Monday, January 08, 2007

Video vs. Audio ... an iPod feature that I want! This weekend I spent some time with some friends that are into podcast and vidcasting.  As we discussed the huge explosion in Internet video content, I started to think about some of the implications.  I actually think that the growth of video content is about to drive even more audio content. My reasoning is that video is simply more difficult to consume than audio!  I can listen to audio almost anywhere, anytime.  I can listen while driving, working, skiing, etc.  Video on the other hand is a much more demanding sensory experience.  It requires that I commit far more attention to it, and I can't do it when driving, skiing ... well ... any time that I have to be present to things that might kill me.  :-) As I thought more about this, I realized that two things might emerge.  The first will be more attention being paid to the audio tracks being done for video content.  This will involve careful production of videos that can be listened to ... audio only.  The second thing will be new generations of multimedia players - like the iPod - that allow you to turn off the video when "listening only" to a video.  So when I go skiing, I can listen to a video without burning up my batteries displaying content that I'm not even watching! My request to Apple ... please give me an option to turn off the video display on my iPod when I want to ... so that I can listen when I can't watch! [tags: apple ipod podcasting vidcasting video players] 4:26:04 PM      Second Life ... still controlling the (virtual) world! Wow ... what a quick reaction ... but not quite enough, in my opinion. Linden Research quickly announced the release of the Second Life client into Open Source. I actually love the name of this blog post by phoenix linden ... Embracing the Inevitable.  It announces the release of their client software into Open Source, and where to go and get it.  There is an issue though ... they are still holding onto the control of the virtual world by not releasing the server software ... yet. As David Kirkpatrick at Fortune reports: While this initial step will open up what is essentially the user's window into Second Life for modification, it will leave Linden Lab in control of the proprietary software code for all Second Life's backend services - the server software that makes the world exist. However, executives say that the company's eventual intention is to release an open source version of that software as well, once it has improved security and other core functions. They say they have been preparing for the open source move for about three years. Yes ... this is not enough to provide a free and open platform for virtual existence. I do see where this is a prudent business move to create even more of a lock on the entire market though. Linden seems to now be pushing to create de-facto standards of their client APIs and protocols by creating a group of developers who write to this environment. My worry is if it took them three years to get the client out to Open Source, how long will it take them to get the server software out? I believe that the pressure is mounting as other well-funded companies continue to explore the space ... as this quote from IBM demonstrates: IBM Vice President for Technical Strategy Irving Wladawsky-Berger, a close student of Second Life, heard about the impending move toward open source from a Linden employee. "They have the right thought," he says, "which is that open source things work with the marketplace. But this is a field in its infancy that will be very competitive. Linden Lab might end up with a huge leadership position in a certain class of tools for virtual worlds, but those might not be the right tools for, let's say, a surgeon learning a new procedure in an immersive online environment. Second Life can be wildly successful, but so can others." I do not think that IBM and others are sitting still. Neither am I. I'm heading over to download the APIs reference materials now ... :-) P.S. I just thought of an interesting "client" to create for Second Life. What if there was an "augmented reality" client that was created that would overlay the Second Life world onto the real world? Maybe create someplace in the desert - like at Burning Man - that would allow you to have GPS tracking on yourself, and then wearing augmented reality goggles you would be seeing some portion of the Second Life world? As you wandered around the desert, your view would be augmented with the terrian of Second Life, and the other people wandering around in reality would be overlayed with their graphical avatar. Hmmmm ... [tags: secondlife second life opensource open source virtualreality virtual reality croquet] 12:24:02 PM

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