SHARE
Follow this article on Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Bookmark and Share
Home >> IT Workplace >> Human Resources Issues

Second Life looks toward open source

Second Life looks toward open source

By:  Todd R Weiss  On: 01 Feb 2007 For: ComputerWorld Canada Creator

The 3-D virtual online community of Second Life is teaming up with the real-world open-source software development community.

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

The 3-D virtual online community of Second Life is teaming up with the real-world open-source software development community. In an announcement in January, San Francisco-based Linden Lab, the creator of Second Life, said that it’s releasing the source code for its end-user viewer application to bring in new ideas and thinking.

Open source developers will be able to modify and improve the viewer code and contribute any changes back to the project. The code release is being done under the GPL Version 2.0 license.

Second Life is a simulated community that allows participants to create virtual lives for themselves and other “people” using avatars. Using the Second Life Viewer, users — called “residents” in the virtual world — can control their avatars, interact with each other via instant messages, create virtual environments, buy and sell objects, access multimedia content and move around, according to the company.

Second Life has users in more than 100 countries, according to the company. It uses a development platform called Second Life Grid, which was created by Linden Lab.

Part video game, part real online community, Second Life is also getting attention from real-world companies that are beginning to stake out their own turf in Second Life communities.

“We feel we have a responsibility to improve and to grow Second Life as rapidly as possible,” Philip Rosedale, CEO and founder of Linden Lab, said in a statement. “We were the first virtual world to enable content creators to own the rights to the intellectual property they create. That sparked exponential growth in the richness of the Second Life environment. Now, we’re placing the viewer’s development into the hands of residents and developers as well.”

The source code will be available from Second Life’s Web site. The initial open-source efforts are expected to include bug fixes, hardware compatibility improvements and user interface changes, according to the company.

The company decided to move the viewer client to open source because Second Life users are very creative and the move will allow developers to add their own creativity, said Cory Ondrejka, chief technology officer at Linden Lab. “We’ve said before that Second Life makes sense as a fully open-source project. It’s somewhere in the future.”

QuickLink 072481

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE


Sign up for our Newsletters
Tags: source code, avatars, developers
Close X












Close X
Print |  Views: 386   |   Rating:offoffoffoffoff  (0 votes)
Rate this article on a scale of
1 to 5 stars,5 being the best.



Close X
Page 1

Todd R Weiss Todd R Weiss is a contributor to the International Data Group (IDG) News Service, which publishes global technology stories from bureaus around the world to more than 300 publications in more than 60 countries.

Related Content

Second Life has potential for public sector, says analyst
Second Life has potential for public sector, says analystGovernments have been taking tentative steps towards establishing a presence in the virtual world. And while the business case may yet to be proven, there is potential for the public sector to utilize virtual applications such as Second Life, says analyst Alison Brooks.
Users want IBM’s OS/2 open source licence
Users want IBM’s OS/2 open source licenceOS2 World community group sends petition to IBM for the operating system’s source code
Great balls of virtual fire – a café on Second Life
Great balls of virtual fire – a café on Second LifeOn Wednesday afternoon, The McMaster University will officially launch Café Fireball on Second Life, a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents.The Hamilton, Ont-based university joins the ranks of schools offering real education in a make believe world
Ideastox idea community encourages audience participation with Wiki-Ideas
ideastox, an online community and toolset to help put people’s ideas into motion, has announced an interactive platform whereby members can edit ideas on the site. the approach creates a history of how each idea develops, who participates in the process, and most significantly capitalizes on the input that an objective audience provides.
Two buildings, one broadband service
get the skinny on connecting two offices to a single broadband connection from ron nutter. there maybe both wired and wireless options. got some hands-on advice to share with the community? e-mail us at the link on this page.
Second Life and the CIO
if you're interested in the virtual reality world of second life as a business tool, check out the cover story of the sept issue of cio canada when it hits your desk in a week or two, or read it on itworldcanada.com. after hearing inspector kevin mcquiggin of the vancouver police department talk about setting up a recruiting seminar in second life, i talked to him to find out more about how they
blog comments powered by Disqus