PSHome版Happy! & photo movie

No place like Home

Well, since my last blog post, a great deal has happened! Playstation Home is, sadly, no more. I first wrote about PS Home in 2008, and described it as a slicker version of Second Life made by Sony. After spending a considerable amount of time on Home after the past 2 years, I can say that there really is no place like Home. It was one of the most remarkable places I have ever been in my life. It is actually indescribable in what it contained and offered if you were willing to spend the time on there exploring and revelling in the beauty of the spaces. When the news came through that Home was going to close forever, I was shocked, even though I knew it would not continue forever. The release of the PS4 was the death knell for Home. At least several months' warning was given, with the announcement going out in October 2014 and the last date of Home being 30 March 2015. Knowing it was all going to be gone forever, I thought hard about what I could do. I got the idea somewhere of using game capture software to make videos of my beloved personal spaces. I am not sure where I got this idea from but I quickly bought the Elgato Game Capture software and got to work. Using this software was also a new experience, and I only wish I had used it long before these final months of Home as I learned a lot about its capabilities and its shortcomings. I also learned a lot about how to film spaces on Home, so my early videos are nowhere near as good as the later ones. I ended up with around 600 videos of Home in the end and many, many photos. I have not yet decided but I may upload some of these to YouTube for other ex-Home people to enjoy. The final days of Home were frantic as I tried to capture as much as possible, though I still failed to completely film everything I wanted. But I have a real archive of my personal spaces and the public spaces of Home which will hopefully help to alleviate the sense of loss, which was at times overwhelming for me and so many others who had their Home taken away. Other virtual worlds lie on the horizon and there are of course those that already exist for PC, but those will be discussed in another post. RIP Playstation Home - you achieved so much and were loved so dearly by so many.

Haven't posted anything on here since 2010 but I think it is time now. My life on PS Home has become an intrinsic part of my real (first) life now. Stay tuned!

A mobile phone that's too smart for me

I had been relatively happy with my 'old' mobile phone but, due to the increasing pressure to text, put upon me by all those people with newer phones and newer attitudes who wouldn't actually ring me, I was having problems texting due to the tiny buttons and even tinier printed letters on each key, due to the main characters being Chinese characters (it's a long story). Then after a horrendously sweltering, endlessly long day and night at an outdoor music event, my phone suddenly seemed to have given up. Then began the slow and painful process of trawling through the phone shops, the online reviews, the YouTube demonstration videos, to try and decide what new phone to buy. A priority for me was a good digital camera, as I couldn't see the sense in buying a new camera AND a new phone. So in the end, it was between the Sony Ericsson Satio aka Idou and the Samsung M8910 because both had 12 megapixel cameras. They both had great features but in the end I chose the Satio as my previous phones have been Ericssons or Sony Ericssons and I have been happy with them.

It is a beautiful looking device, especially with the cherry red case and matching stylus I purchased for it. However, I am now discovering that, because I delayed upgrading my phone earlier, I am now several generations behind when it comes to understanding how these things work and what they can do. I have found it is not the most intuitive device but I have made a little progress since I got it. The instructions leaflet included is probably insufficient for someone of my limited phone experience, so it's a case of slowing reading up on and trying out each feature when time allows. It IS very lovely though and I think that, once I have worked it all out, we will have a great relationship.

Ironically, my old phone started working again perfectly AFTER I bought the new one.

Photo of Sony Ericsson Satio from:
Sony Ericsson

The fickle world of social networks

Ah, social networks - call me old fashioned but they just don't really cut it for me. I finally got a Facebook (FB) account just to make sure I wasn't missing out on anything and found... I wasn't missing out on anything. It seems a lot of the new voguey Web tools get tried out, then dropped just as rapidly. Here is an article that highlights a few trends in the current wave of social software on the net. One thing I found I worried about using FB was that anything you write is permanently on the net and possibly able to be indexed at some point (even if you choose not to have your account indexed in the options). Whereas, sending an email seems less risky or at least not as permanent. It's all 'out there' but email still seems more direct and private (not that it really is private of course). I can see some benefits of Facebook but, after checking many people on FB looking for potential old school friends, etc, it does seem that a vast number joined up then never used their accounts after that. Did they merely submit to peer group pressure? Did they join up in the hope of locating old friends and acquaintances but then discover for every name they tried there were 500+ results? At least in my case, I was only one of 2 or 3 with the same name, but anyone from my old school days won't find me as my name has changed. I think I find email and the phone (including texting) much more reliable and faster! It was fun to revisit old school FB accounts though and see some of the students who had attended there since I left.

Thought for the day

In this current climate of probable recession, a useful Credit Crunch tip: DON'T waste money on expensive iPods. Simply think of your favourite tune and hum it. If you want to "switch tracks", simply think of another song you like and hum that instead. Hee hee...

Barbie turns 50 but she's still a teenager!

Couldn't let today go past without noting that it is Barbie Millicent Roberts' 50th birthday. The new Barbie dolls certainly look glamorous but I prefer the charm of the vintage Barbie, especially the mod era Barbie. Mod era Barbie really captured the carefree feeling of being a teen and the era of truly innovative fashions.

Noah Wyle is... The Librarian!

Haven't posted to my blog in ages but I just had to post this. Apparently "The Librarian III: Curse Of The Judas Chalice" has just been released on DVD. I had to investigate... and so I located "The Librarian I: Quest For The Spear" and "Librarian II: Return To King Solomon's Mines" - what the ??? The blurb for the first film (refer Beyond Home Entertainment website) states "Having spent his life buried in the cloisters of academia, uber-geek Flynn is uncomfortable in the real world. But fate has a job for Flynn – as a new kind of superhero, at work in the basement of the New York Public Library." Man, this sounds like the job for me - a librarian but with a definite purpose, a calling, but more importantly, weaponry beyond a barcode scanning wand! However, I do believe these are Indiana Jones type movies and would seem to have a very tenuous link with libraries, although having not viewed these films I cannot be certain. It's kind of cool to challenge the old stereotype of librarians with this action hero and adventure stuff though, especially for kids. Hmmmnnn, how do I get hold of a copy now...

Spring into Springshare or open source equivalent

Well, I am feeling invigorated with new ideas and directions after the New Librarians Symposium in Melbourne. It was great to hear what paths new grads have taken after finishing their degrees. Many librarians have found interesting roles, sometimes with job titles which sound very little like librarians, and not always via a straight path. Some have taken contract and temporary positions to gain experience and zig-zagged their way to their chosen roles, collecting many valuable skills and life experience on the way. Web 2.0 and beyond also featured heavily at the symposium.

At the Uni where I work, I heard about Springshare Web 2.0 Library Guides. Basically it's a solution that's ideal for academic libraries and school libraries in particular to draw together many of the Web 2.0 and Library 2.0 tools. The main feature is the Library Guides to aid students in their research, however there are many other useful interactive features.

I particularly liked the way users can rate each guide. I also liked the librarian profiles and the reporting functions to track usage of the guides.
LibGuides Intro from Springshare on Vimeo highlights many of the features. The downside is that Springshare isn't free, unlike many Web 2.0 tools, but at around US $800 or so, it is probably worth the (annual) cost. This is especially the case where the library (such as a public library) might be short of programmers: Springshare is so easy to use and does not require any programming skills to add content and functionality - it's just point and click stuff.

Hands Free 3D for SL

Linden Labs are developing technology which will allow Second Lifers to move through SL hands-free via a 3D webcam. Check out the video on YouTube which explains how it is done!

Second Lives

If anyone has any doubt about the potential of virtual online realms such as Second Life (SL), they need only read one of the books I am currently reading myself, that being "Second Lives" by Tim Guest. Tim relates the story of a group of people with cerebral palsy who are expanding their lives through SL. Although they cannot physically do many activities themselves in Real Life, using the virtual world they are able to enhance their quality of life and experience many new things. The group play as one character that can be whatever they want he/she/it to be. They can interact freely with others virtually. To give you some idea of how liberating the experience of using SL is to these people, here are some quotes from the book: "Second Life gives us the voice we've always wanted to have" and "It's like being rescued after drifting what seemed like a lifetime at sea. Like a door I've been banging on was finally opened, or like being born for the first time. It feels how I imagine an innocent man who has been locked up wrongly feels when he's finally set free." (page 49, "Second Lives", Guest). In some ways I feel ashamed of my reluctance to get into these virtual realms, where this group of wonderful people are bursting with the need to express themselves and the desire to interact with others. It is heartwarming to hear that new technologies such as these are helping people to have better lives, rather than just being for vanity or amusement.

Technologic lyrics by Daft Punk

Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,
Trash it, change it, mail, upgrade it,
Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it,
Snap it, work it, quick erase it,
Write it, get it, paste it, save it,
Load it, check it, quick rewrite it,
Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it,
Drag it, drop it, zip, unzip it,
Lock it, fill it, call it, find it,
View it, code it, jam, unlock it,
Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it,
Cross it, crack it, switch, update it,
Name it, read it, tune it, print it,
Scan it, send it, fax, rename it,
Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it,
Turn it, leave it, start, format it,

Sticky Note experiment

Library 2.0 Committee

Well, we have formed a Library 2.0 Committee at work, so let's see what exciting new things we can offer our existing patrons and those we don't even reach at all, at present. Stay tuned!

There's rose-coloured glasses and then there's just pink, pink and more pink

Picture is from The Second Life Herald article mentioned in the post below.

Barbie World of Fashion 40 years on

In the same vein as Sony's "Home" is the Barbie virtual world called "Barbie Girls". Visually, it is a bilious combination of pinks, bearing more than a passing resemblance to the Hello Kitty school of design. Being a vintage and mod Barbie collector myself, this new Barbie world is as far away from true fashion and style as Hannah Montana is from Audrey Hepburn. It's downright ghastly and could only appeal to the young and befuddled in our society: those poor kids who actually believe this stuff is interesting and fun. Barbie Girls has very little to offer, it would seem, in the way of game-play or virtual social interaction. It is all pretty dreadful when you think about the way children, particularly young girls, have been hijacked by people selling useless stuff and manipulating their minds and behaviour, just to make a dollar.

In Barbie Girls, the emphasis seems to be on dressing up your avatar (the power of the 'makeover'), buying stuff (clothing, etc). Here is an article about it in The Second Life Herald (unconnected with Linden Lab's SL). Players use Barbie Bucks instead of Linden Dollars. You can buy virtual furniture or 'furni' as they term it, or virtual pets. I suppose on the positive side, it is reducing actual clothing bought (and as quickly thrown away as last week's fashion) and unwanted real animal pets.

And yet, it is not THAT far away from a game that Mattel put out 40 years ago, in 1967, called "The Barbie World of Fashion game by Mattel". There was still that emphasis on fashion, cute guys, but it wasn't so insidious and was probably aimed at an older market. And the fashions actually looked like fashion - you know, related to art and design, not some sort of ghastly pink cyberchic masquerading as 'fashion'. Cheap disposable fashion, as in the real world, now represented virtually. How utterly pointless! Mattel also release Barbie's "Keys To Fame" game in 1963 but at least the premise of that was "your dream career comes true!". Gosh, a career! There's something that young girls today don't seem to aspire to. They just want fame, money and to be very attractive (and don't forget sexy, even if you are only a tween or younger).

What a shame that all that effort has been put into a game which adds to the already gargantuan effort by companies to further squander and possibly destroy the potential of young girls in the Western world. When I was pre-pubescent, I dreamed of being a ground-breaking scientist or an inventor or an investigator par excellence. I don't think I ever thought of being famous for its own sake or being a popstar/rockstar/fashion model. Now that seems to be all these girls want to be. What an awful waste!

Sony Playstation Home - safer, but...

I read with amusement that Sony is launching a 'safe' social game product called "Home" which mimics Second Life (SL) in some aspects. Clearly there must be a market for this type of game, although SL is, of course not a game at all really - not in the conventional sense anyway. Home is described as "a social layer for the PS3", developed for people who wanted to experience some of the fun of SL, such as customising your avatar, meeting people, etc, but without the full-on scariness of the unknown found online, I presume. It also seems more about the game-play rather than actually creating a SL or other existence. For example, going 10-pin bowling with virtual strangers who have been vetted to ensure they don't offend or spoil your enjoyment. There will apparently be some live events too, which does make it more like a real virtual world (a virtual real world?) rather than just a game environment. This is the article I read: http://www.smh.com.au/news/articles/open-house/2008/08/26/1219516479540.html and the picture shown is from that article.

Label Clouds and Tag Clouds

At the behest of a fellow Learning 2.0 blogger who has been courageously delving into the various gadgets and widgets one might apply to one's blog, I tried adding a tag cloud. I was provided with the following link http://phy3blog.googlepages.com/Beta-Blogger-label-cloud.html. Being not afraid of HTML or even XHTML coding, I bravely added the relevant code and... nothing! It very quickly dawned on me that the reason for this was: no labels on my blog! It's pretty difficult to make a cloud from thin air, as it were. So I added some labels to my posts (which I had noted some fellow Learning 2.0 bloggers had done - those clever clogs!) and... voila! It worked this time. The only problem was that I had more of a tag row than tag cloud, so I will have to add some more labels to achieve the desired cloudy look for my tag or label grouping. It worked like a charm though: I clicked on my label 'Second Life' and my blog re-appeared showing only my postings with that label. I think a tag cloud on a library blog would be very useful to customers indeed as long as the content is there and the labelling is good.