How to Become a Black Box Worker

or, perhaps a more formal name, "Modular Nomadic Worker." Sun Microsystems has a product called the Sun Modular Datacenter, also called the "Black Box." You can read more about it here. But basically, it's a complete data center in a box (container, really)! Just add power, water, and Internet, and it's good to go.

I started thinking about how "modular" I've become, with my smart iPhone and laptop plus wifi or 3G card, and I realized how similar I am to the Black Box data center. Just drop me anywhere with my (small) laptop bag and phone, and I am a "fully functioning" worker!

Here are the things I have that enable me to work everywhere:
* cell phone/ smartphone: iPhone (not yet 3G)
* bluetooth headset: Aliph Jawbone (red!)
* broadband card: Sierra Wireless 881 3G USB w/unlimited domestic plan
* laptop: MacBook Pro 17"
* webcam: built-in iSight
* wifi: Starbucks card for 2 hours free, plus possible free AT&T broadband customer at AT&T hotspots?, obviously also at home and in the office

With these tools, I'm able to work from wherever I am, whether it be from home, a conference, an airport, while travelling in my motorhome, or even in the office! I answer my phone and emails, and participate in desktop video conferences (using iChat AV and MeBeam), and even sometimes meet in Second Life. Rather than wondering where I am, my boss can just always find me.

I think I really am living in the Snow Crash metaverse now!

CSI:NY and Second Life

The CSI:New York episode this week was about Second Life, and a lot of the tv show seemed like it took place in the "real" regular Second Life. I believe they took some liberties around how to get clothes, etc., for appearance, and I have no idea if the gladiator fighting is something that can actually take place in Second Life. 

Why did the suspect drop her shoes when she fell in the hole? What was the hole? okay, so I do have a few questions around what was actually "gameplay" and what was faked.

Also, they are running a game in SL where you get to be a virtual CSI in virtual New York:

There are video tutorials that may be useful for other SL users, although all of the crime-scene tape and dead bodies may be off-putting (or not).

You can watch the CSI: New York "Down the Rabbit Hole" episode here.

Virtual Sun Worlds

Sun has a virtual world I'd like to try for work meetings and such. It looks a lot like Second Life, but I heard the sound quality is very good. But don't a lot of these folks look like they're wearing Star Trek uniforms?

Visualization

Just some notes on visualization:

Edward Tufte's books (and poster) are pretty great, and beautiful:
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Envisioning Information
Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative
Beautiful Evidence

PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports
why PowerPoint should not do Rocket Science

Here's the Napoleon's March poster.

and finally, this may be useful:
A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods

Interactivity Scale

(more interactive)
A
F2F (1:1)
F2F Meeting
B
Video IM
Second Life/ Virtual Reality
C
Telephone (1:1)
Conference Call
D
IM
Discussion Forum
E
Email
Comment Wall
F
Blog
(least interactive)

EDIT: The letters (A-F) are just for grouping labels.

Open Source Second Life

Linden Lab opened the Second Life Viewer source in January 2007, and in the past month alone, more than 80 contributions have been accepted from the open source community. From the O'Reilly Media Open Source Convention, July 27 2007.

Debunking 5 Business Myths about Second Life

Debunking 5 Business Myths about Second Life ...it may very well be that Second Life is over-hyped or ill-conceived for business purposes. Even if so, however, it’s not due to the five probably bogus claims... from GigaOM July 12, 2007