Second Life is an online multimedia platform that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and then interact with other users and user-created content within a multi-user online virtual world. Developed and owned by the San Francisco–based firm Linden Lab and launched on June 23, 2003, it saw rapid growth for some years and in 2013 it had approximately one million regular users. Growth eventually stabilized, and by the end of 2017 the active user count had declined to "between 800,000 and 900,000". In many ways, Second Life is similar to massively multiplayer online role-playing games; nevertheless, Linden Lab is emphatic that their creation is not a game: "There is no manufactured conflict, no set objective."
In computing, an avatar is a graphical representation of a user, the user's character, or persona. Avatars can be two-dimensional icons in Internet forums and other online communities, where they are also known as profile pictures, userpics, or formerly picons. Alternatively, an avatar can take the form of a three-dimensional model, as used in online worlds and video games, or an imaginary character with no graphical appearance, as in text-based games or worlds such as MUDs.
The Sierra Network (TSN) later rebranded as the ImagiNation Network (INN), was a online service launched in 1991 by Sierra On-Line. First developed in 1989 and launched to the public in 1991, it offered subscribers a unique online space to play games and socialize, billing itself as a "cyberspace theme park." This service was the first exclusively focused on online gaming and was among the early adopters of online avatars, laying the groundwork for future gaming communities.
The metaverse is a loosely defined term referring to virtual worlds in which users represented by avatars interact, usually in 3D and focused on social and economic connection. While the exact manifestation of the metaverse is continuously evolving as technology advances, the metaverse is comprised of 3D virtual, augmented, and mixed realities in which individuals can socialize, entertain, learn, work, consume, and engage in other life activities.
The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards are presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), while the separate Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards are given by its sister organization the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS).
The Multiverse Network, Inc. was an American startup company creating a network and platform for massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) and 3D virtual worlds. Multiverse's stated aim was to lower the barrier of entry for development teams by providing a low-cost software platform for online game and virtual world development.
The Huntsville Times was a thrice-weekly newspaper published in Huntsville, Alabama. It also served the surrounding areas of north Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The Times formerly operated as an afternoon paper, but moved to mornings years after The Huntsville News ceased publication. It was published by The Huntsville Times Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Advance Publications, Inc. The paper was first acquired by Advance's founder, Samuel Newhouse Sr., in 1955. The Times is a sister paper to two other Advance-owned publications within Alabama, The Birmingham News and the (Mobile) Press-Register.
Daz Productions, Inc. is a 3D-content and software company specialized in providing rigged 3D human models, associated accessory content, and software to hobbyists as well as the prosumer market.
Roblox is an online game platform and game creation system developed by Roblox Corporation that allows users to program and play games created by themselves or other users. Created by David Baszucki and Erik Cassel in 2004 and released in 2006, the platform hosts user-created games of multiple genres coded in the programming language Lua. For most of Roblox's history, it was relatively small, both as a platform and as a company. Roblox began to grow rapidly in the second half of the 2010s, and this growth has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Larry W. Fullerton was an American inventor best known for the invention of ultra-wideband technology, correlated magnetics, and a number of other industrial, military, and consumer technologies. He co-founded Time Domain Corporation in 1987 and Cedar Ridge Research in 2006. He holds more than 500 patents around the world for technologies as diverse as ground sonar, new magnetics technology, and radio pulse technology.
Chris C. Kemp is an American entrepreneur who, along with Dr. Adam London, founded Astra, a space technology firm based in California, in 2016. He served as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, and as NASA's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for IT. While at NASA, Kemp partnered with Google and Microsoft and helped in the creation of Google Moon and Mars. He worked with the White House to develop the cloud computing strategy for the United States Federal Government and co-founded OpenStack, an open-source software project for cloud computing. He was also one of the founders of Nebula, a company that from 2011 to 2015, worked to commercialise the technology.
DESE Research, Inc., is a veteran-owned, small-business firm conducting theoretical and analytical research services in the fields of Defense, Energy, Space, and Environment. DESE was formed in 1982 by former U.S. Army civil-service executive Dr. Wallace E. Kirkpatrick. In addition to research accomplishments, DESE is recognized for high ethical standards and leadership in community services.
SENSIO Technologies, Inc., also known as SENSIO, was a Montreal company that developed and marketed stereoscopic image-processing technologies facilitating the creation and delivery of 3D content. To promote widespread 3D adoption, SENSIO was active on several fronts: aggregating and distributing 3D content in its SENSIO® Hi-Fi 3D format; supplying the technology to enable high-fidelity, quality-enhanced 3D images delivered over the existing 2D infrastructure; developing technologies that eased user interaction with 3D content; and ensuring compatibility by conforming to existing constraints and promoting standardization.
The virtual world framework (VWF) is a means to connect robust 3D, immersive, entities with other entities, virtual worlds, content and users via web browsers. It provides the ability for client-server programs to be delivered in a lightweight manner via web browsers, and provides synchronization for multiple users to interact with common objects and environments. For example, using VWF, a developer can take video lesson plans, component objects and avatars and successfully insert them into an existing virtual or created landscape, interacting with the native objects and users via a VWF interface.
The 58th Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards was held on January 8, 2007. The National Television Academy announced the winners at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. DIRECTV's Eddy Hartenstein received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the company's becoming a global provider of digital television.
DIY is a global interest based community designed specifically for kids. It is a platform that houses a variety of multi-media content designed to teach children various skills. Each user has their personal profile with an avatar and bio, and is allowed to share creations and accomplishments with friends.
The 59th Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards was held on January 8, 2008 at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
CrazyTalk is Reallusion's brand name for its 2D animation software. The product series includes CrazyTalk, a 2D facial animation software tool, and CrazyTalk Animator, a face and body 2D animation suite.
VRChat is an online virtual world platform created by Graham Gaylor and Jesse Joudrey and operated by VRChat, Inc. The platform allows users to interact with others with user-created 3D avatars and worlds. VRChat is designed primarily for use with virtual reality headsets, being available for Microsoft Windows PCs and as a native app for Android-based headsets such as Meta Quest, Pico 4, and HTC Vive XR Elite. It is also usable without VR in a "desktop" mode designed for either a mouse and keyboard or gamepad, and in an Android app for touchscreen devices.
Digital cloning is an emerging technology, that involves deep-learning algorithms, which allows one to manipulate currently existing audio, photos, and videos that are hyper-realistic. One of the impacts of such technology is that hyper-realistic videos and photos makes it difficult for the human eye to distinguish what is real and what is fake. Furthermore, with various companies making such technologies available to the public, they can bring various benefits as well as potential legal and ethical concerns.
