Bigfoot Networks announced today that it will be making an appearance during BlizzCon 2007 when it happens at the Anaheim Convention Center in California between August 3 and 4.

The good thing about this is that the company will be giving away Killer NIC network cards for fans who will be passing its booth. We guess you're quite familiar now what's the deal with Killer NIC.

If you're not, then we're pretty sure that you have two major problems - namely lag and latency. Bigfoot created Killer NIC with Blizzard's World of Warcraft in mind, implementing Lag and Latency Reduction Technology for a better gaming experience.

"World of Warcraft and the Killer NIC make a great combo. It is the huge demand for the Killer NIC by WoW gamers that brings us to BlizzCon. The fact Blizzard only allows ten companies to be sponsors of BlizzCon shows how much they believe in the power of the Killer NIC and what it delivers for games like World of Warcraft," commented Bigfoot Networks CEO Harlan Beverly.

The above mentioned companies include Intel, nVIDIA, AT&T, Dell, Logitech, Creative, and Cisco among others. Bigfoot's booth number at Blizzcon is S101.

Sales and distribution network company AsianMedia is happy to announce that it has acquired the rights to NCSoft's MMO video game Lineage II for local distribution in the Philippines. This means that the said country, and nearby markets as well, will finally have their own dedicated servers.

Truth be told, the Philippines is one of the emerging "gaming countries" but it's currently being wrecked by piracy. Despite that however, don't assume that fans in the Philippines wouldn't be getting the same quality of service other top markets are enjoying. Information and Communications Technology Head Apol Salud shared,

The Lineage II servers are also tightly integrated with Telco grade network equipments from Cisco Systems to increase its efficiency in handling large amounts of data traffic. This allows "direct peering" with our partner telecommunication companies such as PLDT DSL, Globe DSL, Telekom Malaysia, and SingTel.

Aside from this, AsianMedia also noted that it will be putting up a 24/7 customer service center using servers from Dell to address regional and local gamers' concerns. According to AsianMedia Chief Operating Officer Ronald Allan Aquino mentioned that these kind of services will further endear Lineage II to the Southeast Asian player,

We have a great product in Lineage II and we've done everything we can to ensure that we provide the best gaming experience possible to those who log in to our servers to play. This is the kind of game where you simply cannot afford to be lagged if you expect to get anywhere in PvP or PvE scenarios.

 

The online game Second Life shares a lot of things with the real world such as terrorist attacks, protesters, and flash floods. Given that, one more thing they recently added is the NBA Headquarters. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, gave his take on their HQ in Second Life stating "Bringing the NBA to the virtual world provides us with a new and innovative platform to reach our fans and the millions of residents in Second Life." He added that the "The NBA Headquarters creates an interactive worldwide community where fans can come together, engage with our game, and most importantly, share in their passion for the NBA."

The Electric Sheep Company, a leading creator of 3D virtual world content and solutions, developed the site and filled it with features that will make basketball fans very happy. Second Life residents will gain access to the T-Mobile Arena, broadband video of classic NBA games and highlights, and even a chance to get their picture taken with the NBA's championship trophy in the Toyota Larry O'Brien Trophy Room.

Sibley Verbeck, CEO of The Electric Sheep Company, spoke on their creation and the NBA saying that "NBA is a sports innovator, being the first professional sports league to unveil a comprehensive headquarters in a virtual world." He also noted that "NBA is engaging its fan community at a whole new level, and bringing fans together from around the world."

Features:

• T-Mobile Arena 
• NBA Store
• NBA Jam Session
• Toyota Larry O’Brien Trophy Room
• Cisco Wireless Press Center
• Path of the 50 Greatest NBA Players
• David Stern Avatar
• NBA Orientation Island

All in all, it looks like a solid effort from Stern and The Electric Sheep Company. Now, even Second Life avatars can enjoy the NBA in their world. We are still waiting for the NBA to start having a Second Life league, complete with the Laker Girls though.

Enterprising Games Week is an event set to take place on June 27 and 28 in London and is set to focus on how companies can use AI, virtual worlds, Web 2.0 functions and video games to create learning and brand extension experiences. DevelopMag reports that what makes this event noteworthy is that they're set to feature a keynote from Lionhead studio boss Peter Molyneux.

The event is also set to feature Nader Nanjiani of Cisco, and both Peter Molyneux and Nanjiani will be speaking during the serious games portion of the event.

The event is made possible by the folks of Apply group and the serious games association, Anglish. Martine Parry founding director of ANGILS and production director of Apply Group comments: "With two conferences and two masterclasses across two days, focused on the key issues, coupled with the quality of our speakers, Enterprising Games Week is the right one-stop forum to learn about what can be achieved whilst networking for business."

  

Dan Miller is one cool dude. Read on, and find out why.

Business journalist H.S. Ayoub recently submitted to Internet Stock blog SeekingAlpha a write-up on his experiences in Linden Lab's Second Life. Obviously the fellow focused more on the business aspects of the metaverse. He covered the recent activities of Cisco Systems, IBM, American Apparel, and Toyota within the virtual world.

What's noteworthy though about his report is his input on government – to be specific, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress - plans to start taxing transactions taking place within Second Life.  Ayoub takes time to note Dan Miller's view on the subject. Ayoub writes:

While the flurry of activity and monetary spending can attract the attention of businesses, it can also attract the government. The Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress is taking a hard look at the possibility of taxing income derived from virtual online worlds. But the general consensus is against any taxation at this time. The blogging community immediately condemned the committee's announcement last year, and Dan Miller, senior economist on the committee, agrees.

He believes that a realistic attempt at taxing virtual transactions could prove very difficult. It would place too much pressure on virtual administrators, such as Linden Lab, to keep tabs on the millions of transactions and player activities that occur every day. This, Miller believes, could slow down the impressive innovation taking place. It is not surprising to learn that the 64 year-old Miller is an avid World of Warcraft fan, and player!

Great, the great online businesses on Second Life, indirectly defended from taxation by a World of Warcraft player. The amazing teh internetz is. Amazing.