Got word of an IBM “Meet the Experts” session being held in Second Life(tm) June 2, 3, and 4. It is part of their Rational Software Development Conference going on in Orlando, FL and sounds really interesting.

It looks like they are using teleconferencing for voice, as phone-in numbers are provided. Here’s the announcement as I received it. I’ll definitely drop in, so look for Orange Montagne if you’re there.
Join us on Codestation in Second Life for the IBM Rational Software Development Conference Meet the Expert Sessions this week June 2, 3 and 4th.

The SL URL for CODESTATION is http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%20CODESTATION/130/95/40

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, there will be a Meet the Expert sessions at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm Eastern (New York) with each of the Heroes. As a reward for attending each of the sessions, a superpower will be handed out to attendees at each of the sessions.

Schedule for 10 am ET :
Monday 10am ET - Fee-Chur: The Developer; who can turn anything into code. “It’s not a bug, it’s a “feature!”
Tuesday 10am ET The Gatekeeper: The Release Manager; who can shift shapes to deal with everything internal and external; from bugs to leaks to patches to infinity and beyond!
Wednesdat 10am ET The Time-Inator: The Project Manager; who can bend the time-space continuum… sometimes
http://slurl.com/secondlife/IBM%20CODESTATION/130/95/40

Call in information for 10am ET Expert Sessions
10am ET Mon, Tues & Wed - June 2, 3 & 4
Title: Rational Software Devplr Meet the Expert
Conference telephone numbers:
Participants, Toll free: 888-427-9376
Participants, Toll: 719-457-1509
Confirmation Code: 6768646
Title: Rational Software Devplr Meet the Expert

Schedule for 2pm ET
Monday 2pm ET R-Tek: The Architect with the power to grok future applications just by drawing a picture on a napkin.
Tuesday 2pm ET Hawkeye: The Analyst; whose super A-ray Vision lets her see opportunities hidden in complex problems
Wednesdat 2pm ET Gotcha: The Tester; with the power to clone herself to meet impossible deadlines…
http://www-306.ibm.com/software/rational/events/rsdc2008/rheroes.html
Call in information for 2pm ET Expert Sessions
2pm ET Mon, Tues & Wed - June 2, 3 & 4
Title: Rational Software Devplr Meet the Expert Conference telephone numbers:
Participants, Toll free: 888-378-0344
Participants, Toll: 719-325-2100

In addition, the Conference Keynotes will be posted on Codestation the day after they are delivered at the Conference.

http://www.ibm.com/rational

Hello Virtual Worlders…

Read all the blog coverage on the Virtual Worlds FALL 2007 conference:

http://www.djcline.com/?p=3107 

http://www.djcline.com/?p=3059 

http://www.djcline.com/?p=3097

There is so much blogging on this event I don’t know where to begin, but also check out:

http://metaversed.com/15-oct-2007/future-content-watching-detectives

http://metaversed.com/12-oct-2007/business-age-avatar

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2007/10/post-conference.html

 The conference organizers: Chris Sherman, Tonda Bunge , and Tim Williams were excellent hosts and put on an event like no other…thank you!!

 Now, for those who would like to keep the conversation going: 

On Oct. 22 we will be featuring a panel review of the year ahead in virtual wolds.
Scheduled guest panelists will include technology providers IBM, Forterra Systems, eFrontier, Multiverse, and Linden Lab and more.

Following up on some of the insights from the Virtual Worlds Fall 2007 conference, please bring your points of discussion and questions to this   interactive forum.

Find out how to best implement virtual worlds for business, networking, and entertainment, on the eve of several major promotions that will surely propel virtual worlds into the mainstream like never before.

We will organize the key points using scenario planning methods and reconnect with many of the speakers from the conference.  Not to be missed!

Media and teleport links:
http://www.virtualworldsig.com

SDForum link:
http://sdforum.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Calendar.eventDetail&eventID=12941

Location
Pillsbury Winthrop Office Silicon Valley
2475 Hanover Street
Palo Alto, CA 94304-1114

Agenda
6:30 PM Registration and Networking
7:00 PM -8:40 PM Presentations

Price
$15 at the door for non-SDForum members
No charge for SDForum members
No registration required
See you there,
Bob Ketner

Just announced from SDForum: 

SDForum members get 10% off on the current registration rate, ($60 off the $595 price or after August 24, 2007, $80 off the $795 price), for the Virtual Worlds Fall Conference. October 10-11, 2007, San Jose
The Virtual Worlds Fall Conference

Virtual Worlds Fall is dedicated to helping businesses harness the power of virtual worlds to engage with their customers, partners and employees. The event follows the highly successful Virtual Worlds Spring Conference which took place in New York in March.

The conference has five primary tracks: Entertainment and Marketing; Virtual Worlds for the Enterprise; Business Strategy and Investment; Community and Customer Service; and Design and Development. Leading companies will be showcasing the latest technologies and services at the Virtual Worlds Expo.

Please email Bridget DiMambro to get the discount code for the 10% off on the current registration rate,.

REGISTER NOW at http://www.virtualworlds2007.com/,

San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA

Registration/More Information

This unusual film depicts a hypothetical team of augmented traders which apparently are in charge of managing asset trading during world crises in real time.

They have really important jobs to do. When these high-performing traders are stressed, their headsets automatically prioritize the information they receive and minimize or maximize windows on their computer screens. We see the character “Claudia” stress out and the system helps her to focus in order to identify a suspect in the world unrest. Later, to calm her down the headset plays “a personal musical phrase” which “alerts her and supports the cognitive rebalancing process”. In other words, the headset knows when you are stressing out and provides you with direct-to-brain stimulation to keep your concentration stable.

The technology shown would likely require a user which had been trained (perhaps from a young age) to use and rely on such augmentation. There are a couple of clues in the film that make the predicted reality believable:
1.) the lives these characters lead are not that different from traders today and
2.) the idea that this device could make those decisions about personal sensory input accurately is outrageous - but outrageous new technology is accpeted rapidly, and can become mainstream within a couple of years. That is the speed at which augmentation is adopted.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

From http://www.augmentedcognition.org/video2.html

“This short film takes place in 2030 in a command center that is tasked with monitoring cyberspace activities for anomalies that could threaten the global economy. The economy, which functions largely in cyberspace, is the link between countries and is extremely susceptible to instability. As might be expected, given the ever-increasing amount of data to be analyzed even in today’s world, the workers in 2030 are inundated with information from all sources. They have so much information to contend with that they are literally unable to process it all unaided.”