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Second Lives
''Second Lives: A Journey Through Virtual Worlds'' is a 2007 book about virtual community, written by author Tim Guest. Contents Tim Guest examines life in virtual worlds. He finds some people who claim to have found love and friendship without ever having really met, he looks at companies who have used these virtual worlds to do business including IBM and the Metaverse evangelist Ian Hughes, also the developers Rivers Run Red, who have pioneered virtual worlds for brands and business use. Guest looks at the US military's virtual model to train its warriors to fight, and looks at virtual worlds in South Korea. Guest is worried about the 'dark side' of these worlds with their criminals, mafiosos, prostitutes, hackers and terrorists. This book seeks to address the question: are virtual worlds life enhancing or mere escapism. Guest in his virtual personality, 'Errol Mysterio', explores these worlds. Film adaptation In 2007, director David Fincher worked with screenwriter Peter S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virtual Community
A virtual community is a social network of individuals who connect through specific social media, potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are online communities operating under social networking services. Howard Rheingold discussed virtual communities in his book, '' The Virtual Community'', published in 1993. The book's discussion ranges from Rheingold's adventures on The WELL, computer-mediated communication, social groups and information science. Technologies cited include Usenet, MUDs (Multi-User Dungeon) and their derivatives MUSHes and MOOs, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), chat rooms and electronic mailing lists. Rheingold also points out the potential benefits for personal psychological well-being, as well as for society at large, of belonging to a virtual community. At the same time, it showed that job engagement positively influences virtual communities of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Guest
Tim Guest (16 July 1975 – 31 July 2009) (also known as Yogesh and Errol Mysterio) was an English author and journalist. Early childhood When he was four, Guest was left in the UK by his psychologist mother, Anne Geraghty, who went to India and became involved with the emergent Rajneesh movement, founded by the Indian mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, now known as Osho. She returned from her trip dressed all in orange and with a new name: Ma Prem Vismaya, a Sanskrit name which translates as "wonderful love". She dyed Tim's clothes orange and gave him a ''mala'', a bead necklace with picture of Bhagwan. Tim was given the new name—Swami Prem Yogesh, meaning 'Love of Yoga'. Tim and his mother moved to Medina, a large sannyas commune in Suffolk, England that ran from 1981 to 1985, here Tim went to the commune school, where English and maths were compulsory and history and politics were not taught. Guest spent his youth moving between Osho communes in England, India, Germany and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virtual Worlds
A virtual world (also called a virtual space) is a computer-simulated environment which may be populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the virtual world, participate in its activities and communicate with others. These avatars can be textual, graphical representations, or live video avatars with auditory and touch sensations. Virtual worlds are closely related to mirror worlds. In a virtual world, the user accesses a computer-simulated world which presents perceptual stimuli to the user, who in turn can manipulate elements of the modeled world and thus experience a degree of presence. Such modeled worlds and their rules may draw from reality or fantasy worlds. Example rules are gravity, topography, locomotion, real-time actions, and communication. Communication between users can range from text, graphical icons, visual gesture, sound, and rarely, forms using touch, voice command, and balance senses. Massively multi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Hughes (aka Epredator)
Ian Hughes, also known as epredator, (born 30 or 31 August 1967 in Norfolk, England) is a British metaverse evangelist, technology industry analyst, and television personality. In 2006, he set about leading a group of like-minded individuals and subsequently many thousands of colleagues at IBM into virtual worlds like Second Life, and beyond. (Hughes' effort in Second Life, where he is known as Epredator Potato was documented extensively in a 2007 report.) This sparked a massive growth in interest from enterprises and press alike. Hughes was a public figure in Web 2.0 and, formerly, a blogger on Eightbar, a site maintained by former and current IBM employees on the fringes of innovation within their labs. Early years and career A self-described programmer since he was 14, Hughes attended Oriel Grammar School in Gorleston, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and De Montfort University (formerly Leicester Polytechnic) in Leicester, Leicestershire, where he received a BSc in Info ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Fincher
David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fincher was the co-founder of Propaganda Films, a film and music video production company. Born in Denver, Colorado, Fincher was interested in filmmaking at an early age. He directed numerous music videos, most notably Madonna's " Express Yourself" in 1989 and " Vogue" in 1990, both of which won him the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction. He made his feature film debut with ''Alien 3'' (1992), which garnered mixed reviews, followed by the thriller '' Seven'' (1995), which was better received. Fincher found success with ''The Game'' (1997) and greater success with ''Fight Club'' (1999), with the latter eventually becoming a cult classic. In 2002, he returned to prominence with the thriller ''Panic Room'' starring Jodie Foster. Finc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Straughan
Peter Straughan (born 1968) is a British playwright, screenwriter and author, based in the north-east of England. He was writer-in-residence at Newcastle's Live Theatre Company. Whilst there, Live staged his plays, ''Bones'' and ''Noir''. Both of these plays have displayed Straughan's talent for writing dark, twisted and witty stories. Early life His first ambition was to be a professional musician and he achieved this while playing bass guitar with Newcastle-based band "The Honest Johns". He spent four years touring and recording with the band through the late 1980s and into the early 1990s before leaving to take up full-time education at Newcastle University. While Peter was a student he was also a member of the band Cactusman. Peter wrote the song "Killer", which appeared on the CD album ''North of London'', a collection of music by North East bands released through Newcastle Arts. Screenwriting Straughan co-wrote the 2006 feature film, ''Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution'' and adapt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. As a public figure, Pitt has been cited as one of the most powerful and influential people in the American entertainment industry. Pitt first gained recognition as a cowboy hitchhiker in the Ridley Scott road film '' Thelma & Louise'' (1991). His first leading roles in big-budget productions came with the drama films '' A River Runs Through It'' (1992) and '' Legends of the Fall'' (1994), and the horror film '' Interview with the Vampire'' (1994). He gave critically acclaimed performances in David Fincher's crime thriller '' Seven'' (1995) and the science fiction film '' 12 Monkeys'' (1995). The latter earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and his first Academy Award nomination. Pitt found greater commercial success ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen (born 13 October 1971) is an English actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He is best known for his creation and portrayal of the fictional satirical characters Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Brüno Gehard, and Admiral General Aladeen. He adopts a variety of accents and guises for his characters and interacts with unsuspecting subjects who do not realise they have been set up. At the 2012 British Comedy Awards, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award and accepted the award in-character as Ali G. In 2013, he received the BAFTA Charlie Chaplin Britannia Award for Excellence in Comedy. In 2018, ''The Times'' named him among the 30 best living comedians. Baron Cohen has produced and/or performed in comedic films such as '' Ali G Indahouse'' (2002), '' Borat'' (2006) and its sequel ''Borat Subsequent Moviefilm'' (2020), '' Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby'' (2006), '' Brüno'' (2009), and '' The Dictator'' (2012). He has also appeared in dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Life
''Second Life'' is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user created content within a multi player online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Francisco-based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003, it saw rapid growth for some years and in 2013 it had approximately one million regular users. Growth eventually stabilized, and by the end of 2017 the active user count had declined to "between 800,000 and 900,000". In many ways, ''Second Life'' is similar to massively multiplayer online role-playing games; nevertheless, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective". The virtual world can be accessed freely via Linden Lab's own client software or via alternative third-party viewers. ''Second Life'' users, also called ' residents', create virtual representations of themselves, called '' avatars'', and are able to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip Rosedale
Philip Rosedale (born September 29, 1968) is an American entrepreneur who founded Linden Lab, which develops and hosts the virtual world '' Second Life''. Biography Early life Rosedale was born in San Diego, California, in 1968. He took an interest in computers, technology, and virtual reality from an early age. He started his own company selling database systems to small businesses at 17, used the proceeds to fund his college education and ultimately earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics and computer science from the University of California, San Diego. Career In 1995, Rosedale created an Internet video conferencing product (called "FreeVue"), which was later acquired by RealNetworks, where (in 1996) he went on to become vice president and chief technology officer.http://lindenlab.com/about/management#rosedale Linden Lab profile of Rosedale A year later Rosedale left RealNetworks and founded Linden Lab, named after a street in Hayes Valley (a neighborhood in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Virtual World Communities
Virtual may refer to: * Virtual (horse), a thoroughbred racehorse * Virtual channel, a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel (or range of frequencies) on which the signal travels * Virtual function, a programming function or method whose behaviour can be overridden within an inheriting class by a function with the same signature * Virtual machine, the virtualization of a computer system * Virtual meeting, or web conferencing * Virtual memory, a memory management technique that abstracts the memory address space in a computer * Virtual particle, a type of short-lived particle of indeterminate mass * Virtual reality (virtuality), computer programs with an interface that gives the user the impression that they are physically inside a simulated space * Virtual world, a computer-based simulated environment populated by many users who can create a personal avatar, and simultaneously and independently explore the world, participate in its activities and co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2008 Non-fiction Books
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the form , being an integer greater than 1. * the first number which is neither prime nor semiprime. * the base of the octal number system, which is mostly used with computers. In octal, one digit represents three bits. In modern computers, a byte is a grouping of eight bits, also called an octet. * a Fibonacci number, being plus . The next Fibonacci number is . 8 is the only positive Fibonacci number, aside from 1, that is a perfect cube. * the only nonzero perfect power that is one less than another perfect power, by Mihăilescu's Theorem. * the order of the smallest non-abelian group all of whose subgroups are normal. * the dimension of the octonions and is the highest possible dimension of a normed division algebra. * the first numb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
