Like many people, I’ve known of second life for a while. Unlike many, I have studiously avoided it. Two things can happen. (1) I won’t like it, and then that time was wasted. (2) I might like it, and if there is anything I do not need, it is to fall into my computer, and out of my first life, for more hours a day.
It is not that I am unaware of its potential. At the OASIS seminar this spring, an IBM executive described building his international technology and innovation center in second life, where technology leaders from around the world, otr at least the IBM world meat to discuss emerging technologies.
More intriguing was a student in my youngest daughter’s class in high school. From her reports, a significant portion of one of her classmate’s high school income came from extensions written for and sold in second life. I only hope they were some of the G-rated extensions and not the more adult extensions that I hear make a significant portion of the Second Life economy.
No, it was something else that finally engaged me. Today was the regularly scheduled oBIX meeting. In mid meeting, as I am trying to keep notes, I got an email about oBIX. A friend of mine had met someone with a second life name of Eolus McMillian from Implenia, who are part of a very interesting project called EOLUS. Eolus McMillian, or one of his peers, has apparently talked to me in his first life persona about oBIX.
The Eolus One initiative is an effort to deliver ground-breaking solutions in efficient energy management, virtual operations centers, and integrated order management on Second Life using the IBM and SAP platform. Eolus reaches out to “First Life” through, (what else) web services.
Eolus includes a component of energy monitoring, including predictive failures end performance monitoring. Somewhere in there fits the VWCI – the Virtual World Control Interface. VWCI reaches out from Second Life into web services on control systems.
http://www.ugotrade.com/2007/07/02/eolus-makes-leap-to-3d-internet-on-second-life/
Now I’m going to have to sign in to find out what they are up to.