What is a Music URL and how to set it on your land?

When you have your own land in Second Life, and you have all the rights on that land, you can easily set your own music.
In the pie menu, which you find by right clicking on the land, you will see “About land”, and than under “Media” the “Music URL”.
But what is that?

According the Wikipedia:
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) formerly known as Universal Resource Locator, is a technical, Web-related term used in two distinct meanings:

• In popular usage, including many technical documents, it is a synonym for Uniform Resource Identifier (URI);
• Strictly, the idea of a uniform syntax for global identifiers of network-retrievable documents was the core idea of the World Wide Web. In the early times, these identifiers were variously called "document names", "Web addresses" and "Uniform Resource Locators". These names were misleading, however, because not all identifiers were locators, and even for those that were, this was not their defining characteristic. Nevertheless, by the time the RFC 1630 formally defined the term "URI" as a generic term best suited to the concept, the term "URL" had gained widespread popularity, which has continued to this day
  

In this case the URL is a music URL, which can be found on the Internet, and allows you to choose from a range of music channels, radio channels, or even your own URL.
When you search on the Internet for music URL’s , you will find thousands of addresses, which you can download and put in your music stream on the grid. The only necessity is that you need the right of the land that you own.
You can also read the post on the official Linden blog about “How to” manage the pie menu of your land.
Just download one of next URL’s and put them in your music stream. It should be that simple.

Top 40 pop rock : http://www.977music.com/
Soft smooth jazz : http://www.sky.fm/smoothjazz/
Ambient chill : http://somafm.com/
Top 40 dance pop rock : http://www.frequence3.fr/
Hip Hop Urban rap : http://www.hot108.com/
Vocal Trance dance pop : http://www.di.fm/
80’s pop rock oldies : http://www.sky.fm/
Alternative pop rock : http://www.idobiradio.com/
Dance Trance Techno House : http://www.pulsradio.com/
Smooth jazz : http://www.smoothjazz.com/

UPDATE: Apparently it is not that simple, according to Minto Gamba. He linked a pretty good explanation in the comments, but you will be able to find it also here.

UPDATE 2 (01-26-08): If it is still not clear to you, watch the explanation of Alexander Burgess, on his blog. As he is DJ in Second Life, he knows what he is talking about.;)

Nanotechnology in Second Life

"Nanotechnology refers broadly to a field of applied science and technology whose unifying theme is the control of matter on the atomic and molecular level in scales smaller than 1 micrometre, normally 1 to 100 nanometers, and the fabrication of devices within that size range. Examples of nanotechnology in modern use are the manufacture of polymers based on molecular structure, and the design of computer chip layouts based on surface science. Despite the great promise of numerous nanotechnologies such as quantum dots and nanotubes, real commercial applications have mainly used the advantages of colloidal nanoparticles in bulk form, such as suntan lotion, cosmetics, protective coatings, and stain resistant clothing." So far from the Wikipedia.

Nanotechnology Island has launched in Second Life with the goal to establish a place for the Nano Science and Technology communities to come together and to bring key ideas and research into public discussion.
Nanoscience and technology like virtual worlds are frequently cited as “disruptive” technologies. These fields should evolve in relationships between scientists, engineers, policymakers and regulators in a global setting with the opportunity for public debate and engagement.

Dave Taylor, of the National Physical Laboratory (in the UK), explains that some of the key objectives are to:
provide resources to nanotechnology-related individuals and organizations to help them get started in SL: mentoring, technical help, access to shared land and facilities, and subsidised SL development. This last part means that NPL will help cover the costs of developers for SL projects that are approved for display on Nanotechnology island.

I know this article will only interest few people who reads this blog, but what is interesting is that we see more and more companies , developers, sciences, coming into Second Life, finding the basics to develop and to grow in a virtual environment.
For me, it is not the content of this article, which is so important, rather than the news that this science is having interests in the virtual world to do some research through this medium.
And that is keeping my curiosity alive, to find new aspects coming into Second Life, and to see the virtual world grow, and be part of it, as one of the first to know what new is coming up, thanks to our Second Life, which than becomes again our first life.

Happy Birthday!!!

My Second Life good friend and colleague blogger, Pieter Bosch, from secondlifecrew.be, has his birthday in RL today. We had a small celebration at my place last night. Unfortunately, it was Pieter himself, who told us only last night that it would be his birthday today, so we did not have the opportunity to put something together. But as a day is lasting 24 hours.......
Pieter, congratulations!!!!

IBM and Linden Lab Launch Collaboration to Further Advance the 3D Internet

From IBM press release
As more enterprises and consumers explore the 3D Internet, the ecosystem of virtual world hosts, application providers, and IT vendors need to offer a variety of standards-based solutions in order to meet end user requirements. To support this, IBM and Linden Lab, the operator of Second Life, are committed to exploring the interoperability of virtual world platforms and technologies, and plan to work with industry-wide efforts to further expand the capabilities of virtual worlds.
IBM and Linden Lab plan to work together on issues concerning the integration of virtual worlds with the current Web; driving security-rich transactions of virtual goods and services; working with the industry to enable interoperability between various virtual worlds; and building more stability and high quality of service into virtual world platforms. These are expected to be key characteristics facing organizations which want to take advantage of virtual worlds for commerce, collaboration, education and other business applications.

More specifically, IBM and Linden Lab plan to collaborate on:

• "Universal" Avatars: Exploring technology and standards for users of the 3D Internet to seamlessly travel between different virtual worlds. Users could maintain the same “avatar” name, appearance and other important attributes (digital assets, identity certificates, and more) for multiple worlds. The adoption of a universal “avatar” and associated services are a possible first step toward the creation of a truly interoperable 3D Internet.

• Security-rich Transactions: Collaborating on the requirements for standards-based software designed to enable the security-rich exchange of assets in and across virtual worlds. This could allow users to perform purchases or sales with other people in virtual worlds for digital assets including 3D models, music, and media, in an environment with robust security and reliability features.
  

• Platform stability: Making interfaces easier to use in order to accelerate user adoption, deliver faster response times for real-world interactions and provide for high-volume business use.
  

• Integration with existing Web and business processes: Allowing current business applications and data repositories – regardless of their source – to function in virtual worlds is anticipated to help enable widespread adoption and rapid dissemination of business capabilities for the 3D Internet.
  

Open standards for interoperability with the current Web: Open source development of interoperable formats and protocols. Open standards in this area are expected to allow virtual worlds to connect together so that users can cross from one world to another, just like they can go from one web page to another on the Internet today.

This would be a giant step in virtual world, to my opinion, to have one avatar, and have the possibility to enter and travel with that same avatar other virtual worlds, without having the need to adjust the appearance.
The effort would first focus on studying situations where the ability to travel between virtual worlds is most in demand. The nuts and bolts of how to make different software work together will come later.
IBM and Linden announced the partnership ahead of a virtual worlds conference that starts in San Jose, California on Wednesday and is expected to discuss the formation of industry standards and other issues. Most participants are start-ups but the event has also attracted services and hardware heavyweights like IBM and Cisco , as well as software and entertainment giants Microsoft and Sony.

The event itself is seen as something of a coming-of-age milestone for an industry that is starting to be taken seriously as a provider of useful business tools and not just a quirky offshoot of the video game sector.

1.000.000 Linden Dollar Design Contest in Second Life

In the next months visitors of the Design Me island can enter their furniture design and have a shot at one million Linden Dollars!
All residents can take part to the contest, even beginners, as there is a special building where you can find instruction video's, free objects and examples to design your own chair, table or lamp.
All visitors can vote weekly for the design of the contestants. The weekly winners have the possibility to win one million Linden Dollars in the final on November 1st!!
What are you waiting for?

Endemol, global leader in television and other audiovisual entertainment in RL, has now taken the option to further research and develop the possibilities of virtual worlds. They think this tool can be attractive to let consumers interact with their brand.
More and more, we see companies moving into the virtual world. It is not yet a boom effect, but will sure have his influences in the development of the virtual worlds.

New pictures of the Crimson Shadow Rezzable

I took some new pictures of the Crimson Shadow Rezzable in Second Life, yet I did not had the time to explore the SIM. So I need to get back there in a while. More picture to come then.
Check out the set in my flickr stream.

Another theme at The Spin Lounge

Join us at the Spin Lounge this Sunday for another funky evening in Second Life.

Linden Lab admits

"Linden Lab has made more mistakes about Second Life than anyone else ever has.

That shouldn't be a startling admission: When you are the one developing a product or service, you have more opportunities to make both right and wrong decisions about what you’re making. This is probably true about any complex product offering - the maker makes more mistakes than anyone else because no one else has so many chances to screw things up! What’s different about Linden Lab is that this place is more transparent about its operations than any other private company." This is from the official blog....

It is the first time that I see Linden Lab admits of making mistakes, and realizing that the residents of the grid, are indeed a great help for them, to improve Second Life. In other words, they need us, we need them!!

But to be honest, how did they work in the past? Very poor, we must say. Everyone will agree that communication is a main problem at Linden Lab. Obvious they want to do something about that, and that is good news.

But if they are saying "...that this place is more transparent about its operations...", than I have to say, it is good when you are planning this, but do not tell us that it was like that in the past, as I think that we should have known a long time ago what Linden Lab's plans were with the VAT, the gambling issue.....where we all have blogged about many times, but had the feeling they were not listening at all.

Let us keep an open and positive mind, and see what such a message can lead to.

As usual you will read the pro's and contra's, but, do we like Second Life or not? When the answer is positive, I think we should appreciate all the efforts Linden lab is planning to make, and has made. As, if it wasn't for them, I would have never known my new friends in SL. I hope they are realizing that with this message, they are saying, that they are learning from the past and will inform us in time what is going to happen in the future (when does Windlight come back?;)))

Born as a female avatar in Second Life

Several months ago I read an article about a female avatar coming into Second Life. I saved that article, because I thought it was written in a funny way, a nice perspective on how and what a female avatar can experience when first coming to the grid. And now, I was cleaning up my files a bit, and stumbled on this article. I translated it, and think it is interesting to share.
It is about a Dutch girl, originally written by a Dutch girl, who is coming on the grid, not knowing what to do, and how to do things at first.

"In Second life you are born as a type of dummy, with insipid confection clothing and hair as the average mother in law has. You can shape your avatar, legs longer/shorter, look larger/smaller, buttocks more thickly/thinner, etc., but nevertheless you remain a grey mouse, a type of factory implementation of yourself.

Therefore I teleported myself to a small shopping street, and I treat myself on an entirely new look. I redeem a splendid slightly tainted skin, a sumptuous coupe, radiating blue eyes and cool “hud”, a complete attitude type with among other things a sexy walk. Furthermore I purchased the basic clothing. A couple of nail trousers, a couple of shirts, an elegant skirt, a couple of high heals and a bikini.

To dress yourself is easier said than done. If I click with my right mouse button on “wear” on my jeans, I have suddenly a box on my head. Hmm. I look around if nobody sees me, where the box swerves tremendously in the space, nearly hitting the face of an other avatar, called Jesee. It seems, you need to unpack the new trousers, before wearing them. Jesee was already longer in Second life, and explained to me patiently how to get these things on.

But following his indications, I found myself suddenly totally naked. I was feeling uncomfortably. My hands became slowly clammy whereas I covered myself clicking my mouse button. Rapidly trousers. O wait, first underwear of course. Not that there is much to be seen, because I still looked as a dummy. But nevertheless. I felt myself like a teenager, uncomfortably, and most of all, completely nude.

After some awkward trials, I am dressed. You always have to pay for something, also in Second life, it proves to be. Jesee finds that I have, however, a nice ass, and believe that he has deserved a thank you. Resolutely he steps to a blue ball a bit further. “Now you must click with your right mouse button on that pink ball”, he said. For I could realize what was happening, he was standing with his trousers on his knees and I gave, as a professional prostitute a blowjob. “Pardon?!” I said. (talking with your mouth full is no problem in Second life). “Mmmm” Jesee answered. “Beat it!” I thought, and I teleported myself to Amsterdam.

AIk country on Amsterdam CS.

Still a little bit confused, that I was just standing there.

I am a new born, felt myself as a teenager already after half an hour, but your life experience will not go that fast here.

How to make friends here? It is quiet busy, strange birds fly by, beautiful women waggled along and tough men walked by. Hands were moving very quick on an imaginary keyboard. Some are standing with bowed head and their poor slack along their body. “Away “it said in the balloon above their head. Is it ok here to address yourself to someone? Or is that not properly? Very rapidly this problem would solve itself.

Baston landed on my head. “Oops, sorry”, he excused himself.

Baston has a mysterious appearance, brown hair with white locks of hair, a tainted skin, detonation-blue eyes and super-sharp jaw line. Baston is an elder in Second Life-terms, he has been around here for already two years and knows the most beautiful places. His favorite place is between the moon and the stars, and in a wink we fly to it.

From a large flat platform we had a nice view on the universe. Underneath we could see clearly a light ball with spots on it : Mother Earth. It was turning slowly around. O yes, it is true, real life also continues.

Back in Real life, I cycled along the streets in Amsterdam to the central station.

It is quiet busy on the square, strange birds fly by, beautiful women waggled along and tough men walked by. I can see in my mind, avatars landing on other men’s head.. In fact I would not be surprised when someone should suddenly start typing in the air. I see blue and pink balls in the corner, where you can kiss secretly. Look! There is someone running with a box on his head! Certainly a newbie. And I see myself, Julie, my arms slacked down, and a small text balloon above my head:” Away”"

Praga Kahn in Second Life

Sunday afternoon, there was a very special event going on , at the Strawberry Island in Second Life.
After the two previous sold out tours “The next Dimension” en “Code Red”, Praga Khan launches, from October 25th, their third innovative show “Frame By Frame, "Where Art meets Technology”, and is to be seen till December.
Next to the integration of different musical and artistic performances, several innovative technologies will be used in their shows such as: intelligent clothing, innovative 3D projections, avatars, virtual worlds, etc...
And that is where SL comes in.....

The Belgian group Praga Kahn, was preparing their tour, with some video clips taken in the virtual world. The invite for this event came rather late, otherwise I would surely have attend this occasion, but according to secondlifecrew.be it was a success.

During their show, the audience will be able to see and meet the virtual world on a screen, with snapshots and clips, taking in Second Life.
Singer of the group, Maurice Engelen, was of course present at this happening, with his avatar, and gave some explanation, while the technicians were making the takes for the clip.
The whole happening took about one hour, and we are curious to see how the results will be with our friends avatars in the picture.;))
Let's hope they will put the clip on their website.