The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce

In the second half of the 1990s, VRML became the platform of choice for 'virtual worlds' filled with 'avatars' - digital representations of real people. The Web goes big - and stays big - yet VRML crashes back to Earth, as Second Life becomes the last best hope for the Metaverse. Featuring Neal Stephenson, David Frerichs, John McCrea, Jan Mallis, Bruce Damer, Mark Jeffrey, Christopher Caen, Linda Jacobson, Philip Rosedale and Stuart Buckland as the Narrator. Tony’s Intervista Software had a very 1997 website. Check it out here. Have a play with Jan Mallis’ Floops – an early VRML animation – here! Watch the five episodes of ‘Bliss.com’ Jan and Mark created — in your web browser, here. "VRML: The LSD of the Internet” from the May 1996 Red Herring. Mark Jeffrey co-created The Palace – a 2D avatar chat. It’s still going, here! Christopher Caen co-founded OnLive – a 3D chat with audio streaming. And Philip Rosedale created Second Life – still going strong! For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills Organisation. The DSO is championing an employer-led, skills-based approach to digital literacy. Our offering is designed to support future-proofing the country, growing jobs, supporting our economic growth and ensuring that Australia remains a global leader in digital. If we are to equip our workforce with the skills to meet a rapidly changing, technological future, we need a new approach. We’re working in collaboration with employers, trainers and employees. Their involvement is vital. We believe it’s a better way to create consistent journey pathways and build relevant digital skills. We define the problem this way - digital skills training must: Create value both internally and externally. Improve customer experience.Build operational capabilities. To deliver on these objectives we need to strengthen Australia’s digital workforce. It’s that simple. DSO - Digitally Upskilling Australia To find out more, visit the DSO website: https://digitalskillsorg.com.au "Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds" is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast, reach out to our Director of Media and Partnerships Lauren Deighton at lauren@ampel.com.au If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tony and Mark - supported by a global community of technologists, enthusiasts and dreamers - brought 3D to the brand-new Web with VRML, creating the foundations for the “DIY Metaverse”. Featuring Owen Rowley, Linda Jacobson, John McCrea, Coco Conn and Neal Stephenson. Read the interview with Jaron Lanier in MONDO 2000 issue 2 that changed Mark’s life. “Homebrew VR“, written by Linda Jacobson, in WIRED magazine, issue 1. Use Windows? Have a play with ‘Labyrinth’, the world’s first 3D Web browser, here. You can explore the ‘Cyberbanana’ – and ‘Daniel’s Room’, the first public demonstration of VRML, for SIGKIDS 1994. “Coco’s Channel” a WIRED article about Coco Conn’s work creating SIGKIDS. Read it here. Read ‘Cyberspace’, the paper describing VRML that Mark presented at the First International Conference on the World Wide Web. Read the VRML 1.0 spec here. At the end of the episode, Neal Stephenson recounts the story of a panel he sat through – which inspired him to write Snow Crash. Read it here.  For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills Organisation. The DSO is championing an employer-led, skills-based approach to digital literacy. Our offering is designed to support future-proofing the country, growing jobs, supporting our economic growth and ensuring that Australia remains a global leader in digital. If we are to equip our workforce with the skills to meet a rapidly changing, technological future, we need a new approach. We’re working in collaboration with employers, trainers and employees. Their involvement is vital. We believe it’s a better way to create consistent journey pathways and build relevant digital skills. We define the problem this way - digital skills training must: Create value both internally and externally. Improve customer experience.Build operational capabilities. To deliver on these objectives we need to strengthen Australia’s digital workforce. It’s that simple. DSO - Digitally Upskilling Australia To find out more, visit the DSO website: https://digitalskillsorg.com.au "Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds" is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast, reach out to our Director of Media and Partnerships Lauren Deighton at lauren@ampel.com.au If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The technology behind the metaverse has its origins in the darkest days of the Cold War. This ‘Military metaverse’ gave birth to the Internet, transforming warfare - and, a generation later, online gaming. Featuring Michael Zyda. JCR Licklider – “Lick” to his friends and colleagues – is little-known but absolutely an essential figure in the development of modern computing.Ivan Sutherland is probably the most influential computer scientist, full stop.Here’s a video of Ivan Sutherland giving a demo of ‘Sketchpad’ the first interactive computer drawing program.Bob Taylor is largely unknown outside the small community of individuals involved with the early Internet – but his work is profoundly influential.Here’s an interview with Bob Taylor, talking about the origins of the InternetHere’s an excellent documentary on the recreation of the “Battle of 73 Easting” – the first tank battle captured in real-time, then simulated endlessly using SIMNET. 1968: When the World Began, 3D graphics, A Brief History of the Metaverse, Bob Taylor, DARPA, Internet, IPTO, Ivan Sutherland, JCR Licklider, metaverse, Mike Zyda, military, SIMNET, simulation, SKETCHPAD, VR For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills Organisation. The DSO is championing an employer-led, skills-based approach to digital literacy. Our offering is designed to support future-proofing the country, growing jobs, supporting our economic growth and ensuring that Australia remains a global leader in digital. If we are to equip our workforce with the skills to meet a rapidly changing, technological future, we need a new approach. We’re working in collaboration with employers, trainers and employees. Their involvement is vital. We believe it’s a better way to create consistent journey pathways and build relevant digital skills. We define the problem this way - digital skills training must: Create value both internally and externally.Improve customer experience.Build operational capabilities. To deliver on these objectives we need to strengthen Australia’s digital workforce. It’s that simple. DSO - Digitally Upskilling Australia To find out more, visit the DSO website: https://digitalskillsorg.com.au Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast, reach out to our Director of Media and Partnerships Lauren Deighton at lauren@ampel.com.au If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on your podcast platform. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the first episode of our new series, "A Brief History of the Metaverse". Mark and co-host Tony Parisi travel back more than a century to uncover the roots of the Metaverse. From pioneers Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer, creators of "Habitat", the first massively multiplayer online environment, we learn the Metaverse has never been about technology - but always about people. Featuring Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer.  Have a read through Tony Parisi’s “The Seven Rules of the Metaverse” here.Read E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” here.Listen to William Gibson reading an abridged version of Neuromancer here.Wondering what Lucasfilm’s Habitat looked like? Watch the promo video here.Read Chip Morningstar and Randy Farmer’s amazing, prescient paper, “The Lessons of Lucasfilm’s Habitat” here.Want to play Habitat? You can – in your web browser. Just go here. Big thanks to the wonderful folks who voiced those historical evocations of Metaverse: Genevieve Bell, Mark Jeffrey, Paul Godwin and David Baxter. For more information about this and all our other 'The Next Billion Seconds" content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com This podcast is sponsored by the Digital Skills Organisation. The DSO is championing an employer-led, skills-based approach to digital literacy. Our offering is designed to support future-proofing the country, growing jobs, supporting our economic growth and ensuring that Australia remains a global leader in digital. If we are to equip our workforce with the skills to meet a rapidly changing, technological future, we need a new approach. We’re working in collaboration with employers, trainers and employees. Their involvement is vital. We believe it’s a better way to create consistent journey pathways and build relevant digital skills. We define the problem this way - digital skills training must: Create value both internally and externally. Improve customer experience.Build operational capabilities. To deliver on these objectives we need to strengthen Australia’s digital workforce. It’s that simple. DSO - Digitally Upskilling Australia To find out more, visit the DSO website: https://digitalskillsorg.com.au Mark Pesce - The Next Billion Seconds is produced by Ampel - visit https://ampel.com.au to find out what Ampel could do for you! If you are interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast, reach out to our Director of Media and Partnerships Lauren Deighton at lauren@ampel.com.au If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A clever bit of AI software transforms my voice into a silky-smooth 'Lisa' - almost an archetypal radio host. In the near future, we'll be able to make ourselves sound - and look - like anyone else. How will we know if we're being fooled? To find out more about Lisa (sorry, Mark) and this show, check out https://nextbillionseconds.com If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating and/or review on Apple, Spotify or any other podcast platform.  The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With our new series 'A Brief History of the Metaverse' just around the corner here on The Next Billion Seconds, we thought we would share Mark's recent appearance on The Futurists podcast where some very relevant things are discussed! "Award-winning author and technologist Mark Pesce tells us about the deep history of today’s consumer technology in military R&D including the 30 year arc of the Metaverse which Pesce himself kickstarted in the early 1990s. Pesce points out how consumer technology has outpaced the defense innovation, and now has become a front for a new kind of warfare.” You can check out other episodes of The Futurists on your pod player of choice or right here: https://provoke.fm/category/thefuturists The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this live interview with Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey - joined by Anduril Chief Engineer Shane Arnott - we look at the future of defense, geopolitics, and Australia's future in a transformed Indo-Pacific region. Have we shifted toward a defense-driven future? For more information about this and all our other Next Billion Seconds content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Three big transformations - one that's has already happened, one happening now, and one about to happen - illuminate the path (and pitfalls) for those anyone who wants to articulate the future. Listen and learn how to be your own futurist! For more information about this and all our other Next Billion Seconds content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark delves back into the archives to bring you an episode that is particularly relevant to current events. TSMC now makes the best computer chips - making Taiwan a prize that China needs in order to continue its rise as an economic and military superpower. For more information about this and all our other Next Billion Seconds content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At the age of 19, Palmer Luckey founded Oculus, bringing a comatose VR industry back to life. Will he do the same for defense - and has he solved Australia’s submarine problem? For more information about this and all our other Next Billion Seconds content, please check out https://nextbillionseconds.com The 2023 season of The Next Billion Cars is proudly made possible by our sponsors GIO Insurance and BMW. GIO has spent nearly 100 years continually developing our products and services to meet our customer’s needs, with dedicated team members that spend time focused on research to ensure we understand emerging vehicle technologies. This knowledge is used within our organisation to shape future products and services so we can continue to ensure your insurance needs are covered. At GIO, we know insurance, so you know you’re covered. Visit GIO.com.au for more information. BMW i. Fully Electric.  It’s time to take a look at the definition of performance. True drivers will now see the world as not just fast or slow. New performance throws you back into your seat, squeezes every molecule and watt, and gets a thrill from giving back. Performance Redefined. Discover Performance Redefined The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce is produced by Ampel. https://ampel.com.au Interested in sponsoring The Next Billion Seconds podcast? Email hearhere@ampel.com.au to speak with the team at Ampel If you enjoyed this show, please leave a rating on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.