3pointD.com

Lego Mindstorms is the cool line of Lego robotics components that let you build little interactive thingets from the ace line of interlocking blocks. The Lego Mindstorms NXT line, which does even more, will be available next month, but you can get a sneak preview of the virtual version in Second Life, as part of an SL event being held on July 20th, where residents will get to show off their creations. Get a set of SL Legos just for joining the “Big Robot on Campus” group in Second Life, then build away. I’m going to check this out this weekend, but I don’t see how it won’t be extra cool. My question: Will Lego Mindstorms NXT kits be available for purchase on an ongoing basis once the event is over? Here’s hoping. (P.S. The Electric Sheep Company, sponsors of this blog, seems to be involved in this project somehow, but I’m just running out to go see mom, so I’ll have to update you on the specifics of that in a follow-up post.)

There’s a new feature on 3pointD as of this morning: I’m now grabbing a feed of the latest SlurlMarkers in the right sidebar, just below the SlurlPane. What’s a SLurlMarker? It’s basically a link to a Second Life location that’s stored in del.icio.us after having been created from within SL using the cool SLurlMarker HUD created by SL scripters Cienna Rand, Epitaxial Playfair and Arito Cotton. You can search del.icio.us for the “SLurlMarker” tag to see all the SLurlMarkers that have been made already. I’m only grabbing the last two SLurlMarkers that have been posted at the moment, though I’ll probably expand that to 4-6 after I re-arrange some elements here on the site. (I almost need a separate 3pointD resources page, don’t I?) So this is my bid to get more people making SLurlMarkers. You can pick up the HUD in the Taco sim, I think. It’s a really cool way to let people know about interesting things you trip over in SL, but I don’t get the impression that all that many people are taking advantage of it. So check out the latest SLurlMarkers in the sidebar, grab a HUD, and get to marking. Markering. Whatever.