On Friday, Oz Linden announced that the Android application "IM to Second Life" was being blocked. Oz cited "serious violations" to the privacy of users and account security. Linden
Lab has blocked the third party Android client “IM to Secondlife”; it
may no longer be used to access Second Life. We did so due to serious
violations of the Policy on Third Party Viewers relating to user account security and user privacy.
If
you have ever used that viewer, Linden Lab strongly suggests that you
secure your Second Life account, beginning with updating your password
on the Second Life account page:
"IM to Second Life" as it's name implies is not a true viewer, but allows someone with a handheld device to access Second Life to just send and receive Instant Messages. Oz stated, "We
may need to temporarily hold some accounts in connection with this
incident." The reasons for this were not given.
It's rare that Linden Lab announces it's blocking a third-party client. It was September 2010 that Linden Lab announced it was blocking the Emerald Viewer. Image source: Google Play
Linden Lab is looking for an innovative mobile app engineer to deliver a compelling, responsive mobile interface into Second Life. If you’re passionate about the latest cross platform mobile technologies and would be psyched to wake up every morning knowing that your efforts will enhance the largest, most successful virtual world on the Internet then we want to hear from you!
Among the knowledge and skills needed for the position is "Experience developing consumer-oriented mobile applications for Android and IOS." This would suggest that Linden Lab is getting back into making a viewer for mobile devices, possibly for Android phones and iPhones, but at least for Android-run tablets and iPads.
Inara Pey reminded her readers that Ebbe Linden talked about the issue during the SL15B, saying the Lab was "seeking the right approach for investment in a mobile solution ... we're thinking hard about mobile." Oz and Grumpity Linden did as well, saying "The potential for some kind of mobile solution for Second Life is being discussed." Grumpity had also mentioned the cost to users was a concern, saying the Lab didn't want a moble viewer that would require charging it's viewers a lot. When New World Notes brought up the issue, Will Burns responded in the comments that he had asked Ebbe Linden in his visit to Linden Lab why they didn't buy up OnLive themselves, and stated the answer was that "At the time ... Linden Lab didn't get hands-on with the process. ... it would seem at least *something* I said up there sunk in during my visit." New World Notes would also speculate, " If they're only hiring a Senior Mobile Engineer now, it's probably going to be at least 8-12 months before we see an Alpha version of a mobile viewer for SL."
For viewing Second Life on one's computer, it isn't hard to find options, from the official viewer to Firestorm, Singularity, and others. But for accessing it though tablets and smartphones, it can be harder to find choices. Wesley Regenbogen recently found one viewer designed as a mobile app" the Lumiya viewer by Alina Lyvette. He gave it a try, and wrote a review.
It was Wednesday March 5th that Linden Labs announced the release of SL Go, it's new application which allows users to access Second Life via a tablet. Since then, a number of people have tried the product. Some like it, some have reservations.
Inara Pey gave a little history of the app on her blog. She stated the idea first came not from Linden Lab or then CEO Rod Humble, but cloud computing and gaming company Onlive and it's chairman Gary Lauder, "Lauder made his approach because third-person adventure games have been
particularly successful for OnLive. As such, Second Life was seen as a
logical choice for extending OnLive’s reach into more immersive
environments while at the same time potentially offering Linden Lab
with a solution for providing SL to tablet devices and to low-end
desktop and laptop systems." Among those working on it's development were Nick Barsetti, whom was "a former Linden Lab employee (Scout Linden) and a long-time
Second Life resident who has been actively engaged ... for
seven years, notably as a community leader in a Star Wars role-play
group." The SL Go service is "provided entirely by OnLive," Inara felt this may have been one of the reasons for Linden Lab's controversial change in it's terms of service in regards to content creation.
For now, SL Go is designed to run on tablets powered by Android, though plans are in the works to include the iPad. Of the display, "for convenience, the log-in fields are displayed at the top of the
viewer’s splash screen. Tapping the Username field will display the
tablet’s on-screen keyboard (note you can also use a suitable bluetooth
keyboard as well), allowing you to enter your avatar name. Tap the
Password field to enter your avatar’s account password, then tap Log In
to log-in to SL.
The Tablet overlay provides a means of carrying out routine
interactions with the viewer – walking, turning, flying, jumping, camera
movement and zoom, closing floaters, and so on."
"According to the supplied reviewer notes, double-tapping the avatar
icon in the middle of the movement keys is supposed to enter flight
mode; however, this consistently didn’t work for me, and I found flight
could be enabled much as when using the viewer on a computer – tap and
hold the Jump icon. Movement can be achieved either by using just the movement controls
in the overlay (think arrow keys / WASD on a keyboard), or through a
combination of using the 'up' key to walk forward and the joystick
control to adjust your direction of travel. This takes a little getting
used to, but isn’t that hard to grasp."
"Tapping the camera icon shifts the overlay to the camera options, All of the menus and toolbar buttons are accessible via tapping the
tablet’s screen, although keyboard shortcuts are not enabled (even when
using a separate keyboard). To assist with using the buttons and menus,
pinch-zoom motions are fully supported, as is the ability to 'drag' the
viewer across the tablet’s screen using a two finger gesture when
zoomed-in. To help prevent the overlay getting in the way of things, you
can tap the “Power” icon to collapse the overlay into a single icon; a
second tap will expand it again."
Inara had some doubts about the app seeing widespread use, "I do wonder as to the potential impact SL Go will have on established
users. From Nate Barsetti’s comments, the service appears to be aimed
towards a niche set of uses (thus helping justify the cost). Frankly,
for many users, there are alternatives when presented with most of those
niche uses."
Draxtor Despress gave SL Go a try, his efforts recorded on video.
Draxtor was among those whom gave glowing reviews, "Seriously: the user-generated universe known as Second Life -
beautifully rendered in the cloud - runs BETTER at times on an Android
tablet than on my PC: I am thoroughly impressed ... for SL professionals and enthusiastic residents this is a must IMHO: SL
GO is not only running on 4G on the road but is instantly upgrading
EVERY OLD machine in your household by using OnLive desktop app = pretty
darn good!"
Hamlet Au also expressed enthusiasm, saying that he'd been using SL Go through being a tester was the reason he was reporting more about Second Life from in inworld perspective lately, "SL Go feels like a new era of Second Life ... here is the thing that makes all the
difference for the world: SL Go works, and almost
paradoxically, is the first platform to present Second Life as it really
is. It eliminates almost all of the lag and load times most SL users
have learned to accept, and presents to you a Second Life at its best,
and purest form. If you couldn't see dynamic shadows, you can see them
now; if your draw distance was small, it's now broadened to the sky. ... it's probably not ideal
for new users (at least not in this early stage), but I do think it will
bring many back to Second Life, to see the world as they've always
wanted -- and as they've always wanted to share it with their friends --
but up to now, have never had the means."
Ciaran Laval thought the technology was good, but felt the high prices limited it's potential, "The pricing would get very expensive very quickly for anyone who used
the service often, which means it’s unlikely to be used often by
anyone. ... like tier, the SL Go pricing is a tad on the high side. Used
infrequently there’s a lot of potential here but for a regular service,
it’s a very expensive proposition."
Jo Yardley blogged that SL Go vastly improved the appearance of Second Life on her old Mac Laptop. But the high price bothered her, "Would you pay 3 bucks to go into SL for an hour? I would only consider doing that for emergencies, when I need to be
inworld for a few minutes to fix something or kick a griefer in the
unmentionables. Having said that, the OnLive experience is impressive, there is
almost no lag, it loads a lot faster than most computers, it is mobile
and it allows you to use your TV for SL. So although I am very impressed with SLGo, I fear that the costs may
keep a lot of people from using it more than just occasionally."
For more comments, one can check the thread in the official general discussion forum: (Link). There's also a thread in the Second Life Universe forums: (link)
Pictures provided by Inara Pey , Hat tip to Daniel Voyager for blog links
Yesterday on March 5, Linden Lab announced a new application on the market, this one for Second Life users: SL Go. This product allows residents to run Second Life on tablets. It is currently in open beta.
OnLive, the leader in cloud gaming, today released an exciting new service for Second Life users. SL Go,
now in open beta, is a mobile Second Life viewer for Android that
delivers a fully immersive desktop-like experience on tablets.
With SL Go, you can experience Second Life from anywhere
you have Wi-Fi or 4G connectivity, with ultra high-quality graphics,
full shaders, shadows, and the Advanced Lightning Model on Android
devices. Not only can you get high-quality graphics on a low-powered
device, but you also don’t have to sacrifice frame rate or draw distance
for high fidelity inworld explorations. Thanks to super-fast gigabit
connections with OnLive’s high-performance gaming servers, objects and
textures rez quickly when logging in and teleporting. OnLive has clocked
the SL Go viewer at upwards of 200 fps set to Ultra with Maximum Render
Distance, allowing people to participate in events, engage in combat
games, and generally enjoy immersion in Second Life at a level never
before possible on a mobile device.
With SL Go, OnLive has brought touchscreen interaction to
the Second Life experience, but if you prefer keyboard and mouse, you
can opt to connect these devices and interact with your friends in the
same way you always have. SL Go gives you access to edit menus,
inventory, preference settings and chat management just like the Second
Life Viewer on your home computer.
To use the application, one needs an account with Onlive. New users get a 20 minute free trial, after which residents need to pay to use it, from $3 an hour, to $8 for three hours, to $25 for ten hours. For now, it is limited to the United States, Canada, and Great Britain.
This is clearly a major move for Linden Lab and Second Life, one in development for many months.
More information later on SL Go and what others are saying about it.
