Chrome is Becoming a Real OS

If you have a PC, and are looking for something lighter you can take on the go, a laptop may be your first thought. If your budget's small, you may be considering an android tablet. But there's another option: a Chromebook. What's a Chromebook? Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) recently got one after looking into what portable machine to get. So was he statisfied?

Read Cyfir's article in Extra.

Commentary: Why The Furry Fandom Isn't A Community

To people looking at a fanbase from outside, especially those with little familiarity with it, it's members may seem very much alike and more or less unified. The reality is, a large fanbase often has many internal divisions. For instance, Star Wars fans are split on how good the different trilogies are. Fantasy fans are split on the use of "chainmail bikini" armor for female fighters. And those are just two of the issues that the fanbases have, along with the petty rivalries individuals and small groups can have with one another. And then there's the furry fandom. While some from the outside see it as a monolithic group, it actually isn't. In his commentary, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) reminds us of that.

Read Cyfir's article in People.

Tales From Gaming : "L Is Real"

It's easy to believe rumors about games and gaming came about only when the World Wide Web made the Internet accessible to the masses. But even in the days before, there were still tales of secret rooms and characters you could unlock if you did a certain thing. In his article today, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) talks about one such rumor in which it was believed that in Super Mario 64, the character Luigi could be unlocked and played. As it turned out, the rumor wasn't entirely untrue.

Read Cyfir's story in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

The Importance of Digital Media

Last week, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) wrote about the importance of games as physical content, as that way they're easier to preserve. But having spoken that, digital media has it's own set of advantages. In his article for this week. Cyfir talks about them. And while getting games as digital media is more convenient, there are other advantages.

Read Cyfir's article in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Why Physical Media Is Still Important

It used to be that whenever you wanted a console or computer game, you'd head to the store to get the cartridge or disk. Then came the option to stream games digitally, such as from services like Steam. This has been an option for PC gamers for years, and now some consoles are starting to come out with the option to get new games digitally. This can be convenient as it saves us a trip to the store. But, what if something happened to your account or the service somehow gets shut down? In his article today, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) looks at the downside of having games without a physical copy. Even in this increasingly digital era, there's still very much a place for physical media.

Read Cyfir's article in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Playstation 5 vs XBox Series X : Which is Better?

Many Second Life users, probably most, don't spend all of our screen-time here, but will occasionally play games. Some of us will play them on the computer as well. Others prefer game consoles. Two of the most popular brands have been Playstation and XBox. Playstation recently revealed their latest in their line, the Playstation 5. XBox's latest, the Series X, won't be around until later this month, but some information about it has been revealed. So which is better? Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) takes a look at the two and compares.

Read Cyfir's story in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Club Furzona Moves

Earlier this year, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) wrote about Club Furzona. Recently, he found out about a new development with the venue: it's moving. There's a video to help celebrate the occasion, as well as special events today and tomorrow at the new location.

Read more in SL Clubbin'.

Commentary: What Being a Second Life Journalist Means To Me

When I was in college, I imagined that I would use my communications degree to get a job at a newspaper or a television station as a journalist. However, after I graduated, life had other plans. It’s not that I didn’t try to get a traditional media job, it’s that I either wasn’t hired or that the job didn’t make sense from a financial standpoint. I needed money and working less than part time doing oddball reports in the hopes of one day getting a full time position wasn’t going to pay my rent or car payments. I spent four years of my life earning a 3.77 GPA. What more do I need to prove before I’m worthy of making a living?

So I took on normal jobs, never using my degree, but in the back of my mind writing and creating content for people was still a passion of mine. I could have tried to do things on my own, and I am to a degree now over at YouTube, but gaining an audience is a hard and long process. When I got the opportunity to write for the Second Life Newser, the audience was already there, and I could write an article a week in my spare time. Even though I’m not getting paid in real money, I still enjoy having an audience here. Money isn’t the only thing that drives content creators. I would hazard to say that their audience plays a bigger part in their drive. What being a Second Life journalist means to me is an opportunity to have a voice that will be heard.

Happy 10th Anniversary Second Life Newser!

Cyfir

How To Maintain a Community in Second Life

One of the big draws about Second Life is the chance to meet up with people from around the world. Some of us will gather in communities for a place to hang our virtual hats and do things together. But keeping a community together can be just as hard, even harder, than establishing one. Over time, Newser reporter Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) has seen sim owners and managers try to maintain the communities on them, as well as in the past found himself in the position of helping to maintain one. So for those whom have just found themselves in the position by choice or chance, he has a few suggestions.

Read Cyfir's article in People.

SLPonyCon

With the Coronavirus Crisis shutting down conventions in real life, those whom had plans to go don't have to just wait until next year. They can have one in Second Life. Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) recently had the chance to talk to two people Pop Princess Sakairi (Sakairi Melodious) and Braniac -Piper- (rosetheunicorn) whom were organizing one here, the SLPonyCon 2020. They had a number of things to say about it from the challenges to what to expect.

Read Cyfir's story in People. 

SL Video: What's The Deal With Second Life?! - Better Than VR Chat?

(Click here if the video does not play)

At 1PM SL time (4EST) today, Wednesday May 20, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) will show his video in which he compares Second Life to a more recent virtual world, VR Chat, "In this video I take a look at Second Life and compare it to VR Chat."

News and Commentary: Furry Conventions in Virtual Spaces?

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

In a previous article, I asked the question of whether or not Second Life could replace real life events amid the Coronavirus pandemic. I came to the conclusion that Second Life could not replace real human interaction in a physical space because many experiences that conventions offer are tactile in nature. You can’t sit in a real car or play a video game on a new console with a new controller in a virtual world.

However, with at least one convention actually taking place in VR Chat this year, it got me to thinking that even though Second Life cannot replace real life conventions, it doesn’t have to. It can be an alternative. Imagine this: A virtual dealers den and artist alley with not only in world content but open commissions for real world items. The informative and otherwise entertaining panels would also work. There of course could be live DJs and prizes. There could even be a charity involved. It could take place over the course of a three day weekend. There could even be a guest of honor and special guests.

It may not be as big and popular as actual conventions since I still do think that Second Life caters to a very niche audience. But for those who attend, it could be a welcome retreat away from quarantine life. Many have commented that Second Life is like one big continuous furry convention. But what if someone makes an official one?

What do you the readers think? Feel free to leave comments below.

Cyfir

Genetic Love Interview

Last week, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) wrote about the release party for the "Space-a-lope" avatar. Soon afterwards, he had a chance to meet up with it's maker, Dr Prawn (badasslobster). Dr Prawn talked a little about how he got started in building, and about the avatar was made.

Read Cyfir's interview in Design.

Journey Into The Expanse, And A New Mod Release At Furzona

A few months ago, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) wrote about Club Furzona. This Friday, the club will be having a special six hour space-themed triple event, "The Expanse." On Saturday is another special six hour triple event, the last one being a release party for a new avatar mod. Cyfir talked to one of the DJs about the first event, which promises prizes and fun.

Read Cyfir's article in SL Clubbin'.

Video Game Collecting: Part 3 - Get Consoles For Cheap

Today, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident) has the third part of his series of video game collecting. The obvious problem with collecting older game units is that much of what's out there is broken. But instead of throwing away consoles that don't work or pay someone huge amounts of cash to fix one, another option is learning to reapair them yourselves. While some are no doubt beyond the ability of all but more experienced repair artists, once you set your mind to it and get the right tools, you'll find some are surprisingly easy to get working again once you learn a few things.

Read Cyfir's article in Other Grids, MMOs, and Games.

Crew Meeting

On Saturday April 11, a few of the Newser crew would meet up at our office in HV Community, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich), Gemma Cleanslate, Nydia Tungsten (appeared after this picture), and myself. We would talk about recent developments, and swap ideas on what to write about this month.

In her hopping around Easter Town, Gemma picked up a bunny suit, and something else. She had an attachment that would have grass sprouting around her, even indoors. Was this a request for more plants in the office? Gemma wasn't saying.

Stand by for some more great articles from the Newser crew.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Nams of Static and the Gacha Guild

The Gacha Guild event is over. But the people behind it are back to work with other things they've been doing, and there's the next one this fall. Before it started, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) had a chance to interview one of the people behind it: Nams (Nama Gearz). While the interview wasn't finished until after the event, there's still plenty of new information.

Read Cyfir's interview in Design.

News and Commentary: Have a Second Life Contingency Plan

People make all sorts of plans for unexpected situations, and this includes Second Life. For instance, a DJ might ask a buddy to take his place at a venue in case the Internet goes bad. Or if you can't make a meeting, you might ask someone to take notes. But what would happen if you were sick or injured for days, weeks, or months? If you had a home, would it still be here? If you had a club or other venue, what would happen to it? Suppose for one reason or another, you couldn't come back. Following a close call for his real-life community, and with the country facing a deadly epidemic, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) ponders the question. Is it time for all of us to have a contingency plan in case something happens?

Read Cyfir's article in People.

News and Commentary: Can Second Life Replace Real Life Events Amid the Coronavirus Scare?

By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich)

With the advent of the global breakout of Coronavirus (COVID-19), major events are being canceled left and right. Many have joked that the year 2020 is canceled, but does it have to be? It would seem that Second Life has indeed seen a resurgence since the pandemic started. Linden Lab has even set their sights on the corporate sector since many businesses have had to halt business travel plans.

So can Second Life be a valuable alternative to group gatherings? First, I’ll provide a possible example of a large scale event: The Electronic Entertainment Expo was one of the big events that were canceled this year. The event itself is no different from a car show or computer fair. You have vendors there showing off their products to the public, explaining why they should buy them, and letting the public try out their hardware and software. Would this work in Second Life?

No. This wouldn’t work in a virtual world like Second Life. This large trade show had 66,100 attendees last year. A Second Life sim would fill up pretty fast with that kind of crowd. Most big events in Second Life only can hold 60-80 people. You could try to spread out the crowd amongst multiple sims but even then there would be issues. There’s also the problem of there being no real way to try out the products. People want to touch and feel a new video game controller. They want to play and experience a new game. They want to sit in a new car. They want to do these things so they can write about it or spread the word through other means. You can’t do that in Second Life. You could maybe stream a conference, by why not do that on YouTube?

What about smaller events such as corporate meetings? Why bother? There are much cheaper options than renting a sim just so everyone can have their own virtual avatar. There’s also the problem of everyone having to learn how to use Second Life. Can you imagine Jill from accounting trying to figure out how to dress her virtual avatar? GoToMeeting would be a much better option in terms of cost and time investment which is what companies look for when choosing such services.

Second Life only is an option for very niche events; the kind of events that already take place on the platform. What Second Life can do in this time of turmoil is provide a unique social platform as well as an escape. What do you think? Are there other events that could take place in Second Life that I haven’t thought of? Sound off in the comments.

Sources: New World Notes, Skift

Cyfir

How To Second Life : A Guide For Those Who Are New - Part Two

Last week, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident) wrote some helpful hints for those brand new to Second Life. Today, in his second part of the series, he has some more tips for newcomers whom are familiar with the basics (and a few whom have been around a little longer whom haven't figured them out yet). One is the Caledon Oxbridge University area which is full of help for new residents. The rest are about the viewer's Preferences menu, which can help you get to more places and make lag less of a problem, the Search function, and how to handle griefers and trolls.

Read Cyfir's story in Extra.