Second Life: Android and iOS? What is the Lab thinking?

Seems many are excited about Brad & Oz Linden making comments about development of an app for iOS and probably Android. Inara has been writing about it at Modem World. And Hamlet picked up on that posting LINDEN LAB CONFIRMS.

Late 2018 – Firestorm-Steam VR

Hamlet adds a bit of speculation. But, Inara makes the most speculative guesses about what the Lab is doing. She is knowledgeable and her guesses are those of a person well informed on and experienced in the subjects of Second Life and Linden Lab. I think they are reasonable.

I’ll add an additional twist. Consider. The people using and requesting mobile apps for SL are existing users. The current mobile apps provide a means for existing SL users to manage business tasks while on the move.

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Second Life and Sansar in the News

The Irish Times has an article by Marie Boran, Virtual reality is giving Second Life a second lease of life. (4/13) Marie was a participant in Second Life™ in 2010. In the first few words she reports the Trump-Swastikas at a Bernie Sanders meetup. That mention should clue people to the possibility of the reporting being shallow. I’ll try to push the Sansar news deeper and provide some perspective on Second Life..

The Blarneystone in Dublin, SL – 2017

Marie moves on to point out that while there is an ‘underbelly’ to SL, that is often reported on, there is also a surprising number of ‘ordinary’ folks in SL. The real world is pretty much that way… so…

Next Marie says her 2010 outfit and skin had expired… I went back and tried some of my 2008 outfits, well, we didn’t have “Outfits” in 2008. So, I had to find some stuff from then and make an outfit to see if things still worked. They did. I looked horrible. We can’t be sure what happened to Marie. I’ll take this as being another nail in ‘shallow’. But… Continue reading

AT&T US$10 VR Headset App

Hypergrid Business is pointing people to a $10 VR Headset App being sold by AT&T. See: AT&T offers $10 VR headset, app. You may want to wait until we see more reviews. Plus, we may see some good free apps appearing.

Remembers It All Too Well

Remembers It All Too Well

The headset being offered in addition to the app is a Google Cardboard thing.

Of course you could get one of the 10,000 free Cardboard VR headsets offered by CM Products, LLC. Hypergrid has a funny video to go with that offer…

Ebbe Altberg Interview Week 30

Jo Yardley points us to an interview with Ebbe on MMORPG.com: Linden Lab Looks to the Future of Online Experiences. There are a few interesting bits in the Interview. this is an article ABOUT the interview not a transcript.

233 Dance studio

233 Dance studio

Age limit: 13… really!?! Yes… Ebbe says the Lab has the experience to know how to separate content and keep the young safe. I suppose that means regions/experiences will have a rating and those will work with the viewer to limit access and exposure. Since users will be less anonymous by the time they have significant build rights this should an enforceable concept.

This also tells us we are going to have sex in Sansar, aka SL 2.0. Continue reading

Second Life: Dr. Phil?

Oh noooo… everyone is writing about Dr. Phil doing a show on computer gaming. The show aired on CBS this Tuesday (7/14 – 3PM PT – I was working). For Second Life residents the big deal was to be some coverage of Second Life and an interview with Ebbe Altberg, the Linden Lab CEO.

Hurry and see the video. I’m not sure whether CBS will allow it to remain. 1/5/2016: Some have been removed others have remained. This one replaces the one I originally used.

Drax is said to have helped setup the in-world parts.

Dr. Phil visits Second Life and 1920s Berlin

Dr. Phil Features Second Life in Show on Game Addiction

I Met Dr. Phil in Second Life! – If you only have time for one, read Strawberry’s. She has a play-by-play of the show on Plurk.

Second Life in the NEWS

Massively Overpowered has an article by Bree Royce, I think she wrote it, titled SEX, LOVE, AND MMOS in the Working as Intended column. Second Life™ is mentioned but is not the focus. The image used for the article is from Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Save Your Advice Cause I Won't Hear

Save Your Advice Cause I Won’t Hear by [ HarlowHeslop.com ], on Flickr

Bree is on about the hypocrisy of those diss’ing those that role play sexual encounters in games. Also, the ridiculous concepts of putting down those RP’ing sex while playing as mostly nude female warriors slaughtering their way to the next level.  Continue reading

OpenSim News: Hypergrid Market 2014-12

You probably know that in the Open source world of OpenSim they have a thing called Hypergrid. The basic idea is one can live in a grid and visit other OpenSim grids. The really neat thing is your avatar and it’s stuff go with you. So, if I put on my red dress in OSGrid and go to Kitely I look the same in both grids. My dress, skin, etc. came with me to the other grid.

OpenSim - OSGrid - By:  Linux-Screenshots, Flickr

OpenSim – OSGrid – By: Linux-Screenshots, Flickr

IBM and Linden Lab were cooperating on building the Hypergrid. The problem was they could not find a way to protect Intellectual Property Rights. So, they gave up. As much as novices think: there must be a way, there isn’t. After 25+ years the movie and music industry have not been able to find a way to protect digital content from theft. They have spen millions trying to figure out a protection scheme. They have failed.  Continue reading