Linden Lab released the WindLight First Look Second Life client Wednesday, the first serious release of Second Life that incorporates the technology Linden Lab acquired when it took over Windward Mark Interactive in May. We noted at the time of the acquisition that the technology would bring “better clouds and wind” to Second Life, but this was in retrospect an understatement. Having tested the new client, it not only brings photo realistic clouds to Second Life, it also introduces realistic water, and more importantly far improved shadow and time related graphical representations. One of the most common criticisms of Second Life is that the in-world 3D rendering is poor; I’ve been supportive of the concept of the Second Life metaverse in the past, but I’ve always thought we were seeing the 1.0 version of a virtual world without having yet seen the 2.0 version, or the really amazing universally accepted virtual world that will gain much wider acceptance. Windlight takes Second Life to about 1.8. The same user generated buildings are still there, but suddenly they have been improved by their environmental surroundings. Water ripples with the reflection of surrounding buildings while a sunset casts realistic shadows and lighting on the buildings below. The client is rated “first look” which translates to Alpha release, so it’s far from perfect. Testing on a MacPro resulted in regular crashes, although it was stable on a Macbook Pro. Second Life fans and observers can download the client here. The photos below don’t capture the full effect, you need to download the client and fly around for that, but they do demonstrate some of the visual improvements with the new client. Daytime: Sunset Sunrise CrunchBase Information Second Life Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Linden Lab’s Second Life has seen its fair share of controversies in the past; an FBI investigation led to a shut down of inworld casinos, some media reports suggested that Second Life may be being used as a training area for terrorists, and in July there was suggestion that Bestiality may be driven out of the metaverse by a crackdown under a new TOS that banned “Broadly Offensive” behaviour. UK authorities may soon be entering Second Life as part of a crack down on virtual pedophilia following the above report being shown on Sky News. The report investigates an area in Second Life called “Wonderland” where users dressed as children offer virtual prostitution in a space designed to mimic a kids playground. Someone recently said to me at a conference that Second Life’s greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: pure uncensored freedom; they are completely right. No self respecting person could argue that the staging of virtual pedophilia is anything but sick and should have no place within Second Life, and yet libertarian governance has been the key driver of the Second Life success story . The whole thing is yet another tarnish on a space where some really great things are happening, a space that is slowly finding a much wider acceptance in the broader community. The quicker Linden Lab cracks down on these sickos, the better for the many Second Life fans out there who preach the Second Life gospel where ever they go. CrunchBase Information Second Life Information provided by CrunchBase → Read More
Second Life is bracing itself for an influx of new members this coming week with the long awaited episode of CSI:NY does Second Life to be shown in the United States on Wednesday. The episode will see Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) entering Second Life to pursue a killer who has killed a Second Life user in a case of virtual stalking gone too far. CSI:NY fans will be encouraged to join Second Life and investigate the case by following a link on the CBS website. CSI:NY will have three options for CSI-related inworld activities. The first option will allow viewers to walk around virtual New York buildings and visit a CSI lab and play forensic games. The second option consists of a game called “Murder by Zuiker,” a unique murder plot which can be solved by users finding clues. The 100 people who come closest to solving the murder will win virtual gifts. The big tie-in gives new users the ability to become CSI investigators, complete with field kit and tools, and are given a chance to interview suspects and to solve the murder featured in the actual CSI:NY episode. The episode itself will apparently end in a cliff-hanger with the solution not revealed until February. The CSI:NY episode also sees the launch of the Electric Sheep Company’s OnRez Second Life client, the first major independent Second Life client launched since Linden Lab moved to provide open access to their virtual world in January. Some reports suggest that Second Life could see one million new user signups following the CSI:NY episode going to air, however it will be more interesting to see how many of the new users will stick around. → Read More
We’ve been rather harsh in our coverage of Second Life in the past, the sad truth being that this year Second Life has provided a range of tabloid fodder that we’ve seen fit to print. Of late our coverage has started to change. The initial rush of “build it and they’ll come” corporatism has given way to something with more useful substance. Companies including IBM, Cisco and Amazon are now using Second Life as a corporate collaboration space, and conferences such as the Metanomics Series are bringing serious discussions on the benefits of virtual worlds to the virtual space. Voice came to Second Life in early August, and although it wasn’t widely popular, particularly with old-time Second Life users, it radically changed Second Life in terms of functionality. Lately I’ve discovered the benefits of voice in Second Life in its ability to be used as a spontaneous web meetup space. Last Saturday night I noticed that Australia’s answer to Robert Scoble (in a good way) Microsoft’s Nick Hodge was in Second Life chatting to The Podcast Network’s Cameron Reilly via Twitter. I jumped into Second Life to join the conversation, making it the three of us. I Twittered my presence and provided a link. Within 30 minutes three had blown out to around 15 people, or 20 different people over 3 hours. With voice in Second Life we discussed a variety of topics, from Second Life itself, to Web 2.0, politics and the environment. The natural comparison is to the conference facility on Skype, but as a long term Skype user who built a startup that relied on Skype I’ve long known that any more than 4-5 people on a Skype conference call is a recipe for unusable. Second Life on the other hand never skipped a beat at 15-20 people. The visualizations and point of reference speech (SL delivers audio from the point of reference, so if the avatar is to your left you hear the voice from the left of your headset) made for a workable meetspace. The ability to join and discuss anything in Second Life delivers something between a Barcamp or Podcamp, and a discussion at your local bar (or pub) amongst friends. I’ve read elsewhere suggestions that people who spend time in Second Life are sad; to that I can only respond: married with children. Whilst my wife was catching the latest episodes of America’s → Read More
Having spent a few hours “playing” Second Life (research, mind you), I definitely noticed a disconnect between the hype and what I actually experienced. To boil it down to two words—it sucked. Now there’s a real-life study from the Yankee Group backing up my complaints. In a nutshell… • The average SL user only logs on for 12 minutes per month • Growth has stagnated Is there a reason for this? Sure, maybe. The study says that more and more people are choosing to get their gaming fix via mobile devices (cellphones, PSPs, DSes, etc.) and that, when people do sit in front of a computer, they’re screwing around on Facebook and the like. In other words, Second Life is all hype, no substance—just like the Mets. Study: Second Life Overhyped [Next Gen] → Read More
The second session of the Metanomics Conference was held in Second Life today (see our previous coverage here) and I had the pleasure of attending. Guest speaker for today’s session was Sandra Kearney, IBM’s head of 3D Development. Kearney spoke from Sage Hall, Cornell in front of live audience, with a live stream being delivered to both Second Life and IBM’s Active Worlds chat platform. One of the inherent problems with Second Life today is the limitations on attendance; an entire island or sim (Second Life for server) can only handle a maximum of approximately 78 users at one time. Conference attendees could participate at two locations in Second Life, but it was a first in, best dressed affair, so to attend I had to teleport in 45 minutes before the conference session started. 30 minutes prior to start and the main conference facility of Metaversed Island was at capacity, and unlike a TechCrunch 40 conference, you couldn’t sneak into the back of the room and stand against a wall; once full users simply couldn’t teleport into the facility. The conference location itself mimicked a real life conference: chairs, lectern, stage and video screen. The discussion itself was interesting to those following the virtual world space as it focused on the evolving role of virtual worlds and covered the move towards open source and interoperable virtual worlds. Metaplace, a TechCrunch 40 presenter has launched a product that is promising to provide interoperability, and Chinese Second Life clone HipiHo is currently attempting to form an industry working group to work on standards to allow this. Linden Lab has also been making noises in this direction for some time. From a viewing perspective, it was not unlike a regular conference; the video quality on the live stream from Cornell was watchable and participating in the session live provides a superior experience to watching the recorded video of the event later. The first question from the audience came from me and I asked Kearney what she thought of Paul Twomey’s suggestion that the future of global commerce is in virtual worlds. She didn’t agree, saying that ultimately nothing will replace face to face, however there was scope for virtual worlds to provide an alternative when face to face isn’t an option. Overall I think the format works. IBM is already holding meetings and doing other staff/ communications activities in Second Life, and others → Read More
Ohio based BidSL launched Friday with a product that offers eBay style auctions in Second Life BidSL allows any Second Life resident to put an item up for auction by renting an available auction device. The user can choose the number of days that the auction will run, and set a minimum bid as well. Items offered can be both virtual items (Second Life goods) or real world items. The cost of running an auction is charged at a set rate usually around L$1-5, and sellers do not pay a percentage of the sale. To place a bid on the item, a bidder right-clicks and pays the auction device the amount they wish to bid. If the person is outbid, the amount paid for the earlier bid is instantly refunded. BidSL also offers a franchise program that offers the franchisee the “full use of the BidSL resources, benefit of our advertising/marketing campaigns, and complete technical assistance and advice.” The franchisee is given a capable auction unit, logo and advertising materials, and even a copy of the BidSL building if they desire. BidSL in return asks for 5% (or a minimum of L$1) of the rent received from the auction units. I wasn’t online for their official launch at Metaversed’s First Friday, but I did get a chance to tour the facility. It’s new, so there isn’t much to look at, unless you’re in the market for a cross bred unicorn. See the video below. I can’t see millions flocking to use the service, but in a long tail economy it will likely find fans. → Read More
Yahoo! News really needs to get the facts straight. It’s currently saying that the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra will be playing the first professional concert in Second Life. Hmm, that’s funny. This Google search shows that Duran Duran and Suzanne Vega have already performed in-game. Seems like a bunch of crap, unless you don’t consider Duran Duran “professional music”. As for the Liverpool Philharmonic, they’ll be performing September 14th. Expect to hear some Rachmaninov (I actually love Rach’s compositions!), John McCabe, and Ken Hesketh. The concert will be conducted by Vasily Petrenko. British orchestra to play first concert in Second Life [Yahoo! News] → Read More
The online virtual economy is not only doing wonders for the bottom lines of some startups. Charities are winning as well. The American Cancer Society has announced it raised over $115,000 (L$32 million) this year for its third annual virtual “Relay for Life” in Second Life. The relay was originally started in 2005 when some Second Life residents approached the organization with the idea. This year’s virtual relay (July 28th-29th) greatly surpassed the organization’s original $75,000 funding goal, up from $41,000 raised on 2006. So how exactly does a virtual relay work? Much like its real-world counterpart, the virtual relay is a cooperative all night relay around a track. However, the virtual event has the added benefit of being more accessible than the all night real world relay with some whimsical scenery. Like the traditional event, donations were either solicited before the run started or through a variety of games played on the track. Over 1,700 people participated worldwide. This year’s custom-built track was inspired by action-adventure films. The track featured a variety of scene,s including a graveyard, forest complete with bandits, water slide, and an underwater length of the track. You can see Flickr stream of them here (photo credit). Readers interested in more Second Life non profits should check out NPSL. → Read More
OK, so sensationalistic headlines targeted at Second Life are so last week; from FBI related gambling bans to animal sex, we’ve seen a lot. Now there are allegations being printed by News Corp in Australia that suggest that the next major terrorist attack on a Western country could be being planned in Second Life, and yes, as can be seen in the picture to the right, 9/11 is being used as a reference point as well. The report describes in detail various griefer operations as being terrorist attacks and goes on to say that: On the darker side, there are also weapons armouries in SL where people can get access to guns, including automatic weapons and AK47s. Searches of the SL website show there are three jihadi terrorists registered and two elite jihadist terrorist groups. The fear factor is so thick, it can’t be easily paraphrased With the game taking such a sinister turn, terrorism experts are warning that SL attacks have ramifications for the real world. Just as September 11 terrorists practised flying planes on simulators in preparation for their deadly assault on US buildings, law enforcement agencies believe some of those behind the Second Life attacks are home-grown Australian jihadists who are rehearsing for strikes against real targets. Terrorist organisations al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiah traditionally sent potential jihadists to train in military camps in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Southeast Asia. But due to increased surveillance and intelligence-gathering, they are swapping some military training to online camps to evade detection and avoid prosecution. The terrorists must get broadband in their caves now. Rohan Gunaratna, author of Inside al-Qaeda, says it is a new phenomena that, until now, has not been openly discussed outside the intelligence community….”They are rehearsing their operations in Second Life because they don’t have the opportunity to rehearse in the real world” Be alert, but not alarmed “Community representatives are relied on to report suspicious or inappropriate behaviour to the owners or the SL authorities, just as in the real world.” → Read More
I hate Second Life yet I enjoy soccer, so this next story puts me in a weird spot. Inter Milan launched its new home kit (its uniform) today in the online world full of losers and zeros. I visited the area to see what the Inter faithful were up to. It turns out, not much. It’s Inter, though. Nobody likes them. → Read More
They’re training to be Power Rangers Not a week goes by that there’s not a Second Life story to hate on. This Friday edition of “Second Life is really, really, really stupid” brings us news that an MIT researcher is using the “game” and the Wiimote to create training simulators for various companies. (Incidentally, the researcher, one David E. Stone, called the Wiimote a “significant” scientific breakthrough.) A variety of industry folk have taken to the system, partially because it costs nearly nothing to implement. How safe I’d feel knowing that nuclear technicians are using a Wiimote to learn how to handle control rods and the like is up for debate. But yeah, bottom line is, companies don’t like spending money. Using Second Life makes sense in that it costs nearly nothing and for early stage training (“This is a door. By turning the knob, you can open and/or close it.) they could do much worse. They could hire any one of us here, for instance. Wii + Second Life = New Training Simulator [Wired] → Read More
An ongoing investigation by the FBI into gambling in Second Life is believed to be directly related to Linden Lab’s sudden decision to ban all forms of gambling on Second Life. The FBI investigation commenced in April and was considering the legality of online gambling within the virtual world. The US Government prohibits most forms of online gambling. It was unclear at the time of writing whether the FBI would take the matter further, including the possible arrest of Linden Lab directors or the prosecution of individual users. Casinos and gambling have been a prominent part of the Second Life metaverse over the last 2-3 years. Linden Lab will take a financial hit from the decision as casino owners cancel virtual land ownership agreements; top tier casinos contribute large sums in monthly fees to Linden Lab. → Read More
Yeah… not exactly high-end shoppers Second Life may be headed toward a virtual market crash. Marketers and traditional retailers like the Aloft hotel chain are finding out that SL users don’t necessarily translate to real world customers. (Tell us something we didn’t know.) They’re also finding out that when SL users buy items for use in the online world, they’re mainly buying unorthodox items like “marital aides” and furry alternative lifestyle accessories. You know, things real businesses have no stomach for. The SL users are also said to be skittish on their whole fantasy world being invaded by “The Man.” I did a small research thing on the game last year and noticed that same mentality. So if advertisers were looking to make a quick buck (or Linden dollar) off the game’s popularity—the number of active users is also in dispute, further putting off advertisers and companies—they may have to think again. I propose we let the SL weirdos exist all by their lonesome and stick to advertising during prime time. Virtual marketers have second thoughts about Second Life [Los Angeles Times via Next Gen] → Read More
Everyone’s favorite games writer (after Peter Suciu), James Wagner Au, went about debunking five major myths about Second Life. The myths he debunks — that it has a population of 5 billion or 5 lonely weirds, that it is full of porn, penises, and dancing vulvas, etc. — are aimed at marketers who might be thinking of advertising in the world and are put off by dancing vulvas. It’s a good read if you care about Second Life marketing but one of the best parts is after the jump. He basically says you can lock out the dancing vulvas entirely, if you want to, so you can advertise Fanta in Second Life just like you would on TV. Ain’t technology grand? → Read More
Virtual worlds like Second Life are strange creatures. The people who participate in them won’t admit to it, but they’re huge dorks. Bar none. They got picked on in school or couldn’t cut it in the Real World. So they hop online, armed only with an avatar and their keyboard. Perhaps some sort of fat-based snack as well. But online they’re kings, demigods among virtual men in a virtual land. They’re real estate owners, sex proprietors, yiffers, etc. Captains of pretend industry. They “made it,” made it online. And now The Man wants his cut. For you see, over in Korea, the government has decided to tax virtual world transactions that exceed $6,500 per half year. Double that amount and you’ll need to acquire a business license. All of a sudden, that booming business of yours selling furry objects to forlorn young men isn’t as profitable as it used to be. Don’t even think about hiding your income, funneling it through some Honduras-based proxy server either, for the Korean tax officials have a method of monitoring all transactions. They’re watching you make virtual money and want their Real World slice of the action. But hey, now you’re just like a Real Person. Grats. South Korea Taxing Virtual Worlds [Next Gen] → Read More
In the past two weeks, Peer-to-Patent has opened up a USPTO approved project allowing an open review of pending patent applications. Registered members are encouraged to read through the patents available and provide opinions on prior art and obviousness that can then become part of the PTO Examiners review of non-patent references. Today, Peer-to-Patent announced that they have taken a space on Democracy Island on Second Life allowing members to interact with videos and see information on the project. Go to where your target audience is, that’s what they say. Peer-to-Patent Opens in Second Life [Peer-to-Patent Blog] → Read More
The American Medical Association is taking steps to classify Internet and video game addiction as an actual medical condition. A vote is scheduled next week where members will decide whether or not to officially apply the “addiction” label. Bah, addictions are good for people. They help build character, at least the fun ones do. In all seriousness, how many stories have we seen about some guy essentially giving up his real life to exclusively live a Second Life or to level up his Blood Elf until he passes out? Sure, this article points out that public scares like “they’re listening to too much rock music” or “rap encourages and celebrates the thug lifestyle” are common in American history, but video game and Internet addiction certainly seems to exist, at least anecdotally. AMA to vote on “internet/video-game addiction” as medical condition [South Florida Sun-Sentinel via Drudge] → Read More
Mitch Kapor, chairman of Second Life-operator Linden Lab, delivered the keynote address at the Virtual Worlds conference on Friday, speaking on the benefits of virtual education and training, which includes providing an environment in which trainees can fail safely. Although it is an obvious setback that people don’t gain any real-world experience from learning to do their job via the Internet, Kapor said interacting and communicating becomes easier. He goes on to compare virtual worlds to drug trips in that they put people in new environments, which can lead to inspiration. Mitch Kapor: Virtual Worlds Are Like A Drug Experience [InformationWeek] → Read More
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