FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 25, 2011
Contacts: Brandy Maltas (Kalli Birman in Virtual), Public Relations
public_relations@spoton3D.com
PHOENIX VIEWER PARTNERS WITH SPOTON3D
Phoenix Viewer has partnered with SpotON3D®, a virtual world & platform, to offer a viewer customized for its residents. The Phoenix Viewer team will be providing phoenix viewer builds to the folks at Spoton3d with the addition of Spoton3D® specific features for use on the SpotON3D® grid.
SpotON3D® has enabled the following capabilities: SaaS Elastic Cloud Server Scalability, Universal Grid System, Universal Registration, Avatar & Inventory System, Private Label Grid System, PayPal Economy System, Integrated SpotOn3D EZPrezTools and more.
Both the Phoenix Viewer Team and the SpotON3D® Team are looking forward to working in close collaboration. This will provide users with a clear voice in how the grid and viewer interact and the path towards new features. The teams look forward to the exciting changes that will undoubtedly take place as the Phoenix team helps to further develop the SpotON3D®’s network of Web Worlds and associated grids.
About SpotON3D:
Co-Founder/CEO/legal Council is Stevan Lieberman of Greenberg & Lieberman, LLC, an Intellectual Property attorney out of Washington, DC. Co-Founder/COO/Art Director is Tessa Kinney-Johnson, of UnReal Designs, LLC and a 15 year veteran of the 3D Web. Together they’ve formed the software firm, Powersynch, LLC, whose main objective is to bridge the gap between the 2D web, real world technology and the 3D Web.
Development of the SO3D Grid Systems began in November of 2008. With the help of a team of dedicated programmers, web developers, modelers and grid experts they have succeeded in creating an exciting new experience solving many of the complex problems seen in its contemporaries. See: http://www.spoton3d.com
About Phoenix Viewer:
The Phoenix Viewer Project Inc. is a non-profit organization. Phoenix viewer is a Third Party Viewer for use with virtual worlds. It's based on Linden Lab's Viewer Version 1.23.5 and Snowglobe 1.5, with features added to improve performance, increase usability, and generally enhance the user's overall experience.
....so...that's it straight from the horses mouth.... (thx Lalo and Kalli)...
:))
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perhaps with the demonstrated failure of the Blue Mars business model (making content creators pay for the privilege), SpotOn3D now will re-think their own business model. their competitors mostly offer free access to their grids. that is to say, InWorldz, SecondLife and the other open sims. it remains to be seen whether SpotOn3D's draconian controls over IP will be considered worth the extra cost to new users.
ReplyDeleteespecially when the other grids are also working on securing IP in their own ways (and won't be charging us for that.)
ReplyDeleteI've had only one experience with SpotOn3D. It was a special tour for maybe 20+ educators and others. This was a few months ago, so perhaps things have improved. I nearly gave up on trying to get their viewer to install (I had to disable my antivirus software and download some patch from MS for XP -- both known glitches with instructions on SO3D's website). Once in, the lag was worse than anything I've ever experienced in over 4 years in SL (which is saying something). I crashed a couple of times, but mostly kept jumping from one random place to another and just getting stuck there. When I finally got a modicum of stability and tried to follow the crowd across a sim boundary, all bets were off. Additionally, as you entered a space the viewer had an automatic popup web browser with information (and potentially advertising) that could not be disabled. Since it was a special tour by the management, I'd have expected them to have made sure it was the best possible experience. If they needed to add could capacity, that would have been the time to do it. They may well have fixed all this stuff and partnering with Phoenix can't hurt. I will admit that I was not using the best possible computer at the time (at my office), but I routinely run SL 1.23 on it without problems. I would also note that I visited Thoth Jantzen's installation on Veesome (a sub-grid of SO3D) and that grid seemed to be performing very well. (Though I was the only one in sight at the time.) Anyway, the more companies out there trying to give SL a run for the money, the better.
ReplyDeleteYes, an interesting thing to watch will be if SL has set the tone on how VW's operate to such a degree that the 'rules' can be changed or if free access is basically something that is seen as a 'right'.
ReplyDeleteCertainly walled gardens have their appeal, but as you ask, Wizz, to what degree ... good question.
@ FreeWee... I visited on my own when I went so I don't remember any lag... but interesting to revisit to see.
ReplyDeleteWiz ... Yes we've heard your comments and I'm really scratching my head, cause you keep saying it costs creators to come into SpotON3D.
ReplyDeleteWe have no listing fees, no upload fees, give them a free micro-store to host their displays that link to their content and we've even got a FREE4EVER Sandbox. I'm kinda thinking that's pretty ... well ... FREE :P The only fee we ask for is a $2.99/mth premium membership and that's to gives access to mature/adult venues. This fee is tied to a confirmed PayPal account, which most parents guard far more carefully than they do their credit cards and driver's license. Its not impossible to circumvent, but certainly more
responsible and way less intrusive than us asking for your private ID's. It frankly also helps us pay the bills. After all, we aren't a charity organization. We are here, just like a lot of creators, to build our dreams and hopefully break even and *gasp!* make some actual profit! LOL We're a long way to that, so don't worry. That $2.99 goes directly back into the coffers to help pay for programmers, hosting fees, development of big ideas and more - all in support of YOU the creator. If that isn't worth the cost of a cup of coffee to you, or you don't care about keeping minors out of places in our communities they shouldn't be in, then we'll just have to respectfully disagree.
Draconian controls over IP? We are following the classic peer method. Volunteers to act as members of our Dispute Resolution Panel to hear complaints from the community. They have access to legal advise to ensure that their resolutions have legal legs. Its open to the public so no hiding behind closed doors. If that doesn't do the trick, any of the two parties can go to a real world judge and have their case heard for OMG a fraction of the cost of going to court physically - and make no mistake - this is as legally binding and secure as going to a real world court, but instead of paying $2,000 and the fee starts at $150 USD. AND since this is not different than a real world court, the decisions are legal and binding in over 150 countries. I think that's a pretty NON DRACONIAN way of handling the IP issues. We aren't even involved in the decisions except to implement it and make sure it follows fair and ethical standards - something I think we can all agree has been needed. And frankly, to imply that SpotON3D makes any money off this, is just an untruth - out right wrong. The fees for the real world arbitration go directly to http://virtualcourthouse.com and we make no money off that. Its a wonderful deal we were able to give our users, due to Stevan's legal connections. That's not evil or awful. What we feel is evil and awful is the fact that in today's legal system you can't have any real form of justice unless you have at least 2K-10K and we felt that was unfair. Justice should not be determine by the size of your wallet and right now that's the only recourse for creators outside of our grid.
I hope this clears up a lot of inaccuracies. And I'd like to personally invite you Wiz to come take a tour with me. I've never seen you on our grid. I know you have an account but its been ages since you've made any visits. We don't sit still as a team. We push forward. You probably need to come in to realize that. Otherwise you're judging based on old outdated info and heresay. I'd like to think you are a fair and balanced person and make your assessments of other grids based on facts and first hand knowledge.
FreeWee ... Wanna address some of the things you've said here, because honestly, its not an accurate portrait of the events of that day you describe. But, more on that later ... First I want to adddress the XP and Vista "glitch".
ReplyDeleteThe problem with the XP "glitch" isn't something we, at SpotON3D, can solve, as its related your XP and Vista operating system files and you keeping them updated. The patches are part of these operating systems updates that for one reason or another, Windows users have not implemented. Seeing we're not allowed to distribute MS software our only option to help you is to point to the files for you to grab and install, and then help you with any other installation problems you might have - something we're always happy to do.
Now, to the lag fest you describe. This was for the Tool Jams tour with over 30 users, an by all accounts of the day everyone was performing very well even on the old 6.9 OpenSim. If you try and run SL and Spoton3d clients at the same time, sure you're gonna experience lag. I have no way of knowing if that was the case with you, but i know a lot of people do this, including myself.
The sim crossing you describe ... well I'm gonna call you on that cause I really feel that wasn't a fair description of the event. I asked everyone to help us with an experiment by crossing over a bridge on the simline at that same time.
Yeah ... 30 people ... crossing a sim ... all at the same time. o.O I can't imagine why there'd be lag. LOL
The idea behind the experiment was to see if anyone would crash of drop through to the ground as they passed through, as we've seen in other grids. I'm happy to say NO ONE crashed and NO ONE dropped into the water below. I'd dare to say that most grids would struggle if not fail on this same test.
FreeWee ... Maybe you missed that this was a test, but I'm relatively sure you noticed the other 30 something folks around you trying to cross over at the same time too. Definitely not a typical usage kinda thing.
We had 58 avatars on the SpotON3D portal sim on the 25h and the region was happy as a lark, so this really isn't an issue and again .. I feel unfair to imply it is without fully explaining the circumstances of your visit with Tool Jams.
And really FreeWee... if you never come back, then you can't know this, right? One visit does not a grid make. *smiles* They evolve and grow whether you're there to witness it or not. I would hope you'd value your reputation enough to take the time to drop in and experience the grids you speak of from a current perspective. Otherwise you're putting out information that is simply outdated or just not true.
Wiz ... Yes we've heard your comments and I'm really scratching my head, cause you keep saying it costs creators to come into SpotON3D.
ReplyDeleteWe have no listing fees, no upload fees, give them a free micro-store to host their displays that link to their content and we've even got a FREE4EVER Sandbox. I'm kinda thinking that's pretty ... well ... FREE :P The only fee we ask for is a $2.99/mth premium membership and that's to gives access to mature/adult venues. This fee is tied to a confirmed PayPal account, which most parents guard far more carefully than they do their credit cards and driver's license. Its not impossible to circumvent, but certainly more
responsible and way less intrusive than us asking for your private ID's. It frankly also helps us pay the bills. After all, we aren't a charity organization. We are here, just like a lot of creators, to build our dreams and hopefully break even and *gasp!* make some actual profit! LOL We're a long way to that, so don't worry. That $2.99 goes directly back into the coffers to help pay for programmers, hosting fees, development of big ideas and more - all in support of YOU the creator. If that isn't worth the cost of a cup of coffee to you, or you don't care about keeping minors out of places in our communities they shouldn't be in, then we'll just have to respectfully disagree.
Draconian controls over IP? We are following the classic peer method. Volunteers to act as members of our Dispute Resolution Panel to hear complaints from the community. They have access to legal advise to ensure that their resolutions have legal legs. Its open to the public so no hiding behind closed doors. If that doesn't do the trick, any of the two parties can go to a real world judge and have their case heard for OMG a fraction of the cost of going to court physically - and make no mistake - this is as legally binding and secure as going to a real world court, but instead of paying $2,000 and the fee starts at $150 USD. AND since this is not different than a real world court, the decisions are legal and binding in over 150 countries. I think that's a pretty NON DRACONIAN way of handling the IP issues. We aren't even involved in the decisions except to implement it and make sure it follows fair and ethical standards - something I think we can all agree has been needed. And frankly, to imply that SpotON3D makes any money off this, is just an untruth - out right wrong. The fees for the real world arbitration go directly to http://virtualcourthouse.com and we make no money off that. Its a wonderful deal we were able to give our users, due to Stevan's legal connections. That's not evil or awful. What we feel is evil and awful is the fact that in today's legal system you can't have any real form of justice unless you have at least 2K-10K and we felt that was unfair. Justice should not be determine by the size of your wallet and right now that's the only recourse for creators outside of our grid.
I hope this clears up a lot of inaccuracies. And I'd like to personally invite you Wiz to come take a tour with me. I've never seen you on our grid. I know you have an account but its been ages since you've made any visits. We don't sit still as a team. We push forward. You probably need to come in to realize that. Otherwise you're judging based on old outdated info and heresay. I'd like to think you are a fair and balanced person and make your assessments of other grids based on facts and first hand knowledge.
OH gosh let me clarify that .... The $2.99 premium is only if they need to script or display mature items inworld. They can always sell them mature stuff without inworld displays of make the displays not mature in world. Hope that clears it up. And again, its more about keeping kids from getting into stuff they shouldn't and making it harder to grief. Most reasonable folks don't seem to have any problem wrapping their heads around those two. *smiles
ReplyDelete