Presenting Canvas: Ex-Linden Lab Manager Launches Web-Based, Unity-Powered Viewer for Second Life & OpenSim

Canvas, a Second Life/OpenSim-Compatible Viewer, Running in Facebook - Source

What you're looking at above is Canvas, "a lightweight web viewer that works with Second Life and OpenSim", as its lead developer, Chris Collins, describes it. It's the first public project from Collins' Tipodean Technologies, a start-up he founded immediately after leaving Linden Lab last Feburary. A general manager with the creator of Second Life for nearly 4 years, Collins' co-started Linden's enterprise team, which attempted to create a market for real world business applications of SL. Tipodean is targeting a similar market, "government, education and the private sector".

On the technology side, Canvas uses a Unity 3D plugin, and purports to be compatible with lower end, lower bandwidth machines. Another interesting feature: It can run on your own server or intranet, providing a behind-the-firewall solution for 3D spaces.

Given Collins' background with Linden Lab, this announcement is pretty big news. To my knowledge, this is the first Unity-powered, web-based viewer that would be able to run OpenSim and Second Life. (London studio Rezzable has a Unity-driven browser of its own, but it only works with OpenSim.) I hope to talk with Chris later this week, so check back for a follow-up post in coming days.

Distribution of Canvas is scheduled for December 6. However, you can apply for early access here.

Comments

[Wizard Gynoid]

yay. this *is* big news. i want to try this thing out ASAP. especially because the Linden Lab boys, in their infinite wisdom, prevented me from testing their beta web browser by making certain assumptions that i wouldn't have a successful test based on my hardware. i find it extremely interesting that the above web browser product is expressly designed for low-end machines.

[Adam Frisby]

Looks pretty cool - is this based on the same one Dahlia did (that Rezzable is also using), or is it a new project entirely? I seem to recall Rob Smart @ IBM did something similar a few years back as well.

We've also been doing something similar ourselves using a unity frontend + opensim backend, although we made some very heavy duty changes to the backend for scaling & perf.

[LokiLoki]

ooo, could THIS be the slimlined viewer for my iPad ive always dreamed of? well, it's getting there slooowly

[Merry Gynoid]

Is there a report of someone actually using it? Photos are all well and good but what's it like to use?

[Arcadia Codesmith]

Looks like a promising step forward on the accessiblity front.

[Opensource Obscure]

@Wizard Gynoid
where did you draw that conclusion from?
I'm interested in the details and information about that.

As far as I know, access to the SL beta web viewer seems bound to network quality (ie, latency) more than hardware.

[rar]

Chris says on his site that this is a licenced version of the IBM project, so if that is right then our version works very differently. The Rezzable browser viewer will also have a free version.

[Daniel Smith]

Smiles big. I'd been writing about the idea, but had no heads up that someone was actually trying it on this scale. This should be far more workable than the limited LL cloud-dependent effort.

[Adeon Writer]

The key difference here is that this Unity viewer is still rendered on your own machine, while LL's web viewer is cloud-renderer (rendered elsewhere while you are sent a live video feed). While this Unity Web viewer can easily be freely distributed and used by everyone, LL couldn't possibly afford to allow everyone to use a cloud service for free.

We are dealing with apples and oranges here.

This is still very great to see, I can't wait to try it.

[Frans]

Look how there are no textures, and all the circles look like Hexagons. That looks even worse then SL did for me in 2005.

I think the cloud rendered solution is much more appealing.

[Chris Collins]

-@Adamfrisby and @rar yes it is from IBM: http://www.tipodean.com/canvas/canvas-announcement.html

I do not see this viewer competing with the SL Download or the SL web based viewer; I believe it complements both. I have not been able to try the Linden Web Viewer due to my bandwidth, but from the videos the graphics look amazing! Canvas is designed to be extremely user-friendly. The graphics aren't as rich, but the technology allows both casual and expert users to easily access and configure the entire virtual world experience.

I really want large corporations and educators with bandwidth restrictions and/or lower-end hardware to be able to access and leverage the benefits of virtual worlds.

For power users within organizations, it makes sense to download the SL viewer. For everyone else, this plugin is a quick and easy alternative.

[Ignatius Onomatopoeia]

Thanks, Chris, for noting that. Having the ability to see what a VW can do, without the hassles of the SL or OS viewers, could change some minds at schools where I.T. folks and senior admins resist any implementation of virtual worlds.

Hook them with the entry-level Chevy, move them up to the Caddy later. Back in the day it worked for GM...uh, back in the day.

[Little Lost Linden]

"On the technology side, Canvas uses a Unity 3D plugin, and purports to be compatible with lower end, lower bandwidth machines."

This is good, sounds like the lower end junky machines are now all set.

Where is the plugin that works for cutting edge, state of the art PC's loaded to the gills with more GPU power than godzilla and multi-CPU cores you can't count on 1 hand?

[birtram van killalot]

Lame, waste of money and resources to create. web based browser 'interaction tool's with no abilities. where do you build?, where is the options? where is your money? can i rez prims? can i upload sculpts? can i make scripts? My point is if you 'use' sl..i mean use it not as a chat room. as a buisiness to make some extra money then what good does something like this do for content creators?. btw if you cant run secondlife its not your computer that sucks so much as it is you that sucks. secondlife is easy to run, it is by no means advanced by todays standards. What? do you want this to run on a damn apple 2? or a tandy? gimme a break people. squash this malarkee. Stay with the origional plan of the main client software. dont let them distract you with the shiny web based they try to make so attractive because its money motivated by this ceo..thats 'his baby' and its a major screw up. if you cant run sl. forget the browser version..fix your damn clunker box for crying out loud.

[gaga gracious]

@ birtram

Don't be so negative. I don't see this as lame. I seriously doubt the browser version is meant for building or anything other than an entry level experience to bring more people into virtual worlds and so long as they can access inventory and buy clothes, skins, etc in world or via the web then it should help boost traffic and sales. Once new users experience the metaverse they may be more likely to download a full viewer and engage the VE experience more seriously.

Lets face it, Linden Labs has done a pretty good job of driving long-time users out of SecondLife and scaring new people before they even get started. I think anything that can offer a simple entry level will be good, not just for SL but for Opensim and other platforms too.

It dosen't need building or content creation capability but it dose need inventory access, currency, OpenID and Hypergrid. The masses need something simple to pick up and go. You or I might be wiling to download a full viewer and learn to use it but for an awful lot of people they need to be lead in bit by bit.

Slowly walkie catchie monkey!