3pointD.com

Award-winning science fiction Vernor Vinge, speaking at the Austin Game Conference, gave his vision of a future in which connectivity was literally in the air around us. Author of Rainbows End most recently, Vinge painted a picture of ubiquitous connectivity similar to the one narrated in that novel. So well connected will we be, according to Vinge, that “post-human” capabilities will arise from groups of people networked together. “It will be a very glorious thing to be an early post-human artist,” Vinge said. “Virtually every aspect of purpose, faith and fantasy could have a constituency in such a world.” His vision was compelling, though it remains to be seen how quickly it will be realized, or whether the discrete functions Vinge described won’t more likely take fuzzier forms as they come about. Below a transcript of his remarks: (more…)

Hackers gained access to the user database that governs the virtual world of Second Life this week, according to an urgent security announcment from Linden Lab. Though the exploit was shut down on September 6, shortly after it was discovered, a “detailed investigation over the last two days confirmed that some of the unencrypted customer information stored in the database was compromised, potentially including Second Life account names, real life names and contact information, along with encrypted account passwords.” No unencrypted credit card information was stored in the database that was hacked, but Linden Lab is requiring all users to reset their passwords. Oddly, it seems that no notice was sent to users flagging the problem. (more…)