Microsoft's Virtual Earth gets new dimension
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft will work with 3D design and visualization software developer Dassault SystÃ¨mes, to add a new dimension to its Virtual Earth mapping and satellite imagery service, the companies announced Tuesday. Through this partnership, Microsoft will be able to invite users of Virtual Earth to contribute their own 3D models of buildings featured on the maps, much as Google already does with the "3D Warehouse" layer in its Google Earth software and the free modeling tool Google SketchUp, now at version 6. To encourage development of models for inclusion in Virtual Earth, Dassault SystÃ¨mes has built an online community, 3dvia.com, around consumer uses of its and other companies' 3D modeling tools. The community began life as Teapotters.com, a creative project set up by a group of Dassault employees, but opened its doors as 3Dvia.com As a demonstration of what's possible, Dassault SystÃ¨mes is offering a free 3D model of a much sought-after electronic gadget -- not partner Microsoft's Zune music player, but the iPhone to be launched by Apple on Friday. The iPhone model can be viewed using the 3D Life Player browser plug-in from VirtoolsÂ of Paris and, if you catch the angle just right, offers an unexpected view of the inside of the gadget. Dassault SystÃ¨mes also announced partnerships with two French companies, RealvizÂ of Sophia Antipolis and Allegorithmic of Clermont Ferrand, to make their technology available to members of the 3dvia.com community. Allegorithmic will allow community members to use its procedural textures to decorate their models. Procedural textures are patterns of shading created according to a series of rules or algorithms to resemble real-world surfaces such as rock, foliage or sheet metal. They are often used to render more realistic scenery in video games without the need for storing voluminous image files. Realviz makes software used by film makers and game developers to create photorealistic 3D images. One of its applications, VTour, can be used to construct three-dimensional models of scenes from a single photograph. Dassault SystÃ¨mes will integrate VTour with 3dvia, allowing users to combine their 3D models with 3D backdrops created from photographs. Dassault SystÃ¨mes also plans a business side to the 3dvia community, called SupplierSource, to help designers find manufacturers for their products. The SupplierSource site, which the company said will appear at http://www.suppliersource.3dvia.com/, is not yet live.
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Microsoft's internal science fair shows off some projects that may turn into real products.
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While many may have not understood exactly what the Windows Presentation Foundation meant for Vista, a new application from Microsoft to visualize RSS feeds may provide a glimpse into the future.
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Tycho:  It's floating around now, out there on the Wub, and it calls to you.  Or maybe it does, I don't actually know.  In any case, it can be got from 3D Downloads, the Fileplanets, GamersHell, or WorthDownloading.  Download it from mulltiple sites simultaneously for a naughty thrill.  God only knows how this would run on my Vista rig at home, but it's a Vista rig, so you can probably guess.  (CW)TB
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Fans of open-source programming and multiplayer gaming explore ways to bring the concept of the metaverse -- an infinitely expandable virtual world -- closer to fruition. By Daniel Terdiman.
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San Francisco-based company Second Life has opened up its virtual world to the mobile phone, and is looking for interested beta testers to put the application through its paces.
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New game platform apparently can respond to emotions and conscious thoughts to move objects on the screen.
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Blog: Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D renderings of famous landmarks can be seen from the Web browser, including Firefox
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Blog: The Windy City has more in common with 'Second Life' than you'd think. Also, nonprofits may be reaping the benefits of the virtual world better than their corporate predecessors could.
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HBO has snapped up a  documentary film that was created and produced entirely within  Second Life, the 3-D virtual world that boasts more than 9  million residents worldwide.
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TechWeb - Anacubis Desktop 3.0 shows the BI potential of information visualization software.
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The graphics library, an alternative to Microsoft's DirectX, gets new features designed to add razzle-dazzle to PC games.
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Forget Second Life. The real virtual world gold rush centers on the grammar-school set.
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Sweden on Wednesday opened a virtual embassy in the fantasy world Second Life, illustrating the growing interest among nations to be present in the online society inhabited by computer-generated residents.
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BBC weather is to use 3D gaming graphics technology to make its bulletins more realistic and accurate.
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Members of Microsoft&#39;s Developer Network got a sneak peek at Microsoft&#39;s Avalon windowing elements technology last week. Avalon, which will make the user interface much more than just a
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Retailers and manufacturers are setting up shop in Second Life, the three-dimensional online world, hoping that users will steer their avatars to real world stores.