The ultimate question for this century, I believe, is: "Will we control technology or will technology control us?" It's the theme of many modern philosophers and a great deal of novelists and filmmakers, especially in the science fiction genre.
Ultimately, technology does neither, at least, until it becomes sentient. Technology is just a proxy for our control over one another. My laptop allows me to do computing, which in turn lets me work, communicate, and provides a source of entertainment. I am not controlled by my laptop, rather, I'm controlled by the availability of my programs and computing - things that have to do less with metal and plastic, and more with programmers, marketers, business owners, and so on. By depending on my laptop, I depend on thousands of other people doing their jobs. However, even though I am not, in reality, dependent on my laptop, but it's a simple way to understand it.
That said, if my laptop were to break (heaven forbid!) I'd need to use another computer, install new software, etc. I have backups of my data and software, so I have a plan. In other words, I control my laptop and would deal with it if something happened. At the same time, I still depend on it. This coexistence of reliance and freedom exists in all technology in all forms, down to the most basic simple machines like a lever, or an inclined plane. The question I posed first has to do with the trade-off of this freedom for reliance.
So when examining technology, it is clear that there will always be a level of reliance, and we must judge whether something is worth the trouble. For example, I don't use an iPhone, because it's more trouble than it's worth for me, for a few different reasons. If I were to get an iPhone, I would spend too much time worrying about it, features, new software that I really don't need, paying an inferior service provider more than I'm paying now for it, etc. It would, in short, enslave me more than it empowered me.
Are virtual worlds worth the trouble?
The question of reliance versus value applies to virtual worlds, of course. Do virtual worlds sap more time and energy and attention versus the benefit that they provide? What uses are valuable and which are a waste?
Well, to me, role-playing in a virtual world is pretty much a waste. For other people who really, really enjoy that kind of escape, it might provide a creative mental outlet and a way to decompress. So, whether or not a virtual world is useful depends very much on the individual and the use. At the same time, are there broad-scope uses for virtual worlds that, for a great number of people, are much more empowering than enslaving?
There is definitely enslaving aspects to virtual worlds:
- They take time to learn how to maneuver and interact within them.
- They are generally higher system requirements, bandwidth, and often require a custom piece of software.
- They take more attention to focus on than, since there are more things going on at once.
- Owning land in virtual worlds is costly compared to websites or other software. (most chat software is free, teleconference software is often inexpensive.)
At the same time, virtual worlds can offer:
- 3-D simulation
- The visceral feeling of colocation with other people
- Immersive feeling of being part of something through one's avatar, rather than just being an observer (TV, Internet, teleconference, etc)
- Creative outlet (in places like Second Life)
- Entertainment
So when considering your use case of a virtual world, be it casual, business, education, or whatever, consider the cost. Why are you going into a virtual world? What does it add that other mediums may not? Focus on these things, and you'll get the most out of your time in virtual worlds. Simply go there to be there, and it will just be another technology that will weigh you down.
2/12/2009
Using Virtual Worlds: Enslave or Empower?
2/10/2009
SLim: Why Isn't Every SLr Using It?
So, a couple days ago I installed SLim. It lets me do text and voice chat with anyone on my avatar's buddy list, without having to be logged into Second Life's browser. This is nice, especially since on my computer with a good video card and dual-processor and 2gb of RAM, I'm using up over half a gig of RAM, 1 meg of bandwidth, and the entirety of one of my CPUs when I run Second Life.
The client looks similar to your average IM client - AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! chat, etc. The interface is really simple, as there's only a few features to think about - text chat, voice call chat, and editing your settings. And it's cool that when I'm logged in to SLim, I appear in my friends' friends lists as online, but with a special chat bubble style icon instead of the avatar icon.
I now plan to keep it running whenever I have my regular chat running (I use Skype for voice and Trillian to handle my various IM clients). It uses 38m of RAM, so no big deal. (Compare that with Firefox, which balloons in memory usage.)
This brings me to the question: Why isn't every SLr using SLim?
So, there's several reasons, and I'll just plow through them.
- It doesn't work with every client.
I haven't quite figured this one out, but I can't IM / voice chat with everyone on my friend list. I think it's the release candidate that works, but not 100% sure. This irks me, and is probably the single biggest reason SLim is not being used.
- Lack of widespread promotion.
Linden Lab has promoted SLim in its blog and announcements, but let's face it - the general public doesn't really read these. I haven't seen it as a startup tip, it's not in the orientation, it's not on the Secondlife.com website, and it's nowhere inside the Second Life client in-world.
- Lack of ease of finding it.
Why isn't there a link in the Communicate floater? If Linden Lab can embed a L$ symbol into the browser that directs the user to their L$ purchasing sight, it seems a no-brainer that they can embed a SLim link.
- You can't add / remove buddies directly from your SLim client.
It requires a special browser to update the buddy list. Linden Lab has yet to integrate functionality of the SLim with the regular SL browser. You need to download a special SLim compatible browser, and run that in order for the friend-list refresh button to work on SLim.
- It's run by Vivox, not Linden Lab. Naturally, anything you do with 2 companies has twice the red tape.
- Downloading and getting this sucker to work is at least a 6-step process. Allow me to illustrate:
1. Go here: https://secure-web14.
2. Download a regular SL browser that is compatible with SLim.
3. Download the SLim client.
4. Sign up for a SLim account.
Basically, Vivox runs the client. You log into the SL page as your
avatar, then register an email and a NEW password with Vivox, and
it'll tie your SL account to the SLim account.
5. Run both the SLim client and the SLim Second Life client at the same time.
6. On SLim, click the blue refresh icon. Your buddies will populate.
From there on in, you may use the SLim client without the SL SLim-friendly client. However, to add friends and to update your friend list with your avatar's in-world, you'll need to run the Second Life SLim-friendly client and have that up when you click the refresh button.
Of course, if more people start using SLim, maybe it would give Linden Lab incentive to improve it.
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