3pointD.com

From Fresh Creations [via the MAKE: Blog] comes a 3D instruction manual for assembling Ikea furniture (or at least, a demonstration of the concept of such a manual). It isn’t really clear from the site just how the demo was put together, but what is clear is that it’s definitely a great (potential?) use of 3pointD.

Second Life machinimist Pierce Portocarrero has posted the latest in a string of cute, short videos that collectively provide a fun and interesting look at life in Second Life. Today: Pierce goes gambling. Definitely worth your 1 minute, 19 seconds.

I want to make some kind of joke here that starts with “a guy walks through a Croquet portal with a duck on his head” but I can’t quite figure out what it is. Instead, I’ll just link to Qwaq, which is nothing more than a mission statement at the moment, but an intriguing one at that. Qwaq’s mission? “To enable a rich ecosystem of interlinked Croquet spaces, that is as easy to navigate and extend as today’s web.” So Croquet (which we’ve blogged about several times recently) has its first Web-based network hub — or it will have, as soon as Qwaq flaps its wings. Will users then put portals from each of their spaces to the next? And why not write a Qwaq plug-in so that you can browse the network from within Croquet? Croquet so open-source that you can edit the application’s code from within the application and see the effects on the fly, which is kind of mind-blowing, so a Qwaq plug-in shouldn’t be that hard. We’ll bring you more updates as we get them. Is anyone actually using Croquet now that the SDK is out in beta? We’d love to hear from you. [Via the Daily Graze.]

VRoot flags an interesting story in The Economist, in which new Autodesk CEO Carl Bass pushes his own version of virtual reality. “It will be the ability ‘to experience’ a thing before it is built, says Mr Bass.” And in all five senses. Interesting to learn that Bass is a veteran crafter and builder (and Maker?). The article is a good look at the kind of thinking that may well lead to the 3pointD tools of the future.

Stefan at Ogle Earth notices that an intriguing “launch” event (right after lunch) is scheduled into the Google Geo Developers Day next week (June 12). “1:00 - 2:30 Launch: We’ve got a few things up our sleeve, and you’ll be the first to see.” Very interesting. We look forward to news and insights.

Registration for the Second Life Community Convention, to be held August 18-20 in San Francisco, is now open at the SLCC site. The three-day event, which is still in the planning stages, will bring together several hundred Second Life residents, as well as representatives from Linden Lab. Virtual world marketing and services company Rivers Run Red will make a presentation, and if last year’s SLCC was any indication, an outstanding time will be had by all. (more…)