New World Notes

Educators Discuss Minecraft for Education in Second Life

Somehow this feels like an endpoint of a years-old evolution, but here's a group of educators who once advocated Second Life as a great education tool now gathering in Second Life to discuss best practices of Minecraft as a great education tool. SL is pretty excellent for group voice chats in 3D where Minecraft isn't, so maybe this is the best marriage of the two virtual worlds as education tools. (And there's lots useful advice and case studies discussed throughout).

Would You Like to Experience Virtual Reality While Suspended from a Cable System in Real Life?

Of course you would. I mean, just look:

This is the CableRobot simulator from the Max Planck Institute, "a carbon fiber cage that can move in real time around a large open space" -- in other words, giving the user real life sensations of motion in any direction while experiencing related visuals through a VR headset. I remain hugely skeptical that virtual reality will ever become an everyday consumer experience, but I can definitely see something like this becoming popular:

Sim Deathwatch: Second Life's Beloved Recreation of Mont Saint Michel Soon Leaving SL for "Economical" Reasons

This truly sucks: The painstaking Second Life recreation of France's Mont Saint Michel is disappearing at the end of September due to "economical" reasons, creator and owner Moeka kohime recently announced. Ms. kohime is also the owner of SL's popular *Edelweiss" Japanese fashion brand, which she reports is still going strong -- but apparently, not strong enough to continue supporting the much-visited, much-photographed virtual landmark. Destination guide below - visit in the next nine days!

Survey: Has Project Sansar Changed Your Second Life Usage or Spending Patterns?

This week's survey is two questions on two worlds. Results shared next week!

Monday Machinima: A Visit to The Egg in Second Life

Thanks to the Yhoali Resident (who brought some badass music to the proceedings), here's a visit to the Linden Endowment for the Arts new installation by Livio Korobase -- "The Egg":

Bitcoin Virtual Currency Is Over-Hyped But Bitcoin-Inspired Technology Is Not

The Wall Street Journal has the latest Bitcoin-related news, but unlike all the hype around Bitcoin as a virtual currency we've been reading for the last few years, this one is about Bitcoin-related technology:

International Business Machines Inc. thinks the technology that underpins the bitcoin digital currency can do a lot more than support cash 2.0. Within the next few months, the venerable tech giant plans to release open source software that could be used to create digital contracts that—like Bitcoin transactions—would be recorded publicly and securely on a world-wide computer network. IBM is zeroing in on a technology called blockchain, which serves as bitcoin’s online ledger. Blockchain allows the bitcoin network to track the currency’s movement from one online wallet to another. But it could be used to log other types of transactions. “Blockchain, as a technology, is extremely interesting and intriguing,” said Arvind Krishna, senior vice president of IBM Research.

This fits the buzz I've been hearing about Bitcoin in the US startup scene in recent weeks:

Jonathan Blow's Long-Awaited Open-World Puzzle Game "Witness" Coming Next January

Follow-up to his acclaimed game Braid, Jonathan Blow just announced the launch date for The Witness, his open-world puzzle game for PCs and PS4, in an intriguing and beautiful new trailer:

If you're catching a distinctly Myst vibe, there's a very good reason for that:

Top Three Posts from New World Notes Last Week!

• Will "Created Reality" Be Project Sansar's Official Name - Or Is It Just Another Discarded Linden Lab Product?
• Sansar Competitor AltspaceVR Announces Samsung Gear VR Partnership with SL-Style Virtual Press Conference
• The World Isn't Ready for Virtual Reality Simulations of Horrific Realities Like 9/11 (Yet)

Supposedly This is Project Sansar's Log-In Screen

At least according to "GamieXpert". Or is it actually a log-in screen for... Created Reality? (Click to embiggen. Type below to wildly speculate.)

Long-Running MMO/Combat NoR Regions Shutting Down, Possibly Over Payment Confusion?

Well this also sucks: The regions associated with Land of NoR (for Nation of Remembrance), a popular and long-running MMO/Combat-themed area, are shutting down today, reports Nalates. Worst, it looks like it's happening due to preventable drama and miscommunication. As Nalates infers: