Nov. 16, 2009 – The virtual world is becoming the new corporate conference room--at least that is what one internet company is offering customers through their new Beta program centered around secure, online meeting scenarios.
Linden Lab, creator of the Second Life virtual world, announced the release of their new, more corporate-friendly version of the less-secure, more public program on Monday, called Second Life Enterprise.
With the release of the of the Beta program, the company revealed the $55,000 price-tag for the product, as well as a plans to launch a platform for virtual goods exchange and an enterprise application marketplace.
According to the company’s product website, customers of Linden Lab’s new “behind-the-firewall” product are entitled to features not available in the original Second Life platform, including security and privacy per world grid, the ability to create regions and the option of creating custom names or using real names for avatars.
Among some of Linden Lab’s clientele using the Second Life Enterprise product are IBM, Northrop Grumman, Case Western Reserve University and Naval Undersea Warfare Center.
Brett Atwood, a web content strategist for Linden Lab, said some of the attractions to the product can be traced to reduced travel expenditures by companies flying representatives to distant conferences.
“We’re in an environment with a high cost of travel,” Atwood said. “This is a significantly cheaper way to bring people together in real-time.”
Atwood said the uses of Second Life Enterprise extend past virtual meetings into other uses, including holding socializing “water-cooler” activities, company recruiting, new-hire orientations, scenario-based training and multimedia and 3D presentations.
Other features, Atwood said, like Telepresence, the phenomenon of how we perceive simulated presence, are unique attributes of the Second Life server.
In the company’s press release, Linden Lab also reported that the up-and-coming Second Life Work Marketplace virtual environment will boast new features, including giving the customers the ability to browse, test and purchase content from third-party developers.
According to the announcement, the Second Life Work Marketplace is set for a 2010 launching.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Flu shots on campus
October 16, 2009
While other students were passing by to visit the bookstore or chatting with friends on their way to class, Mike Turi sat down and began to fill out all the necessary medical paper work attached to the clipboard -- the first step after expressing interest in getting vaccinated for the seasonal flu virus.
Representatives and graduate student volunteers of the Student Health and Wellness center advertised and administered seasonal flu vaccinations in the lobby area of the CUB as part of a flu vaccine outreach.
Erika Miller, a second year pharmacy student helping with the immunizations, talked to students walking through the CUB about the vaccine.
Miller said some of the students taking advantage of the Student Health and Wellness tables were attracted by the convenience of the location.
Turi, a third-year computer engineering PhD student, was one such student who signed up for the vaccine at the tables.
Turi said he usually gets the vaccine, and with there being a convenient location from where he could receive the shot, there was little reason not to get it again. “The earlier, the better,” Turi added.
While some students in the CUB took the opportunity to get the vaccine, others chose not to.
David Rayfield, a freshman criminal justice major, said despite the attention given to the current flu season and the H1N1 flu virus, he chose not to get a flu shot.
“I don’t get them, and I’m usually fine,” Rayfield said.
Despite the differing viewpoints on the seasonal flu vaccine, Miller said that students were appearing at the outreach table in numbers average in comparison to last year.
Miller also addressed some of the concerns that students expressed to her.
“Some people are worried about it being uncomfortable,” Miller said. “It’s not just for your self, though. It’s looking out for your community.”
People interested in the seasonal flu vaccine should also consider the H1N1 flu vaccine, which is offered separately and targets the respective virus only, she added.
According to the CDC vaccine information statement sheet that is required literature handed out to all students receiving the shot, those considering the shot should be aware of the risks involved in receiving the protection.
The CDC paper states that though the vaccine could cause serious problems including allergic reactions, the risk of a vaccine inducing severe reactions is rare and any reaction is usually within minutes of vaccination.
For any severe reaction, signaled by symptoms like difficulty in breathing or high fever, Miller advises that recipients of the vaccine call or get to a doctor immediately.
Miller, who as a pharmacy student in Washington State can administer the shot, said the vaccine takes about two weeks to protect the patient from the seasonal flu.
The Student Health and Wellness services are offering the vaccine on campus at the health and wellness center and various locations like the CUB for $25 to students.
While other students were passing by to visit the bookstore or chatting with friends on their way to class, Mike Turi sat down and began to fill out all the necessary medical paper work attached to the clipboard -- the first step after expressing interest in getting vaccinated for the seasonal flu virus.
Representatives and graduate student volunteers of the Student Health and Wellness center advertised and administered seasonal flu vaccinations in the lobby area of the CUB as part of a flu vaccine outreach.
Erika Miller, a second year pharmacy student helping with the immunizations, talked to students walking through the CUB about the vaccine.
Miller said some of the students taking advantage of the Student Health and Wellness tables were attracted by the convenience of the location.
Turi, a third-year computer engineering PhD student, was one such student who signed up for the vaccine at the tables.
Turi said he usually gets the vaccine, and with there being a convenient location from where he could receive the shot, there was little reason not to get it again. “The earlier, the better,” Turi added.
While some students in the CUB took the opportunity to get the vaccine, others chose not to.
David Rayfield, a freshman criminal justice major, said despite the attention given to the current flu season and the H1N1 flu virus, he chose not to get a flu shot.
“I don’t get them, and I’m usually fine,” Rayfield said.
Despite the differing viewpoints on the seasonal flu vaccine, Miller said that students were appearing at the outreach table in numbers average in comparison to last year.
Miller also addressed some of the concerns that students expressed to her.
“Some people are worried about it being uncomfortable,” Miller said. “It’s not just for your self, though. It’s looking out for your community.”
People interested in the seasonal flu vaccine should also consider the H1N1 flu vaccine, which is offered separately and targets the respective virus only, she added.
According to the CDC vaccine information statement sheet that is required literature handed out to all students receiving the shot, those considering the shot should be aware of the risks involved in receiving the protection.
The CDC paper states that though the vaccine could cause serious problems including allergic reactions, the risk of a vaccine inducing severe reactions is rare and any reaction is usually within minutes of vaccination.
For any severe reaction, signaled by symptoms like difficulty in breathing or high fever, Miller advises that recipients of the vaccine call or get to a doctor immediately.
Miller, who as a pharmacy student in Washington State can administer the shot, said the vaccine takes about two weeks to protect the patient from the seasonal flu.
The Student Health and Wellness services are offering the vaccine on campus at the health and wellness center and various locations like the CUB for $25 to students.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Frontline analysis
The Frontline documentary exposing journalism and news in the contemporary offered some very interesting angles. I took a particular interest in how the documentary took a "backstage" perspective, interviewing leading names in news presenting.
The segment covering the Los Angeles Times took me by surprise. With a huge profit margin, greater than that of fortune 500 companies, the argument for the LA Times to be making budget cuts, to my shock, was to appease share-holders. I guess I didn't realize the business well enough or was too naive to realize why papers were having cuts in scenarios like that of the LA Times.
The discussion about "citizen journalism" was also interesting. I've heard a good deal of arguments concerning who owns journalism (the professional or the average citizen) and it was good to hear boht sides of the argument presented next to one another.
The segment covering the Los Angeles Times took me by surprise. With a huge profit margin, greater than that of fortune 500 companies, the argument for the LA Times to be making budget cuts, to my shock, was to appease share-holders. I guess I didn't realize the business well enough or was too naive to realize why papers were having cuts in scenarios like that of the LA Times.
The discussion about "citizen journalism" was also interesting. I've heard a good deal of arguments concerning who owns journalism (the professional or the average citizen) and it was good to hear boht sides of the argument presented next to one another.
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