SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

I thought this might be an interesting article for us:

"Imagine being able to have a digital replica of yourself stroll from one site to another

When Google Earth launched in 2005, users were exhilarated to type in their home address, see the earth as if they were floating in space, and then swoop down to view a satellite image of their house or apartment. These days users have moved on to upgrading Google Earth with their own photographs and three-dimensional digital replicas of buildings. But one day they'll be able to alight on a Google Earth street and meet someone else there--and even have a conversation.


That sort of encounter is still a few years off, but it's no pipe dream. Google (GOOG), Second Life creator Linden Lab, IBM, and a bevy of additional companies are moving toward the day when you can stroll around a 3D Web--and not just their own sites--using a virtual replica of yourself that you've created. They are working to establish technical standards, open to all programmers, that would allow the entire Internet to become a galaxy of connected virtual worlds."

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/...

Interesting article. It looks like there is a lot of corporate sharing that needs to happen before anything near a metaverse occurs. And corporations are not known for playing nice with each other!

It is a step closer to it, though. You're right that most corporations don't "play wells with others", but if one company sees another cashing in on a good idea that they scoffed at three months ago, you can bet your pajamas that in another month that same company will have hopped on the bandwagon, either by joining the main group or coming out with their own.