Second Life Newser

Sabine McGettigan and her Passionate Redheads

2012-01-30T06:05:00.000-05:00

Grease Coakes recently sat down with the leader of the Passionate Redheads Relay for Life group: Sabine McGettin. Sabine had a few things to say about the Redheads' accomplishments, as well as a few of their challenges.

Read the interview in People.

Passionate Redheads Pre-Season Team Meeting

2012-01-30T06:01:00.001-05:00

On Friday Jan 27th, the Passionate Redheads held their first meeting of the year. The official start of the Relay fundraising season “Time for a Cure” isn’t until March 10th, but it wasn’t too early to plan. Team leaders Sabine McGetting and Daaneth Kivioq presided over the meeting, of which about a couple dozen showed up in the hour-long gathering.

A number of ideas were discussed. Themed dances such as 40’s jitterbug and 60’s rock were suggested. Daan told there would be more “Bid Me or Not” events, referring to the three “Bid me Human” events last year that culminated with Rita going around in a human av until the Relay weekend after 75,000 Lindens were raised. He suggested he might put himself on the line again in a “Bid Me Bunny” event, the mention of the av being a pink bunny getting a few chuckles. Rita mentioned that with Sunweaver Air changing hands, Club Cutlass would be remodeled, “When it is done, we can do a grand reopening and donate the proceeds to the RFL.” Also suggested was a fishing tournament and a pony fundraiser.

There were also a few recommendations. One was supporting other teams, such as the Steelhead Salmons. Another was getting events on the Linden Lab SL events calendar. Also mentioned was Bryanr Rickena’s RFL Passionate Redhead’s Museum in the Precious Dragons sim at (96, 32, 22), and that there would soon be a changing of Relay groups. The new chat group was “Relay for Life Volunteers,” the old SL Relay for Life being discontinued.

To read Sabine McGettin’s account of the meeting, go to her post in the Passionate Redhead’s Blog.

Top picture from Sabine McGettin

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Say No to ACTA by Polish Gothic

2012-01-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

I am writing to you due to the current signing ACTA document. I will try to explain it the best that I can with my English skills, I hope you will understand.

ACTA with it actual rules can be highly dangerous for freedom of citizens and for small companies all around the world. As it states, there won't be possibility to produce substitute parts for electronic supplies and planting seeds which are branded just imagine how big disaster can it bring for people and how many will loose their jobs.

As for censoring internet - this way of fighting with piracy is highly wrong. Researchers say that most of people actually buying artistic products as music, movies and so on are the ones who downloaded it from the net before. If they won't have the way to download files automatically sales will fall since we will not now what to buy. You should realize most of such things are over expensive for common citizens, so they will buy only things they like, if they don't know if they like, they won't buy.

If you want to fight with piracy make a way to lower the prices of software, music and all the staff which is downloaded from the net now - as there is carrot and whip method of controlling - you should first try to use the carrot, not the whip. using the whip right now will only cause bigger uproar.

Before voting for ACTA, consider a word from citizens and their rights.

Our residents from Polish Gothic made a protest against ACTA at 23-01-2012, you can watch movie from this protest on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmQk-6VhFP4

You can find more information on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=citzRjwk-sQ

and http://www.stopacta.info/

You can vote on ANTI-ACTA petition here: https://www.accessnow.org/page/s/just-say-no-to-acta

Thank you for hearing out a voice from ordinary citizen. Also I want to tell you from private, if there won't be net on the way it is now, I would not be able to write this message to you because most of my English skills along with knowledge comes from using tool called Internet.

Best regards,

Pandemonium Anton

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-29T06:00:00.000-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

SL Youtube: Dranopia Quest

2012-01-28T06:01:00.000-05:00

A youtube from Timi Allen, of the upcoming Dranopia game in Second Life.

"Are you brave enough, you plunge into the depths of the canyon of lost souls? Grab a dragon and rescue the souls from the evil dragon monsters, the Groms. Be there from 26 January 2012, then starts the first flight event of Dranopia. Be brave, become the protector of the dragon souls. Win the grand prize and have fun. We look forward to you."

Special Event at the WW2 Combat RP in New Fallout

2012-01-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

This weekend will have a special event at the WW2 New Bastogne RP. This battle will be going on all weekend, starting in Saint-Quentin. Both sides are more than happy to take in new players, but it is asked they take a few minutes to check the rules before storming in. Certain equipment provided for free is required to take part. For details on the real-life battle, Click Here.

Petite Gallerie

2012-01-27T06:05:00.001-05:00

Gemma Cleanslate recently went to the place of Mistyowl Warhol, where she had set up a small art gallery. She and two other photographers have their images up in an exhibition, including Gemma's philosphy teacher.

Read more in Design.

The Cocktail NightClub

2012-01-27T06:00:00.004-05:00

A new club recently moved to the Purrfection Estates, the Cocktail Nightclub, also known as the Cocktail Lounge.

The club is on a small island in the southern part of the sim, separating it from the rest of the land, accessible by bridge. Originally, the place was a dark building like a city nightclub, with separate dance floor, cocktail lounge, and a couple private rooms. More recently, the place has been rebuilt with a more “open air” look. The walls are gone, giving the impression of the place being open to the breeze, with overhead tarps to shield patrons from the sun. The dance floor makes up the center of the club, with the DJ’ booth opposite from the entrance. The private rooms are gone, but there are three corner areas where visitors can relax on the couch while chatting, plus the bar in a fourth corner where people can order drinks from the bot bartender.

The club is owned by Rich Mordly, with DJ Firefox Doghouse as a co-owner. It is one of the clubs in the FCA, but unlike most of the other club owners in the “Furry Club Alliance,” Rich usually sports a normal human look. Talking to Rich, he had worked at another club some months ago, before opening the Cocktail lounge. In it’s first locale, it offered a number of themed events, notably neko and rave.

On Wednesday December 7th at 6PM SL time, the Cocktail Lounge had it’s Grand Opening party. DJ Firefox was spinning a variety of music. About two dozen people attended durring the two hour event, a mix of furred, neko, and normal human avs with no one group making up the majority. Besides the contest for the best-looking avatar, there were also trivia contests up the whole time.

Talking with Rich and Firefox after the party, they were satisfied with the turnout, “today's Grand Re-Opening event was a huge success.”

Currently, the Cocktail Nightclub has events regularly on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11 SL time, with some special events on Sundays. Rich eventually plans for the club’s hours to be on a daily basis. DJ Firefox says he plans to DJ on every day as well, “I have fun DJing here. ... Everyone here is nice, easy to get along with.” Fire explained teammate Niterider could serve as backup if he was ever held up in real life. And of course they could always call on the FCA alliance. They plan a number of themed events in the future, such as “Best in Cyber,” “Best in Dragon,” and a special Crux avatar event, “I got quite a few.”

Rich and Firefox are still hiring staff, such as hosts. Those interested are asked to send Rich (or Firefox) a notecard saying which position they want and what hours they can perform. Those on the team are expected to be courteous toward patrons of the club and maintain a fun-filled atmosphere for all.

Their goal is to have a first class club everyone will want to come to, “If you want a good nightclub experience, head on to the Cocktail.”

Purrfection Estates (85, 76, 21)

Bixyl Shuftan

In Memory of Lavendermist McTeague

2012-01-26T18:00:00.004-05:00

In my days hanging out at the STA sim as I was starting out as a journalist, one of the rougher-looking characters there was OtisDriftwood Vollmar. Following the end of the sim, I didn't see him as much, and eventually we lost track of each other.

Fast-forward four years. He was now known as Ote Underwood, and had gotten together with someone else known to visit the STA. Known once as Zola Nightfire, she became known as Lavendermist McTeague. They were happy together for a time. Unfortunetly, tragedy struck, as he announced on his profile:

My partner Lavendermist McTeague passed away
quite suddenly while sleeping Jan 20. 2012 :-(
Miss you dearly Kathleen - thank you for these over 4 years.
http://www.facebook.com/ote.underwood

Seeing me online, he asked me to teleport over where he was. There in a skybox next to a now empty house, a small memorial had been set up with Lavendermist's avatar picture, with a few flowers around. The man whom I remembered as a tattooed "gangsta" now sported a scruffy-looking child avatar. People continued to arrive over, mostly women whom were Lavendermist's friends. They soon held an informal wake, chatting about her and their interactions with her, one saying she had chatted with Lavendermist the night before she passed away.

Otis/Ote told me the memorial would still be up at least until this weekend, and invited anyone else whom might have known her to come by. Until then one can still see it at Dallas Highlands (29, 36, 3014)

Bixyl Shuftan

Wounded Warriors Benefit Concert on Jan 29

2012-01-26T06:00:00.001-05:00

Frets Nirvana, the premier guitar artist in the virtual world Second Life and the US Military Veterans Group announce the first Wounded Warriors benefit for the year 2012.

More than 30,000 troops have been injured in recent conflicts, many of them suffering traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and severe burns. Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) provides services and programs to ease their burdens and aid in the transition back to civilian life.

Frets Nirvana states: “As a result of the support of many in Second Life this effort we raised over $9200 in 2011 for WWP. We hope to meet a target of $12,000 in 2012. We are going for 12 in 12!”

Wounded Warriors concerts feature premier Second Life Talent monthly at Patriot Island. The concert on January 29, 2012 is scheduled from 4-9 PM PST. Featured artists will be DJ Waya Snowpaw, PonDman Haalan, TerryLynn Melody, Frets Nirvana, and Avantgarde Frequency.

Patriot Island (162, 122, 29)

Press Release

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-25T06:05:00.000-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

Rez Day Party for Samantha Glume

2012-01-25T06:01:00.000-05:00

Grey Lupindo had a little celebration to report on from her home region Syzygy. The owner of the land, Samantha Glume, had her 5th rezzday in Second Life, and her friends threw a big party for her in the Syzygy Space Station.

Read more in Events.

Cartoonimals Sim to Close

2012-01-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

One whimsical simwide store will sadly be closing it's doors soon. Cartoonimals, a place with a number of cartoonish critters and a number of amusing novelties, will be closing in February, and residents have until then to see the funny sights for themselves.

Read more in Places.

Events this Week in Second Life from Jan 24th to Jan 31st

2012-01-24T06:05:00.002-05:00

It's a week full of events in Second Life as we close out the month of January. From the Ski Trail Gift Tour to the Caledon Quest, there are a number of special events. And of course we have our usual variety of regular events from parties at clubs to live music, to book and poetry readings, to talk shows, and more.

Read more in Events this Week.

Interview with DJ Aurora Avila

2012-01-24T06:01:00.002-05:00

Second Life Newser has a new writer, Grease Coakes. For his first article, he wanted to honor a favorite DJ at a club he hung around with. So here's his interview with AX DJ Aurora Avila.

Read the interview in People.

"What's Cookin'?" at Netera's Coffee Lounge

2012-01-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

On Saturday January 21st, Netera Landar held a cooking show at her coffee lounge, "What's Cookin?" Chef Jorden Andrew used the Grid and virtual ingredients to show the audience how to cook up a great dish.

Jorden had gotten her start with Second Life cooking a few months before at KK Food & Pastries, " I always wanted t odo something like this," and when she saw the announcement, she auditioned. As it turns out, she used to cook at a San Francisco restaurant. But she doesn't cook so much in real life at the present time. Nor does she grow ingredients, "I don't have a green thumb."

Jorden cooked for a while, both meals and desserts for a diverse audience. "What's Cookin" plans to be a frequent feature, but may not be on every week. Some events will also have different chefs.

Check the schedule at Netera's Coffee Lounge for event times at Terric (43, 137, 28).

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunweaver Air to Change Hands

2012-01-23T06:25:00.009-05:00

On 3PM SL time yesterday on Sunday January 23rd, The Sunweaver Estate's owner Rita Mariner called a meeting at the Cutlass Club to discuss a problem. There wasn't enough income coming in to cover the costs of the sim, and the one with the most unrented space was Sunweaver Air. She couldn't afford to hand onto it.

The good news, someone had stepped forward to take on the sim. "Shelly" Kit Repine would be taking charge of Sunweaver Air in a couple weeks. No one would have to move, and this includes the office of Second Life Newser, which sits on the land of Ranchan Weidman.

It was noted that the Sunweaver group was much larger than the current number of renters, "Please, if you're going to enjoy our club (Cutlass), consider renting out a spot to help keep the place going."

Podex Exchange Plans ACTA Internet Censorship Protest

2012-01-23T06:01:00.000-05:00

By now, most readers have heard about the SOPA and PITA bills in the US Congress. Their sponsors claiming the intent was to stop Internet piracy, the bills were badly written, and would have left the Internet subject to severe censorship. Fortunately what began as scattered protests online soon grew and became too much for the politicians to ignore. So the bills were shelved, at least for now.

Unfortunately, there is more trouble on the horizon, and not just for the United States. A number of countries, including the US, Canada, the European Community, Japan, and others. Described as a response "to the increase in global trade of counterfeit goods and pirated copyright protected works," the agreement also takes aim at at the Internet. Although the entertainment and software industries were in on the negotiations, “citizens and public interest groups have been largely left out.” The agreement targets "legal safeguards that protect Internet Service Providers from liability for the actions of their subscribers," and the result would be severe compromises on Internet freedom, very much like what the SOPA and PIPA bills threaten to do with the United States.

Jacek Shuftan of the Podex Exchange decided to do something about ACTA by joining the protests against it, “I want to announce that Podex joins the international protest movement about government attepts to censor freedom of speech on the Internet.” Today, Monday January 23rd, several pages on the Podex site, plus his new secondmovie.com and second-bay.pl would go dark, replaced with a page denouncing the censorship, “Keep the Internet free!” After 24 hours, the pages would return to normal.

For more information, one can look up the Wikipedia entry on ACTA, as well as what the Electronic Freedom Foundation and Canada’s CIPPIC have too say. Plus there’s also youtubes on the issue, such as the one below, and another from “Anonymous.”

Sources: Wikipedia, Podex

Bixyl Shuftan

Bryn Oh’s Immersiva's Crowdfunder-Style Fundraiser a Success

2012-01-23T06:00:00.002-05:00

While SOPA and PIPA made headlines last week, there were other events of note on the Grid. Among them was news about noted artist Bryn Oh and her artistic Immersiva sim. A Crowdfunder - type project to fund the place reached it’s goal after only a day after it began.

To begin with, the Immersiva sim was closed in December when her patron ran out of money. She with Kiana Writer of Madpea wrote a joint letter to Linden Labs to try and convince them to let her keep the sim. It was rejected. Following that, she decided to try a crowdfunder style prioject at Indegogo.com. Set to run for sixty days, with larger donations would come gifts. A donation of fifty dollars would get one a rabbicorn scultpure for one’s Second Life account. A hundred dollars would get one five sculptures “and the private use of Immersiva on your rez day.” $500 would get one an ink drawing. $1000 an oil painting. $3,000 a commissioned painting. $500 and up would also get one listed in Imersiva as a sponsor.

To everyone’s surprise, Bryn got a large donation from film director Peter Greenway. As it turns out, Greenway’s a sponsor of art in Second Life. He donated six months worth of teir for Immersiva. Hamlet Au quoted him as saying, "In the exciting new arena of immersive Art which offers so much to the future of communications, Bryn Oh is an important, fascinating and innovative pioneer and should definitely be supported."

Not only have the donations continued, but she raised over $6,000 in a single day! This is more than the original goal of $5400. Only a few hundred more has come in since then, but the massive start ensures the fundraiser is a success.

For those who want to contribute: Click Here. Among those who’ve donated are Crap Mariner and Thinkerer Melville.

Sources: Bryn Oh, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

SL Pictures: Two Micros

2012-01-21T06:00:00.003-05:00

A not too common sight: two kinds of micro avatar right next to each other. For those not in the know, a "micro" is an avatar even smaller than a "tiny," about a foot high or less. On the left is the MK Microfox, on the right a LomTech "MicroPaw" made by Lomgren Smalls. The Lom is actually half the height of the microfox, but the picture was taken at a certain angle so they appeared to be the same height.

For a comparison to how they look near larger avatars, Click Here to see one at a friend's party.

A case of "sizing up" the little guys (and girls).

Timber Wilds

2012-01-20T06:05:00.002-05:00

Xymbers Slade recently took a look at the Timber Wilds area. Besides being the main location for the Timber Wilds Industries feral avatars, the two sims are well detailed and visually pleasing wilderness areas and the setting for some roleplay for those enjoying taking the part of feral wolves.

Read more in Design.

Live Singer Debi Latte Returns to Second Life's Music Scene

2012-01-20T06:01:00.000-05:00

This Sunday at Noon SL time in the Mystery sim, the moment that a number of live music fans finally arrives, the return of Debi Latte to the "Queen of Hearts" at Mystery

Debbi had been a regular at Mystery, singing every other Sunday, until real life matters forced her offline. Today, everything is all better, and she's back with her velvet voice to sing again.

Debi sings a number of songs noted by certain artists, such as Lionel Richie, Dan Hill and Sarah McLachlan. And of course she sings what's sometimes called the club's theme song, as well as club owner Tygeria Mirabeau's, "Queen of Hearts"

Once again, the event is Sunday January 22nd, Noon SL time.

Internet Protests Widespread, PIPA Opposition Growing

2012-01-20T06:00:00.005-05:00

Wednesday January 18th saw a number of websites protest SOPA and PIPA, by both organizations and individuals. Sopastrike.com billed it as “the largest online protest in history,” claiming ten million signatures had been collected and over three million emails sent in response to the two bills in Congress. They claimed over 115,000 various websites took part, some of which they showed pictures of from Reddit to Wired to BongBong and more. Not all of the protests were on the Internet. People also got on the streets in New York City to voice their opposition.

The most famous website of the protest was most likely Wikipedia’s. After they took down their blackout page, they put up a link to a “Thank you” page:

The Wikipedia blackout is over — and you have spoken. More than 162 million people saw our message asking if you could imagine a world without free knowledge. You said no. You shut down Congress’s switchboards. You melted their servers. Your voice was loud and strong. Millions of people have spoken in defense of a free and open Internet. For us, this is not about money. It’s about knowledge. As a community of authors, editors, photographers, and programmers, we invite everyone to share and build upon our work.Our mission is to empower and engage people to document the sum of all human knowledge, and to make it available to all humanity, in perpetuity. We care passionately about the rights of authors, because we are authors. SOPA and PIPA are not dead: they are waiting in the shadows. What’s happened in the last 24 hours, though, is extraordinary. The Internet has enabled creativity, knowledge, and innovation to shine, and as Wikipedia went dark, you've directed your energy to protecting it.

We’re turning the lights back on. Help us keep them shining brightly.

And the protests had results. Over a dozen Senators publicly announced their opposition to the PIPA bill that day, including five former co-sponsors, bringing the total opposed to nineteen Senators (as of January 17th). Most of the new opponents were Republican. Arstechnica.com suggested this was the result of conservative media such as the Heritage Foundation and redstate.com declaring their opposition to SOPA and PIPA. Redstate.com went as far as to promise to work to defeat supporters of the bills in their reelection bids.

This battle is so important — and is one of those rare fights where the left and right are united against Congress — that I suggest the left and right unite and pledge to defeat in primaries every person named as a sponsor on H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act. ... Congress has proven it does not understand the Internet. Perhaps they will understand brute strength against them at the ballot box. If members of Congress do not pull their name from co-sponsorship of SOPA, the left and right should pledge to defeat each and every one of them.

It isn’t just politicians who are facing backlash. Among the supporters of SOPA is the Entertainment Software Association, or ESA. The ESA runs the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo. One company, Red 5 Studios, which makes the popular “Firefall” game, pulled out of the yearly show. They used the money it would have for promotions there to start a new organization, the ”League for Gamers.” Red 5's CEO appeared in a Youtube with other gamers to express their point of view.

The Motion Picture Association of America responded to the blackout by calling the protests “irresponsible” and a “stunt.” Their main supporter in Congress, Senator Chris Dodd, called the blackouts of major websites an “abuse of power,” adding, "It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information," calling the protests, “yet another gimmick.”

The debate took another turn on Thursday January 19th when Megaupload, one of the world’s top file-sharing websites, was shut down on charges of copyright violations. Besides rhe debate of whether this was right or wrong, people asked if there were already procedures to take down websites, what was the purpose of SOPA and PIPA?

PIPA is up for a vote in the Senate Tuesday January 24th. The House Judiciary Committee will go over SOPA again in February.

Page Source: Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan

Steelhead Shanghai Events this January

2012-01-19T06:05:00.000-05:00

In Steelhead Shanghai, the theme is month is the Chinese New Year. On Friday the 13th, they released numerous paper lanterns into the air. This upcoming Friday is Squirrel Appreciation Day (what the deal with squirrels is, no one at Steelhead had an answer). And Friday the 27th is a celebration of the Year of the Dragon.

All Dances are 7PM SL time at Steelhead City.

Several Clubs to Protest SOPA/PIPA by Closing for a Week

2012-01-19T06:01:00.001-05:00

Nydia Tungsten, whom has been helping to run several clubs in Second Life, posted the following in several of her groups:

To bring attention to the SOPA/PIPA bills in congress the following clubs would like you to know what SL will be like if they pass

Club Zero Gravity
The Happy Vixen
Club Fur
H.M.A.S. Little dove
Castaway Cove Beach

will all have NO events for 7 days
and KVXN will go silent for 24 hours on Thurs Jan 19.

Talking to Nydia, the following song would be played at her clubs during the KVXN blackout, "The Day the LOLCats Died," a song parody written against SOPA and PIPA.

Inworldz Reaches 50,000 Users, OpenSim Shrinking

2012-01-19T06:00:00.005-05:00

According to a recent post by Daniel Voyager, the virtual world Inworldz recently hit the 50,000 mark in the number of it's registered users. Considering this is double what it was thirteen months ago, reaching 25,000 in Dec. 2010, this would suggest the future of the alternative virtual worlds is a bright one.

Hamlet Au's recent article on OpenSim, however, suggested this was not necessarily the case, at least with all of them. In June 2009, this original of the alternative virtual worlds based on Second Life's open source code had nearly over 33,000 total users, close to 10,000 whom had been active in the past month. Today, OpenSim has a greater number of regions and their total number of accounts has more than doubled. But, the number of those active within the past thirty days is just under 3,300. A shrinkage of active users by about 66%.

Exactly why this many have stopped using OpenSim one can only guess, although this place lacks an inworld currency, and therefore has a limited economic potential. It should be noted that OpenSim is just one of a number of worlds that fall into the list of "Open Simulator" based worlds, including Avination, which although is currently the second-largest of these grids is thought to have a stable, if not growing, population. And this world, like InWorldz, does have an in-game currency, as well as boasting combat systems, and has been attracting events. And there's that Avination's viewer has a Macintosh version. One needs a PC to get to OpenSim.

Hamlet Au thought OpenSim's decline was important to pay attention to. With people looking at ways to get around their high tiers, particularly during the persistant bad economic times, some have suggested OpenSim. But to paraphrase Hamlet, such a move would shrink one's potential market of users. While one can (and some are) making accounts in both Second Life and one of these other virtual worlds, not a great deal many are doing that.

Although InWorldz is still growing, its success is not being repeated in most other open virtual worlds. And even then, it's number on at any one time remains small compared to Second Life, which will continue to be dominate other Grids in users for the forseable future.

Source: Daniel Voyager's Blog, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-18T06:05:00.003-05:00

Some people can really go "bats" over "Tiny Empires."

by Bixyl Shuftan

Forgotten City

2012-01-18T06:01:00.000-05:00

Gemma Cleanslate recently took a trip to a interesting Steampunk sim. It's not truly Victorian, but rather Central European. The place is maintained by mechanical men, and there are a number of things to do from games, to shopping, and of course exploring.

Read more in Places.

SOPA Down But Not Dead, PIPA Still Up in Senate, Internet Companies Protest

2012-01-18T06:00:00.002-05:00

With the White House coming down against SOPA a few days ago, it was no surprise that the bill was finally shelved. While some have declared victory, “Ding-dong, SOPA’s dead,” others are more hesitant. As it turns out, SOPA’s co-founder Lamar Alexander plans to bring it back in February, "due to the Republican and Democratic retreats taking place over the next two weeks.” So the bill is still out there.

And it isn’t just SOPA people on the Internet are worried about. Like many other bills in the House, a similar bill was sent to the Senate, the “Protect IP Act” or PIPA. Considered just as big a threat to the Internet and Second Life, it is due for a vote in the Senate this January. Sponsored by Patrick Leahy, the bill is described as having bipartisan support among 40 Senators. Senator Ron Wyden has spoken out against the bill, as has the “Tea Party Patriots” organization.

For these reasons, a number of Internet companies, groups and individuals are protesting in a number of ways. Many, including Wikipedia, blacked out their websites in protest today. Others, including Google , blacked out their logo. Facebook remains up, but a number of people are replacing their profile picture and sometimes gallery images with images symbolizing censorship.

For US readers wanting to contact your legislators to oppose SOPA & PIPA, Click here.

Sources: Electronic Frontier Foundation, Wikipedia, Techdirt, Forbes, Dailytech

Bixyl Shuftan

Events this Week in Second Life from Jan 17th to Jan 23rd

2012-01-17T06:05:00.000-05:00

It's a week full of events on the Grid. From book and poetry readings to music and dance parties at clubs, there's no shortage of things to do. This week brings the return of a live music singer to Second Life. Debi Late returns to Mystery after a long hiatus.

Read more in Events this Week.

Xymbers Slade's Horoscopes

2012-01-17T06:01:00.000-05:00

Xymbers Slade has his horoscopes up for. What do the stars have in store for us? Xymbers has a few answers.

Read Xymbers' Horoscopes in Extra.

End of "The Path"

2012-01-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

Gemma Cleanslate just got a note that "The Path," a multiple artist build, is about to come down, "Visit 'The Path' in LEA2 soon if you have not seen it, or to revisit it before it is lost."

To read her story on "The Path," Click Here. To visit the place, head to LEA2 (178, 178, 23)

An Interview with Owly Indigo of Indigo Aviary

2012-01-16T06:05:00.000-05:00

Grey Lupindo went to a place in Second Life that is truly for the birds: the Indigo Aviary. This location has more than a hundred virtual birds. She met up with the owner, Owly Indigo, and talked about her interest in birds and how the aviary came to be.

Read more in People.

SOPA on the Defensive, Opponents Plan Blackout Protests Jan 18th.

2012-01-16T06:01:00.002-05:00

There’s been still more developments on the SOPA bill. More and more people have been speaking out on the issue. Some of the people haven’t really been known for computer issues before, such as the comic critic “That Guy With the Glasses.” Others are, such as the social media website Reddit by blacking out their site for 12 hours on Wednesday January 18th, some of the people having opinions on the matter short and to the point (image not safe for work). The games Firefall and Minecraft are also planning protests by shutting down their websites that day. Wikipedia “appears to be very close to announcing a blackout or something like it.” Google is supposedly planning some kind of protest other than a blackout.

As the protests mount, the backers of SOPA find themselves on uneasy ground. Senator Lamar Smith, the co-author of the bill, was found to be in violation of SOPA himself. An image on his website failed to give credit to it’s creator, “maybe I could petition the court to take action against texansforlamarsmith.com.” So perhaps it’’s no surprise the other co-author, Patrick Leahy, was willing to remove one segment of the bill.

Also, the White House seems to be finally tilting to the side of the SOPA opponents, at least on the surface. Whitehouse.gov made a lengthy statement, which stated “we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.” However, it encouraged all sides involved to work together to pass “sound legislation.” Whether or not this “sound legislation” acceptable would be SOPA with just a piece or two removed or changed is unclear.

So what can Residents do? Click Here for information on how to contact you senators and Congressman on the matter.

Bixyl Shuftan

Vietnam Wall Builder Would Help Bring Back Momument if Sponsor Comes Forward

2012-01-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

In November, The Vietnam Veteran's Memorial was found to have vanished. Contacting the head of Meme Science, Evian Argus, which built "The Wall" sim where it was, he told me someone had been sponsoring hit, but must have decided to suddenly up and stop paying the tier. He would try to help bring it back if there was someone else offering to sponsor the Memorial.

So who can help bring back this replica of the memorial to the 58,000 soldiers who gave their lives in the Vietnam War?

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

"Nuts about Ballet"

2012-01-14T06:01:00.000-05:00

After my visits to Virtual Ability and the set of "The 1st Question" on Sunday Jan 8th, I stopped to check out a Second Life rendition of "The Nutcracker" I got a bulletin about, "Nut about the Nutcracker" by Ballet Pixelle.

The show was well received by the audience, a few of whom looked more like they were headed for a biker rally than the ballet. There's no shortage of fans on the Grid of high culture, or at least those whom appreciate talent in any form.

The show was at the Quat sim (42, 20, 108).

Reader Submitted

2012-01-14T06:00:00.007-05:00

Xavier Sockington was among those in the audience at the burning finale of "Second Libations" last month. Here's his picture of one of the bots looking from behind a couple rocks as the end comes.

More on SOPA

2012-01-13T15:00:00.001-05:00

Although no one bothered to leave a comment on my article on the SOPA bill in Congress earlier, people had chatted with me about it inworld. One thing that was brought up a few times was "why isn't this on TV/mainstream media?" Finally last night , I saw news briefs on it on CNN, as well as an article on their website when I checked. From what I heard on the TV brief, unlike most other issues in Congress, this isn't a partisan one. Support for the bill was described as roughly 50/50 Democrat and Republican, with at least two candidates for the Presidency (Ron Paul and Michael Bachman) coming out against it).

Time keeps me from writing a larger article, at least for the next few days. Feel free to read this post from Forbes, and this post from New World Notes, the latter concerning the conclusion from the Electronic Frontier Foundation this bill would "jeopardize" Second Life.

Bixyl Shuftan

Discussion on Hiring Autistics at Virtual Ability

2012-01-13T06:00:00.005-05:00

Earlier in the week, there was a lecture at the Virtual ability sim. The subject: it was about the benefits of hiring people with autism. Following his talk, the host Gentle Heron invited people to share their stories.

Read more in Events.

Cameo in Spectral Shadows

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Perri Prinz, a DJ and club owner in Second Life, is also a Fantasy writer. For years, she's been writing her "Spectral Shadows" stories, which include a few cameos of friends. Recently, she included a certain fox reporter as a character in her story.

Maybe not exactly the most competent when it comes to car repair (though probably close to accurate), but I consider this quite an honor. Should be interesting how this version of "Fox News" ends up.

Bixyl Shuftan

Tiny Empires Back Up

2012-01-12T20:00:00.001-05:00

It was something of a rough time in my home estate at Sunweaver, and presumably many others, as there are a number of players of the game "Tiny Empires" here, and for a few days the game was non-operational, the HUDs coming up empty when brought up. The local Queen gave the following message on January 10th, a day after the problems began:

The bad news is that there has apparently been a catastrophic failure of some kind in the Tiny Empires servers and they will have to be rebuilt ... The good news is that I managed to grab a good backup before the failure, so nothing in the Tiny Empires games will be lost. Your acres and gold are safe. ... it is looking like the game won't be running again until tomorrow. I am very sorry for the long delay. This is the worst downtime for TE in years.

Finally today, she gave a message in the game group to reattatch the HUDs. The game was working again, and all was well with the Tiny Empire players, once again looking forward to the next announcement of "Trader!"

*Update* Seems some players are still having difficulties, so perhaps it may be another day or so before it's truly fixed.

Review of Skyrim

2012-01-12T06:01:00.000-05:00

There's been a bit of talk about one game that has some elements of a MMO, but is really a single player game, and is billed as the cutting edge of gaming today: Skyrim. Actually the fifth game in a series, Xymbers Slade took a look at it to see if it lives up to the hype.

Read more in Extra.

Have a Heart for Relay for Life

2012-01-12T06:00:00.002-05:00

Both Crap Mariner and Dr. Fran Babcock got together to tell me last night about a unique product being made for the upcoming Relay for Life season, "AvaHeart" by Burke Benoir.

The store they showed me had a number of hearts up, each supposed to reflect something about the person. There was a heart of ice, a heart of melting butter (melts like butter), a heart with an anchor (a sailor's heart), etc.

Crap Mariner also pointed out a poem he had written:

So many moods we have, so many hearts,

I walk through the gallery, wondering which is yours.

A heart of glass, afraid to break?

A heart of stone, heavy and sad?

A heart of ice, cold and alone?

Or is it lifted upon wings, soaring onto the winds of love?

Singing for all to hear, to the tune of your soul?

Is it bright and shiny, leading the way through the dark?

Maybe all of them are.

I look at an empty spot on the shelf, and ask again,

Which is yours?

And I look inside your soul to see.

A notecard provided offered the following:

A different heart for every occasion and obsession, to express your deepest hopes and desires.

You can wear it in your chest...
You can pin it to your sleeve...
You can put it up on a shelf...
You can keep it under glass...

There are a wide variety of hearts available now, ranging from hearts of ice to hearts with picture frames to keep that special someone close wherever you go. Other artists are invited to try their hand at crafting hearts that express their hopes and dreams and fears, and they will be showcased and made available as the project continues.

Avaheart is at the Night Whispers sim at (214, 41, 3001). For more information, contact Burke Benoir of B&B Spiritual Supplies.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: My Little Dynamiter

2012-01-11T06:05:00.001-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

Pure Land: Exploring Buddhism

2012-01-11T06:01:00.002-05:00

Gemma Cleanslate takes a look at the quieter, more meditative side of Second Life with a trip to the Pure Land Buddhist Practice. At the location, she read a few things about the religion, and found out about a few other locations built around the belief.

Read more in Places.

Inworldz First Annual Fantasy Art Festival Announced

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Nazz Lane sent us a Press Relase from Inworlds, concerning a festival in the virtual world Inworldz.

Following on the heels of the highly successful "Inworldz Dreamz & Visionz" festival, the founder of Alexanderia's Kingdom, Jeri Rajha, is pleased to announce the organization of the "Fantasy Art Festival" to be held in the virtual world of InWorldz. The festival is being hosted by the Elf Clan. This festival will be a juried event and applications are being received now for up to 35 plots (31 land and 4 water plots) for individuals or for teams of artists. Plots will be allocated on the 16th of January, and the group assignment/tag will be given out. The building will be completed by February 3 rd. Then the artists works will be open to view and the judges will begin their selections.

More information can be found in Nazz's blog "Lane's List."

Events this Week in Second Life from Jan 10th to Jan 16th

2012-01-10T06:05:00.001-05:00

It's an exciting week of events in Second Life. From the Month of Machinima to to the LEA Artist Residency to a film screening, there are are a number of special events. Plus there are the regular events from music clubs to talk shows, to book & poetry readings.

Read more in Events this Week.

The End of the “Second Libiations” Art Exhibit

2012-01-10T06:00:00.002-05:00

The LEA6 sim is for art exhibitions, one every month. A recent exhibit by artist Haveit Neox made news not just for it's plot and design, but also it's firey conclusion. In front of a crowd, the exhibition's end became a show of it's own.

Read more in Design.

Will Wright to Appear on 1st Question in February

2012-01-09T06:05:00.005-05:00

Pooky Amsterdam had an announcement concerning her game show "The 1st Question." Her January show would be postponed a week to January 15th. Her February show would be a special one on Friday Feb 3 instead of Sunday. Among the guests would be Will Wright, the "Creator of the Simulation game genere" who joined the Linden team in October 2011. Plans are for a rare live broadcast on Treet.tv, plus there will be a cap on the number who can enter the set while the show is taking place.

Hydra Shaftoe, until recently the regular cohost of the game show, will be coming back for this special episode. Pooky also told that her dating show, "The Dating Casino," will be making a special Valentines Day return.

Phishing Scam

2012-01-09T06:01:00.000-05:00

Xymbers Slade recently found something in one of his groups, "Just got this out of one of the Mentor groups I'm a part of --- those scammers just never seem to give up. So spread the word, that this one's a scam."

Dear Second Life user,

Due our latest IP Security upgrades we have limited access to sensitive Second Life account features.
Protecting the security of your account is our primary concern
We understand that this may be an inconvenience.
Please understand that this temporary limitation is for your protection.

How can I restore my account access?

Please download the form attached to this email and open it in a web browser.
Once opened, you will be provided with steps to update your account.
We appreciate your understanding as we work to
ensure account safety.

If we detect a sign in with your username from another country we may decide that we want to
confirm that it's really you. You must complete all steps otherwise you will not be able to use
the online service until we have completed additional security checks.

We apologize for any inconvenience

Copyright 2011 Linden Research, Inc. Linden Lab 945 Battery St. San Francisco, CA 94111

It should be reminded that it's not just Mentor groups open to such swindels, but any with open enrollment.

Opinion: Why Second Life Isn't Going Away (and Why It Doesn't Appeal to Everyone)

2012-01-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

Some of you may remember CNN iReporter Any1 Gynoid's article predicting Second Life's doom last month. Marx Dudex recently wrote an opinion piece in response to the "doomsayers." Marx commented that there was reason to feel pessimism for the past couple years, cluelessness at the Lab, talk of Second Life being sold, some noteable departures from the Grid, etc. But he feels more confident about the future, signs including a CEO who actually uses the virtual world, and a number of disgruntled residents who left coming back.

Why haven't the alternative virtual worlds been able to draw more people from Second Life. One reason Marx felt was the small market of goods available to buy. There weren't enough to convince many to stay. Then there was that Second Life had emerged as "McDonalds" of virtual world with no one else coming close. Timing also had part to do with it's success, he felt ...

Second Life came into being in the waning years of the dot-com bubble, and I think that it will be quite a few years yet before we see the advances in technology and new ideas that could bring about another such ‘goldrush’, if ever. Second Life came along at just the right time. It doesn’t necessarily matter that it did not become the game-changing ‘killer app’ that many had hoped.

I share Marx's optimism about the Grid's future. Although the sim closings still going on are sad, things are looking up compared to 2010. Although I know a few people who invested in Avination and Inworldz, they never really left Second Life but logged onto both worlds. One will probably still keep his casino in Avination due to his love of gaming and gambling, but he still comes back to the "Mother Grid" regularly.

And why hasn't Second Life caught on with the public to the extent World of Warcraft and Facebook have? Many have put the blame on the Grid's learning curve for new residents. But Marx saw it as more than that, "Second Life requires an investment of time, dedication, and most of all, imagination." The Grid's "core membership" he felt were more imaginative, and broad-minded, than the general public.

Marx hits the nail on the head here in my opinion. MORPGs such as World of Warcraft, while often flexible, offer pretty simple goals compared to Second Life. Go on quests, whomp the bad guys, maybe raise your crafting skills on the side, pretty simple. Second Life on the other hand is a blank slate ready to be drawn on, or in Marx's words, it "provides the canvas for our imaginations." Not exactly the ideal place for an intellectual couch potato, those who look for easy entertainment in which they don't have to think too hard. With Second Life, either you find your entertainment, or at least know someone who can find it.

Of Linden Lab on its way to shifting focus to other products, Marx felt that at most there would be fewer performance improvements and bug fixes to the Grid, but they would still continue. He saw two possible outcomes. Either Linden Lab would make something that would finally catch on with the public and Second Life could ride it's way of popularity, or the products would fail and the Lab would fall back to it's mainstay. This is something I've written about before. As a company, diversifying into multiple products is better business sense for it. And one doesn't just up and abandon the product that got you going, especially if it remains profitable.

Despite some rough times in the past, Second Life will not only survive in the years ahead, but thrive. And that's something we both, and others, agree on.

Source: Inworld

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

2012-01-08T06:01:00.001-05:00

Picture by Skylark, dialouge by Bixyl Shuftan

Press Release: Relay for Life "Visual Media Team"

2012-01-08T06:00:00.001-05:00

We are looking for few talented, creative and hardworking individuals for a special "Visual Media Team."

This "Visual Media Team" will be charged with collecting video & still imagery of RFLofSL for SL Broadcaster, conduct and record interviews, create videos for RFLofSL promotion inworld & online, and more.

We certainly are look forward to hearing from you.

Drop me (Bianfinch Resident) an IM or email me at bain.finch@gmail.com

Bain Finch, Co-Chair, PR and Media Relations Committee

Special Event at the WW2 Combat RP in New Fallout

2012-01-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

JessicaBelle Dayafter told Second Life newspaper about a special event at the WW2 RP. This battle will be going on all weekend at the New Fallout sim. Both sides are more than happy to take in new players, but it is asked they take a few minutes to check the rules before storming in. Certain equipment provided for free is required to take part. For details on the battle, check Wikipedia. For decades, Russian historical records would not include it, so it became known as one of the "forgotten battles."

New Year's With Old Friends

2012-01-07T06:05:00.003-05:00

I had a great time on New Year's Eve, which besides trips to London and Madpea included trips to Cutlass, the Happy Vixen, and the new Castaway Club. On New Years Day there was one more party. Some longtime friends from my days at Woodlin and Foxworth invited me to a New Year's party in Sunday afternoon, so I went over for one last party. And what a party it was, with some longtime friends I had kept in touch with, and one I hadn't seen in over a year.

For me, it really was a happy start to the new year.

Bixyl Shuftan

Meanwhile Back in Azeroth: "The Tauren Chieftains"

2012-01-07T06:01:00.001-05:00

This was one experience in World of Warcraft that reminded me of a few Second Life ones.

A while ago, I came across a music video on the Blizzard website, one of a band of Hordesmen in a rock band, singing a WoW themed song, "I am Murlock" (a fishlike being noted for its gurgling cry when attacking). The name given the band, the "Tauren Chieftains." This was a bit much for a Medieval-themed game, though with the steampunk elements, maybe not *too* far off the wall ... maybe. As a Horde player, I saw them in Silvermoon, but never did see them play in-game, until recently.

At the Darkmoon Faire last month, I came across a music stage, with announcements, "The Tauren Chieftains will be playing in ** minutes." And right on time, they appeared on the stage, guitars blaring. The Orcish singer was yelling some Azerothian version of "Earth, Wind, and Fire," while shamanistic displays of power resulted in rocks welling up from the ground, wirlwinds, and lava rocks raining down on the ground (away from audience members).

While a few in the audience merely watched, most intereacted in some way. Most by dancing, but others created their own special effects with their own displays of power. And of course there were always a few whom *had* to draw attention to themselves by jumping on stage (note to Blizzard, maybe a bouncer quest for the Darkmoon Faire by keeping the stage free of rowdy fans).

And as quickly as they started, they vanished after the last note.

As it turns out, the band members are alter-egos of Blizzard employees: Orc vocalist Samuro (Samwise Dider), Blood Elf rythim guitarist Sig Nicious (Chris Sigaty), Forsaken lead guitarist Berrgrisst (Dave Berggren), Troll Bassist Mai'Kyl (Mike Morhaime), and Tauren drummer Chief Thunder-Skins (Alan Dabiri).

Rock on Blizzard,

Bixyl Shuftan

Qarl Fizz Announces Alpha Release of Mesh Deformer

2012-01-06T06:05:00.004-05:00

Qarl Fizz, the former Qarl Linden or Karl Stiefvater in real life, has finished the alpha version of his Mesh Deformer. Daniel Voyager reports it's included in Version 1.03 of the Niran Viewer, or one can just get the code from Qarl. Hamlet Au states it's also in the latest version of the Exodus Viewer.

The most notable feature of the deformer is how it addresses the complaint of mesh clothes forcing users to make their avatars conform their shapes to the outfits. With the deformer, the mesh coat in the video expands out to conform to the avatar's expanding body fat. Qarl says it's far from finished, but the "heavy lifting" is largely done.

Qarl is looking for feedback on the alpha, which can be done at this JIRA.

Sources: Daniel Voyager's Blog, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Multtiverse MMO Platform Closes, Becomes Open Source

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

According to Gamasutra, The MMO/virtual world development platform Multiverse had shut down last month. Started by a team of Netscape workers in July 2004, the platform was designed to allow people to "build and launch their projects more quickly and for less money than ever before."

Over the years, it took in several million in funding, and even had “Avatar” filmmaker James Cameron in its advisory board. It acquired the rights for multiplayer online games based on the “Firefly” sci-fi show, as well as Cameron’s “Titanic” and “Avatar,” but delayed development. Despite attracting the interest of “thousands of developers,” they weren’t “able to achieve a profitable business model” and so in December 2011 had effectively closed.

But the place will not be completely going away. Multiverse released their source code to their community, which made the Multiverse platform open source, “we have been updating and altering the code ever since, with the aim of carrying on the original dream - to give small-time developers the chance to make something big, and to show the development community that you didn't need to have millions of dollars to make the next World of Warcraft, or the next Eve Online. With the tools we provide, you can be just as good, if not better.”

In New World Notes, Hamlet Au thought the open source platform might be useful for Second Life builders, who could intigrate what they built on it into their builds on the Grid. He also mentioned that Second Life residents had created a “Firefly” roleplay community, as well as an “Avatar” inspired one.

To get the code, Click Here. You can also check their community on their forums.

Sources: Gamusutra, New World Notes, Multiverse

Bixyl Shuftan

Do You Have a Story?

2012-01-05T06:05:00.000-05:00

On occasion, Second Life Newser will print an article or picture submitted to us by one of the readers. And this new year, we're looking for more.

Have you seen a particularly well-detailed sim? Went to a great event? Found yourself in a hilarious "only in SL" predicament? We're very interested in what you the readers have to say. Send us a story or funny picture, and if we like it, we'll post it as a Reader Submitted. For pictures, jpg format is preferred.

PLEASE include your Second Life name, and let us know if you wish it included in the story. Also ask permission before using anyone's name or picture, or use an alias.

Mail submissions to bixylshuftan(at)gmail.com.

Second Life Newser reserves the right to post in the appropriate section and to investigate any names used in submitted stories.

Einstein's Avatar, and "The Virtual Marathon for Medical Research" Machinima

2012-01-05T06:00:00.006-05:00

Made by BobE Schism and Susan Writer, this machinima is about a fundraiser for the IMRIC (Institute for Medical Research for Israel and Canada). With a marathon theme, "each avatar runner represents a condition or disease that is the subject of IMRIC research and funding in partnership with Canadian laboratories and universities."

The machinima itself was started during the fundraiser, but not finished until the results were known, BobE shooting multiple endings ahead of time and selecting one only after the winner was officially announced.

Hamlet Au talked to BobE, whom told him his objective was to dramatize the outcome of the fundraiser, "The avatars represent real-life people who were raising money for medical research in real life." He did his best to make the avatars at least somewhat similar to the donors, which often had them looking a bit weathered instead of fresh young athletes, "Originally I was just meant to make ten 'representations' of the real-life people, but on review of the test shots, I was asked to make them as close as possible to the real thing, which ultimately made them much more endearing and believable than the ten young superfit aves I had originally created."

To add to the challenge, not everyone showed up at the same time, "At most there were four of us logged in, controlling ten to eleven avies, sometimes scripted, sometimes manually." He credited Elizabeth Calderwood and Katje Jewel for helping him out. Despite the help, much time was lost due to various SL bugs from avatars going off-sim, lag, and the runners sinking into the ground.

"No avatars were harmed in the making of this film, though some might have shed a few pounds."

Also in the video was an Albert Einstein avatar, also designed by BobE Schism. Approved by those in charge of the great physicist's estate, it is the official Albert Einstein Avatar in Second Life, created for the purpose of helping out with the Marathon. The voice of the avatar was the only German speaker BobE knew, who used special effects to lower his voice, "now every time I speak to him on the phone, it sounds like I'm speaking to Albert Einstein on helium."

Sources: New World Notes, IMRIC

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: New Year's Bath

2012-01-04T06:05:00.000-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

The Mitt Romney Information Center and Meeting Area

2012-01-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

In 2008, the US Presidential election found it's way to Second Life, beginning with locations to publicize various candidates. With the 2012 election making real life headlines, it was a matter of time before similar locations sprung up on the Grid again. One such location was recently spotted, a planned information center for runner Mitt Romney.

Read more in Places.

Events this Week in Second Life from Jan 3rd to Jan 9th

2012-01-03T06:05:00.001-05:00

2012 is here, and with it new events on the Grid. New Year's may have come and gone, but there are still plenty of events such as the London Festival of Ice and the taping of the noted 1st Question game show. Plus there are our regularly scheduled events across the Grid.

Read more in Events this Week.

New Year's Eve 2011

2012-01-03T06:01:00.000-05:00

Different people went different places on New Years Eve. In Second Life, Grey Lupindo spent time with her neighbors at Syzygy. But she also checked out a few other places on the Grid, which had their own ways of ringing in the new Year.

Read more in Events.

New Year's Eve at Home

2012-01-03T06:00:00.003-05:00

Sent by Gemma Cleanslate. Instead of partying, she and Quark just spent the evening at home at Thorstar, watching Times Square on TV

2011: The Year in Review

2012-01-02T06:05:00.008-05:00

Another year is gone to the history books, and before saying goodbye, time for a look back. From Redzone to Mesh to a promising new CEO, Second Life has seen it’s share of problems, developments, to influential people, whom left impacts both big and small, temporary and lasting, some well talked about while others slipped under the radar of the majority.

To begin with, 2011 began with the rough times of 2010 fresh in the minds of residents. Not sure if Second Life could take another year like that, they hoped for better times. One reason for hope, the announcement of Rod Humble as Linden Lab’s new CEO. With a 20 year history of working in computer gaming, most expressed optimism that he could help bring about better times for the Grid. Rod Humble began by taking a look for himself how Second Life worked by logging onto the Grid like a regular resident, building and creating.

Rod Humble made efforts to try to connect with the residents, such as a “meet and greet” in February. The Lab also made some welcome moves, such as nearly doubling the number of groups residents could join from 25 to 42. In January, Linden Labs released web-based Second Life Profiles, which allowed people to see resident’s profiles when not logged in the Grid. In July, a new feature was introduced to them: my.secondlife.com, an SL version of Facebook. While some dismissed it as “a social network in a social network,” others took to it over time.

In March, Linden Lab unveiled their “new and much improved Community website,” which integrated their blogs and forums. They also introduced a new viewer with separate basic and advanced modes, the former intended for new users. In April, they introduced a “Local Payments” system for international customers. In July, they introduced a number of nonhuman avatars available by default on their viewers. This was followed in August by several default themed human avatars (pirate, steampunk/Victorian, etc). In October, Linden Lab increased the benefits for getting Premium accounts, followed soon by a fifty-percent off offer. Also in October, it was announced Will Wright, another big name in gaming, would be joining the Lindens. December brought Linden Realms, Linden Lab’s game prototype world. Also this month, Linden Labs dropped hints they would be reversing their decision to stop giving newer accounts last names. They also began once again using their old slogan "Your world, your imagination" for the first time in a few years.

Not all of the Lindens’ moves were popular. In January, the Teen Grid was merged with the main one, for the first time allowing minors onto the Grid. Some feared this was a recipe for disaster. However, the movement of these 16 and 17 year olds was limited, and those younger than 16 would simply have to wait before being able to log in. Either by the Lindens’ safeguards, luck, or both, there were no incidents during the year.

Some moves by the Lindens received a lukewarm reception. For months, Linden Lab had touted Mesh as a revolutionary development for Second Life, soon to bring crisper graphics and simpler design to the Grid. Trouble was, the Lab didn’t count on the residents’ use of third party viewers, which used the technology of the old Viewer 1 which couldn’t see Mesh. Besides that most residents wouldn’t see Mesh objects, content creators balked when they found mesh objects often took up more information than their prim counterparts, as well as clothes not always fitting avatars. For all it’s promise for the future, Mesh had little impact for most Second Life residents this year.

Other moves that got a ho-hum included the groupon-style “Dash Deals” in April. Linden Lab developed a Viewer 3. It was adopted by some viewers, but most continued to prefer third party viewers.

And regrettably the Grid had it share of bugs in the system. In January, megaprims suddenly vanished in many parts of the Grid. The “Local Payment” system had some bugs at first that left some residents worried their accounts would end up suspended. In April, about 80 pages were lost on the SL wiki due to a “cleanup.” In August, Linden Lab reacted clumsily to a griefer attack on the Meeroos virtual pets, briefly suspending the account in charge of making the food, and causing a scare. And there were times that the Grid seemed plauged with large numbers of sim restarts and resident crashes. Many put the blame for this on Mesh updates.

One problem the Grid faced early in the year was the RedZone Controversy. The Redzone system was a product marketed as an account alt detector that actually worked by tracking down people’s IP addresses. With privacy fears raised, many demanded Linden Lab take action, and eventually Redzone was ordered taken down, followed by the banning of its creator zFire Xue. As it turned out, zFire was on parole for a criminal offense. He was placed under arrest and given four months in prison. Another legal problem, Universal raising objections to the Battlestar Galactica roleplayers was resolved when the content creators for the roleplays told the company they wound not charge for their goods.

Second Life hosted a number of events in 2011. Most publicized by Linden Lab was the Second Life Eighth Birthday, in which many dozens of exhibits were on display showing a variety of some of the best of the Grid. Other major events included the annual Burn2 in October, which was the SL version of the yearly Burning Man festival in California, and the Relay for Life Walk in July, the high point of the noted fundraiser for cancer research which raised a record $373,000 US Dollars. Relay for Life also hosted a number of smaller events, such as the RFL Fantasy Faire. Other events this year included the Sci-Fi Faire, the Australia Day fundraiser, the Valentines Day “Kiss a Linden,” The Zindra Expo, The “Wounded Warriors” bennefit concerts, Jamm for Genes, The Veterans Tribute, the Fearless Festival, the 7Seas Fisherfest, the Bid4aCure date auction, and many more.

Real life events often found their way into Second Life. The anti-Mubarak protests in Egypt were sometimes reflected in the Egypt sim with various residents, Egyptians and otherwise holding protests signs. The “Occupy” movement also found it’s way to the Grid with “Occupy SL.” Second Life was also the location of disaster relief fundraisers. The Japan tsunami in March inspired a number of relief events, even getting the spotlight from Linden Lab. When Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina, live singer Debi Latte’s hometown was among those hit the hardest. A fundraiser for the town raised hundreds. The killing of Osama Bin Laden inspired a group in Second Life to recreate his Pakistan compound. The same group would later build a virtual space shuttle, and launched it the very second the last real shuttle launch took place. And on September 11, a number of locations held memorials and vigils.

Third party viewers continued to make the news in 2011. The rejection of Linden Lab’s Viewer 2 by most longtime residents inspired Team Phoenix to try to develop their own version. With the development of Mesh, it became the first third party viewer to be available to see it. Trouble was, these viewers were seen as having a smaller frame rate. One viewer, Kristens, ceased development when the creator had to find more real life work. It temporarily got a repreive when he tried raising funds for hsi work through the website Crowdfunder, but it didn’t work.

Among virtual pets, the Ozimal bunny/Amareto horse feud soon was overshadowed by a brand new kind of breedable critter: the Meeroo. This churring, snuggly pet won the hearts of many residents. Even after hit by a griefer attack that threatened to starve the pets, sales continued to do well. With avatars, the sudden popularity of the “My Little Pony” cartoon inspired someone to create a “brony” avatar, and passed around for free the avatar quickly gained a following. The popularity took a hit when the brony sim “Bronyvile” was taken down after a griefer incident. But the community soon bounced back with another, and the avatar remains popular.

Second Life had its share of goodbyes in 2011. SL artist Sabrinaa Nightfire passed away in March. Another artist, Feathers Boa, left the Grid with no plans to return. In July, Paisley Beebe announced she was leaving Treet TV, bringing her popular “Tonight Live” show to an end. A number of sims also closed down, some quietly, some not. Among them were Apollo Gardens, New York City Block, Alien Isle, The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Second Life, Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and AM Radio’s art exhibits. Some places, however, got a second chance after a brush with closing. Abbot’s Areodome and the “Crooked House” were among them.

For alternative virtual worlds, 2011 seemed to have mixed results. In January, the company behind Blue Mars, once seen as having the potential to replace Second Life as the top electronic world, announced a “restructuring” in which they would concentrate on a smaller iPod/iPad version while no longer working on their virtual world beyond bug fixes. Another virtual world, Meta7, closed down on May 1st after a court order against them. The company behind the defunct “There.com” seemed to express interest in bringing back the virtual world by releasing a survey asking people if they would pay to log back in. Avination and Inworldz continued to make some headlines. They weren’t without problems, the influx of new residents slowing down, and rumors for a short time that one of Team Emerald banned from Second Life was on the staff at Avination. But they also had some triumphs, Avination in August throwing a bash to celebrate it’s first aniversary, and both worlds holding events that could match some of those on Second Life.

Social media and Second Life often had an uneasy relationship. Use of Facebook by residents was widespread, the Second Life page on Facebook getting thousands of "Likes." But officially, Facebook called the use of account names against their terms of service. In May, Facebook disabled thousands of their accounts used by Grid residents for this reason. Some gave in and changed their account name to match their real-life one. Others simply set up new accounts, which was also considered against Facebook's rules. Residents who weren't banned watched nervously, wondering if Facebook would do another mass banning, but didn't. Google's social network turned out to be even worse in it's insistence users could use only real-life names, many Second Life users getting canned, or seeing what was going on and quitting on their own. Google Plus would eventually be retired.

Second Life’s recovery largely went unnoticed by the mainstream media, but it did get a little attention. In May, PC World called it one of the “11 Most Influential Online Worlds of all time.” In August, the Oprah Winfrey Network did a show on Second life, “Life 2.0,” in which the looked at “the lives of several Second Life Residents, whose real lives have been drastically transformed by new lives they lead in cyberspace.” Some residents felt it was an unflattering look at online relationships, though others felt it was a welcome change from the mainstream media largely ignoring the Grid.

As 2012 approached, Linden Lab announced they would soon be working on other products besides Second Life. This development was greeted with worry by a few, but most more or less accepted the move. What did raise worries by numbers of Second Life residents was news of the SOPA Bill in Congress, which raised fears of Chinese-style censorship over the Internet. But residents on the whole are hopeful for a good new year, feeling more confident it's their world, their imagination.

2011 was an eventful year for the Grid, the first complete year Second Life Newser covered from start to finish. And as 2012 arrives, we’ll do our best once gain to give you the news.

Bixyl Shuftan

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Numerous locations run in the New Year last night. Two places I was able to check out were Madpeas (above) and London Hyde Park (below) which rung in the New Year at 4PM SL time.

Happy New Year from Second Life Newser

Goodbye 2011

2011-12-31T06:05:00.003-05:00

Tonight 2011 comes to a close. Numerous locations will be having New Year's Eve parties, and some such as Club Cutlass here will feature their own ball drop at 11:59PM.

It's been a year full of events for the Grid (stay tuned for our Year in Review in a few days), and we've had some great entrances and sad goodbyes. And now, time to say goodbye to it with a blast.

Have a great New Year's Eve.

Cartoon of the Day

2011-12-31T06:01:00.001-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

Opinion: Will SOPA Wash Away the Internet (and Second Life)?

2011-12-31T06:00:00.003-05:00

A youtube of a chubby bearded character has been going around a number of friends of mine. Despite his similar looks to left of center figure Michael Moore, this man’s cause is more Libertarian: the SOPA Bill in Congress.

The SOPA Bill in Congress, he charges, threatens to shut down the Internet as well know it by making people liable to a multimillion dollar lawsuit just for *linking* to a song or other material. Ironically enough, some of the top SOPA supporters he charges were distributors of some of the software tools used by downloaders, CBS/VIACOM, ABC/Disney, Microsoft, and others. The purpose: entrapment. He charges the distributors of conspiring to put a chokehold on the Internet in order to control entertainment markets by “taking down Youtube, Twitter, and all other websites and networks you use.”

He certainly sounds over the top and easy to dismiss. That he was previously noted only for his “Epic Fail Toys Funny Videos” doesn’t exactly help his cause. But the more I looked into SOPA, the less I liked.

SOPA is short for “Stop Online Piracy Act.” Checking Wikipedia, the bill would allow copyright holders to sue websites they accuse of “enabling or facilitating copyright infringement.” Actions they could take include Payment sites like Paypal from doing business with targeted websites, baring search engines from linking to them, and requiring Internet Service Providers to take them down. It also would make “unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime” punishable by five years in prison. Debate in the House will continue when Congress returns from winter recess.

Fortunately the “Epic Fail Toys” man isn’t the only one talking about SOPA. There was another video sent to me, made by “The Cynical Brit.” There was also an article on the Forbes website, “How SOPA Could Ruin My Life” by Paul Tassi, a writer, and a small business owner operating from his website, “a movie/tv/video game site that I started with a partner about three years ago.” SOPA, he feels, will cause him and others to close down. The bill, he fears, “reeks of Chinese and Iranian Internet policies that allow the government to simply censor the Internet the way they see fit ... their definition of what piracy is ends up including most of the Internet, including my own site, and the punishments for even minor infringements could be catastrophic and run me out of business completely.”

Also opposing it is David Ulevitvh, the head of the Internet business Open DNS. "The legislation has the potential to create the great firewall of America," he told a CNET reporter. The bill “is written so broadly that it will invite abuses,” and would be bad for businesses like his, which would have to reincorporate as offshore companies.

So why is this bill making any headway in Congress at all? Tassi claimed many of the Representatives who went over it in committee “admitted to not knowing how to use the internet. The consensus among them was merely ‘ piracy sounds bad, therefore we should pass this anti-piracy bill ‘ without any further investigation into its deeper implications. Implications that would in effect, destroy the entire idea behind the Internet.”

Ulevith himself went to Washington to talk with Congressmen. What he saw was not good news, "Everything they were hearing from people who came to their door every day is fervent support (for SOPA) ... There was nobody sitting on the other side of the table opposing it ...The amount of perspective and influence we have in DC is essentially non-existent. it's not serving us well anymore."

Amendments to the bill have been rejected, and Congress is set to debate it sometime “early next year.” How it will affect Second Life is unclear, though as the Grid has been targeted before for copyright infringement, some are predicting a chilling effect as radio streams and roleplay regions shut down out of fear of lawsuits. Among those expressing worry, Nydia Tungsten, whom worried she would have to give a certain announcement:

Because the US goverment has been bought by the recording industry, KVXN will be off the air until further notice. I am sorry to have to do this, but I don't want solders kicking in my doors because i am playing music for others to hear, so until we know how and where this is going....this is KVXN Signing off.....

“KVXN Shutting down forever is a REAL possibility, we need to let those fools in Washington know that WE know this is them lining their pockets again.”

Big Business can be beaten. This week, less than a day after Verizon Wireless announced a fee for paying their bills, a public outcry brought it down. Will this also be the case for SOPA, or will the United States join China in censoring the Internet? Tassi went on to write about a "VETO SOPA" Petition that got over 26,000 signatures in two days (as of when this article was written, it's over 44,000). He wasn't sure what the White House would say, but, "Until then, keep signing. It can’t hurt."

I can’t tell others what to do, but I have sent emails to my Congressman and Senators asking them to oppose this dirty SOPA.

Sources: Youtube, Wikipedia, Forbes, CNET

Bixyl Shuftan

CNN iReport Island’s Last Event

2011-12-30T18:00:00.002-05:00

Two days after it's closing was announced, CNN iReport Island held it's last official event. Part freeform discussion and part party, it was the farewell to the inworld location of the real life news media business, attended by both people in Second Life media and regular folks.

Read more in Events.

Skiing! More Winter Fun!

2011-12-30T06:05:00.001-05:00

Gemma Cleanslate closes her December articles with a look at more wintertime fun in Second Life. This time she did some skiing. She went to several locations in Second Life offering this and other wintertime activities. Or one could just warm up in the lodge.

Read more in Places.

Tales from Podex: If You Give a Mouse a Linden ...

2011-12-30T06:00:00.003-05:00

It was a late December day at the Podex Bank. It was after Christmas, and the influx of people coming in to get cash to buy presents had slowed down. So the tellers had more time to chat, talking about what they had given or gotten for the holiday, or for Boxing Day in the case of people from a few countries. They also talked about wintertime activities from skiing to ice skating, and some Christmas events as well as some upcoming New Year’s Eve plans.

In the middle of the talk, a short mouselike figure walked in. He was dressed all Christmasy in his green shorts and red shirt, wearing a Santa hat between his huge ears. He looked around, then headed to one of the tellers, whom greeted him “Hello?”

“Hi. I don’t suppose I can put some cookies in a safe deposit box?”

“Um, Sir, we’re an exchange service. We exchange US Dollars and several other world currencies for Linden Dollars, and vice-versa. We don’t store virtual goods for safekeeping.”

“Oh darn. I was hoping I could eat them later before lag does. I don’t suppose I could trade some Czech korunas for some Lindens?”

“Certainly Sir.” The clerk brought up a form to fill out, and in a few minutes, the electronic tramsfer was made.

“Thank you very much. I don’t think I’ve seen a client like you from the Czech Republic before.”

“I’m not. I’m from the USA.”

“Then what are you doing with korunas?”

“It was a friend’s idea of a Christmas prank. I asked for a bowl of Chex mix, and instead, he gave me ‘Czech mix.’ “

The clerks groaned, and the mouselike client chuckled a bit before turning around, and leaving the bank, going about his way while the tellers went about their business.

The Podex Exchange is located at Moonbeam (26, 223, 34), with a website at http://www.podex.info/ . Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.

Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Bixyl Shuftan

Steelhead Community: Mindy and the Sasquatch

2011-12-29T12:05:00.004-05:00

The Steampunk-themed community of Steelhead is noted for it's variety of characters, from elves, to mad scientists, it's werewolf sheriff, and others. Today we look at two of the people in the roleplays there: one of the local children, Mindy, and one of the quieter but more unique residents, her friend in the woods "Mr. Sasquatch." So what does a Sasquatch do in a place more noted for it's steam engines than it's trees? We went over to ask him.

Read more in People.

MORPG Review: Rift

2011-12-29T06:00:00.001-05:00

Xymbers is back after a short absence. And with him back, he has a story to share, his time in the "Rift" MORPG. Is it any better than "World of Warcraft?" He writes about how it's different. Xymbers also has an announcement at the end those looking to make a few extra Lindens in are interested.

Read more in Extra.

Cartoon of the Day

2011-12-28T12:05:00.001-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

CNN Closing Down Second Life Location

2011-12-28T12:01:00.006-05:00

Second Life Newser was informed by CNN iReporter Any1 Gynoid that CNN Island would be closing down. The news came from two CNN producers known inworld as Nichole and Henry ireport at an iReporter meeting at the place yesterday on Tuesday December 27th.

Janey Bracken, who wrote about the closing for iReport, quoted Nicole as saying, “We set up shop here in 2008 because we wanted to see what it was like to participate in a real-time community, in a virtual world no less. We didn't know what to expect. The prospect was a little scary, to be completely honest.”

“We've realized that there's a whole culture in-world, and we met so many people and acquired amazing threads and dance moves. Our comfort level grew, and we really feel like we've come to know you. It's been a few years now and we're thoroughly appreciative of this community we've had a privilege to be a part of. We are all proud of what we accomplished here and excited about the future. Just wanted you to know that.”

“We wanted to let you know that we'll never forget our meetings, amazing hair and of course the incredible figures on our avatars. (laughter) We wish we looked like this in real life. It's truly been one of my favourite projects at CNN, and I think others will agree.”

Janey, felt the reason for the closing was “the hectic politics of today’s real world leaves CNN people with little time to cover everything, let alone a fun thing like Second Life.“ But the political season in 2008 didn’t seem to affect iReports then ( the SL iReports page though hadn’t updated since 2008, though). There were some whispers in March that the location would be closing, but the rumors turned out to be false.

CNN will still be publishing articles on Second Life, though it’s unclear if Nicole and Henry will still be logging on, “There are still some of the finer points to work out, but CNN will let us know very soon what else is happening. There will be a farewell party on CNN Island on Thursday at 2pm SLT.”

CNN has been one of the last real-life businesses to retain an in-world location in Second Life, most having left the Grid after the media spotlight largely drifted away. In April, IBM closed it's three art exhibition sims.

CNN’s location is at CNN iReport Island at (128, 128, 24)

Source: CNN

Bixyl Shuftan

Get a Meeroo at Sunweaver Air: Rita Mariner’s Meeroos

2011-12-28T06:00:00.002-05:00

If you’re a Second Life resident, you’re probably familiar with one of the most popular virtual pets on the Grid, if not the most popular. Looking at you with their adorable puppy-dog eyes making those “churrrrr” sounds, they never fail to get an “Awwww” from passersby. We are of course referring to those lovable Meeroos.

One doesn’t need to go far to find a Meeroo breeder looking to sell some of the critters. Right next to the Second Life Newspaper office, Rita Mariner keeps a number of Meeroos. She enjoys them a lot, but is looking for good homes for some of them.

Asking her what the attraction was, “First thing I like about them is that you can actually pick them up and cuddle them.” With the Meeroo HUD on, Rita told the critters will seek you out and beg to be snuggled. To those who think breedables cause too much lag, she answered, “These breedables are designed to work, in that they go into reduced activity mode, should sim dilation be detected. Also they act like real pets, that when the sun goes down, they go to sleep.”

Rita commented in several ways, the Meeroos were like a game, “You have to match up various traits to get them to breed, they way you want them too. They come in various species, coats, sizes and personalities. You can get ears shapes, tails, eyes and head shapes. You have to check the chart to see all that is available. They just added several new species and coats to the mix, I think only the oldest breeders are getting them right now and they are fetching premium prices right now. I have seen prices on some of the rare Meeroos as high as 250,000L. You need two to breed, and siblings can’t breed with each other, nor with their parents.”

Rita told that one can get most varieties of Meeroos from her, “I just got my first Jubilee.” For beginning owners, she recommends, getting individual Meeroos, “the fun part is when you get a new nest is you never know what you get until you toggle it. I have been surprised several times to see a totally different species Meeroo come out of a pair of my ‘roos. I have to look at them and wonder what those two have been up too, behind my back.” Rita explained a new Meeroo owner could easily end up with a rare after a couple have offspring, “I got a Jubilee out of my Pharaohs.”

Meeroos come in several sizes, “teacup, toy, small, average, medium, large, giant. Giant gets almost as big as my little daughter.” To add to the fun, “The Meeroos also dig up treasures for you to find and click on. At holidays, they creators add in special treasures just for the holidays. These gain you regard points. Regard points are like experience points. The more you get, the greater chance of unlocking different traits in your Meeroos. Your Meeroos also gain regard points through petting. They max out at 7500 points, so the faster you get them maxed out the better, since they only breed for 55 days, about once every 5 days. So you can get about 11 nests out each pair.”

Besides petting one’s own Meeroos for regard points, “you gain them by petting others 'roos, coaxing a nest, answering the oracle correctly, releasing a 'roo to the wild.”at age 60 days a 'roo becomes elderly and will not produce anymore nests. you have a choice to make. 1) keep them as is, but they still require food. 2) "Meepet" them, and that requires the 999L Meepet option, but they become a permanent pet and no longer require regular food 3) Release them into the wild. the last 2 you gain their stored up regard pints for yourself.”

“It is surprising how addicting they have become. *laughs* They are a lot of fun to have around, but watch out, they are very addicting. Like the old saying, ‘You can't eat just one’? You can't have just one. *laughs*”

For those truly addicted, Rita mentioned there are Meeroo avatars available. Or rather, anthro Meeroo modification kits for the furry chinchilla avatar, “available only on Curious Sim.” The kits come individually, or in “fat packs,” “Limited Edition ones are available only till Dec 31st.”

So if you’re interested in getting one or more pet Meeroos, go see Rita Mariner at Sunweaver Air.

Bixyl Shuftan

Events this Week in Second Life from Dec 27th to Jan 2nd

2011-12-27T06:05:00.001-05:00

The Holidays come to a close this week, and with them the old year as we ring in 2012 this Saturday night. Many sims continue to host Christmas-themed events for those who couldn't see them earlier, as well as winter themes. Plus there are some art exhibitions such as "Wave Fields." And of course there are the usual noted club music events, plus talk shows and races.

Read more in Events this Week.

Arch Rivals?

2011-12-27T06:01:00.005-05:00

When I worked for Dana Vanmoer at Second Life Newspaper, "The Herald" were considered our arch-rivals ... sort of. They were a tabloid, feeding off the drama at the bottom of the Grid, and we were the paper with standards. We made an occasional playful jab at them, for the most part keeping our rivalry low key. The harshest words about them came not from us, but by some readers, saying they gave Second Life journalism a bad name. Eventually, SLN closed, Second Life Newser opened, and the "Herald" began to slow down in it's number of articles per week.

Fast-forward to a few weeks ago when I met their editor Pixeleen Mistral at the set of the political talk show "Virtual Speaking." I had seen her a couple times at Luskwood, but she was Away from Keyboard. This time she was chatting with someone about economic inequetties and how she felt they hurt the Grid. I wasn't sure what to expect, but she greeted me politely, and actually complemented our coverage of one particular subject.

So what does one do when your "arch rival" greets you with praise? I greeted her politely in turn, and when matters required me to depart, I wished her well.

Bixyl Shuftan

Rod Humble’s 2012 Outlook: Better NPCs for the Grid, Linden Labs to Launch “Products Next Year Not Related to Second Life”

2011-12-26T06:00:00.002-05:00

In the latest Linden Blog post, Rod Humble looked back at what he considered Linden Labs best accomplishments for 2011, and had some announcements for what lay ahead in 2012.

Most of what Humble had to say was about noted accomplishments of Linden Lab. Considering his roots in the gaming industry, it was perhaps no surprise the first he mentioned was the making and launching of “Linden Realms, the Lab's first-ever game prototype.” For new residents, it was a chance to earn a few Lindens. For the Lab, Humble called it a way for the Lab to “learn more about what tools Residents could use to develop richer experiences in Second Life — and boy, did we learn a lot!” Humble states Linden Realms would continue to be worked on, with new tools released. There would be one catch: “to prevent abuse of these tools,” only “verified members” would have access to them.

Rod Humble also mentioned the development of Mesh, which he claimed had “more than a 16 percent adoption rate.” He stated he expected for it to continue at a strong pace (though many residents would probably be highly skeptical of this claim). He also talked about new versions of the official Viewer, which included features for newcomers, and the increase in Premium account benefits, notably Linden Homes. He told readers to expect additional “features and content” for Premium members.

For 2012, Humble stated “the primary engineering focus of” the first quarter “will be server side performance and fixing bugs. In fact, you may have noticed one upgrade deployed this week which should reduce the number of restarts and increase performance for all regions.” My observation for the latter is that it hasn’t. He also promised that land tiers would not increase in 2012. He went on to state, “For creators our first new feature for 2012 will be pathfinding,” what the Lab calls it’s new artificial intelligence programs for “artificial life and artificial people,” one example being NPCs for game areas.

The last thing Rod Humble stated was especially interesting: “we will be launching some completely different products next year not related to Second Life.” In short, Linden Labs will no longer have Second Life as it’s only product. This is not unexpected as Second Life is currently Linden Lab’s sole source of income, and open-ended virtual worlds haven’t really caught on with the public.

The question is, what will this mean for Second Life? Hamlet Au wrote this was Linden Lab’s best chance to stay profitable, predicting land sales would eventually crash, and with it the Linden’s source of money. “... a successful second or third product besides Second Life would help keep SL alive, since it can then be cross-promoted to this large new audience, while new revenue sources can help finance whatever changes are needed to keep SL stable.”

Any1 Gynoid, however, had a more dismal prediction. This she felt was a sign Linden Labs was giving up on Second Life, and looking for greener pastures, planning to close it down once they found something more profitable. She advised people to head on to alternative virtual worlds like OpenSim.

My opinion is closer to Hamlet’s on this matter. Unlike him, I feel Second Life could easily survive as a niche product (as does Tateru Nino). Diversifying from a single product is good business sense, and doesn’t mean the doom of the original. Blizzard for instance is known for “World of Warcraft,” but continues to market It’s earlier games, Diablo and Starcraft. This might not be the best comparison as we have no idea how successful these other goods the Lab will offer may be. But it does illustrate just because someone’s new product hits the jackpot doesn’t mean they’ll abandon what was selling before.

My Second Life friends have expressed differing viewpoints about these alternative virtual worlds. A few have set up a place there, in one case a man wanting to set up a casino where it would be outside Linden Lab’s restriction. Others I’ve heard balk at the idea of moving there, saying the graphics there aren’t as good, the choice of appearances is poorer, and leaving friends behind.

On one last note, it’s been a year since Rod Humble became the CEO of Linden Lab. His appointment was greeted with cautious optimism then. A year later, although not all is well with the Grid, on the whole things are looking better than back them. His first year has been a success.

Sources: New World Notes, CNN

Bixyl Shuftan

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

While out shopping, some friends and I found a mall Santa, so they decided to get on Santa's lap to ask what they wanted for Christmas. ;-)

Merry Christmas from Second Life Newser

Cartoon of the Day: Bah Humbug

2011-12-24T05:59:00.000-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

SL Machinima: A New Babbage Xmas by the "Designing Worlds" Team

2011-12-24T05:55:00.000-05:00

A little Steampunk Xmas story, by Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin

"Saffia and Elrik are visiting New Babbage to deliver a shipment of seasonal gifts from Prim Perfect Publications to the urchins of New Babbage. Saffia will be meeting our old friend, the Assistant Maceholder of New Babbage, Victor Mornington, to deliver the gifts, while Elrik hopes to get a look at some of the exciting new steam-powered technology developed for the winter season by their ingenious engineers. And this is New Babbage, after all, so absolutely nothing at all can go wrong…"

A Science Experiment in Second Life

2011-12-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

Those joining the Science Center and Linden Research groups will occasionally get an invitation to join a science experiment. Funded by a university's department, the experiment is one way Second Life is having some real-life applications, as well as providing a few lindens to the volunteers for their time.

More on the experiment in People.

The Curious Prim Main Store

2011-12-23T06:01:00.000-05:00

Netera Landar recently came across a curious store named appropriately "The Curious Prim." It's wares can be described as a mix of generes, not just the variety but sometimes the items themselves, a combination of Steampunk, Fantasy, and others. Built by Grey Kurka, it's a place that offers the Second Life explorer something new and different.

Read more about the Curious Prim in Places.

Have Yourself a Tiny Little Christmas

2011-12-22T14:01:00.000-05:00

Remember the "Tiny Carollers" whom entertained the audience at the last show of the season of "the 1st Question" during technical difficulties? Well, their whole performance was too long for the article then. So here it is now.

~*~ O' Little Sim of Raglan Shire, Where Tinies come to Playyyy ~*~
~*~ To run and chitter endlessly and RiverDance all dayyyy ~*~
~*~ And in the Snow of Winterfest, Tinies are heard to Call.. ~*~
~*~ To Visitors of Biggie Height, Asked Why Are You So Tallllllll? ~*~

* ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ * ~*~ *

“And Finally ...” Kristen Viewer’s “Crowdfunder” Effort Falls Short, Development Ends

2011-12-22T14:00:00.000-05:00

There was some sad but not unexpected news for fans of the Kristen third-party viewer this week. The effort to raise funds for further development fell short of it’s target. On the Kristen Blog, the developer announced the news, and stated he would be refunding what cash was raised to those who donated.

The Kristen Viewer was one of the more popular third-party viewers, but earlier this year the real-life partner of developer KristenLee Cinquetti (Lee Quick in real life) fell ill, and KristenLee announced in September development would be ending so he could take on additional employment in order to support her. But friends of his suggested a fundraiser, so he decided to do so through a British fundraising website “Crowdfunder,” offering to work on the viewer full time if 25,000 Pounds (about 40,000 US Dollars) were raised within two months.

Initially, the effort was successful, eight percent raised in a day. But then the cash flow began to slow. By the time the two months were over, only 28% of the goal had been met, with just over 130 people contributing cash. As promised, he would be giving them their money back.

Efforts to fund Second Life development have succeeded before. Also in October, New World Notes reported mesh developer Maxwell Graf started a fundraiser for cash to pay the former Qarl Linden (Karl Stiefvater) $5400 US dollars to fix some mesh issues. In less than three weeks, the target was reached. With 25,000 Pounds a much higher amount, Hamlet Au stated he had suggested to KristenLee smaller amounts of 6,250 Pounds for three months work. But KristenLee reportedly answered, "The big issue is then, every 3 months, I have to come cap in hand to justify another round of funding."

Hamlet Au thought the big reason for the failure to meet the fundraising goal was that too many people had become used to getting goods for free, or what they thought was for free. Kristen reportedly stated, "People don't see the connection between free software and paying developers. Even free software is not entirely free." And noted in his blog in the final week, 217 people had downloaded his viewer, “I do wonder if the 217 people who downloaded the old client last week from sourceforge ever decided to fund.. we will never know.”

It should also be noted that the economy, in the United States, Britian, and elsewhere, has been rather poor. Although officially in the US unemployment is about 9%, the official rates do not count those whom have given up looking. “Real” unemployment is believed to be in the teens. And even those employed struggle to pay their bills. While Kristen still might not have met his goals in better times, it’s a good bet more people would have been willing to part with some money, and in larger amounts.

In any event, KristenLee/Lee Quick, has found real life employment as an engineer, starting in the new year.

“Warmest Regards and wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.” - (KirstenLee Cinquetti) aka Lee

Sources: Kristen Blog, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

2011-12-21T06:05:00.001-05:00

By Bixyl Shuftan

The Art of Judilynn

2011-12-21T06:01:00.002-05:00

I was sorry to miss the opening of the exhibit at Eclipse Arts Complex. Judilynn India is the artist of some stunning pieces. She is an artist in real life and also in Second Life, so has imported some of her works into SL.

I met her in the gallery and she told me about her feeling for the art and sharing it in Second Life, "All of the paintings on the far wall from us are acrylic on canvas. No digital. I also work in mixed media. The computer as a tool is amazing: It lets me do things that I can't achieve with my hands.” In some of her pieces you will see layering of texture sand some are reminiscent of Van Gogh One of my favorites was an abstract with subtle colors.

Judilynn donates part of the proceeds to the homeless and hungry in her home town in the USA where she is located, ”I decided a long time ago that my art would not just be for hanging on a wall. It will serve a purpose. It will raise funds for those who need assistance..human and animal.” There is a lovely piece called "All My Children,“ and if you buy that, half of the proceeds go to the poor.

You can visit the exhibit here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gemini%20Elysia/214/228/42

Gemma Cleanslate

"Hot Cocoa" at Steelhead

2011-12-21T06:00:00.003-05:00

At Steelhead City on Saturday Dec 17th at 7PM, there was a "Hot Cocoa" dance. This may not sound unusual at first, but in this town with its share of mad scientists, they went over the top. A cup of hot chocolate was enlarged and the surface of the liquid solidified to walk on. But the marshmallows remained soft and fluffy.

About a dozen attended the dance, human, elven, lycan, and young & old. The music was provided by Sheriff "Fuzzball" Ortega, whom found some "sweet music" for the chocolate lovers. Tips got a comment from a message machine, "Thank you, now I can afford a bigger cup of hot cocoa."

Baron Klaus Wulfenbach was among those attending the dance. Some of the others had some unusual costumes with marshamallow themes, including one woman whom came all in white including some make up. Another wore an outfit with matching smiling marshmallow hat and backpack. A third wore, "In case anyone can't read my shirt it says, 'I torture marshmallows.' "

Everyone had a "sweet" time that evening.

Events this Week in Second Life from Dec 20th to Dec 26th

2011-12-20T06:05:00.003-05:00

Christmas is coming, and for those not seeing family out of town (or whom need a break after seeing too much of certain family), there are numerous holiday and winter themed events and places on the Grid. From the Fifth Annual Winter Festival at Areo Pines to "Who Melted Frosty?", there are too many to count. And of course we have the Christmas events at the featured music clubs, whom deck the walls in a different light.

Read more in Events this Week.