Here Comes the Open Source Metaverse
Summary
Like Netscape, Linden Lab last year open-sourced its viewer code, which led to a number of unofficial versions, some of which have been reverse engineered to run on non-Linden servers. While IBM showed off its contributions to the open-source 3D Internet on the showroom floor, two of the SL spinoffs were featured at the panel, along with two unrelated platforms — one from a startup and another from Sun Microsystems. A spinoff of the GPL-ed Java 3D and Sun’s Project Darkstar open-source server software for online worlds, Wonderland also emphasizes business applications, such as the sharing of Open Office documents and Firefox pages in an avatar-driven 3D space. Sun’s Nicole Yankelovich showed off Wonderland’s ability to broadcast multiple group voice chat, a feature intended to simulate the valuable “watercooler chitchat” that real-world office spaces provide. IBM is using Open Sim to experiment with practical 3D applications, including a “3D-Data Center” (pictured) that’ll enable developers to plan, build, and monitor server farms.
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