If you build it, they will copy it

The recent unpleasantness about Builder Bot leads me to speculate about the effect of upcoming technical developments on the issue of copying in virtual reality.  OnLive, an impending development that I have been discussing in recent months, may have some implications in this matter. 

My article, VR in the Cloud, gives a summary of the discussion and links to previous articles. 

Overview of how OnLive will work

Connect to OnLive with your TV, PC or Mac and start a game.   The software and hardware you currently have on your powerful gaming computer will be running on a server farm somewhere.  Those are viewer servers, as distinguished from sim servers:

Sim server:  Virtual machine run by a grid operator such as Second Life or Rezzables.  Each server is associated with  a specific region on the grid.

Viewer server:  Virtual machine run by OnLive or similar cloud service provider (Amazon?).     Replaces the services now provided by your own machine. Each server is associated (temporarily) with a particular user. 

Your connection to OnLive will be by a plug-in to your browser or by a game controller on your TV.  You send control signals to that server.  It computes the results and sends you a video stream of the results.    There is no big change to the process except that the tasks your computer does now are transferred to a server somewhere.  

Implications for copy-theft

Your computer never gets a digital description of the virtual environment.  You get, and can copy, a video stream,. The digital description needed by a copybot is sent to an OnLive server. 

That server could run a copybot, of course.  But if the copy were made in violation of copyright, the use of OnLive servers could make OnLive a party to the action and liable for damages.  My bet is that lawyers will be telling OnLive to take all reasonable precautions to prevent such copying.   I think the code (which has to be on their server), the operations and the downloads of a copybot would have easily detectable signatures that could be used for an automatic watch and alert.  So that would be a reasonable precaution.

If the OnLive system proves more resistent to copying than is the current system, that added benefit will create increased incentive to move VR content there. Some people who produce artistic content may want to offer it only through a system like OnLive.  Maybe Second Life will set up a special arrangement (for a price, of couse)  such that that safe sims could only be accessed by a trusted server run by a company like OnLive.  But if the art work were sold on the SL grid, people would just buy a copy,  move it to a more public sim, and copy it from  there.

In the near term, the people who produce and sell object content may be stuck with Second Life, because that is where the customers are.  OnLive will, however, make grid-hopping much easier, so an art grid with access only through OnLive might eventually work commercially.   In that case, the artist might use a copy-safe sim in SL as a place to market products, with sales and delivery in copy-safe grid.  

The Yesbutters strike back

Yes, but people won’t buy things that they can’t move into Second Life to show their friends. 

Actually, people buy such things every day – at art sales, art galleries, and upscale department stores.  They put that art in their houses and get their friends to come by to see.  They also put big TV screens in their houses and get their friends to come by to watch the Super-bowl.   With OnLive, the video you see on your computer can be streamed – live –over the web so I think some people will include their friends in their virtual reality.  It might work better than showing slides of your last trip. 

The Role of Builder Bot

Some of those people who want to buy art in SL will already have a sim in SL.   They may want a similar place in the copy-safe grid.  And Builder Bot would be just right if they own (with full perms) everything on the sim.  But suppose they own only 90% of it.  If I were in that position, I would consider and probably reject Builder Bot.

Sure, I could delete the content I don’t have rights to.   I could tolerate that job for one or two objects.  But I think it would be too much trouble for more than a few objects.  It would be easier just to copy the objects I own and really want to transfer.    
Commercial users would probably have the same reaction.  They will not want to be found (and sued for) using unauthorized content, even if acquired inadvertently.   Without ownership checks, you could use a mass copier on your own sim only after you cleared it of other content.  

In summary, Builder Bot could be a valuable tool for grid hopping, but it really needs perm checking to go to a wide market. 
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Entertainment in Second Life

The Music Scene

Home Cooked Music

Jwheels Carver, Reggier Rimbaud, and others in the Hobo Junction  group are setting up a new project with that promotional name.  It will feature music in the categories such as Folk, Country & Western, Bluegrass, Crossover and some others that seem to fit.   The project will promote a number of performers, mostly hobos.  The ones we have lined up so far are

• Cosmic Haystack and band (Bluegrass, C&W, Folk)
• bartelby Pegler and whirligig Rutabaga  (Folk, C&W)
• Peet Peterman (Folk, C&W)
• Savannah Coronet (Crossover.  Think Patsy Cline)

We will work with existing venues to promote our performers. We will also use some of our  Hobo FreeRezz Zones to run shows with temporary stage sets.   For example, we have a stage set built by Hobo friends of mine, Punky Pugilist, with some help from Asterion Coen.  It is presently in the Hobo FreeRezz Zone on Cookie.  We did a show there Saturday night (Bart &Whirl, followed by Cosmic and band).  People liked the show, so we will probably make that a regular. 

The set will not be out on Cookie all the time.  Instead, we will make copies of the set available (free) to our performers.  The copies will be easy-rezz, so our performers will be able to use it in performances anywhere.   The Hobo FreeRezz Zone on Cookie will be available for other uses when we are not using it for Home Cooked Music. 

Anyone interested in working with us should contact Jwheels Carver or Reggier Rimbaud. 

Architecture

A new Frank Lloyd Wright Museum in Second Life held its grand opening this weekend.  A Linden blog carried and interview with the leaders here. 

You can go to the museum by clicking this link

Video

Jilly Kidd sent this report and video: The Iran Global Day of Action was honoured in Second Life with a gathering of supporters, poets and musicians, introduced by Millay Freschi of the Amnesty International E-Group. During this event participants heard from Iranian people via Twitter and watched videos on You Tube to witness people's experiences and also to hear musicians sing in support of the Iranian struggle for democracy. These people risk their safety to let the world know the reality of their situation, using the Internet in an unprecedented way to reach out to the world.

Jilly’s video is on the Written Word channel on YouTube.