show #141: rerun coz congratz!

we are so busy at the drax empire that we could not put together a fresh show for you guys this week but does it matter when we have such a terrific rerun with guest eric fassbender from atmosphaeres – makers of immersive audio/video?   some more info: check out eric’s offerings below [licensing includes over…

show #128: vr in germany [part2: mirek hancl]

dear listeners: as we are struggling to unplug from a world where trump is president-elect enjoy great food for thought from an inspiring educator who is not afraid of tech in the classroom: read on now: this is not a vr simulation: trump really is president and it is not palmer luckey’s fault [alone] This isn't…

show #122: sl13b [and then we on vacation!]

[****news flash: jo and drax are on podcast vacation until 10/15 > please enjoy the archives & thx for your support***]   our last show before the summer break = we were LIVE celebrating 13 years of our wonderful, gigantic, mad, creative, frustrating, beautiful world… great guests, great exhibits, still up for you to check…

show #121: leftovers (svvr 2016 part2)

so much fabulous “tape” was found two months after visiting svvr 2016 in san jose: a woman who was married in vr in the 90ties, a 360 video documentarian who went to chernobyl and a lot more. this is the last show before the summer break so here is a full dose of deep thought…

show #120: sex and virtuality

and here is the topic we avoided for 119 shows = sex in virtual worlds and vr! great guests from sl and REAL life: an interview with psychic reader and sex connosieur monavie voight starts at 9:41 & the conversation with vr porn star ela darling at 25:15. i highly recommend listening to the entire show though…

show #117: project alice, ginsu + kent

a shorter show because you guys got a longer one last week. sorry… but awesome “tape” from svvr 2016 = vr with haptics from noitom, ginsu yoon former linden with strong positive words on the future and vr philosopher kent bye offers even more insights than last time he was on the show. enjoy: more…

show #113: fantasy faire 2016

we all know it: second life has a lot of impact, be it for the creative individual that thrives making things or for large institutions which use the world to fundraise. today on the show: all about fantasy faire 2016 and how fantastic virtual creations can help battle cancer in the physical world! more info on…

show #112: the state of vr = ready for primetime? [pt2]

…and we continue taking stock of the vr “movement” as it stands today, of course from a sl vantage point. and that means: old grumpy pioneers complaining about new kids on the block. or not. judge for yourself: we discussed a lot of things and were generally all over the place [what’s new?] so here…

show #111: the state of vr = ready for primetime? [pt1]

our guests josh farkas and rob crasco discuss – when they get a word in edge-wise – what the state of consumer vr is in april 2016 vis-a-vis sl. enjoy: linkage below: our guests josh farkas from cubicle ninjas and roblem vr aka rob crasco fb will spy on you [when you wear oculus] and…

show #109: wainbrave bernal

a show about how vr was hyped in 1989, a show with a sl pioneer and his idea on learning in virtual environments, a show that is great and pretty much an hour long. take a listen [and sorry for the mediocre audio – was a noisy recording venue]: reading material below: our guest wainbrave…

show #91: celia pearce on everything!!

celia pearce teaches game design and game history, she is a pirate in second life, wrote books on play and digital communities & of course co-founded the indiecade festival which is going on in los angeles right as we are posting this very show. enjoy a candid conversation with an important thinker in the space of…

show #90: voices of vr

the ultimate show, where a former radio person – now podcaster drax – interviews a former documentarian – now podcaster kent – about podcasting. and all that happening on a podcast sans goggles although the frame around it is vr and vws. enjoy & be inspired by the fabulous kent bye who seems to have…

show #89: vr kids

today a look at how vr can help kids with physical disabilities or temporary impairments. fascinating. and more of course. and high fidelity and more…of course: reading desired? here we go: havok engine bought by microsoft hololens dev kit for 3k [us$ not l$ ! ! ! ] tony parisi has a new job and…

show #88: oc2

we talk oculus connect analysis = so many revelations about what they are working on. will they be the standard system for vr development or is there space for other hmds? what does watching major studio fare in vr have to do with democratization of creativity? guests joyce bettencourt and luann phillips have a lot…

show #85: vrla redux

the vrla summer expo was big and full of gear that thousands of nerds salivated over on august 29th in the los angeles convention center. does the fact that the huffington post and other media reported on the event mean vr has arrived in the mainstream or do we need palmer luckey on the cover of…

show #82: catching up

a new linden lab project and older [yet NOT expired] tape from svvr 2015 are on today’s drax files radio menu. we do hope you enjoy words of wisdom from some bright minds [yes, we mean the guests, not us!] and more to read on the matters discussed below: adele kling remembered project sansar has started from fusion’s patrick…

show 79: harry potter in sl vr [rerun]

last rerun before season 3 hits the drax files radio hour & jo yardley will be back. today a conversation with about mischief managed, a harry potter roleplaying operation in second life. enjoy: – our new sponsors from avazines – they also have  brightmetallic and toxic candy in their portfolio… – our featured guests corwin lacourte…

show #75: hifi

you may have guessed it [from the title i am sure] = we are in a different virtual world this week and as such we have on the show today a gaggle of special guests indeed including one philip rosedale in a sit-down interview conducted at an actual physical location. enjoy an overview of high…

show #72: talkin’ bout virtual money with chris [rerun]

while drax is digesting his experiences at augmented world expo and jo enjoys the 6th anniversary of 1920’s berlin, let’s listen to christopher colosi [formerly of linden lab under the colossus name] explain his take on virtual currency world domination via his new startup gloebit: this interview first aired on show #40, good discussion going on in…

show #71: jayjay & uwa art curation [rerun]

jayjay jegathesan works for the university of western australia among other things in the capacity of a curator of immersive art, which is often made by people with a wide range of disabilities. in this interview which we originally aired in show #54 he talks about the empowering nature of a virtual world, especially in…

show #70: all about vw therapy [rerun]

our guest [licensed marriage and family therapist]tammy fletcher aka avalon birke in sl dispels some myths about providing counseling services in virtual worlds. fascinating: we hope you enjoyed the show, more on tammy’s rl operation is here. while drax files radio is on summer mode – make sure to read the relevant blogs linked here to…

show #67: reporting on sl & getting it right!

stories about sl seem to be getting more in depth and nuanced – is the pendulum swinging back towards positive articles after the many-year-long hype backlash? do journalists [again] realize there is more to our world than playing barbie and ken? check out how our guest cecilia d’anastasio got her piece “avatar irl” about a transgender…

show #66: fantasy faire

…and we taped live from the massive operation called fantasy faire 2015 which benefits relay for life and runs through this weekend. go there after you listened to the show [which also features bill glover from bright canopy]: and a few things to read up on are below as per usual: – bright canopy is…

show #64: pathfinder

john “pathfinder” lester formerly linden was creating communities for people with disabilities at harvard medical school when 3d persistent virtual worlds and vr headsets were still a dream and/or simply way to expensive to ever get into the hands of the average user. in the early days at the lab he was instrumental in explaining a concept…

show #62: roleplay all the way

[***breaking: sl go is no more since sony purchased onlive on april 2nd & discontinued all streaming services the company provided. we address it in the show at the end & have former onlive insiders give more context next week***] harry potter inspired role-play: if that is your cup of tea, the ONLY place to…

show #61: ranting with niran

everyone can create an sl viewer and niran actually did it: a young self-taught german furry and tinkerer sprung into action indeed. so behold, because today: the man behind black dragon! want to read? below please: – ready player one to be directed by steven spielberg – but when checked today = no more ready…

show #60: oz + ebbe = full steam ahead

today on the show = linden ceo ebbe altberg reveals next gen vw secrets & director of sl engineering oz linden [at 35:25] confidently addresses educators at vwbpe. exciting times: detailed reading linkage below as per usual: – daniel voyager summarizes the main points of ebbe linden’s keynote – inara pey transcribes ebbe’s speech [how…

show #58: beau hindman has seen it all!

game journalist beau hindman has been in second life since 2004 and knows what he is talking about. that is why we have him, finally! also = gdc is full of head mounted displays and free render engines. good or bad or neutral news for sl/ll? you be the judge: read, watch, listen: – our…

show #56: marketing sl

on the show today: canary beck is telling us how second life should be marketed and she has such good points. result? we had to go way over the hour alloted to the program…..well, that and drax’ 8th rez day is happening. enjoy: now educate yourself further via them links below: – immersis projector lets…

show 55: one billion rising…

a live show today – with a rather large audience and all – minimally edited for the full authentic glory: if you caught this show before saturday 2/14th – head on over to the one billion rising sims in sl now and participate to end violence against women! and of course you can read on…

show #54: freedom

we know that a creative virtual world like second life is empowering but jj zinfanwe from the university of australia will tell us today how special sl is for people with disabilities or chronic illness. all that plus xiola linden on why she loves to manage virtual communities: want more context? click the linx below: – ll…

show #53: kaya’s passion

kaya angel is a well-known and respected content creator in second life. his recent video where he shares his passion for creation and community is a great testament for the uniqueness of a user-empowering virtual world. jo is not in the house today so i was able to talk with kaya for 40+ minutes about…

show #52: sl looks good today!

a fab reaffirming show with some second life enthusiasts from madpea games. that is it! enjoy: and now read on to get the gist: – our new sponsor maven homes – get a leap motion by telling us a bad marketing idea from sl [and read all about dragonfly on roadtovr] – news from daily…

show #41: confessions of a lifer

on the show today we have a well-known and smart 10 year old: salazar jack aka justin esparza has been active in second life for a decade now and he knows a thing or two about what worked and what did not in a user-centric vw. lindens – are you listening? plus: dennis harper from…

show #40: chris, the money guy!

christopher colosi was once the ben bernanke of the virtual universe second life, setting policy, dealing with land barons and guiding a team that handles a 500 million us$ annual economy. now he is back with gloebit, a digital currency platform, ready to facilitate any [virtual] goods and services transaction. a fascinating conversation about “real” vs….

show #35: jacki morie

season 2 has landed and we get an overview of 25 years of vr from none other than dr. jacki morie – she sends avatars to outer space, she is a maker of virtual humans and inventor of a scent collar to enhance your virtual life. enjoy [interview starts at around 20:30 if you want to…

show #34: is sl vr? [rerun interview with ben lang]

one more rerun before season 2 starts, folks! a conversation with ben lang from the roadtovr blog centering around the question if one can be  truly immersed in secondlife or not. enjoy and discuss: now read/watch [before you comment]: – mona eberhardt’s post about refocusing the vr debate –  our sponsor leaps into vr but…

show #25: sl11b

what a week [again]: ll announces a new virtual world is in the works while second life turns 11. the situation seems akin to a young family welcoming another child into the world while the first born is not sure if he/she should be thrilled or depressed upon this news. anyhow – jo and i were…

show #21: svvr [part 2: lindens with goggles]

lindens were spotted [above l to r: ed mason, gamefacelabs, voidpointer, catalyst]at the recent svvr con/expo. most certainly they were dragged in front of a mic and they had a lot to say about the recent vr resurgence + goggles + redefining the sl narrative! enjoy the show: yes, this is indeed our last live [to…

show #15: reconnecting with education

i am sure we can all agree that education in virtual worlds – the immersion into science, art and/or history – is one of the most important “unique affordances” of second life [and other such platforms]. only natural then for the new regime at linden lab to emphasize their eagerness to embrace the diverse community…

show #13: terms, terms, terms….

we are tackling two big challenging things this week: recording the show with our oculi on while trying not to bump into physical objects AND we are discussing the linden lab terms of service. brace yourself and listen to the full hour before commenting, deal? and additional reading material as per usual below: – sl…