Exclusive: Meez Finally Launches Virtual World

Exclusive: Meez Finally Launches Virtual World

http://mashable.com/2008/06/18/meez-virtal-worl/

I'm not surprised. Second Life couldn't have the market share all of the time ... and it's nice to know that it's going to be more than hands typing on an invisible keyboard ...

"Meez users have been requesting a virtual world in which their custom avatars can roam around and become more social with each other for some time, and now they finally have what they’ve always wanted. Meez Nation is the brand new virtual world made just for Meez avatars. [...] Unlike most other virtual worlds that have grown out of an avatar-creation and sharing site, Meez has layered in a good deal of functionality, activity and interaction for the avatars. For instance, there’s chat capabilities in every virtual room, and similar to an IM chat client that converts the characters “;” and “)” into Meez avatars will act out certain commands that you type into the chat window. Type in “rofl” and your Meez avatar will roll on the floor laughing."

Sneak Peek: Yahoo Buzz

Sneak Peek: Yahoo Buzz

In competition againt Digg.com, Yahoo is launching it's own voteable stories page(s) of popular stories based upon reader votes, searches, emails, and more at Y! Buzz. See the image below for some screenshots of the Y! buzz beta.

MIT Sketching -- Now Technology Helps Teach!

This has got to be one of the coolest, most useful teaching tools I've seen in quite a while. It is not only a method of teaching, notetaking, and/or concept designing, but it does it in a way that is natural to that way we often describe or try to do things. Consider this, have you ever tried to explain an idea or device and ultimately just grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and drew it?

That's what this MIT professor has done. As my Mechanical Engineering boyfriend pointed out, I'm sure there are all kinds of settings that have to be set (gravity, friction, etc.) before it can be used as demonstrated, but as a relatively simple start to exploring statics (think buildings) and dynamics (think spinning wheels), it's a pretty cool way to go. The best part is that you wouldn't necessarily have to set up the room with actual carts spinning down ramps. (Which can be really time consuming and a bit chaotic!)



Le Boyfriend, has also suggested for further interest into virtual prototyping software, you'll want to check out Working Model 2D and/or Adams.

Faceresearch.org is Interesting and Interactive!

Face Research: http://www.faceresearch.org/

Per the website:

FaceResearch.org allows you to participate in short online psychology experiments looking at the traits people find attractive in faces and voices. Register to participate in experiments if this is your first time at FaceResearch.org or login if you have been here before.

Make your own average faces with our new interactive demos!

In addition to participating in facial attractiveness experiments, you can also complete lifestyle and personality questionnaires about characteristics that may be associated with face and voice preferences and see how you compare to others. We post all our study results after we have finished collecting data.

You can also learn about our computer-graphic technology and read about some of the findings of our previous studies.

Take part in an online questionnaire about Drinking Water and Soft Drinks by Moira Cruickshank, a student who is learning to program online experiments with us.

Sony Buys Into Virtual Movie Theaters; Invests in Gaia

Sony Buys Into Virtual Movie Theaters; Invests in Gaia

Interesting, but not too surprising to hear about this. Gaia is a bit like Second Life, but for those who are more into the anime genre. In any case, the idea of virtual world movie theatres is a different and more social approach to the solidatary iPod world we live in today. I'm curious to see how it comes along.

Are You a Righty- or a Lefty-Brain Thinker?

I don't know if this is true or not, but it's a fun little thing to try out. Here is a little test to see if you are a right-brain or left-brain thinker. Here is what you do.

1. What is your immediate reaction to whether the person is moving counter-clockwise or clockwise in the picture?








2. If your first reaction was counter-clockwise, you are a left-brain thinker. If your first reaction was clockwise, you are a right-brain thinker.

FYI: I’m a right-brain thinker, apparently. That actually surprised me, but then I thought about how I approach a lot of problems and it suddenly seemed very plausible.

I went ahead and stared at it for another 30 seconds--BINGO!--I got it moving in the other direction. It really reminded me of those autostereograms that were so popular back in the 90's; you really have to relax your mind and visual to allow for that switch to take place.

Many thanks to Ryan Bretag for the link to this little mind bender.

R U a Right Clicka' or an iBook Flippa'?

This has to be one of the best (music) videos I've seen in a long time that does a great job of highlighting and poking fun of both sides.

PC and Mac fans, R U a Right Clicka' or an iBook Flippa'?



Enjoy!

"Gapminder" (which is actuallyTrendalyzer software)

Gapminder World 2006 is what everyone at TED was talking about. It's not the actual talk about "3rd world countries" that got everyone excited, it was the use of animated, visual data that got all the attention. To be clear, the software in question is not called Gapminder; Gapminder Foundation is the Swedish company that started this. What powers this kind of data mashup is the Trendalyzer software (acquired by Google in March 2007) that enables Gapminder to do what it's doing with the data, but really, you're not interested in all of that. You just want to see it working for yourself to understand that you want it.

About this Talk

You've never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called "developing world" using extraordinary animation software developed by his Gapminder Foundation. The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop. Asian countries, as colorful bubbles, float across the grid -- toward better national health and wealth. Animated bell curves representing national income distribution squish and flatten. In Rosling's hands, global trends -- life expectancy, child mortality, poverty rates -- become clear, intuitive and even playful. NEW: Download this talk in full SD resolution >>