When I read about this new employee-free convenience store (Link) yesterday via the Velcro City Tourist Board site, the first thing that came to my mind was how the Real and Virtual Worlds are really starting to mash up. All we need is for one of these Get & Go kiosk stores to accept virtual currency for people who are unaware of what’s happening in virtual worlds like EVE Online and Second Life to come face-to-face with the future. It won’t be people exchanging “game” currency for real world currency in the backend of some computer network, and it won’t be people using virtual bucks to order real things online. This is on the corner of Main and Exchange in Averageville. Watch the news coverage that’s sure to come.

Next up, automated Rapid-Manufacturing Marts. It won’t be long before we hear, “Hey honey, I’m stopping by the RM-Mart on the way home – need anything?”

{Image source: kioskmarketplace.com}

With UbiComp 2006 starting Monday, I’m curious if there will be panels discussing transreal Things similar to kirkyans. I’m expecting there will be, but I’m wondering why no one (at least on the sites I visit) is openly discussing something that seems rather obvious; why it is I don’t read anything about an inversion of the kirkyan concept. There’s lots of talk about blogjects and spimes, but not much more it seems.

The closest thing I’ve read is in Sterling’s old keynote address at Siggraph 2004 (Link). He hints at it, but in the mess of converting Rashid’s superficial “blobject” into something with real meaning, he more or less winds up taking a shotgun approach primarily centered on physical objects and industrial manufacturing without providing much more than what some people had already been discussing. Read the following excerpt: Continue reading →

It’s one thing to imagine these things are going to be developed and quite another to read about them. Wired carried an article yesterday titled “Experimental AI Powers Robot Army” (Link). If you’ve not read it, you should. If you need convincing, try these excerpts:

The software is a type of neural network with two special features. One introduces perturbations, or “noise,” into the network so that existing ideas get jumbled into new forms. The second is a filter that assesses the new ideas against existing knowledge and discards those that are unsuitable.

This reminds me of Rudy Rucker’s book “Software“. Continue reading →

Via 3pointD comes news that the virtual Adidas store is up and selling inside Second Life (Link). I just popped in to take a peek, and as I’ve come to expect from Rivers Run Red, the store is… white. But there is some grey too. In a few places.

Y’know, RRR should really give some thought to expanding their palette. It’s okay for a while, but it does get old. And everything I’ve seen of theirs so far – their home sim, the BBC event, a virtual film festival, and now this store – are all shades of white. It makes sense, actually. Making and applying textures is time-consuming and contributes to sim lag. But still.
Continue reading →

Yesterday I mentioned casting metal parts (reLink) so when I saw this video I couldn’t resist posting it here. Worth watching at least up to the point where they finish pouring. I may take an interest in new processes, but I still find the old-fashioned methods fascinating.