Second Life Becomes a Solution to Economic Problems Within Businesses

Imagine, being able to hold a conference for an entire corporation in a secure, tropical atmosphere, free of cost. Seem impossible?

The economy downfall has made a lasting impression in the business world. Top executives have to squeeze and slash travel budgets for conferences and meetings in these harsh times. Linden Lab, the creator of the virtual world, Second Life, launched their beta program today that will help relieve this problem.

The new beta program, Second Life Enterprises, is designed to run within the company network. It provides security similar to their intranet. This exciting new program utilizes advanced 3D visual, audio and text tools to enable users to upload media files, documents and customized content.

Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden Lab, describes the motive behind Second Life Enterprise.

“We’ve worked very closely with our enterprise customers to develop a solution that would fit seamlessly within their existing networks while also solving real business challenges,” explains Kingdon.

More than 1,400 organizations around the world, including large enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies and the US Military, currently use Second Life to hold meetings, conduct training and prototype new technologies more efficiently and cost effectively.

Administrators are given the ability to regulate who may access the meeting areas as well as the frequency that one is allowed to access these areas. Administrators can also permit users to use their real names as their avatar.

Douglas Maxwell, program technology lead for the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Metaverse Strategic Initiative, further explains the significance of the secure network Second Life Enterprise offers.

“Hosting the Second Life Enterprise on a secured network allows us to conduct training, concept of operations exercises, and collaborative engineering activities using sensitive information in safety,” said Maxwell.

Starting at $55,000, Second Life Enterprise may be a solution to economic problems within a corporation.

Woman Lost at Sea

The crisp air on her skin on a summer morning in Bristol Bay, Alaska never felt better. Feeling the splash of the ice-cold water on her face as the fish come flying off of the net; her hands stinging from the ripping the remainder of the fish from the net

For the past eight summers, the smell of salt water and fresh fish feel like home to Maggie J. Vincent, a senior at Washington State University.

While some students work at fast food restaurants during the summer to pay for college, Vincent prefers working at a commercial fishing company in Alaska.

“When I was younger, I enjoyed hearing tales of my fathers experiences in Alaska,” Vincent said. “As a child I looked forward to the day that I would be old enough to share in these life experiences first hand.”

However, according to Vincent, spending your summers on a boat in Alaska isn’t a trip to the beach.

“When you’re not pulling up the net and picking fish, you are taking a nap, eating or cleaning the boat,” Vincent said.

A typical day is based on teamwork, according to Vincent. With only four other crewmembers, the group has to take shifts in order to keep a balanced rotation.

More crewmembers were required as the amount of fish caught in the net increased. If vast amounts of fish are caught in the net, the net is ‘smoking’, according to Vincent. If the net is ‘dragging’, it means there is a small amount of fish caught.

“It’s not about the money,” Vincent said. “The life lessons I’ve learned from working at the commercial fishing company make all the difference.”

Vincent has encountered many memorable experiences over the past eight summers in Alaska.

One of her most memorable moments was on the Fourth of July in 2004. Vincent was crossing from her boat to another boat when she hallucinated and fell face first into the tender.

“After a three hour drive to the clinic to get stitches in my chin, I spent the night tonguing the area where my front tooth used to be,” Vincent said.

“Lack of sleep was definitely a factor in my hallucination,” Vincent said. “I probably had five hours of sleep over the course of three days.”

Very few women work in the commercial fishing industry as crew and even less work as skippers.

“The hardest part about working in the commercial fishing industry is when it comes time to pull up the net and try to pull the fish out of the ‘gill net’,” Vincent said. “It’s hard, fast-paced and exhausting.”

“Working in Alaska has taught me a lot about independence and maintaining a good work ethic,” Vincent said.

Vincent plans to continue working at the commercial fishing company in Alaska for as many years as she can.

Frontline: "What's happening to the News?"

I was shocked after viewing the Frontline piece. The opening couple of minutes demonstrate the change in values of the reports. In the time of Edward R. Murrow, there was much more focus on getting all the news as unbiased as possible to the people. These types of reports "were known as heros, but today.. they are in a crisis". It's as if all the reporters' morals have just flown out the window when they have to decide between money or moral values.

In-Class Research Exercise

Crime Stats:

-In 2007, Pullman, WA, had 5 reported hate crimes, whereas most similarly small cities in the state of Washington had around 3. However, compared to Seattle, who had 28 hate crimes, Pullman appears to not have a problem with the number of hate crimes. The most common type of hate crime that was reported was hate crimes related to race (4 race related hate crimes were reported in 2006 & 2007).

Follow the Money:

-Christine Gregoire was the Washington State governor candidate that received the most political donations in 2008. She received $12,002,778.

-For the first leading gubernatorial candidate, Christine Gregoire, the industry that contributed the largest donations (aside from the candidates' own political committees) was from the Lawyers and Lobbyists industry, who gave a total of $381,414 during her campaign. For the second leading gubernatorial candidate, Dino Rossi, the industry that contributed the largest donations was from the Lawyers and Lobbyists , who gave a total of $74,127 during his campaign.

-The Forestry & Forest Products industry donated the most money to the Republican party.

-The Lobbyists & Public Relations industry donated the most money to the Democratic party.

Google's Patent Search:

-Digital Video Recorder: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=eEk2AAAAEBAJ&dq=%22Digital+Video+Recorder%22&num=100

-Social Networking: http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=fVsGAAAAEBAJ&dq=%22Social+Networking%22&as_psrg=1&num=100

-Automobile:http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=E9lrAAAAEBAJ&dq=Automobile&as_psrg=1&num=100