Google Testing "My World" Second Life Rival?

Tjeerd writes "Rumors of Google's plans to create a virtual world that rivals that of Second Life have popped up once again over the weekend. The company could now be collaborating with Arizona State University to test the 3D social network, which may be tied into Google's current applications of Google Earth and Google Maps."

Ahh, Rumors

[oahazmatt]

I love rumors. Rumors make me believe everything will be better and just the way I like it. Google -might- create a new second life, Microsoft is -poised- to buy stock in Facebook, there have been -talks- that Mac OS X won't run on 800 MHz machines.

Now facts... facts I have no time for. Facts are depressing, facts are cruel and heartless, and facts are used by people such as Jack Thompson. Or, rumor has it that he uses facts, so I suppose in truth he's rumored to have certainty -- which shakes me to the core.

Also, rumors tell companies like Google what to do next. "Hmm, what will we do tomorrow? Let's see what we're rumored to do? A new Second Life and a puppy-reselling website? We'll need some more Ajax scripters!"

Oh, rumors, is there anything you can't allude to?

(not a dig at /., just feeling a little jokey today)

Re:Why?

[Alioth]

Second Life is really 3D IRC, with a much poorer frame rate than the old-skool IRC.

Re:I don't understand.

[Library Spoff]

I don't know why people spend money on books or movies - is life so bad they need to escape into an alternative reality?

NEWSFLASH!

[gbutler69]

Most people's lives suck! They work boring jobs with no future. They live mostly just above the poverty line. Things like television, video games, movies, books, irc, MySpace, and SecondLife give their boring existences something stimulating.

Choose your poison: Religion, Sex, Drugs, Sports, Music, Books, Movies, TV, IRC, MySpace, SecondLife, SLASHDOT.

Whatever will get your brain to release some Oxytocin and/or other Endorphines. And don't think for a minute any of the options is *better* than any of the others. The only thing *good* is what is *good* for the individual in this context.

It would be nice if everyone were pleased and stimulated by thoughtful and intellectual pursuits; unfortunately, most are not.

Heck, as long as it's not self-destructive, who cares? Everything in moderation and everything will be fine.

Kind Regards,

Gerry B.

Only A Matter Of Time

[Nom du Keyboard]

It's only a matter of time before SL-type worlds interoperate, and there are bridges/portals/stargates to let your avatar travel between all of them.

Re:I don't understand.

[superpulpsicle]

This whole post is opinionated. Is like saying:

- People's lives suck so much, they wish they were fighting wars. Hence the millions playing CoD, battlefield, quake online.

- People are so unathletic, they are playing sports games online.

Re:Hmmm...

[glindsey]

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist... and I shouldn't talk, as I've made plenty of embarrassing tyops myself.

Re:Why?

[PopeRatzo]

There are no goals, just creators and consumers

Exactly what is it they are creating or consuming? Nicely-dressed cartoon characters?

Second Life is a long way from being virtual reality's killer app. In fact, it can be argued that by creating the false impression that something is actually going on there, Second Life has set back VR by at least a decade. If given a decently-crafted interactive multiplayer virtual reality application all that results is a bunch of advertising and cybersex, a lot of people would assume that the entire enterprise is a waste of time and energy.

That would be a shame.

Great collaborative opportunities.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Second Life is to "great collaborative opportunities" what an unsharpened pencil is to the complete works of Shakespeare.