[TechGuy]

Google just released their version of the waste of time known as online virtual reality. Check it out at http://www.lively.com/

[Jason]

I guess you beat me to it hehe. Anyway, here's what I posted. BTW, I'm currently in the Google Room, feel free to join me.

Out of the blue, Google has announced a new 3D virtual world called 'Google Lively'. The world is similar to Second Life, or the upcoming 'Home' for PS3.

Users can create their own 3D "rooms," and deck them out with furniture and other accoutrements, in addition to being able to add themed music to complete your personalized virtual space in Google Lively. Users will be able to visit others' rooms, leave items for other Google Lively netizens as well as being able to stream photos and video.

"Based on feedback from ASU [Arizona State University] students and with help from the Google Desktop team, we added support for playing YouTube videos in virtual TVs and showing photos in virtual picture frames inside our rooms. Better yet, the gadgets you have in your Lively rooms can also run on your desktop."
- Niniane Wang, engineering manager.

A few other differences from Second Life: Lively doesn't have money. It's designed to be easier to use, with a drag-and-drop interface. And it's not programmable, at least yet, so you can only select furniture, clothes, hairstyles, and such from the prefabricated catalog Google supplies.

As of now, Google Lively only runs on PC's running Windows XP or Windows Vista, with a special browser plugin that uses Emergent's Gamebryo engine.

Niniane Wang also added that upcoming support for Mac OS X is a high priority.

Source: TechRadar

View: Google Lively

Video: YouTube - Lively by Google

[ferrija1]

I say it goes nowhere.

[MikeScott]

Pretty wild. I wonder if it'll get all of the hype that Second Life did, with all of the companies running to set up footprints in it.
(I hope not)

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by TechGuy

Google just released their version of the waste of time known as online virtual reality. Check it out at http://www.lively.com/

I gotta agree...waste of time

For some people, fine, but for me I really see no point in it. Heck, I'm probably just about the only person my age who doesn't have a MySpace account, even my mother does. I just don't really care about all that.

[TechGuy]

Google fends off pornographic Lively rooms

[new tech guy]

Ugh, yet another way for perverts to get their action.... They should realize any time somthing like this is created, unless they have constant moderation this kind of stuff is going to go up. Fortunately i dont think the program offers anything too risque so they really can only tag them with names.

[MikeScott]

I've never gotten into second life, but I've heard there is a lot of adult stuff going on there, prostitutes, etc. I wonder if Google will have better luck dealing with that.

[MikeScott]

Originally Posted by JStergis

I gotta agree...waste of time

For some people, fine, but for me I really see no point in it. Heck, I'm probably just about the only person my age who doesn't have a MySpace account, even my mother does. I just don't really care about all that.

It's actually scary how mainstream myspace is now. Everyone I know has a myspace account now. All the way from my pre-teen neices to my friends in their late 30's.

If you're into music especially, every band is there too.

[JStergis]

Originally Posted by MikeScott

It's actually scary how mainstream myspace is now. Everyone I know has a myspace account now. All the way from my pre-teen neices to my friends in their late 30's.

If you're into music especially, every band is there too.

I plan never to get a MySpace account. I can't name more than a couple people that don't have one. People will ask me..."Well, just put the picture on your Myspace" when I offer to e-mail them a picture of something. They just assume I have one.

Text messaging is another fad I won't bother with. It takes too darn long to bother with...why can't they just CALL the person? Actually, though I have a cellphone, it is for emergency/important matters only. If it's not horribly important, it can wait for the landline...I really hate talking on the phone in public, I think it can become a rude habit.

[new tech guy]

Well i had to get into texting because of sister and really isnt bad once you get used to it, although for short things because its quicker than calling the person but for a 4 chunk text, its worth just calling. And for talking in public, i personally dont mind it as long as you are not obnoxious so that wherever you are, half the place hears you.

[MikeScott]

Originally Posted by JStergis

Text messaging is another fad I won't bother with. It takes too darn long to bother with...why can't they just CALL the person?

Ha! That's funny! I feel about the same way, although I have been guilty of texting once in awhile. I constantly see people walking around texting each other. I just saw a woman at the zoo pushing a stroller, walking on an uneven stone walkway, through a crowded narrow fence, and she was texting. Luckily she only stumbled, but I wanted to say, "Just put the phone down for a minute".

In general, I don't like cell phones, heck, I don't like home phones. Ever since I did a stint doing phone support I have been soured by them.

[DarqueMist]

Was curious, downloaded it to see what it is like.
Just more chatrooms populated by perves openly being perves while pretending to be someone other than who they are. It's already been removed.

or was it ... now I discover 3 instances of googleupdate.exe running on my computer (installed without my knowledge, and I have no other google products installed that may have placed them there). So I check add/remove, go figure its not listed there. Find the folder it's in, go figure no uninstaller. Found it in my startup list and disabeled it, go figure it came back on startup anyway. Did some rooting found it listed as a process to be run at startup, which I expected but it was disabeled so why did it startup again? Because Google also added it to scheduler to be run on windows log in.

Questions to ask before installing Lively. Why did Google decide it was necissary to also install an update program along with it? Why did they feel it necissary to hide the fact they were doing this? Why did Google feel it so important to be running this updater all the time that they have multiple instances of it starting via different means? This behaviour seems more like something a person writing a virus would do, not somethign a legit software producer would want.

[ferrija1]

If this did become popular, it would be interesting to see how many different ways they could monetize this, although as I plainly stated before, I don't think this is going anywhere. It may be more of a "test" for Google somehow...

I just read Ars Technica's review of Lively, and apparently it is as bad as it sounds. An awkward, crowded, ugly and "clunky beta."
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...cent-done.html