Posts by D. H. McKee

Customer Is Virtual … Money Is Real

February 27, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Sci-Tech

More on http://www.there.com:
There Inc. invites you to sell your wares in the most realistic and commercially sophisticated virtual world ever created. Now for the hard part: Getting people to show up.
Most of the time, when Tom Melcher looks at the desktop wallpaper image on his Dell (DELL) Inspiron 8200 notebook computer, he sees just what's there: a screen-size photo of two dark-haired, smiling little girls, his 7- and 8-year-old daughters. Sometimes, though, he catches sight of another image. It's a glimpse of a not-so-far-off future, on a day when his girls, both away at college, are settling in for their weekly long-distance check-in with Dad. Unlike the "Sunday phone call from hell" that Melcher remembers from his own college years, however, this one takes place through a screen like the one he's looking at now, in a shared virtual space the whole family connects to from their computers. He sees his daughters onscreen, each represented as a walking, talking, gesturing 3-D caricature of herself (an "avatar"). They're sitting beside one another on a couch in what appears to be a well-appointed Swiss chalet. The girls in turn see their father's avatar on their screens, seated in a nearby armchair.

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Habbo Schmabbo

February 26, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Gaming

As far as virtual reality chat rooms go, Habbo Hotel is pretty good in that it knows its limitations. Far from making an engrossing 3D world in the style of a First Person Shooter (FPS), Habbo gives you a cute cartoon avatar in a bunch of limited capacity rooms. The big side effect is the place is always full of kids (mostly British pre-teens), so don't expect an insightful conversation or a high level of maturity. Of course, I never expect that when going into an online chat room.
It's clever: It's free to join, free to customize your avatar, free to make a room, and it doesn't oversell itself to the public. The conversation mechanism is clever too -- you can hear fragments of conversations as you walk through a room, since you have to be close to a person to hear what they are saying. Alternately, you can yell to everyone in a room, and all the little avatar heads turn to look at you.
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Inactive Worlds

February 26, 2003 D. H. McKee
1 Comment
Gaming

This site is one of the first websites to go for the deep virtual reality experience. It's been around for a number of years now, but hasn't improved the look or function since I've been viewing it (and I've been back a couple of times over the years). Essentially the engine is about the level of Castle Wolfenstein, and you can still get through any wall or door simply by going sideways. Other than the technical drawbacks, there's no real reason to be in here, since there's never anyone around. Most "tourists" congregate near the starting portal and chat for free. Other members--those who allegedly pay for this service--aren't anywhere to be seen, but they've created some god-awful nightmare buildings and landscapes. It's about as fun as exploring the Ontario Science Center (without all the science stuff). Big, lonely, and ugly-looking.
Download the client and try it for yourself. But be aware there are far better games out there.
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Time to go “There”

February 26, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Gaming

Here's (or There's) one of the more professional-looking virtual reality online worlds. It's (There's) currently in beta testing, but it looks like it'll rival the Sims Online for non-gamers:
'"There" is the first online getaway that gives you the freedom to play and talk naturally while having fun and making friends. Check out the pictures below for just a glimpse of what you'll find in There. Then sign up to be one of our Beta Testers and see it all for yourself!
[there_chick.jpg]

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Scientists spread the word on evils of pseudoscience

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Skeptic

Scientists must be the evangelists against the well-financed effort to undermine science education, especially evolution, a physics professor said Monday....

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Scientology Grows Fast, Sparks Debate

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Skeptic

Last month, Germany's Federal Finance Office granted the Church of Scientology full tax-exempt status, clearing the way for the organization to be recognized as a bona fide religious group. Scientology was founded in the United States nearly 50 years ago by L. Ron Hubbard, an engineer and novelist. Many political leaders in Europe have accused the group of being a cult and the German decision comes at a time when here in the United States, a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the church awaits trial.

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Canada helps shut down suspicious cancer clinic

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Skeptic

Authorities from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have shut down a dubious medical clinic that was treating cancer patients with magnets.
Most of the patients were from the U.S., and about 10 per cent were from Canada. The company was based in B.C., while the treatments were given at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico.

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‘Steves’ support teaching of evolution

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Skeptic

More than 200 scientists "named Steve" yesterday issued a statement backing evolution instruction in public schools, the latest response to state science standards that allow criticism of Darwinism.
The statement, issued in Denver at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), lists people named Steve to illustrate the large number of evolution backers and to honor Harvard evolutionist Stephen Jay Gould, who died last year of cancer.

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Lucasfilm + Cartoon Network: Clone Wars

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Film

Picking up where Episode II left off, the saga of the Clone Wars will continue through animated shorts premiering this year from the Cartoon Network and Lucasfilm Ltd. Star Wars: Clone Wars will be a series of 20 animated shorts that will air on the Cartoon Network in 2003-2004 between other programming.
Helming this new series is Genndy Tartakovsky (see Three-Minute Epics: A Look at Star Wars: Clone Wars), the acclaimed creator of "Samurai Jack" and "Dexter's Laboratory." The episodic shorts will be two- to three-minutes in length and will air exclusively on Cartoon Network at regularly scheduled times beginning this fall.
The epic Clone Wars dominated the final years of the Galactic Republic, as Jedi-led clone troopers battled against the evil forces of the Separatists. Joining already established Star Wars characters in the series will be several new and ruthless adversaries.
"We are incredibly excited to be working with Lucasfilm in creating an animated story that extends one of the world's most beloved entertainment properties," said Sam Register, senior vice president of development for Cartoon Network. "Cartoon Network's creative team will work hand-in-hand with Lucasfilm to make sure that our common vision for Clone Wars thrills Star Wars fans around the world."
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StarWars: The Case for the Empire

February 25, 2003 D. H. McKee
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Film

Like the United Nations, the Republic has no armed forces of its own, but instead relies on a group of warriors, the Jedi knights, to "keep the peace." The Jedi, while autonomous, often work in tandem with the Senate, trying to smooth over quarrels and avoid conflicts. But the Jedi number only in the thousands--they cannot protect everyone.
What's more, it's not clear that they should be "protecting" anyone. The Jedi are Lucas's great heroes, full of Zen wisdom and righteous power. They encourage people to "use the Force"--the mystical energy which is the source of their power--but the truth, revealed in "The Phantom Menace," is that the Force isn't available to the rabble. The Force comes from midi-chlorians, tiny symbiotic organisms in people's blood, like mitochondria. The Force, it turns out, is an inherited, genetic trait. If you don't have the blood, you don't get the Force. Which makes the Jedi not a democratic militia, but a royalist Swiss guard....
In all of the time we spend observing the Rebel Alliance, we never hear of their governing strategy or their plans for a post-Imperial universe. All we see are plots and fighting. Their victory over the Empire doesn't liberate the galaxy--it turns the galaxy into Somalia writ large: dominated by local warlords who are answerable to no one
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