Down and Out in Second Life

Since I've been sleeping lately, I got to stay up tonight an literally bum around Second Life some more. Visited Popular Science, WIRED, and CNet. And then I got depressed again. I'm looking at my pretty sad attempts to texture my avatar... each texture costs $10 (Linden bucks, sorta like Mickey Mouse rainbow money) just to upload. So I started with $250, and I'm down to $105, and here's how:
- uploaded several textures, only a couple I can actually use
- donated money to something
- tried to pay some for a "gift" but got nothing in return

The really sad part is, despite being aware of SL many moons ago, I never invested the time in getting my feet wet. Oh, I think I had a daliance ages ago, but with an avatar I can't even remember... At any rate, I have totally missed out on the free money.

You see, as long as you're under 90 days "old" you can get money from these so-called money trees that dispense the magic Lindens. Since I signed up, tinkered, but left, only to come back well after 90 days, I'm screwed. Oh, and I missed (by another magic 3 months) the program where you got a monthly stipend, just for participating in the world.

My last remaining resource would have been to teach, but first I'd have to learn the system (building with prims and the UI reminds me of the days I struggled with Ray Dream Studio, and after years of being spoiled in 3ds max, I'm just so tired of prim-management). Then Linden decided, very recently, to quit paying schools or teachers a stipend.

So what now? Well SL doesn't take kindly to beggars, and I'm under strict orders not to spend money to buy money. So I'll see where this terrible poverty takes me! More to come...

Casio, keyboards and watches and cameras, oh my

exilim
Originally uploaded by superpixel.

I love this camera. The Casio Exilim Z60. Not really the best camera in the world, as anything less than full flash or full sun pics and you'll see some soft focus due to software trying boost the dark areas (grainy gain issues).

But for a total feature nerd, this thing is gold. Not platinum, mind you. I did research on what was reasonably priced. I consider this camera NOT being a Sony a feature... It isn't wireless either, something I'll lament when battery life gets better for those. The Casio sports an obscene battery life for such a tiny battery, but I guess we have the iPod to thank for that, eh?

At any rate, this little gem has some unique items:
- video records standard-def TV 30 fps, which is great for me, as I'd like to use this as a backup video camera
- "best shot" modes simplifies some settings and post-processing on my end
- some of these best shots have a cool trick...
--ebay shot mode enhances detail (sharpness), and cranks down to 2 MP (instead of 6), so alls I got to do is upload to my online drive and link
--old photo mode "fixes" old photos
--(my fave) business card and whiteboard modes include an automatic corrector for perspective, flattening and straightening lines. You can use this to scan stuff, since you have the resolution, you could even use OCR software to transfer this to editable docs. You really have to see this to believe it. But I'll never have to worry about losing another business card!

All this the size of my old 20 GB iPod. Super compact. And to top it off, you go from startup to flash pic with autofocus in less than 2 seconds. WAY less. It rocks, and super for those hip-shots and candid pics I like to grab (a 2.5" viewer on the back doesn't hurt).

Besides, what geek didn't grow up wanting a Casio? Maybe that was just me. Damn you Service Merchandise!

Second Life - pt. 1

I know I'm waaaay behind the curve here. For the record, I tried out Linden's pants a long time ago, got busy having flesh-based babies, and dropped it. Recently I've been working with some people on a project involving SL, and keeping an open mind.

Just one thing that struck me as odd, is that for employement in anything other than programming, you have to be in good ol' RL San Francisco. Nothing against the city, but doesn't this seem odd for a company designing a Metaverse?

Anyway, I'm still studying SL as a scientist would in a lab right now... preliminary findings later.

Microsoft will win the console war

Who are we kidding? Nintendo has already gone back to its "I'm really a toy" Famicom roots with the Wii. Games will be specialized on it, and they'll keep going with these innovations. But they'll be like Apple, an also-ran with great implementation and design.

People who criticize Sony for their short-term supply issues are missing the point. Sony continues to sell the PSP and PS2. The PS3 will continue to drop in price, ever so slowly, as Sony creates another gigantic beast. The idea is turning a luxury item into something within grasp. Quite brilliant, but they will fail. One problem? Aside from their arrogance, they have made crucial design mistakes in the PS3. Not including certain key elements of the lower-end model prevents users from simply upgrading later. Add it to the heaping pile of crappy press, and Sony is burning bridges faster than ever. Only continuing the PS2 gives them a toehold. The PSP doesn't necessarily mesh as an ecosystem with the PS3. Why not make UMD's a subset of Blu-ray and have them playable on your PS3?

But Microsoft made a brilliant decision cranking out the 360 a year early. Who cares this year about noisy fans, superhot power supplies, or backwards-compatibility? People love the Live aspects, and they love the games for the 360. Those lucky enough to know someone who has it set up know how cool it is to "extend" their Media Center stuff. The 360 really stands on its own as an entertainment center. The timing is genius, because Microsoft can now leverage a flurry of upcoming peripherals and Vista tweaks towards whatever shape the next Xbox takes. Make no mistake, the Zune could sport a touch-screen, the Xbox could be more portable, and both could extend a media/gaming ecosystem (via XNA and the multitude of platforms MS now supports, including, believe it or not, SPOT) beyond anything Sony, Apple, Nintendo, Nokia, etc. could imagine.

A Robot for Xmas

We got my son a mini Robosapien for xmas. He's already had the little Fisher Price one, but the Robo is more like a buddy, in that he's like a large figure... All it does is walk (love how they walk), and you can pose the arms, open the claws (it can hold action figures), and light up the eyes. Very cool, and hopefully our first foray into the robot takeover ;)

I still want to get the v1 and v2 models, fully knowing 2007 will see a slate of even cooler 'bots. Something very endearing about the first couple of runs of a hit.

I'm looking into BEAM, the underlying tech behind these "toys," and wondering if it couldn't be applied to home systems in genera (we're building one next year)l. Makes sense, as bugs have regulatory apparatus (some of BEAM is based on this). It wouldn't be a huge leap to apply a basic temperature regulatory system to control the specific temperatures in the home. The real trick is providing the system with enough information. I think a simple thermal imager, programming that calculates ambeint temp based on more data, and specific controls for individual rooms would do a lot for energy efficiency. Of course, I want to build in thermals to detect large, moving warm spots, like people! Then, instead of having to clip a Bluetooth gizmo to your shirt, it'll just know you've entered a room. Obviously we'll have the BT setup too ;)

CNET employee and family missing [update]

final update: James is gone.
Wonderful rememberance at CNET
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update: James is still missing, having gone looking for help 2 days ago after they crashed in the snow. Mom and the girls have been found:
cnn.com
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Engadget is keeping tabs, but here are pertinent details for anyone in the area (think if you know someone there too, and pass the Engadget link to them):

Missing: James Kim and his family, Kati (wife), 2 kids Penelope and Sabine (baby)
last seen by a hotel clerk at 5:45 PM on Saturday in or between Gold Beach or Portland, Oregon
James and his family are driving a 2005 silver Saab station wagon with license plate "DOESF"
officials investigating the case have narrowed their search to a stretch of Oregon's Highway 38