Category Archives for "Blog Articles"
December 23, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
Forterra Systems layoffs have implications for the enterprise immersive software market
Today I spoke with Robert Gehorsam, president of Forterra Systems, about changes taking place at the company. In light of what Gehorsam termed challenging economic times, the company has laid off nearly 50% of its workforce (not quite the 60% I had posted in my December 18th tweet) since November 20th, when Forterra briefed ThinkBalm […]
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December 17, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
ThinkBalm storytelling series issue #1: “Role-play redux: ‘Convince the curmudgeon’”
On December 4, 2008, fifteen members of the ThinkBalm Innovation Community gathered in an immersive environment for 90 minutes to try to convince our curmudgeonly “boss,” a role played by community member Christopher Simpson of George Brown College, that our fictitious organization should be making Immersive Internet investments. The group met in the community’s region […]
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November 23, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Sam Driver
New video: The “global” un-lecture event
Today ThinkBalm published a new ThinkBalm Innovation Community work product: a seven-minute video titled, “The ‘global’ un-lecture: a ThinkBalm Innovation Community event.” This video is a record of an un-lecture event held on November 6th, 2009 in the virtual world of Second Life. The un-lecture event format consists of four ten-minute presentations, demos, or tours about […]
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November 5, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
When is Second Life Enterprise beta right for you?
[Edited Monday, November 9th, 2009 for content — correction and clarification of pricing model and definition of Web-based solutions] On November 4th, Linden Lab announced that its behind-the-firewall immersive platform, Second Life Enterprise, is now in open beta. Think of SL Enterprise (formerly code-named “Nebraska”) as a micro-Second Life — except it runs on a […]
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November 2, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
Club One explores immersive tech for delivering training
I first met Celeste DeVaneaux, senior IT manager with Club One, Inc., in September at the 3DTLC conference in San Jose. Over drinks at a Linden Lab cocktail party, she told me about Club One’s experiments with immersive technology. Club One’s story piqued my interest because their innovations in the realm of fitness-related habit-changing are […]
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October 22, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
ThinkBalm seeks interviews about the technology selection process
Are you a business or technology decision maker who helped your organization choose an immersive platform or application during the past year? (A partial list of immersive platforms and applications is here.) If so, we would like to interview you for an upcoming research report. These interviews will contribute to our analysis for the upcoming […]
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October 9, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
Innovators ask good questions – BIF-5 Summit day two roundup
Yesterday was the second and final day of the Business Innovation Factory Summit (BIF-5). BIF-5 was an extraordinary meeting filled with lessons, insights, and inspiration. (For my take on day one, see the Oct. 7, 2009 blog post, “Lessons learned from innovators at the first day of BIF-5 Summit.”) I’ve been afflicted with the same […]
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September 9, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Sam Driver
To cross the chasm, we must close the language gap
One of the themes of the 3DTLC conference last week was language. This was a recurring topic from the April, 2009 3DTLC conference, but the focus has shifted. Half a year ago the discussion was about whether we should use the term “virtual worlds” or something else. Last week, it became clear from the presentations […]
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September 7, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
What makes a virtual environment immersive?
What makes a virtual world or campus, immersive learning environment, or 3D business application immersive? Immersiveness isn’t all or nothing. It’s not determined by whether the software used is a Web browser or thick client. Instead, it’s a continuum that is determined by 1) the degree to which the user’s senses are engaged, and 2) […]
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August 27, 2009
- in Blog Articles by Erica Driver
The v-Business Grid: A vision of the future Immersive Internet
IBM has soft-launched a new community called the v-Business Community. This community’s objectives are three-fold: 1) promote the use of immersive technologies – particularly those that are OpenSim-based — for business, 2) provide an environment for businesses to showcase immersive products and services, and 3) provide a “sandbox” environment for early adopters to experiment with […]
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