Well, it’s nice to see someone in the ad world thinking creatively on the cutting edge. The HBO series “The Sopranos” is finding a use for Google Maps in their efforts to promote the hit show. From the article over on Ad Age (Link – free registration required):

“The Google thing, we are really excited about,” said Courtney Monroe, senior VP-advertising, HBO. “It is a geo-visual tour of the TV series, a very interactive way to get people caught up. We love doing things that haven’t been done before, and the notion of super-imposing fictional events of the show on to real life locations gave us a huge kick.” According to Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer, the maps will go live on Feb. 27.

Now imagine if they were using Google Earth instead and posting 3D representations of important scene locations. Not a matter of “if”, only “when”.

Good news. The Maya2Google Mel script I mentioned earlier (Link) has been updated to support Maya 5. Big thanks to Theodore over at Eyebeam for the fast turnaround. He warned of some shortcomings using version 5.0 – no progress bar and an inability to turn off the compass – but Maya 5.01 at least has a progress bar (I didn’t check the compass). It works beautifully.

In any event, just to test the tool, I used some geometry I captured from Second Life: what I’ve been calling my “protoSat”. This object is basically a multi-use virtual structure (still under construction) – something for in-world lectures, streaming movies, and real-world commerce… among other things. Here’s a screencap of that object hovering just above the clouds inside Second Life:

Using Eyebeam’s OGLE tool (Link), I ripped the 3D data from the videostream and imported that into Maya 5.01. There wasn’t much clean-up. Here’s a screenshot of the entire thing (and my avatar – the tiny dot flying on top) after all the polygons have been “combined”:

And here is the unaltered object as shown inside Google Earth (I’m using the free version btw; after saving I simply launched GE using the resulting geometry file):

I’ve already started texturing the Second Life build. When that’s completed – along with some other things related to this virtual bit of architecture – I’ll revisit the Google Earth model and give it some textures. After that I’ll just need to figure out the easiest way to share this kind of thing with other people.

C|Net has posted a story about something which some of us are already aware. From the article (Link):

“We Know” isn’t your father’s country club. Sure, it has about 100 members, some of them wealthy, a few of them wildly wealthy. On the membership roster are at least 10 people who have the letter “C” in their job titles. And members of this particular club say they’ve joined so they can bond with friends and other like-minded people.

But there’s one big difference between “We Know” and famed clubs like San Francisco’s Olympic Club and the New York Athletic Club: “We Know” exists only in the virtual world. It’s one of many virtual guilds, or groups of kindred players, in the popular “World of Warcraft” online game.

This is the other side of the social situation I wrote about last year and posted on the SL Future Salon site (Link). It’s also related to a kind of follow-up to that same piece… also on the SLFS site (Link). So while inside Second Life I might be interacting with some kid in an underdeveloped nation, I also might be chatting with the head of some large corporation. Kinda puts the whole idea of Reputation in a new virtual light, huh?

{WorldChanging has posted an entry on this topic which might be of interest – Link}

Next Generation has a blurb (Link) on a report from Acacia Research Group with the following conclusion: “3D Visualization Market Expanding“. Dumbfounded by this bit of obviousness I headed over to the Acacia website to see what they said for myself. Only it turns out their Opportunities in Visualization, Simulation, & Training 2006-2011 report costs $2,995 dollars. Ouch. Fortunately for those of us averse to throwing money out of a moving vehicle, they have a preview (Link).

Assuming that a preview is a bit like a movie trailer in that it reveals the juiciest bits in order to entice people to shell out the big bucks, I go to the most obvious section: “Study Summary”. Here’s what that page says:

The overall market will grow significantly over the next five years, driven by a number of factors including:
– Lower-cost desktop simulation solutions
– Widely-available and cost-effective graphics and display solutions for mid-range VizSim systems.
– Increased demand for collaborative 3D design in industries such as architecture and land development.
—
Entertainment technology makers are facing huge opportunities alongside daunting obstacles:
– PC-based technologies more applicable than ever.
– Demand for collaboration and communications features provide rich opportunities for networking technologies.
– In-house software solutions tend to trump COTS products.

Wow. How did they reach those unexpectedly startling conclusions? Quick. Where’s my checkbook? [/sarcasm]

Having looked at that page a couple of times in sheer disbelief that they would charge three grand for the kind of insight easily found online for free (and sometimes on this blog), I notice that the facts, figures and quotes cited by Next Gen aren’t in sight. So where did they get that additional information? Turns out it’s on another page (Link). Gee, Next Gen. Way to cut and past and read a graph.

Folks, save your money. If you need this kind of information and you don’t already know the “summary” highlights provided and how it impacts your business, you’ll need the cash later after your business has died and you’re unemployed.

Somewhat related to a recent post about fashion and technology (Link), via WMMNA I made my way to the New Scientist website to read an article on a very cool high-tech material developed by a UK-based outfit called d3o. From the article (Link):

The resulting material exhibits a material property called “strain rate sensitivity”. Under normal conditions the molecules within the material are weakly bound and can move past each with ease, making the material flexible. But the shock of sudden deformation causes the chemical bonds to strengthen and the moving molecules to lock, turning the material into a more solid, protective shield.

Seems like I caught mention of this stuff already. Perhaps I’m recalling the Sells gloves as they seem familiar, although more likely I probably just read something similar in relation to military body armor. Anything which reminds me of Dune’s “Shield” technology is going to leave some trace in my memory. Cool stuff.

{Image source: d3o lab}