Call for Papers – CGAMES.com.sg

clipped from cgames.com.sg Computer Games; Animation, Multimedia, IPTV, Edutainment and Security International Conference and Symposium on 28th-30th April 2008 KNOW THE LATEST RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY & BUSINESS TRENDS AT TECHNICAL SESSIONS Authors should submit a complete paper in English of up to 8 A4 pages, using the submission procedure indicated below. The program committee will review all papers and the contact author of each paper will be notified of the result, by email. Each paper should clearly indicate the nature of its technical/scientific contribution, and the problems, domains or environments to which it is applicable. Authors must also indicate the conference track to which the paper is submitted. The paper must be carefully checked for correct grammar and spelling. SUBMISSION OF PAPERS

Second Life: A Place to Make Lives – itsReal

Imagine…….. being suddenly able to walk, to communicate, to work and to socialize, not only locally but globally. That is how life has become for a new friend of mine through the Reality of Second Life.

Below is Niels first English article, the full entry can be found at the link below
There is more than just the ability to walk

Written by Niels Schuddeboom
Monday, 02 April 2007

Technology has changed my life and it still does. Without my computer, I wouldn’t have been able to write or work. The machine gives me the ability to communicate and let my creative juices flow. It is making it possible to function on the same level as others and to get equally rewarded for it.

Since mid-2006 I’m walking around in the virtual world of Second Life. Literally being able to walk is a very strange experience for someone using a wheelchair in real life for more than 20 years now. Though I won’t let SL jeopardize my real-life social life, I really have to say it is beneficial to walk. In real life, many people tend to think that I’m mentally retarded, in second life I can’t be judged by my wheels, as long as I don’t use a wheelchair. As soon as I do, mechanisms of social interaction work exactly the same.

Before I will explain what I find most interesting about Second Life, I would like to take the opportunity to react to some of the criticism of the past months, which is in my opinion mainly based on ignorance. Many people say Second Life is a dull and slow experience, with bad graphics and such. They call it an unhealthy hype. Well, in some ways, they are right. But every hype comes with unhealthy side effects and we all tend to forget that the system is in its infancy just like the Internet of today once was. There once was a time without images and video-sharing services, and there once was a time that we all called people using the Web ‘nerds without social habits’. M

More…. click HERE

Meet Dean Koontz—in the first ever “Bantam Dell Authors in Second Life” Event!

Thursday, March 15, 2007—6pm PST.

Dean will read an exclusive selection from his forthcoming novel, THE GOOD GUY and answer his fans questions live.

And there is more: Fans who want to join in will be given the chance to learn more about a very special opportunity to create something for Dean!

Want more details?
Click here to visit deankoontz.com for more information on how to visit Second Life, or how to experience the simul-webcast of this event at Dean’s own site.

Dean Koontz and other Authors heading to SecondLife to promote their BOOKS and meet interested avatar’s – itSreal

It looks like the Electric Sheep Company are getting ready to bring authors from Random House’s Bantam Dell imprint to the virtual world of Second Life.

Check out Sheep Island, where a Bantam Dell building just outside Sheep Tower.

The inside is all set up for what looks like a reading or Q&A, the featured author being best-selling thriller writer Dean Koontz. While this could just be a test build, the Bantam Dell logo is slapped all over everything, and the place looks ready for a bunch of literary-minded avatars to show up and pelt Koontz with questions.

There’s also a movie screen in one corner running promos for Bantam Dell authors, including one for Daniel Goleman, author of Social Intelligence, The New Science of Human Relationships. But no word yet on when events might actually start up there. This is a great way to bring books into Second Life. Actually reading things in Second Life is incredibly frustrating and not at all worth the effort, but bringing authors in to do talks, interviews or Q&As could be perfect.