>> The
>> question is whether the distribution of spaces on such a disk will
>> really be any different in nature or structure from those on the
>> main web.
>
>No different, just that if you want the non-local links to work, you have
>to be connected. A space with only local links will work just as well as
>any other. Faster, even.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is the *real* key for what you're describing. Storefronts are all
hyper-cul-de-sacs anyway, so there aren't any links leading out anyway.
But no one with a 28.8 line is going to sit there and wait for 80 MB of
Virtual Macy's to come to their computer. CD-ROM is the only way.
To tie this back into artistic issues (and try to stay on-topic for this
list), there are certain conceptual applications that involve seamless
linking of disparate spaces, such a VR YAHOO (a Hotroom?), or a Virtual
Planet of the VR equivalent of Home Pages ("houses"?). But all of the recent
topics of this list--Star Wars, Van Gogh, Dali, Escher, et al, sound like
they could be freestanding models
OTOH, a multi-user interactive Dali world where you inhabit a Daliesque
avatar sounds downright engaging, doesn't it? You could float upside down in the
form of an elongated melting cow, your torso shifting bizarrely in the breeze,
as you chat with one of the clock people, his lips moving as his mouth rotates
around his face with the second hand.
I think Dali would have really liked VR....
--Andy
andyn@texas.net