People always believe that the idea of simulating a three-dimensional world will make the experience of people in it different because it’s three dimensional, and that’s certainly true. However, there’s a second thing about the 3D web that makes it different than the 2D web, and is really important, which is that there are other people there with you when you’re experiencing it.

Look at MySpace. When you go to a MySpace page, you can listen to their music. What is the listening experience like? Well, it’s still just you sitting in front of your computer listening alone to that music. But in SL, if you’re listening to somebody’s music, whether live or pre-recorded, there’s a very good chance that there’s someone next to you listening to the same music, and so you’re able to turn to them and say: What do you think? Or you’re able to turn to them and say: Have you been here before, and, if so, do you know where the lawnmower section is?

That, I think, is what makes the potential of the 3D Web different perhaps even more so than the spatial difference between 3D content, and 2D content. And I think that alone makes it very likely that there will be a kind of a 3D Web, that has this shared experience property. That’s what everyone will look back on and say: Wow, that is what made it different.

Browse all the entries under Open Source, Virtual Worlds.

The Fabber, a Fabulous 3D Printer You Can Make At Home

One of the most exciting inventions I have ever encountered is the Fabber. The Fabber is a 3D printer that people can make themselves, using open source instructions and readily available materials. It can be used for rapid prototyping. Theoretically, anything that you can design in 3D modeling software, you can print using the Fabber. Think of your 3D object as being cut into hundreds of tiny slices. Each slice is printed out in 2D on top of the previous slice. That is sort of how the Fabber works. The big breakthrough is that the Fabber is in reach of the budget of garage inventors, unlike commerically sold 3D printers.

Just imagine somebody sitting at their computer, feverishly creating the parts of a fantastic machine using 3DS Max or some other 3D software. It looks like a science fiction illustration when all the components are put together and simulated. Then they hit a button and print out the parts using their fabber. Now imagine if the material used in the Fabber was biodegradable plastic made out of hemp. Just think of hundreds of people sitting in their robes and slippers making biodegradable machines to save our civilization from the unsustainable dinosaur machines of the petroleum era. Think of E.F. Schumaker’s “Small is Beautiful” motto. Just imagine that all of these inventors can do what they want without being compelled to learn to dance with elephants, as they would if they had to do their work in tandem with huge corporations. Maybe that’s not a picture of you. Maybe you just want to prototype a 3D warrior elf you made in Poser. You can do that, too. To learn more about the Fabber, visit the Fab@Home Wiki.

You Go, GoGo Board!

Another promising example of open source hardware is the GoGo Board. The GoGo Board is sort of an open source computer that can be used to make your own robot, interactive art, game controller, scientific tool, educational simulation, or anything else that you can imagine and build that needs to use a computer. You can make your GoGo Board out of parts that you can find in electronic stores around the world, at a relatively inexpensive cost. If you are an artist who wants to explore what you can do to with a computer to make your creation interact with your audience, you can do build a GoGo Board. If you want to build a solar powered robot, you can do that, too. Imagine what you could do with the combination of the GoGo Board and the Fabber. You could make your own parts and hook them up to your own computer. You could easily make an interactive, kinetic sculpture that you designed in your favorite 3D modeling software. Anything that you can program or design, you can make. Open source is not only for code anymore. Of course, you can’t make enormous things easily, but just as with the Fabber, you can make “small is beautiful” things.

You May Say I’m a Dream Machine, But I’m Not the Only One

If you’re not excited yet, just imagine making a Dream Machine, a Fabber and a GoGo Board. You could convince your spouse, children, parents or friends that you’re a mad genius, for sure! Think of the fun. All that, and you don’t even need to ingest a chemical or liquid substance. With these simple and easy plans to build a Dream Machine, you can sit there watching the picture show of your own imagination unfold. A Dream Machine works by causing light to pulse in a way that stimulates the optic nerve and alters brainwaves. This causes a person to enter a sort of waking dream state, in which they see pictures. All they have to do to snap out of it is to open their eyes. You could sit in front of your Dream Machine stimulating your creativity. With your head full of ideas, you could create your invention or sculpture in your favorite 3D modeling software. Then you could print it out using your Fabber and make it computer powered using your GoGo Board. Provided you had a small budget available to you and a space in which to work, nothing would stop you from doing something like this, except the constraints of your own time, skill and imagination.

Browse all the entries under Open Source, Wikis.

Browse all the entries under Flash, Open Source.

Browse all the entries under Flash, Open Source.

Sandy can be difficult to learn if you’re not already experienced in doing 3D programming. Being more of a breadth-first than a depth-first learner, and being used to filling in the gaps as I go along with new programming projects, I had expected to learn Sandy more quickly than I did. What I found was that I needed to first learn the basics of 3D programming in order to know what method to call when, and what kind of arguments to pass to it. If I can learn basic 3D programming math, though, anybody can. If you’re wondering whether you can learn to do 3D programming in FLash, take heart, because it’s much easier to learn math when you are motivated by your own selfish use for it, than when it’s only an abstract, academic exercise.

Browse all the entries under 3D Programming, Flash, Open Source.