sexta-feira, 04 de junho de 2004

Virtual Real Estate Boom Draws Real Dollars , in USA Today, thanks to Slashdot Second Life game is an interesting case study on virtual economy and on virtual communities. By Michael Learmonth, Reuters NEW YORK - Rising interest rates have yet to cool white-hot real estate prices. Perhaps that's why the concept of virtual home ownership has captured the imagination of a growing number of online gamers, who are plunking down real cash for their own slice of the digital frontier. After orienting yourself to Second Life on a remote island, you'll be ready to hit the mainland. Large swathes of undeveloped online property, some bearing an uncanny resemblance to a palm-studded West Coast beachfront idyll, are selling for up to $550 an acre. That amount is but a song compared with real world real estate, but these are computerized representations of property [~] pretty pictures, if you will [~] in an online graphic role-playing game known as Second Life. Second Life is a relatively new entry into the world of Massively Multiplayer Online games, known to enthusiasts as MMOs. (Some refer to them as MMORPGs, massively multiuser online role-playing games.) Like Sony's EverQuest and Electronic Arts' The Sims Online, players create their own civilizations and interact with others living alternative lives online. Links: Second Life Massive Multiplayer Online Role Player Games Multiplayer Online Games Directory 12:25:05 AM    comment []

Face transplant. Researchers at the University of Louisville are seeking permission from a bioethics panel to perform the first-ever face transplant. According to a CNN article, "the operation could offer new hope for those who suffer severe burns, cancer or gunshot wounds. The surgery will attach facial tissue and blood vessels from a cadaver to a new patient." New Scientist broke the news last week, reporting that "the team has been using the faces of bodies donated for medical research to practise the groundbreaking operation and the results suggest that a transplanted face will not be recognisable as either the donor or the recipient - in effect creating a third face." As a result, the University of Louisville was swamped with inquiries, resulting in the release of an FAQ on the status of the face transplant program. Apparently, they're not seeking volunteers quite yet. Link UPDATE: Praveen points us to a Flash animation explaining the transplant process. Link [Boing Boing] 12:02:41 AM    comment []

© Creative Commons 2004 Antonio C-Pinto. Last update: 12.09.04; 01:41:43.