Second Life and Virtual Worlds
Yeah, we have all heard the rumors and speculation. If you are into drama, there are a number flaming threads on the Second Life blogrum where wild speculation runs wild. But, we still have no solid information, we are still dealing with opinion and speculation. In regard to speculation Gwyneth Llewelyn has a new article this morning. It is so far the best example of the application of intelligence to make a rational speculation.
See: Microsoft Life?
With the new 2.x viewers in Second Life lots has changed. Editing one’s appearance is one of the big changes. I have yet to decide of it is better or worse. Whichever, it certainly is different. This is my attempt to sort out how appearance works. I expect the viewer to change quite a bit over the next few weeks.
In the 1.x viewers (SLV1) it was easy to find the editor, just right-click the avatar and select Edit Appearance. Everything is there. I guess it could be intimidating.
In the Second Life 2.x viewers (SLV2) the logic for getting into Appearance Edit changes. The process is more goals oriented. For techie types familiar with computers the idea that one wants to change a dress or their shape means look for an avatar editor. Less geeky types probably don’t think of looking for an avatar editor, they just want to change the dress. The Lab did usability testing and supposedly this was a significant problem. I just don’t know.
By now you have probably heard the rumor that Microsoft made an offer to buy Linden Lab and thus supposedly Second Life. However, this could just be an offer to buy some of SL’s technology. Or it could all be a griefer’s spoof. The source of the rumor tracks back to a banned player and a group known to grief. The complication comes in that both have been involved in revealing ‘real’ secrets in the past.
There is no way to confirm or deny the rumor until either Linden Lab or Microsoft make a statement. Even then many will speculate the official spokes-holes are spinning to control PR. In the political season here in the States that makes perfect sense to many. There is just no way to know who is spoofing, spinning, or in the know. But, the story has legs because it is a credible idea that Microsoft might actually want Linden Lab. As more and more blogs pick it up, more real news sources pick it up and the story spreads. Many will use the number of sources as a measure of truth, which is a really poor way to decide.
KirstenLee has released viewer S20(39). It has taken longer than usual to get to this release. KirstenLee explains it is the number of changes made to this viewer that have taken time. Kirsten lists 39 of the changes. If you read the review on the latest SL Beta Viewer, you know Linden Lab made literally hundreds of changes in that viewer and a number of those were to the user interface.
Up to version 38 multiple core CPU’s were optional. With this release at least a dual core CPU is required. Older computers, as in older than 3 years, are just not going to run this version of the KirstenLee S20 viewer, often referred to as KL20.
Tofu and Aimee Linden in the UK are leaving the last day of the month. This is part of the previous layoff that was announced. Still it is sad to see people that have done such good work leaving. But, the UK office is closing… closed.
The team is now made up of Esbee, Oz, Merov, and 3 contract engineers. Plus there are various open source contributors.
SL Viewer Beta 2.2 is out. The Release Notes are here: Release Notes/Second Life Beta Viewer/2.2.0. The thing with release notes is they are really boring. I’ve added tips on how to find and use the new features to make this worth reading.
Alphaville Herald has an article up this morning: Hacktivism, Governance, and Copyright Debates 4chan Style. This is an interesting spin on ideas many of us consider fixed. In regard to copyright, and actually most of government, it should be no surprise things simply don’t work well (A good reason for small government). The problems created … Read more