the viewer.”

Rod then brought up Viewer 2’s Basic mode, which he called really helpful in “getting newbies up and running.“ But recognizing its limits, such as being unable to buy & sell and build, stated the Lab would soon “merge the Basic and Advanced modes.” He also stated there would be “continued investment and focus” in response times to problems including more support staffing.

Rod also mentioned “over the next few months,” there would be new advanced features that would allow for easier and better “creation of artificial life and artificial people.” Among other things, the creatures and beings would be able to navigate about more intelligently, “Imagine being able to create advanced pets, creatures or even a living town where non-player characters are walking about. Combined with the experience tools I mentioned above, it should soon be possible to create more advanced MMORPG’s or interactive experiences which use AI right within Second Life.”

Hamlet Au wrote some about the last set of improvements. He felt they would soon lead to “upheavals” in the virtual pet industry as old scripting systems are taken offline and the companies rush to keep their creatures and other goods updated. He also predicted Second Life’s gaming areas, or “mini MMOs” ae he called them, would both become more advanced and more popular. Finally, he called these upcoming developments a solution to the Grid’s “crowded empty” problem, lots of residents inworld, but most sims empty or nearly so, “Adding NPC features will be an easy way to fix that problem, giving land owners easy tools to make their place seem less empty.”

Checking the thread on the forums, many people posting were looking forward to these developments. This included Jo Yardley of “The 1920’s Berlin Project,” who felt the use of these “robots” would make a lot of difference in making her sim more lifelike, “Yes I'd rather have 100 real avatars running around my city 24 hours a day, but it won't happen and if it did the server would blow up with lag overdose.” There were however some dissenting opinions, “So one CEO gets rid of the bots, numbers plummet, lag doesn't get any better, and the next CEO decides to bring the things back.”

Sources: Linden Blog, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

By Bixyl Shuftan

Sunday Cartoon

By Bixyl Shuftan