season 3 of the podcast is here and the next generation virtual world linden lab is building [working title “project sansar”] may or may not cause anxiety in second life users. our panel discusses emotions and speculates about the future of the metaverse. enjoy: sponsor spotlight: cube republic makes fabulous thingies the [infamous?] qz article that…
Tag: virtual reality
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 #78: emily [rerun]
a rerun of the interview with emily short, originally broadcast in show #23, topical as ever if you ask jo and i! enjoy: and some more related stuff: – emily [more about her background here] speaks at gdc: – linden lab’s ebbe and pete talk to variety about project sansar & sl gets a mention in…
show #76: tom
a new experiment on today’s show: we are sharing the raw material which will result in a [hopefully] compelling mini documentary video about digital ethnographer tom boellstorff. enjoy: and read on: – tom interviewed on geelab: – crazy #immersiveDrax meme – started by loki eliot from the original pic….. ….he made this one: Could not help…
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 #73: always in season [rerun]
the fabulous jackie olive joins us for this evergreen interview, director of “always in season”, a documentary about the history of lynching in the united states. what does this have to do with second life or virtual reality you ask? well, if vr is indeed an “empathy machine” [as nonny dela pena puts it] we…
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 #69: the young person’s guide to svvr 2015
two days of goggle [NOT just google by any meands] madness in san jose: svvr2015 aka the vrexpo on 40k square meters at the san jose convention center wrapped tuesday night. drax & assistant were there for one day & got a good sense of the state of vr in 2015: if you have the…
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 #65: brooke makes marketplace
brooke linden is a senior producer at linden lab and oversees all things marketplace, the amazon/etsy of virtual goods & services for second life. a website that delivers items to the tune of several million US$ into the hands of avatars all over the grid every day. enjoy the show: and now read on if you…
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 #59: gdc post mortem [with karl krantz]
the game developer conference in sf is over & the winner is: #vr [of course]! we have karl krantz give us the definitive overview – what matters and what doesn’t. enjoy: more reading you like? of course: – our new sponsor fatewear is giving drax some shoes: – black dragon viewer now available to download…
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 #57: teaching in sl = dancing with the power points?
today’s show title is [obviously!] a play on the [most common?] educational use of second life & yes, while we are painting with a broad brush again, let us be honest – have you not been invited to a dance party where folks ran through a power point at the same time? jo and i sure…
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 #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 #51: vr goes mainstream?
we are back, happy new year, it is 2015 indeed – possibly the year of vr going big & our first show features ben lang from the road to vr blog about what is hot and not straight from ces in las vegas, yeah baby: and more to read and watch while you listen and/or…
show #50: dmca
our 50th anniversary has tracy redangel and kitty o’toole discussing legal matters with us & fatima mekkaoui tells us her stories imvu. fascinating: now on to more reading if you will: – firestorm is on sl go and sl go can enter multiple grids – congrats to rob [who are you though?] for winning a leap…
show #49: cubey is back
this is the show for the n00b vr enthusiast: if you like to build the vr metaverse of the future, listen carefully to resident, entrepreneur and former linden lab employee cubey terra who is back in the largest user-created virtual world to…well: create some more stuff: additional reading/viewing material: – something BIG gonna happen with sl…
show #48: always in season
what a show: if you like to hear filmmaker jackie olive explain why for her documentary about the horrific history of lynching of african-americans in the united states second life is the perfect companion environment, fast forward to 20:35 and get into it. fascinating stuff all around: read on friends: – always in season documentary…
show #46: unter den lindens
drax went to linden lab hq in san francisco [because you know they are still the s*** in virtual worlds] and saw the light. or did he? what does the above sentence even mean? take a listen and hear straight from lindens, passionate lindens, who love to make the [digital] world a better place: and…
show #45: the good old days
a show full of oldbies today, talking about the rich media landscape in second life ca 2005-2009, led by – in the print section – the intrepid publishing and reporting team at the metaverse messenger. enjoy & get some perspective, my dear n00bs: and now please read on for more: – a sl griefing video gets…
show #42: been there, done that!
a second life charter member & a vr kid go into a virtual bar…allright: no lame jokes, because we do have a great show today, with leap motion cto david holz and the king of virtual landscaping, kriss lehmann. plus dk2, berlin, terry gilliam and of course the usual communist propaganda. enjoy: read on folks, read on: – awesome above thumbnail…
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 #39: argyle alligator
we have a new addition to the second life community: it is a tiny alligator from florida who engages in guerilla [or is it gorilla?] reporting on the ground all across the grid and he seems to capture the core of sl culture with his respectful questioning. or does he? we examine the man. plus a…
show #38: nothing but oculus!
sorry folks but we will talk second life and dk2 today & then we move on to oculus connect and crescent bay. that is it. oh wait: no, we also talk how to tackle sl messaging in the age of vr resurgence and teleporting in 4d. intrigued? well then, have a listen: good show? we…
show #37 virtual therapy?
is a virtual world able to provide help in the event of a crises, a psychological crises? can psychotherapy work in second life, with all the anonymity and lack of “face-to-face” communication? we discuss today with our guest dr. tammy fletcher the possibilities and pitfalls of virtual therapy. she ran the “wellness island” in-world between…
show #36: virtual harlem
a fascinating conversation with bryan carter, the mind behind virtual harlem, about identity and ethnicity in virtual reality, about time travel, immersive education and generally about where the train is headed: and here are links – as per usual – for your further investigating pleasure: – net neutrality: – microsoft buys minecraft [and not second life?]…
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 #33: tony parisi…again [because he is that good!] [rerun]
just as i finished putting the show together, guest tony parisi informed us that he has joined philip rosedale’s high fidelity virtual world venture as advisor. indeed perfect timing to replay the interview with tony from episode 26! enjoy & let us know in comments = who should control the metaverse of the future? philip, tony…
show #32: what about opensim? [rerun with maria korolov]
another rerun folks, a good one though: maria korolov from the hypergrid business blog talking about how open virtual worlds will fit in with the metaverse of the future. enjoy: some linkage below: – maria’s open letter to the lindens – raph koster at wikimania on online communities: – visit frau jo’s new hotel adlon…
show #31: esteban [rerun]
esteban winsmore [aka charliezzz] owns most of second life [according to himself that is] & henceforth claims the right to crash any event, live in every house and/or repossess every business in our beloved virtual world. today: rerun of a conversation with the controversial man/figure/entity. enjoy & discuss: more linkage to explore below: – esteban’s youtube…
show #30: cyberith…
the future of full immersion into virtual reality/worlds will have to include a way to explore digital spaces by walking, running and jumping. in other words: using more than your vision! even adolescent males, securely confined into their mom’s basement – gaming the day away – intuitively know that moving around a bit more is not a bad idea….
show #29: terms, terms, terms AGAIN [rerun]
linden lab has updated its controversial terms of service while we are on summer break and therefore we are running again an extensive interview with artist and activist richard a. goldberg. enjoy and join the discussion: for the most current news on the tos issue [until we are back with weekly live-to-tape shows] please check…
show #28: lunch with a lifer [part 1: stefan weiss]
muenchen is a popular tourist spot in real life and in second life it too has been thriving albeit only since 2007 and not 1158. the capital of bavaria in the virtual world is a lovingly put together group of sims. it recreates not only the landmark buildings around the historic marienplatz center but through events…
show #27 [rerun]: pamela ain’t buying the hype!
on behalf of myself and jo i apologize: we are aware that everyone is expecting an interview with dr.jacki morie today about past present and future of vr, but things during this summer hiatus of our beloved podcast have been crazy busy to say the least… the interview with jacki is in the can but there is simply no…
show #26: tony parisi on virtually anywhere
tony parisi is on the show today, father of VRML and webGL enthusiast and he says: “the web is the metaverse!” soooo my second life friends – perhaps in the light of iOS8 supporting webGL and firefox [& chrome] being able to [soon natively] support oculus rift it is time to leave our exclusive club and…
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 #24: immersive journalism
“virtual reality is an empathy machine!” says nonny dela pena and with each project of her unique approach to immersive journalism she proves anew: this technology can be used for so many more things other than simply blowing stuff up! enjoy the show: and here is some more reading/viewing material: – virtual guantanamo write-up in vanity…
show #22: anthropology in virtual worlds
welcome to the off-season set of shows [yes we ARE on vacation!]: pre-recorded interviews with fascinating newsmakers from all over the virtual reality map. we are starting this friday with tom boellstorff, professor of anthropology at uc irvine and author of many books including “coming of age in second life”. enjoy a great discussion on issues of “real” relevance…
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 #20: svvr [part 1: all vr’ed out!]
drax teleported into the very first silicon valley virtual reality conference and expo for a few hours while jo studied keynote speakers and panel discussions from afar: oh yes, the vr resurgence is in full swing & linden labbers were walking amongst the crowd of young enthusiasts, gently reminding them = there is a WORLD out…
show #19: back to the future of the metaverse
you know that old joke: a trans-humanist walks into second life and… well: in the case of our [slightly botched] taping yesterday a bunch of really nice trans-humanists wanted to discuss various aspects of the metaverse and subsequently crashed the sim. however some stuff we caught via google hangout audio stream so enjoy the leftovers……
the drax files radio hour 