There’s an article in the Information Week, citing Mitch Kapor:
But virtual worlds have a long way to go until they become mainstream, Kapor said. They need the equivalent of the Web application server -- building content in virtual worlds is still equivalent to hand-coding Web pages and code. They need an improved user interface; Second Life is dificult to use. They need to be decentralized, to permit creation of private spaces – the equivalents of intranets and extranets.
Linden Lab is taking steps to decentralize. It open-sourced the client in January, and plans to allow people to put up their own servers and attach them to the main Second Life grid. They’re moving to eliminate proprietary protocols. The company is driven to do this by the conviction that its biggest threat is not an existing company, but rather a future virtual world that runs on those principles.
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