Andrew LaVallee

Homeowners Begin to Treat Flashy Electronics as Eyesores; Speakers Disguised as Sconces

When Ryan Heuser was putting the finishing touches on his restored 1960s-era house in Newport Beach, Calif., he wanted to preserve its period look and minimalist interior. It wasn’t hard in the kitchen, which the 34-year-old outfitted with Boffi cabinets and sleek appliances like a Viking range and Miele dishwasher.

But the living room, where he planned to install a home-theater system, was trickier. Even high-end loudspeakers were going to be too clunky for the room, he says. “I really wanted something that blended seamlessly,” says Mr. Heuser, president of Paul Frank Industries Inc., an apparel company.

So he paid about $7,000 for three thin speakers that are embedded in the wall and hidden behind a screen. The system, called Artcoustic, includes an “acoustically transparent” fabric that consumers can have images printed on, making the speakers look like framed artwork or a wall panel.

Big home-entertainment systems and flat-screen plasma television sets may remain status symbols for some, but as prices continue to drop — and the devices become ubiquitous — an increasing number of consumers are downplaying their living-room gadgetry.

Manufacturers, for their part, are adding decorative touches to soften their components’ looks. Others are offering products that disguise liquid-crystal displays as Picassos and speaker systems designed to be works of art in themselves.

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(Also appeared in AOL News, Arizona Republic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Tulsa [Okla.] World.)

Second Life Designers Make Real Money Creating Clothes for Simulation Game’s Players

In the real world, fashionistas are recovering from the spring collections in New York and London and gearing up for shows in Milan and Paris.

But in the fast-growing virtual world of Second Life, many players are too enmeshed in the game’s online fashion community to dissect what Vera Wang or Baby Phat sent down the catwalk in New York. Some players are buying up high fashion for their online graphic incarnations, known as avatars. Others, armed with Adobe Photoshop instead of a needle and thread, are creating their own clothing lines, pitching their designs to style editors, selling their creations, and — in some cases — even earning a living.

Second Life is a simulated world with more than 700,000 “residents,” or players, who sometimes refer to their offline existence as their “first life.” As in earlier computer simulation games like the Sims series, the point isn’t to fulfill a quest, and there are no dragons or wizards to slay. Instead, San Francisco-based Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, has provided a platform for players — median age 32 and 57% male, with 40% living outside the U.S. — to do whatever they want, whether it is building a business, tending bar or launching a space shuttle. Residents chat, shop, build homes, travel and hold down jobs, and they are encouraged to create items in Second Life that they can sell to others or use themselves.

When players buy items or services, real money is involved. That’s because Second Life’s in-game currency, Linden dollars, is based on real U.S. money ($1 U.S. buys about 280 Linden dollars). It’s possible for users to play Second Life free of charge, but closely held Linden takes a cut of many in-world transactions (such as uploading a design to the game), and it charges players for “premium” accounts, which offer more flexibility in owning land and displaying merchandise.

Many virtual items are bought and sold in Second Life, but clothing has emerged as one of the hottest categories. Real clothing makers, including American Apparel Inc. and Adidas, sell items in Second Life that mimic apparel they sell in the real world. Thus, players can dress their avatars in some of the same clothes they wear themselves.

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A look at some clothing designed by Second Life players.

(Also appeared in the Northwest Florida Daily News and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)