IBM to host private Second Life regions behind IBM's corporate firewall

What does it mean? Good or bad thing to come?

http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0235293920080402

I also thought they did anyways?

No, they have dozen of islands in SL but not within IBM's firewall.

This is AWESOME.

Basically, it's allowing companies to have their full security, while taking their avatars to a common 'world' too - the world of the grid.

Rock on IBM crew!

I can see a lot of companies doing this with private SL grids, thus building a common ground for meeting and discussion on the main grid. Major improvement!

I really hope it's just a 'walk' or a 'teleport' and not a relog to get from 'here' to 'there.' Without being an IBM employee I guess it will be hard to know in the beginning.

So, I suppose that if they reserved a map location adjacent to their existing sims, IBM people could just walk into the existing regions. But the private region would be invisible to the rest of us.

Very interesting.

IBM is using OpenSim also.


So, are they paying tier or just a connection fee or what?

Is IBM also running its own asset servers behind their firewall? IBM would be the least of our worries, but if that door is now open, what pretense of content security is there? Any?

According to what Reuters reported, IBM employees will be able to take content from the public areas into the private ones, but not vice-versa.

So they want to protect their own content, but everyone else's is up for grabs. I'm not exactly worried about IBM employees reselling my wares in IBM's private grid for profit, but this raises serious questions for the future.

They will at some point open it to IBM customers.

I don't suppose that would be individual customers.

I really don't see that in the article.

The part about taking things into their island and not taking things out.

Well at least IBM have 'proper' servers so it'll be interesting to see how these regions perform.

I just re-read it myself and see nothing about taking content in either direction.

Sorry, Bree. In my attempt to be concise, I didn't mention that I had read a second Reuter's post:
http://secondlife.reuters.com/stories/2008/04/02/ibm-to-host-private-second-life-regions/

That one concludes with the following:

"IBM employees will be able to take virtual objects from the public Second Life into the private areas, but not from private areas to public ones."

It certainly does. I've been concerned about this sort of thing for a while, actually.

With Open Sim based grids, Second Life Grid based grids, and other systems, all poised to connect to the main grid in various ways, these questions are growing more important all the time. IP protection is really just the tip of the iceberg. There are all kinds of issues that need serious discussion, not all of them pleasant.

But like it or not, the future IS coming. We all need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that as the world evolves, our business models, and certain of our perceptions and paradigms, will need to evolve along with it. When viewed through the lens of our present mindset, there is always a certain discomfort in that. But sooner or later we'll all need to move past that or perish. I don't pretend to know exactly what's in store, but I'd like to think that when it arrives, I'll be able to find a way to make it work for me, whatever it is.

Ok, well that is just scary. I could see developing something under cover then bringing that out for release but to go the other way is worrisome.

They just don't want outsiders seeing all the kinky, nasty and depraved things they get up to.

Hehe. Hey why is that guy dressed up as a server? Are you doing server-play in here?

Are you guys saying that it is theoretically possible for IBM players (or whoever) under these circumstances to take content they have obtained from the SL grid and then sell it themselves on their own, regardless of the permissions of the items?

coco

Not so much IBM, Coco. I doubt we have to worry about them much, at least initially. But this is likely just the first of many such deals, and we know nothing about how they're handling assets and what protections, if any, will exist for our creations. Once they pass outside of LL's walled garden they're as good as gone. Like Chosen, I've been worrying about this for a long time, ever since they announced the partnership with IBM to create avatars that can travel between many virtual worlds and plans to eventually open source the servers. I'd say the days of the SL economy as we know it are numbered.

What will the IBM grid be like? Grey corporate buildings full of lecture theatres and men in grey suits?

IBM is setting up CIA headquarters and all their tech, to study Second Life residents in their native habitat.

MKVoyeur

Laughs at IBM in this subjecy matter .ahahhaha yea ok.................

This is really interesting.

I know that IBM have been investing seriously in the devlopment of the OpenSim platform and have been using their own secure grids for various dedicated functions.

I don't really know how this new initiative will be physically implemented, but ultimately I'm guessing that both LL and IBM will be looking at a way to link seperate Grids through some sort of hub - a very nice prospect if LL can position itself as the de-facto "hub provider" moving forward.

So perhaps IBM (and anyone else) will be able to host their own grids on their own infrastructure (asset servers included) but with the capacity to have avatars move from OpenSim to OpenSim seemlessly through a "portal" or "hub".

I think without this "portal" protocol, it would require logging off and in to each Grid you want to visit.. albeit with the ability to retain avatar and inventory if these are stored locally.

In my opinion if LL can position itself here, simply charging connection fees, then this is a whole new ball game and I can see LL finally moving into being a real scaleable and profitable business.

I think this is very exciting and really LL have to be looking at this sort of business as the real road to expansion and profit.

I've had an idea for a wee while now of a metaverse (although I hate using that word) of secure grids, hosted by individual providers but within a protocol which will allow free and seamless movement of avatars, inventory and content. This will allow business to finally feel comfortable with the security aspects of a homogenous grid and also allow them to distance themselves from the less publically acceptable activities which may take place within other areas.

It may lead to a world of secure gated communities with only the virtually less well off having to make do with public access and building and living in the "open" areas.

Again not a prospect that I agree with or look forward to, but isn't it ultimately almost as envisaged within the Snowcrash book that I've heard so much about on these forums?

I know there are a few concerns about IP and content "theft", but to be frank I actually think it opens up a huge market for the genuinely talented content creators in SL and the rest needn't really worry.. sorry I know that's a bit harsh, but in my view fair.

I get a feeling that all that has happened for now is IBM have some sim servers that are housed in their own facility.
Those sims would be access restricted in the same way that any private sim can be.
Local chat is handled by the server, so LL or anyone who cracked into LL can't see it.
They can talk freely in there.

Without gateways, they would not be able to IM 'securely' or engage in group messaging





I understand that there is a farm of LL asset servers, and that an avatar is permanently assigned to a particular server. In the normal SL, the assignment is probably random as people sign up.
Perhaps IBM avatars could all be assigned to a reserved asset server, which could also be hosted in IBM's facilities. That would keep all of their assets behind their own firewall.
The IBM asset servers could be set so that they will not deliver up data to any sim server other than the IBM servers. It would be a matter of IP ranges.
That would take care of the "not bringing stuff out".
The IBM sim servers would be able to access LL's asset servers, so that takes care of the "bringing stuff in".

But that leaves a problem.
When an IBM avatar lands in a non-IBM sim, how can that sim access their "stuff"?
Perhaps they have hacked the code so that any assets created in the all but one or a few IBM sims can not be served up to outside sims.