Good article about Open Source and Avatars, the digital actors people create to play in Virtual Worlds like Second Life. According to the NY Times, "The companies speak of “a truly interoperable 3D Internet.” Think of it as passports for avatars. So that pink-headed cutie you made for Second Life can also take up residence in There.com, The Lounge, Virtual Laguna Beach and Entropia, for example. “Now, for every world I touch I have to build an avatar..." This constraint will not work as we move further toward the 3D web.
This issue may seem to be trivial now as virtual worlds tech is still evolving but when net connects increase to multi gigabyte speeds, (Japan is already there) 3D immersive tech will truly take off and unfettered access to virtual worlds of all stripes will become essential if the 3D environment of the net is to thrive.
This is akin to when users finally got control over their cell phone numbers and not the telcos, thus freeing users from the grip of the telephone companies when wanting to switch carriers as needs warrant. Wait until users want unlocked phones free from telco control. That will be most interesting. (WiMax, 700 MHZ & the Google Phone will be major players on this issue.)
Click on the Second Life logo to check out this open source V World and do the same for SL Grids to see the development side of the equation. Very interesting to say the least.
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