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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Play Machinima Law Conference Videos 2009


Play Machinima Law Conference Videos: introductions, panels, presentations and demos: Play Machinima Law:
How they Got Game site: http://www.stanford.edu/group/htgg/cgi-bin/drupal/?q=node/981
Preserving Virtual Worlds
http://pvw.illinois.edu/pvw/

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Choose your Facebook username...


facebook_username, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

coming soon to an account near you... http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?post=90316352130

YouTube adds 'download MP4' button...


download_mp4_youtube, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

Wow, an extra button without an announcement from YouTube...
It's available from the user's "My videos" listing, so you can only download your own user uploaded videos. I did read that if you are part of the Downloadable video program and have enabled downloads of your video, then ...
http://www.stuffwelike.com/stuffwelike/2009/06/09/download-youtube-videos-the-legal-way/

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Animoto's new features: one button publishing to twitter

so it took less than 5 mins to upload the 19 images for the test video and then i walked the doggie while it rendered the movie file.
Here is the completed video using AVL photos:
animoto.com/play/NzDtd18ch1eMS5mIo6fzJw

Animoto has great options in the paid version - 14.95

if you have the paid version of animoto you can download the complete videos to your own computer.. super cool! You can upload to twitter or youtube too..
I uploaded to twitter with one button publishing.. on the end there.. only took 5 mins to make the video.. wish the resolution was better and also wish they didn't crop the images to 4|3 from 16|9 or rectangle..
but super cool alternative to video uploads.. more accessible to a lot of people. Here's the video that took 5 mins to make: http://animoto.com/play/NzDtd18ch1eMS5mIo6fzJw

Benefit Concert with Kelvinblue at The Refuge: the art of AM Radio in Second Life®

Go Kelvin!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Feed a family with a virtual wheatfield...


amradio_wheatfield, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

AM Radio's final sunset benefit concert for Heifer International and to bid farewell to The Refuge and Expansion.
Yesterday, Sunday, May 31, 2009, SL turns out to honour one of the great artistic talents on this new world and to bid farewell to the place that took us home to a slower time... to an expansive place with unpredictable turns and falls... to hidden and cloistered places where those before us had left the artifacts from half a century ago. Calling our names.. we sit down a while and think about the HAM radios, the tools, where the work is never done... where we are one with the work, one with the technology.
Above the penetrating music of Kelvinblue Oh, AM Radio shouts explanations into the crowd... how buying a cornfield in SL will feed a family along with the benefits of buying a gaggle of geese.... with all donations going to the AM Radio supported charity, Heifer.org and AM Radio's donation page
AM has inspired the community artistically, intellectually and forever more...
people from around the world stood at the crossroads on the Wales sim amidst The Refuge and Expansion installation. Earlier performances were given by Colemarie Soleil and Joaquin Gustav.
Goodbyes are difficult... but even moreso when there is no point for return, no visits, no artifacts...

Saturday, May 30, 2009

A long time ago in Teen Second Life®: Ramapo's new educational islands in 2007

A very long time ago in the spring... year 2007... Ramapo creatives expanded their three island private world to six isles... this is the morning after the island delivery.
Floating above the islands of Suffern Middle School, Ramapo School District... where I first met Peggy, Fred )FireSabre / Fred Fuchs in world) , Kevin and Lyr Lobo.

La photographie et la petite gallerie de Willow Ahn - le printemps 2007 dans Second Life

Willow, J'ai trouvé le film finalement...
hvx

Mon amie, Willow Ahn...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Oh Happy Rez Days Abbey and Hyacinth in the ever so beautiful Second Life®

Oh, happy Rez Days! Abbey Zenith, Librarian Super Hero, has been logging into Second Life® since the fine spring day of May 18 2006. Ever since, she has been influencing people about the great opportunities awaiting libraries and academics across the physical and virtual worlds. One day plus one year later, in logged Hyacinth Cortes, librarian, exhibit builder and expert chair chaser and shopper. Happy Rez Day, Hyacinth, since the ever so fine 19th day of May, 2007! Filmed on location at Jazz Cat.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Do you own an OLPC... XO?

Join the community and add your XO!

View OLPC World Map in a larger map

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

So what are you reading? New York Times article: "End of the University as we know it"


Currently screen-reading this & installing software: New York Times' article: End of the University as we know it... need a coffee?

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Camping allowed, browsing encouraged...

The Library of Congress funded
Preserving Virtual Worlds Project


The Center for Internet & Society: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/

Play Machinima Law Conference, Stanford Law School: April 24-25, 2009.
The Twitter feed: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23pml

The very cool Hackleman Brothers': Myndflame

An older post from the Virtually Blind blog (no longer updated): Virtual World Screenshots Raise Copyright Questions... scary, scary, scary.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Caleb Booker's great post about ROI in virtual worlds and why they're waaaaay better than webcams!

Caleb Booker's 'Business in Virtual Worlds'
So then does the shape of the screen matter?
Was LBJ a “close talker”? Where avatars come in... yes, you can maintain some personal space.
http://www.calebbooker.com/blog/2009/01/27/roi-in-virtual-worlds-1-why-webcams-fail/

Will you Play Machinima Law?

Yes, you can still take a couple of days off and speed or fly to Palo Alto, California to take part in this uber-exciting conference... like a weekend vacation immersed in the issues of your favourite past-time... making machinima, archiving machinima...
Are you breaking the law... or not?
Absolutely can't wait... I'll be on the panel: Machinima in Game Preservation: A Fair Use Activity?
Moderated by Matteo Bittanti, Associate Researcher, Stanford Humanities Lab, Stanford University.
http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/playmachinima
A new debate has already started with the YouTube comments...

Are you a Mindspotter? A Mindkeeper? ... are you Danish?

Dive into The library innovation that is the Mindspot Project: a universe for youth, focussing on what is interesting and usable to the users, gaming events, unorthodox branding where the message is distributed through many different channels, content created in co-creation with young people, lessons in information searches based on young people's needs, Mindspot's caravan, "the Spotmobile"
a glimpse into the future of the library... 2014: the new main library in Aarhus Harbour aptly named 'MediaSpace'
Watch "Mindspot the Movie: The Library as a Universe"
on their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixsOLvLSARg&fmt=18
Check out the site: http://www.mindspot.dk/
Thank you to Sidsel!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Chris Pirillo installing SDD on 8 core Mac Pro.. yes, please

So I'm watching my favourite show: Chris Pirillo Live on UStream with 572 watching the very elegant $800 SDD going into the stealth mac pro (16 GB RAM, 8 cores)... I want one!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chris-pirillo-live
or http://live.pirillo.com

Friday, April 10, 2009

Celebrating Ambrosia's New SnapzProX 2.1.4!

Changes & Enhancements to Snapz Pro X 2.1.4

-Added a "Save Later" button to the movie conversion dialog.

-Rebooting between movie capture and conversion no longer trashes the capture file.

-Display a very rough approximation of the output size of each track.

-Display a warning if the estimated movie size is greater than the available disk space.

-Raw capture are stored in ~/Library/Caches/Snapz Pro X, and can be copied or moved to other computers running the same version of Snapz.
-Long captures no longer fail during audio conversion, but the audio track is limited to 6.6 hours.

-Updates

"AmbrosiaAudioSupport.kext to 2.3.10, which fixes incompatibility with System 10.5.7"

System Requirements:
Mac OS X version 10.3.9 or later.
The Ambrosia Software site:
http://www.Ambrosiasw.com

Ambrosia's SnapzProX 2.1.4 long awaited fixes

Thank you!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

snapzProX Movie could not be opened (OSStatus error - 1409)

Ian Smith's post "Something I said..." has helped me through this utterly frustrating afternoon. Luckily I did take a few hours break while I thought the video was saving... and caught some sunshine, sushi and a latte while watching passersby wheel their groceries across the parking lot... such a waste of time - killing time while Snapz is not saving my vid and having to wheel groceries across parking lots. Looking at alternatives now and really clearing the disks. I have HDs on the Mac Pro and this should NOT have happened. Alas, it did. So I will keep the main HD really clear in future. I do feel better after reading Ian's post.. yes, it was nothing I said.. just did.

SnapzProX cannot be launched - error code -1712

still mad

snapzProX Operation could not be completed - error code 1712

I was saving the very large HD720p file from the SL Story Project this afternoon and nightmare of nightmares... it was saving to my main hard drive instead of another HD and I got the dreaded message that II was running out of disk space. There was actually 58 GB space remaining on the drive. The file was likely about 3 GB.. so I was really mad... at myself and OSX... and a tiny bit at Snapz.
I am using Snapz Pro X 2.1.3fc2
.... mad, mad, mad.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Second Life Media goes Buckaroo! Stream video with VidMon & display & access web sites with WebMon

So if you are looking for an easier way to stream video into Second Life or provide access to web sites... drop by Buckaroo and pick up WebMon, VidMon and Slider...
Buckaroo Open Source Party, originally uploaded by HVX Silverstar.

Buckaroo Open Source Party

Buckaroo, Eduisland 4 (27, 175, 32) slurl.com/secondlife/Eduisland%204/41/176/25
Excerpt from Bucky Barkley's ( Daniel's) message:
"...interactive objects (WebMon, VidMon, Slider, and much more) have gone Open Source, under a Creative Commons License [1] They are at my store, Buckaroo:
Enjoy, make use of the objects. and send me numerous custom project offers ;)
[1] Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License..."


The Buckaroo T-shirts were made using the Robin (Sojuorner) Wood templates.
Buckaroo Open Source T-shirt (Robin - Sojourner - Wood Template with thanks)

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Pooky Amsterdam and her quick wit at Alliance Virtual Library Awards Event

Playlist of Golden Leaf Awards videos (6 videos available in SD or HD):
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A62EAF659A614A28
(Note: click on the HQ (high quality) or HD (high definition) button on the YouTube player to view better quality or larger videos (1280x720 = HD)
Part 1: Arriving at the Cinesphere: Pooky Amsterdam greeting attendees with the microphone and her quick wit... with everyone fighting lag as they make it along the red carpet to the wacky teleporter.
Attendees who were recorded include: Krull Aeon for design and creation of the Golden Leaf Award and the beautiful building where the awards were held (see the end of part 6 for great shots of the building and interior). DaisyBlue Hefferman for the interior decoration of the building. Daisyblue's voice instructions for using voice/microphones were super too!
Remember HQ.... really.... click on the teeny tiny HQ button at the lower right of the YouTube player, else you'll be thinking you need glasses or I'm a terrible machinimatographer. OH, remember there was mucho lag. .. your life depends on it. hahahahah says HVX Silverstar

Monday, March 2, 2009

Virtual World Conferences: VWLEM 2009 Conference Planning Meeting

The Virtual Worlds Libraries Education & Museums Conference will be held in the virtual world of Second Life and some of the presentations will also available on the web via Adobe Connect, April 24-25, 2009.
For further information on the keynote speakers and presentations: http://www.alliancelibraries.info/virtualworlds
For the YouTube playlist of commercials created by Valibrarian, Pia Klaar and HVX Silverstar (me): http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=B4809870F4C04968
The planning team is currently reading through presentation proposals on a variety of topics including:

-Virtual world events and exhibits as the drivers of attendance and engagement
-Immersive learning environments
-Reference service possibilities and practicalities in virtual worlds
-Corporate and special librarianship in virtual worlds
-Educational tools and resources
-Enterprise uses of virtual worlds
-Tours of LEM locations in Second Life
-Gaming and virtual worlds
-VW LEM opportunities for children, tweens, and teens
-Dreams and visions for LEM activities in virtual worlds
-Assessing LEM initiatives in virtual worlds
-Sustainability issues and opportunities for LEM activities in virtual worlds

Stay tuned for updates including registration times, price and orientation for speakers and attendees:

Conference Schedule (tentative):
Friday, April 24, 2009, from noon to 4:00 p.m. Second Life Time (U.S. Pacific Time):

noon to 12:45 p.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
1:00 to 1:45 p.m.: First group of sessions
2:00 to 2:45 p.m.: Second group of sessions
3:00 to 3:45 p.m.: Third group of sessions
4:00 to 4:45 p.m.: Social event

Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to noon Second Life Time (U.S. Pacific Time):

8:00 to 8:45 a.m.: Keynote Panel (no conflict)
9:00 to 9:45 a.m.: First group of sessions
10:00 to 10:45 a.m.: Second group of sessions
11:00 to 11:45 a.m.: Third group of sessions

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Youtube woes: Is the default view 'normal view' for the SD videos better than the HD videos? Absolutely, yes!

ABSOLUTELY, YES!!
Does the YouTube default view 'normal quality' of the HD video looks even worse than the default 'normal quality' of the SD vids? Check out the embedded vids below and decide which of the two LOW res default views is best. Of course forcing the high quality or HD views is the best option:
High Quality: Here is the link to the HIGH QUALITY view on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRbG_GC3GgQ&fmt=18
HD 720p: Here is the link to the actual HD view on YouTube and not the low resolution default view of the HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-76ESWqUMvw&fmt=22

So here is the DEFAULT 'normal view' embed code from the YouTube Site: this is SD 640x480 video displayed in the LOW RESOLUTION as seen on YouTube:



Of course, we can get around this by adding the following code to the end of the URL in the param name and the src in the YouTube embed code: &ap=%2526fmt%3D18
YouTube should offer us the default and the high quality code... yes, we like it when it's easy!

Using the DEFAULT 'normal view' embed code from the YouTube site: THIS ONE is the HD720p video

Friday, February 27, 2009

Give me the Embed Code Generator for High Quality YouTube Embeds....

Using Rupert Howe's Embed Code Generator for High Quality YouTube Videos instead of adding the code: &ap=%2526fmt%3D18
http://www.twittervlog.tv/high-quality-youtube-embed-generator.html
See Rupert's site:
http://twittervlog.tv

Of course, I could have just added the code easier than &ap=%2526fmt%3D18 at the end of the URL for the param name and the embed source...




Honestly, this doesn't look like the high quality view... going to check the youtube forums to see if people are having issues with this.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Super Kaleidoscopium with Thoth Jentzen in Second Life:



My absolute favourite place and experience in SL is Thoth's mega-media environment where YouTube vids could take honours for performance... dancing over objects and phantom spaces. "Have you walked through the forest...?" It's a walk through the technocultural wilds of an artist's mind... the forgiving phantom canvas of the forest dance. I think I'll stand a while as part of the hologram that permeates my digital and physical being. I'm still standing... with the 300 meters of media playing above in the phallec theatre of Beau Longement, a media experience that knows no comparison in any world.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

In Second Life® getting ready for the UC Davis Health Informatics 3rd Annual Conference

On Davis Island getting ready for the May 7th conference at UCDMC, Sacramento http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/cme/conferences/pdfs/Lecture_Descriptions.pdf
Registration: https://chtapps.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/servlet/CmeSignIn?ccode=MEDINF9

Choreography & Bovines in a virtual world

igotaggied-4Here we are: four of us holding tight and ready for another group shot. Though, we'll need some fancy camera work to get us looking into eagle's lens.
Like a fluid roundhouse kick with the mouse moving left across the sky. Hold those smiles and think of Port Reyes Blue...

on location with Think Mapp, HVX Silverstar and the Bovines of UC Davis.... above Machinima Institute trying to make a commercial.

So who is behind the super cool animated sculpty bovines? Jon Haskall is the creator whose work can be found at:


Place: Sculpty Creations Animals
Region: Extrem Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Extrem%20Island/176/52/26Highly textured realistic low prim low cost Sculpted prim Animals from all over the world, African, Australian, American, Asian, European.
Owned by: Sculpty Creatures (group)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Thoth's 'blow-me-away kaleidoscope' media experience in Second Life ®

Teleport to Thoth Jentzen's Kaleidoscopium to be blown away. Grab a chair, lay back and be prepared to truly enjoy a YouTube vid or playlist. You'll feel like you've fallen into an audio/vido kaleidoscope.
Watch the vid in HD: http://youtube.com/v/1SzXjdi2Y54&fmt=22

Thoth Jentzen's pure magical media experience... can't wait to log back in and lay back watching my YouTube playlist... go, Thoth!

Monday, February 2, 2009

Annotations Editor on YouTube: annoy me no more by default

I love the annotations feature but sure wish that it would not be turned ON by default.
Many people have complained and have suggested or begged that it be added as a setting in the account settings. Yes, pleeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassse turn it OFF by default and add, better still, add it to the account settings.
I prefer to use the old access features via the edit button | Annotations tab. This was just fine!
I would like to have a public or group annotations feature allowing people to overlay comments.. hahahah could get messy.
I'd like something like the old Mojiti that was leagues ahead of its time.
Watch video and view annotations by moving cursor over video:
HD 720p version (requires latest Flash plugin and a fast connection): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tCZkJqu7Ns&fmt=22
or High quality version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tCZkJqu7Ns&fmt=18

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Video in the snow...

Machinima Institute Ice Palace Skating Rink with video displayed across the snow mounds; Daruma Picnic's Force Sun to Midnight interactive art, sound, colour... with North Lamar, Hyacinth Cortes and HVX Silverstar skating, cycling and flying on silver bullets across the skies of the Alliance Virtual Library.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Machinima%20Institute/135/120/35

So, here's my MacBook Air on Second Life ®

I'm taking some screen shots overlooking Info International Island (part of the Alliance Virtual Library) in Second Life®. The preferences screen is open showing my draw distance set at 128 meters. The recommended settings are much lower... and clicking on recommended settings will change the image significantly. I have no trouble moving around... just rather slow compared to a Mac Pro or a high end PC. However, this is equal or better to my first experiences in Second Life which were on an old Mac G4 back in October 2006. See the remaining images showing my preferences set at higher settings... some weird black boxes showing on a couple of the images. I am using Grab to get the screenshots.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

My Shasta Baby in the Saturday Morning Sun (HD 720p)

Logging back into Real Life, I'm a Golden
Watch in HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY2EE8fgJ9A&fmt=22

A little escape even without the 'take a break button'... logging back into real life... I'm a Golden.
Click on the HD button at the bottom right of the YouTube player to view in better resolution... if on good broadband.


Saturday, January 17, 2009

A Capella in Second Life ® by Interactive Media Artist, Daruma Picnic, April 28, 2007 (HD 720p)

Embedded at 864x531 instead of 1280x720 as shown on YouTube. Watch HD 720p on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XysByD6rf8w&fmt=22

A Capella by Daruma Picnic: interactive singing sculture.
Art and vocals by Daruma Picnic. Thank you to Jenn, Casssandra and Natalie... and Elizabeth whose presence and wisdom is truly missed by her friends in SL®. Elizabeth is immersed in the art, colour and sound of Daruma's work; it's an experience only possible in a constructed space somewhere between our imagination and our screens. Elizabeth's postings about Daruma's work: http://binaryfootprint.blogspot.com/search/label/Daruma%20Picnic
and from Saturday, January 20, 2007:http://binaryfootprint.blogspot.com/2007/01/but-auntie-what-does-one-do-in-second.html
© Daruma Picnic & HVX Silverstar April 28, 2007. Filmed on Info Island in the very beautiful Second Life®

Archival Footage: Librarians of Second Life ® March 17, 2007 (HD 720p)

So this is a very early machinima that was created back in Feb. 2007. It was originally captured at 720x480... so as you can see it looks pretty crummy up-converted, if that's a word, to 1280x720. Luckily YouTube accepted it as HD even though the quality is pretty poor. BUT... it's a pretty cool window into the early days of the Alliance Virtual Library and a collaborative effort to present a machinima at the ACRL poster session in Baltimore, 2007.
Watch on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54dFEetypL8&fmt=22
Shown emedded at 864x531 instead of 1280x720.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Second Life viewer Jan 4, 2009: 71,457 online (logins temporarily capped)

wow.. and i wanted to go to the Alliance Virtual Library meeting on Info Island.... here I sit with my coffee with the glare of the simulated snow blinding me...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

I am Library: an ode to self-discovery & collective creativity in Second Life® in HD 720p

I'm slowly uploading HD versions of videos/machinima about the Alliance Virtual Library to YouTube.  Be sure to click on the 'full screen' icon at bottom right of the youtube player (square icon).
Here is the one from October 2008: 

I am Library: an ode to self-discovery & collective creativity in Second Life®
To view in full screen, follow the link to YouTube and click on the square 'full screen' icon at lower right side of youtube window.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQCoy6MABQM&fmt=22


******************************************************************************
The title proclamation needs a bit of explanation... some excerpts below
Second Life: The Journey toward Virtual World adoption
 .... In order to see the library community of Second Life in context, it is necessary to follow some of the recent Second Life milestones. The proclamation “I am Library” is an ode to self-discovery, in an individual sense; for the people who are the library communities of Second Life, it’s a journey of exploration filled with collective curiosity and creativity as the current presence of “Library” evolves within the context of the greater virtual landscape.....
I am both physical and virtual.
Imagination and creativity…
I am part of a simulated 3D environment created by its users.
Yet I am more. I am global.  I am local. 
I am Community.  I am social.
I am sharing, collaboration and learning. 
I am Library.
I am part of a trans-media journey where destination is experience.
I am the structures and open space, brought to life by the residents of the virtual world.
I am an extension of the physical world relying on broadband and accelerated graphics.
I am here.  I am real, part of the collective creativity…”

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

MISSILL Live in the virtual world of Second Life® and Rennes France!



I have embedded the video at 960x540 to fit it on the page:

<object width="960" height="540"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vwRQVqnItOI&ap=%2526fmt%3D22></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vwRQVqnItOI&ap=%2526fmt%3D22" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="960" height="540"></embed></object>

To show the code: remove the left and right angle brackets at beginning and end of code, then use the HTML for those brackets: < and >
or look at Felgall's converter.. waaaay cool! http://www.felgall.com/htmlt47.htm

Watch the HD 720p version on YouTube: click the ‘Watch in HD’ link below the youtube player:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwRQVqnItOI&fmt=22