Little big dream

My SL dream has just come true. The one I thought I would have to wait years to happen. It is coming true as I write this sentence. I'm talking about realtime full body motion capture in Second Life. Just think about it, oh, the new horizons! Communicating with people the natural way, actually dancing in clubs, using body movement to do basically anything in SL.

You know, I was always hoping we - the people of XXI century - would strive towards more movement in front of our computers, since they are taking a huge part in nowadays life. It really makes me happy to know about this initiative. Let me show you the movie (found via Hamlet's site):



Impressive, no? Anton Bogdanovych, your work is absolutely fantastic in so many ways! I hope this project gets more attention, and by the time the software is ready to use, there will be a few companies ready to provide cheaper equipment for consumer market / personal use. This is going to be big!

Fast, easy and fun!

Philip's relaxed speech at SLCC makes me feel much more confident about Second Life's future.

Welcome to Melt!

It's been so hard to keep shhhh about this, expecially after posting the teaser, so I am very excited to finally announce that I am taking part in Melt - an installation on thin ice!



Let me show you a note from the originator of this project, Radio Signals:

"If the world were clear, art would not exist."
-Jorge Luis Borges

Artists absorb the world around them. Their environments, that which they can feel and touch and see - and that which they can't. Sometimes that which they can only dream of. They absorb it and translate it into a language that affects us all in some way.

This project is a study of translations. I presented 25 artists within Second Life with a concept of creating art with these words in mind: Drowning. Melting. Polar bears. Arctic. Culpability. Corporate greed. Inevitability. Extinction.

What they have done is breathtaking and beyond any realm of my expectations.

Welcome to Melt - Please explore and involve yourself in this temporary world created here. Interact with it, wear it, enjoy it and immerse yourself in it.

Melt is only open March 6 - March 21. Please feel free to share your experience by adding your snapshots to the Mirror Installations Flickr group.

Thank you
Radio Signals

Melt opens tomorrow 6PM SLT at Mirror region, and I really hope to see you there! I am thrilled to take part in this project and I hope it will be an inspiring experience for you as well!

Here are the items I created for Melt:













See you tomorrow at Mirror region!

Melt

Fresh logo for Snowglobe

About a month ago Linden Lab launched a contest on 99designs with the intention of finding a fresh new logo for the Snowglobe viewer. I must say I was very curious about the winning design. Reaching to the community for a product logo instead of hiring a professional may bring unexpected results - either in a positive or a negative way. 99designs is a group focused around design, but it's still risky to use online service like this, since a logo is not merely a graphic element but a part of company and product identity. It does give you an idea on how much Linden Lab appreciate the power behind a community nonetheless.

The winner was chosen and I definitely want the new logo on my desktop :) Just look at the old logo and the new one.



I like how the new one refers to Linden Lab logo, the Snowglobe itself and the primitive cube. I'm not very fond of the bold contour but I still like this design and definitely prefer the new colours. It's fresh, vivid and 'juicy', it's simple, and what's more important - it's memorable and versatile.

You can see the rest of the entries on the contest page. There were some interesting designs worth seeing. Also, take a look at the cute ones with hippos: here, here and here :) Awww... ^^ They're too complex to become logos, but they're so adorable.

So what do you think about the new logo? Which entry would you call your personal favourite?

Mistletoe and wine

I know it's not the time for Christmas yet but I just couldn't wait with these news :) My friend, Cytryna Matova, together with her artistic group Mechaniczna Cytryna, has recorded a cover of Cliff Richard's Christmas song - 'Mistletoe and wine'. She decided to make a videoclip to the song in Second Life with a plan to air it in Polish national TV during Christmas time. The idea of the video was to show Polish SL community, things we do, things we like, all in Christmas spirit. The project involved a lot of Polish avatars, and several days of recording and post production. My avatar appears in a few scenes, and that is the wedding scene (as the maid of honour - in teal dress), the carousel scene (in red jacket and yellow scarf) and together with Sql in a scene where we go up the mountain on a skilift and then slide down on sled. I think the video turned out very nice, so here it is for you to enjoy:

llThankYou(Linden Lab);

I came across an interesting project called Project Thank You Letter, initiated by MadamG Zagato. Basically the idea is to say 'Thank you' to Linden Lab if Second Life enriched your life in a way (and I'm sure it did, one way or another). A 'thank you' for making some nice things possible, for giving new opportunities or simply for their hard work and dedication. Here's the official info:

Tis the season to give thanks! As we reflect upon all we have to be thankful for this season and throughout the years, for many of us Second Life has been a blessing. Whether SL has enriched your life, boosted your income, or provided other additional opportunities you may not have otherwise had, sometimes a simple "Thank you" is appreciated to those who have made it possible.

Project Thank You Letter is a way you can say "Thanks!" to Linden Lab for their dedication, hard work, and focus.

The project has a website www.projectthankyouletter.com where you can view the signatures. To sign the letter, go to SL Exchange, buy the letter for 0L$, rez it in-world and click it. You can also place it in your venue for others to sign.

Relay For Life Toothbrushes

I'm happy to announce I created RFL versions of my toothbrushes. They work the same as the regular ones but they have RFL colours and "Relay For Life Edition" inscription (both the toothbrush and the toothpaste). Here are the pictures:







You'll find the vendors at my store. All proceeds will go to American Cancer Society. So come on over, get yourself a toothbrush and support a good cause.

I did it!

I defended my thesis today! The thesis, as some of you probably remember, was about Second Life and it really brought lots of good things to me. The title in English would be: Using the virtual world of Second Life in companies and institutions' activities. I'm quite proud of how it turned out, I proved my points and also learned a lot about the business aspect of Second Life (even though I thought I knew it all before ;))). I'm very happy and hopefully will have more time for everything now, including blogging. As I know I'll be receiving my MSc diploma very soon, it's quite scary I'm not a student anymore. On the other hand, I've got so many goals set, and so many projects going on, that I don't think my life could get boring anyway. I'll miss the classes (but not the essays, the exams and all that jazz) but I feel I can really focus on what I want to do now. Yay!

SL'ang Life No. 1 - a sneak peak! [UPDATE]

[UPDATE: March 29, 2010] I removed all SL'ang Life links - they don't lead to SL'ang Life website anymore (since it doesn't exist), but to one you wouldn't want to go to ;)

My copy of SL'ang Life magazine arrived yesterday, so I thought I'd post a sneak-peak photo for those of you who are still waiting for the delivery. Since you already know the cover, I'm posting a picture from the inside. It's actually one of my articles (surprise surprise ;)).

I'm very happy with the magazine and I hope you all will be too. Expect your copy soon, and those who haven't subscribed yet, you know what to do, it's free!

If you have comments on the articles or would like to ask some questions, just recently we opened a forum where you can do that or simply just come to chat.

And don't forget to let us know what you like about the magazine!

SL'ang Life is here! [UPDATE]

[UPDATE: March 29, 2010] I removed all SL'ang Life links - they don't lead to SL'ang Life website anymore (since it doesn't exist), but to one you wouldn't want to go to ;)

Dear residents, we finally have a printed RL magazine about Second Life! And I'm proud to be a part of it (as a contributing journalist). Starting January 2008 SL'ang Life magazine will be delivered to subscribers all over the world by post for FREE (no delivery costs either).

The magazine will consist of four major sections: SL Life, SL Culture and Style, SL Economy and SL Entertainment. This means interviews, stories, events, business, music, fashion, art, travel, technical advice and much, much more. As Macciej Schumann (CEO) said during the opening ceremony - the aim is to present opinions and comments about SL expressed by avatars and journalists, both from SL and RL, in a wide international perspective.

If you want to receive a brand-spanking-new 48-page (A4 format) issue every month, visit SL'ang Life island and use one of the vendors there to subscribe. The first unique issue will have a limited distribution and it's filling up fast, so don't wait for the last moment. Subscribe and stay tuned for lots of great articles!