SecondLife II

Why am I still looking at SL for work? This will give an indication;

17 different universities are teaching in Second Life. [1]

Looks like Tracy wasn’t the only avater signing up last night

The virtual world of Second Life reached a population of 200,000 residents today {April 27, 2006}, doubling its size since the last milestone of 100,000 residents was reached just over four months ago. [2]

But even as a Grid, it has its downside;

Another denial of service attack hit Second Life last night, taking the virtual world offline for roughly two hours. In what has become a standard method of attack, a user launched a self-replicating 3D object that multiplied more rapidly than Second Life’s infrastructure could support, resulting in the “grid” that constitutes the virtual world grinding to a standstill. [3]

[1.] ‘Second Life’ Stats Expanded: Early 2006 [Clickable Culture]
[2.] ‘Second Life’ Avatar Population Hits 200k [Clickable Culture]
[3.] ‘Second Life’ Grid Downed: Social Engineering At Play? [Clickable Culture]

Time Gentlemen, time!

One of the interesting things to have raised its head with yesterdays Intermapper testing, is the timezone/time settings on agra. While being a minor issue previously, the date/time needs to be cleaned up for use with Intermapper. Agra was getting ahead of itself … at 11:49 AEST during a system update;

Current default timezone: 'Australia/Melbourne'.
Local time is now: Fri Apr 28 20:50:10 EST 2006.
Universal Time is now: Fri Apr 28 10:50:10 UTC 2006.
Run 'tzconfig' if you wish to change it.

When you installed the base system of Debian GNU/Linux, you set the Timezone.
You can check how you have set the Timezone by looking at the file /etc/timezone.
Changing the timezone after installation, Section 16.1.1.

agra:~# cat /etc/timezone
Australia/Melbourne
agra:~#

Timezone looks good, time is cactus.

agra:~#
agra:~# date --set 2006-04-28
Fri Apr 28 00:00:00 EST 2006
agra:~# date --set 11:52
Fri Apr 28 11:52:00 EST 2006
agra:~#

Next step is to clean up the hardware clock, which should be in UTC

agra:~#
agra:~# date
Fri Apr 28 11:57:58 EST 2006
agra:~# hwclock --systohc --utc
agra:~#

Use NTP you moron!
As I usually use NTP to configure the servers, I am not sure what happened with Agra. (Setting time using NTP) Install an NTP client, for example ntp or xntp3 in Debian version 2.1 and older.

agra:/etc# apt-get install ntp-simple
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
The following extra packages will be installed:
ntp ntp-server
Suggested packages:
ntpdate ntp-doc
The following NEW packages will be installed:
ntp ntp-server ntp-simple
0 upgraded, 3 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Need to get 152kB/407kB of archives.
After unpacking 934kB of additional disk space will be used.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] y

Config details are stored in /etc/ntp.conf, add ntp.edfac and ntp.unimelb
Restart the daemon /etc/init.d/ntpdate restart

[1.] Debian GNU/Linux System Administrator’s Manual : Chapter 16 – Time
[2.] Package: ntp-simple
[3.] Package: ntp-doc
[4.] Package: ntp
[5.] Debian Setup: Helpful Daemons: ntp [metaconsultancy]

Remember, a first year is not just for Christmas

A quote that is too good to miss

“Remember, a first year is not just for Christmas..”
– Clare (AKA Editor)
First_year@UniMelb

  [1.] First_year@UniMelb [Blog]

A big TO_DO about …

Updated Op’s Team TO_DO_LIST [restricted Access]

And in my *spare time*, I’ll take up sleeping!

InterMapper – Part III

*About time!*, I hear you say.

After being sent the Platform migration license (04-Apr-2006), I finally have InterMapper 4.4.2 working on Agra [Restricted Access] Unfortunately, Intermapper 4.4.3 has now been released so I now need to update the version – which I will do before I proceed with any further configuration

Time to pick up the v4.4.3 Debian Linux (x86) Debian 3.0 Package! [3,4]

and the access lists are working pretty well …

[1.] InterMapper – Part II
[2.] InterMapper – Part I
[3.] Read Me First : 4.4.3 Debian [Intermapper]
[4.] http://www.intermapper.com/binaries/ [Intermapper]

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World Intellectual Property Day

World Intellectual Property Day

21st Century Creativity in a Copyright World: How Can the Potential be Realised?
Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Time: 2:00PM – 3:00PM AEST (60 minutes) [9 p.m. Server Time]
Location: SLurl link–> Pooley (248,23)
Host: Nic Marx
Category: Discussion
Cover Charge? No

—

21st Century Creativity in a Copyright World: How Can the Potential Be Realised?

You are invited to join the QUT Law Faculty’s Intellectual Property: Knowledge, Culture, and Economy Program, in conjunction with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation, for a free seminar on World Intellectual Property day at 2pm on Wednesday 26 April 2006. The rapid pace of technological change that we are experiencing requires us to always be aware of the balances inherent in copyright law; we must attempt to provide adequate protection to copyright owners, while at the same time allow for a rich culture of experimentation and innovation. Particularly, we must be careful not to close off new avenues for expression and creativity before they have a chance to develop. Join us for a discussion of the current context, covering fair use/fair dealing, blogs, mash-ups, parody, and much more.

Speakers include:

• Richard Neville
• Toby Miller (UC Riverside, QUT Vice Chancellor Distinguished Visitor)
• Professor Brian Fitzgerald (QUT)
• Professor Mark Perry (UWO)
• Peter Coroneos (Internet Industry Association)
• Mia Garlick (Creative Commons)
• Dean Whitbread (funk.co.uk)
• Dr Axel Bruns (QUT)
• Anne Matthew (QUT)
• Nicolas Suzor (QUT)
• Dilan Thampapillai

The seminar will be held in Second Life, an online massively-multiplayer virtual world created by Linden Labs. Virtual worlds are becoming increasingly popular and diverse. As more and more people are becoming involved in these virtual spaces, we are changing the way we think about place, social relationships, economics, property, and many other aspects of social life. The immersive nature of these worlds challenges us to consider questions of space – the experience of presence (or being there) and copresence (being there together) (Ralph Schroeder, Being There Together). These worlds provide an excellent opportunity for interaction, learning, and research, as well as raising some very interesting questions about culture, regulation, property, and society.

Second Life is free to download and play, but there are some minimum technical requirements. Either a credit card or a PayPal account is also required for age verification. We understand that this will create a barrier to access to some people, and invite anyone who can not join us online to contact us to arrange for you to participate from QUT.

PC Minimum System Recommendations:

• Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
• Computer Processor: 1.6GHz Pentium 4 or Athlon 2000+ or better
• Computer Memory: 512MB or better
• Video/Graphics Card:
• • nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
  • OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better

Mac Minimum System Recommendations:

• • Internet Connection: Cable or DSL
  • Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.3 or better
  • Computer Processor: 1.25 GHz G4 or better
  • Computer Memory: 768MB or better
  • Video/Graphics Card:
  • • nVidia GeForce FX 5600, GeForce 6600, or better
    • OR ATI Radeon 9600, X600, or better

Sound?
You need to turn on streaming audio in preferences:
Edit > Pref > Audio & Video
(You also need to be located in Pooley : Pooley Stage)

 

[1.] World Intellectual Property Day
[2.] Marking World IP Day in Second Life [Axel Bruns]
[3.] 21st Century Creativity in a Copyright World: How Can the Potential be Realised? [SL]
[4.] Towards an Intellectual Property Framework for Produsage Notes from the SL online event [Axel Bruns]
[5.] UK Podcast Licence Poll Referred to during the SL online event [Podcast Nation]
[6.] Roundup: 21st Century Creativity in a Copyright World: How Can the Potential be Realised? [Creative Commons Australia]

ANZAC

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest We Forget

/security

 Security Information on Website
Published: 2006-04-22,
Last Updated: 2006-04-22 23:33:27 UTC by Koon Tan (Version: 1)

Recall end of last year where we have posted a story on security and abuse email to be updated and contactable especially during holiday season.

One of our reader wrote to us about RFC 3013 on ‘/security’ URL on websites (e.g. www.somedomain.com/security).

Under RFC 3013, it is stated that ISPs may consider using common URLs for security and abuse information (e.g. http://www.ISP-name-here.net/security/).

However,unlike RFC 2142 on email contact, this is not widely adopted. It will be of great convenience to everyone if every website is to follow and maintain a ‘/security’ link.

—

Recommended Internet Service Provider Security Services and Procedures.
(RFC 3013)

2.1 Contact Information

   ISPs SHOULD adhere to [RFC2142], which defines the mailbox SECURITY
   for network security issues, ABUSE for issues relating to
   inappropriate public behaviour and NOC for issues relating to network
   infrastructure.  It also lists additional mailboxes that are defined
   for receiving queries and reports relating to specific services.

   ISPs may consider using common URLs for expanded details on the above
   (e.g., http://www.ISP-name-here.net/security/).

   In addition, ISPs have a duty to make sure that their contact
   information, in Whois, in routing registries [RFC1786] or in any
   other repository, is complete, accurate and reachable.

[1.] Security Information on Website [SANS]

2006-04-24 This weeks links

Google Suggest [Beta]
As you type, Google will offer suggestions. Use the arrow keys to navigate the results.
Google Suggest [Beta]
Google Suggest : Frequently Asked Questions
As you type into the search box, Google Suggest guesses what you’re typing and offers suggestions in real time. This is similar to Google’s “Did you mean?” feature that offers alternative spellings for your query after you search, except that it works in real time. For example, if you type “bass,” Google Suggest might offer a list of refinements that include “bass fishing” or “bass guitar.” Similarly, if you type in only part of a word, like “progr,” Google Suggest might offer you refinements like “programming,” “programming languages,” “progesterone,” or “progressive.” You can choose one by scrolling up or down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.

My Virtual Life [Business Week]
A journey into a place in cyberspace where thousands of people have imaginary lives. Some even make a good living. Big advertisers are taking notice …
Second Life in the mainstream press.

The travellers’ internet: Designing applications for those on the move
Martin Belam, formerly of the BBC, has been using the web as he travels through Europe. His observations about designing web applications for travellers are worth a read.
[http://www.currybet.net/cbet_blog/application_design/]

Hello. My name is Tom, and I’m a spyware author.
Hello. My name is Tom, and I’m a spyware author.
Unlike the truly Evil spyware authors who want to steal your private information or monitor your surfing habits, I’m here to help. The 25 mini spyware-like applications that I wrote are designed to test the effectiveness of your anti-spyware solution at detecting and alerting you to behaviors that can indicate that software may not be on the up-and-up. While most anti-spyware applications have some signature based capabilities, as the spyware menace grows, behavior based detection and blocking are a must.
A suite of test applications will be released on May 1st, and is dubbed SPYCAR. While it won’t be available until May 1st, SPYCAR will be located at http://www.intelguardians.com/spycar/

Death by PowerPoint
Death by PowerPoint [The Age : Management Line (Blog)]
Confirmation of what we’ve all long suspected: most executives sleep their way through dull presentations. We’ve all sat through those, and most of the time it’s because of the way presenters use PowerPoint.
Want to lose the point? [The Age]
Death by PowerPoint [Jesper Johansson's TechRepublic blog]

Second life

After reading in BoingBoing about Mia Wombat’s speech to be held in Second Life, I thought I probably should have a bit of a look-see.

Thursday, April 20, 2006
To do in Second Life tonight: CC head attorney speaks!
Wagner James Au from Second Life says,

Creative Commons general counsel Mia Garlick, known in Second Life as Mia Wombat is speaking tonight at 6pm PST on the big island of Kula, the isle just purchased by Joi Ito for events like this. SL accounts are free, so to attend, just create one and in the interface, click Map, type “Kula 4″ in Find Region, hit Enter, then Teleport.

The first thing is to create an account, so as the first Basic account is FREE (and includes full access to events, shopping, building, scripting and more) I went with the Basic account option. [Note: Credit Card details are required for verification]. Not a lot of choice for the Family name for the basic account, so I thought that I’d give a nod to CC for getting me to have a look around — so the avatar Eltham Commons was born.

Then a bit of customization, and a free CC t-shirt

As more notice is taken of the Virtual environment will we see our academics lecturing in SL? Or can we expect the same sort of interaction as in Tad William’s Otherland? As you can see in the image below, some Australian Uni’s already have an SL presence.

What’s up Doc?
Wagner James Au, an SL ‘embebded reporter’ gives us amoungst his first-hand articles ‘the Gamer’s rough guide‘ to SL [1,3]
The goal of Game SLave is to provide players of Second Life with a one-stop-shop for finding out what fun activities there are to do in-game. [4]

SL newspapers? Try The Metaverse Messenger | A Real Newspaper For A Virtual World and Second Life Herald. Maybe the SecondCast podcast?

Linking to SL
Of interest is the SL URL format; secondlife://gluphisia/15/82/97/
This is in the format:- secondlife://region/x/y2/z/
[SL link--> Gluphisia]
Marking the location in the URL on the Map in SL (you then teleport to the location).

 

This means that you can link directly to events, such as the CC
[SL link--> Kula 4 : Creative Commons]
[SL link--> Kula 1 : The Commons]

What about SLurl?
You can also build links via SLurl, a webpage of the SL map providing direct teleport links to locations in Second Life. eg. http://slurl.com/secondlife/Theretra/177/168/98/ the home of Ordinal Malaprop

These links can be built rather quickly using the web based SLurlBuilder.

Here are the CC links from above presented in SLurl format:
[SLurl link--> Kula 4 : Creative Commons]
[SLurl link--> Kula 1 : The Commons]

Also worth a look is the Webmap API Guide

 

[1.] Second Life: Your World. Your Imagination
[2.] New World Notes
[3.] THE GAMER’S ROUGH GUIDE TO PWNING SECOND LIFE
[4.] Game SLave
[5.] Community: Second Life Forums
[6.] Second Life [cc]
[7.] Real Virtuality in your Second Life and beyond [FutureTag]

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