Qwaq Forums is Going Live

Previous Topic Next Topic
 
classic Classic list List threaded Threaded
4 messages Options
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Qwaq Forums is Going Live

David A Smith
Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you all know that we have announced Qwaq Forums
today. Qwaq Forums is a collaborative Enterprise platform built on top
of Croquet. It is based upon the same open source code that you have
access to - and will continue to have.

We are 100% committed to the Croquet Project - in fact, many of the
things we learned in building the Qwaq Forum system was directly
incorporated into the next Croquet release, and in my opinion improved
the system considerably.

You can read more about Qwaq and Qwaq Forums at: <http://www.qwaq.com>.

Thanks everyone,

David
Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Qwaq Forums is Going Live

Kelly Rued-2
Very cool. Do you have any videos on youtube showing Qwaq Forums in action yet?

I was initially confused by the sparse web site and funny name but now I'm eager to learn more. Where did the name Qwaq come from, btw?

Will there be a public demo online? I think that a universally accessible demo or video of one would be beneficial to motivate people to take a closer look at croquet. By universal, I mean that the demo shows a usage scenario that many people will understand rather than something too technical that adds another layer of complexity to the already high-level concept of the Qwaq Forum. Perhaps something staged just for the demonstration that shows how a fictional project was approached and completed with a few different types of users represented. Is Qwaq priced for wide deployment in small and mid-sized companies and non-profits or is it mostly aimed at larger corporations?

For 3D content, are your clients creating their own meshes and textures or just using some stock shared assets you provide, or is there going to be an add-on or custom service for Qwaq users to be able to get good-looking environments and avatars to suit their projects? If a company's main line of business isn't 3D environment design you can end up with some pretty ugly user-created spaces, and even though it sounds silly it can be very depressing to work or play in a place that isn't aesthetically pleasing (causing people to not like spending much time in the environments).

Anyways, I hope Qwaq gets the attention it deserves. With other virtual world platforms in the press, there are a lot of misunderstandings about the potential for these spaces. Specifically, people look at Second Life and dismiss the whole idea of 3D collaborative spaces based on SL's limitations, graphics, and user culture (and lack of business-class service). It looks like Qwaq products will have more in common with normal enterprise software (reliability, security, integration with existing desktop applications and web services, etc.). This is a wonderful thing to showcase, not just to promote croquet but to encourage people to think outside the SL platform when they picture metaverse collaboration online.

I really look forward to seeing more news from Qwaq and end-user focused croquet projects like it.

Cheers,
Kelly


Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Qwaq Forums is Going Live

Hussayn Dabbous-2
Hi;

There is not much to say in addition to Kelly's comment. While eading the fact
sheets about Qwac open spaces i got the strong feeling, that this is going
exactly into the direction i am aiming for. So please tell us more and possibly
supply an online demo if available/feasible ... A quicktime video would be great.

eagerly awaiting more ...
regards, hussayn


Kelly Rued schrieb:

> Very cool. Do you have any videos on youtube showing Qwaq Forums in action
> yet?
>
> I was initially confused by the sparse web site and funny name but now I'm
> eager to learn more. Where did the name Qwaq come from, btw?
>
> Will there be a public demo online? I think that a universally accessible
> demo or video of one would be beneficial to motivate people to take a
> closer
> look at croquet. By universal, I mean that the demo shows a usage scenario
> that many people will understand rather than something too technical that
> adds another layer of complexity to the already high-level concept of the
> Qwaq Forum. Perhaps something staged just for the demonstration that shows
> how a fictional project was approached and completed with a few different
> types of users represented. Is Qwaq priced for wide deployment in small and
> mid-sized companies and non-profits or is it mostly aimed at larger
> corporations?
>
> For 3D content, are your clients creating their own meshes and textures or
> just using some stock shared assets you provide, or is there going to be an
> add-on or custom service for Qwaq users to be able to get good-looking
> environments and avatars to suit their projects? If a company's main
> line of
> business isn't 3D environment design you can end up with some pretty ugly
> user-created spaces, and even though it sounds silly it can be very
> depressing to work or play in a place that isn't aesthetically pleasing
> (causing people to not like spending much time in the environments).
>
> Anyways, I hope Qwaq gets the attention it deserves. With other virtual
> world platforms in the press, there are a lot of misunderstandings about
> the
> potential for these spaces. Specifically, people look at Second Life and
> dismiss the whole idea of 3D collaborative spaces based on SL's
> limitations,
> graphics, and user culture (and lack of business-class service). It looks
> like Qwaq products will have more in common with normal enterprise software
> (reliability, security, integration with existing desktop applications and
> web services, etc.). This is a wonderful thing to showcase, not just to
> promote croquet but to encourage people to think outside the SL platform
> when they picture metaverse collaboration online.
>
> I really look forward to seeing more news from Qwaq and end-user focused
> croquet projects like it.
>
> Cheers,
> Kelly
>

Reply | Threaded
Open this post in threaded view
|

Re: Qwaq Forums is Going Live

David A. Smith
In reply to this post by Kelly Rued-2
On 3/13/07, Kelly Rued <[hidden email]> wrote:
> Very cool. Do you have any videos on youtube showing Qwaq Forums in action
> yet?
>
Good idea...

> I was initially confused by the sparse web site and funny name but now I'm
> eager to learn more. Where did the name Qwaq come from, btw?

I wanted something short, relatively easy to remember, and available.
The Q,W,A (and Q again) keys are located at the top left of your
keyboard.

>
> Will there be a public demo online? I think that a universally accessible
> demo or video of one would be beneficial to motivate people to take a closer
> look at croquet. By universal, I mean that the demo shows a usage scenario
> that many people will understand rather than something too technical that
> adds another layer of complexity to the already high-level concept of the
> Qwaq Forum. Perhaps something staged just for the demonstration that shows
> how a fictional project was approached and completed with a few different
> types of users represented. Is Qwaq priced for wide deployment in small and
> mid-sized companies and non-profits or is it mostly aimed at larger
> corporations?

Working on it.
>
> For 3D content, are your clients creating their own meshes and textures or
> just using some stock shared assets you provide, or is there going to be an
> add-on or custom service for Qwaq users to be able to get good-looking
> environments and avatars to suit their projects? If a company's main line of
> business isn't 3D environment design you can end up with some pretty ugly
> user-created spaces, and even though it sounds silly it can be very
> depressing to work or play in a place that isn't aesthetically pleasing
> (causing people to not like spending much time in the environments).

Both, we will provide initial templates, but you will be able to
customize it, just like you can customize your desktop.

>
> Anyways, I hope Qwaq gets the attention it deserves. With other virtual
> world platforms in the press, there are a lot of misunderstandings about the
> potential for these spaces. Specifically, people look at Second Life and
> dismiss the whole idea of 3D collaborative spaces based on SL's limitations,
> graphics, and user culture (and lack of business-class service). It looks
> like Qwaq products will have more in common with normal enterprise software
> (reliability, security, integration with existing desktop applications and
> web services, etc.). This is a wonderful thing to showcase, not just to
> promote croquet but to encourage people to think outside the SL platform
> when they picture metaverse collaboration online.
>
Thanks for your support!

> I really look forward to seeing more news from Qwaq and end-user focused
> croquet projects like it.
>
> Cheers,
> Kelly
>
>
>
Best regards,

David