as a tool to develop content and even terraform, OpenSim on a usb flash drive works quite well. i can happily build and then take those builds, either as exported objetcs (what i actually use my USB OpenSim for) or as OAR files (complete regions including scripts within objects)
for example, say i am stuck someplace with sketchy wi-fi or away from home in general, i can fire up the lappie, plug in my world, and bumble along. i find that i make small things in that case, like a wheelbarrow or a crane
another good use of it is for workshops, which subQuark has done. a handful of sticks (he uses Patriot Xporter XT Boost 4 gb) are simply copied with a default avatar account, inventory, and imported OAR file, viewer, and distributed to workshop participants. you can load whatever you want onto your master stick like clothes, builds, whatever, and then do a straight copy onto the ones for your attendees
OpenSim on a stick also works very well, and dependably, for conference presentations. being able to run OpenSim without a network connection, firewall concerns, or internet access is great peace of mind (it’s enough to be worried about connecting to the projector and hooking up sound). you can also run a viewer rather well from the stick! my favourite viewer is Imprudence and i always use the latest experimental build =)
for architectural, or other space visualisation, running demonstrations for a client in a face-to-face scenario turns OpenSim into a true 3D presentation tool. showing off building space, product placement, physical systems, landscaping, and so on (like Cisco does for network and router demonstrations) is a pretty neat use of this and something not possible with Second Life
OpenSim on a stick
the downside is that simultaneous use would be dismal (i would think, but have not tried this and have no idea how one would do that – if it is possible, give a shout out) =)
the only aside i would make is to use, if possible, a “fast” USB drive. USB 3.0 drives should be affordable within the next year and in smaller sizes as well. in the meantime, transfer rates around 20 mb/s seem to work fine. OpenSim and a viewer require very little space; i have 4 rather full regions and it is all below 500 kb
in my online research (it’s hard to find really current listings), i would look at the Patriot or the Corsair Flash Voyager 8 gig. both are under $20
*orders the 8 gig Patriot tonight*
note: i tried it on a Mac and no go, not from my stick anyway, but that makes sense since it was the Windows install. if anyone has it working on a Mac, give a shout out – several people are curious
Roger’s updated (and awesome) instructions to do it yourself!
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19 Oct 10 at 11:09 pm
Thanks for the tip Ener. I was just looking for a good stick to try this a couple of days ago, and found 4 or 5 for under $30 at egghead, this one you feature in your blog being one of them. So i ordered it last night from Amazon (a better price) and am anxious to give it a try.
Thanks for all the information you are blogged on this topic and i will try to comment back with useful information of my experience with it. You’ve been very informative and for me, Ener Hax will always be the one who coined the term, sim on a stick :-)
Timber
22 Oct 10 at 2:52 pm
hi Timber! =) i am pretty happy with that Patriot stick, it is big and chunky and i keep expecting it to turn into a Transformer!
yeah for SOS! sim on a stick! it’s just easy to say and pretty much says it all! i like simple =)
and now that i look at the stick, it is really blocky and just like a prim! it just needs to be wood textured and it’d be perfect! this one will be easy to make with normal prims (great, another distraction, just what i need! =)
do give feedback and suggestions, i am just thrilled that Roger’s instructions and Diva’s work is actually very easy to install! i believe Diva is the one who pretty much invented OpenSim (Crista Lopes)
Ener Hax
22 Oct 10 at 4:17 pm
After a couple more failed attempts, I tried the diva distro and it worked great on top of the Mowes Apache mySQL install. I made the mistake of creating a user the same as my sl username and I spent a day being naked ruth in sl before I got another avatar on that i could change.
Second Inventory works nicely and it is nice to be able to just go there and experiment with building, scripting and the grid server command line once or twice a week.
Thanks again for the info and encouragement.
Timber
5 Nov 10 at 6:57 pm
fantastic Timber! and thank you for letting me know. yes, it is a great way to experiment and even do OpenSim in a place where you may not be able to access second life (like at work! shhhh) =)
so you are using second inventory with the stick? dang, i did not know that would work (lol, that might make a good way to clean out inventory! no interruptions while on your stick!) =)
Ener Hax
5 Nov 10 at 10:45 pm
[...] uses for OpenSim on the USB drive – october 19th possible uses for sim-on-a-stick [...]
sim-on-a-stick posts at i live in science land
26 Mar 11 at 10:35 am