Author: John

show #202

…and here we are in high fidelity at a place called @thespot, randomly engaging in conversation. slightly edited version of friday’s stream is on offer today & jo yardley and i spar for half the show on vw minutiae like only we can…

enjoy a super extra long and mad podcast = shrooms for the ears:

more to consume below:

• we touch on EEP briefly [more on this with special linden guests at a later point] = here is the discussion from the sl community forums & also the third party viewer meeting video:

• the original live stream from our visit featuring [the musical stylings of] kevin thomas, loki eliot and daisy gator among so many other familiar faces …

• the BBC is on the case: for them sl is a simulation game from the early 00s ….

Provincial Life – click any image for full size

Provincial Life is the name given to a homestead region held and designed by Hania Amidst (amberfff) that, while noted in the description as a private home (with at least three residences on it), is still nevertheless offered as presenting “Lots of little photo ops [and] connected to high rock for extended exploration.”

As the name suggests, it is a rural setting, mostly set to open land over which horses graze in some numbers. Across it are also scattered a number of buildings and homes, including the private residences. Two of the latter lie on a smaller island in the south-east corner of the region, the water channel separating them from the rest of the setting helping to ensure their privacy remains intact. A further residence lies on the south-western headland and is marked by a fence and archway…

Flossify Gallery: Anke Zamani

Just off Route 9 as it passes over the Silvercreek Bridge in the north-west of Jeogeot, sits a small island shoulder between the mainland and the largest island within the continent’s great bay. Among the buildings snuggled into the island’s small space is Flossify Gallery, owned and curated by Joss Floss (Jossinta).

The gallery is devoted to promoting “the work of SL photographers working in a naturalistic or experimental style,” with exhibitions generally running through each month. On Saturday, February 2nd, the latest of these exhibitions opened, featuring the work of Anke Zamani.

Flossify Gallery: Anke Zamani

Spread across the three floors of the gallery, Anke presents a series of 27 photographs, predominantly landscapes / nature or studies of art. The majority of the pictures appear to have had little or no post-processing, which in this era of PhotoShop, GIMP et al, makes…

The Islandz grid will be sadly closing down soon (next 10 days) according to Elenia via the Islandz Discord channel today.

Elenia says that the grid is “not sustainable” and says “we’re not even remotely close”. Elenia goes on to say that “people are disheartened at the lack of content we could restore and I don’t blame them”.

As a former InWorldz/Islandz resident this is sad news for the community. I feel sorry for Elenia and Jim who have put so much hard work to start a new grid from the ground up. I understand the reasons for doing this.

The grid reached the 1, 000 users mark on Sunday morning that have opt-in. Regions were starting to grow and it’s a shame the grid has to be closed down.

I guess everyone will now have to find a new grid to move to.

Taken at Ariel

Happy Wednesday everyone! Hump Day brings us some positively juicy live shows, so go on and savour them!

12 pm Field Trip: Lexus Melodie at The Mumbling Goat!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Caddo/188/79/30

6 pm Field Trips: Effinjay, David Csiszer

Effinjay at Dassani’s!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gulls%20Wing%20Marina/54/178/32

David Csiszer at Key West!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Key%20West%20Island/116/99/30

7 pm Field Trip: The Vinnie Show at The Black Diamond!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Reed%20Valley/115/125/22

8 pm Field Trip: Jamba LosAngeles at The Beat Scene!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tamsi/47/189/22

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And as always you can hear all of these talented musicians 24/7 at Radio Grind! http://cp6.digistream.info:20354/

For those that didn’t know apparently last Friday 11th January there was a huge number of tiny avatars that held a protest at Governor Linden’s Mansion in Clementina about the Hover Bug. The (BUG-225893) was making some tinies and mesh avatars float a few feet off the ground.

The Clementina 45 avatar limit was reached pretty quickly apparently and nearby regions became extra busy. Many attended with protest signs and even pitchforks. The Governor Linden’s Mansion in Second Life was originally built by Steller Sunshine (first SL resident) during the early testing days (Alpha) of Second Life.

The good news is that on Monday 14th January Linden Lab updated the status page saying this incident has been resolved. The lab have been working on this issue for the last few weeks or so.

Good work all around I say to resolve this issue.

Art Gallery Sky Hye: Wash Drawings

Located close to the channel connecting Blake Sea with Second Norway lies Foliage, a Homestead region noted for the presence of the Foliage airstrip and the Art Gallery Sky Hye, both of which are distinctive in the use of Art Deco style buildings designed by region holder Transparent Banshee (who also presents the neighbouring and massive Greenhouse next door).

The Art Gallery Sky Hye is home to the work of physical world artist and teacher / animator Sky Hye.  Within it she presents a modest selection of her work in various styles and mediums, complete with explanatory text that provides insight into the techniques used to produce the art, thus providing an added layer of creative context to the displays.

Art Gallery Sky Hye: Threatened Landscapes

The building has a pleasant open plan look with high ceilings featuring a glass…

show #199

we are back and it is 2019 and we are discussing the state of affairs in the realm of social vr. an illustrious panel we have assembled indeed: besides frau jo yardley we have donna davis from the university of oregon journalism department, shyla the super gecko, co-founder of sinespaceadam frisby and principal engineer at janusvr james baicoianu.

enjoy a discussion that starts in second life, throws in black mirror and high fidelity and ends with fortnite …..

• a bit of flashback in regards to attempting the compatibility of worlds = ll and ibm did work together 10 years ago to achieve the metaverse:

• we start with black mirror, can’t escape black mirror and shall be jealous of the mass adoption of its interactive approach vis-a-vis our beloved sl …

• janusvr what is it? well =  standing in a web page & being aligned…

Seanchai Library

It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.

Monday, January 14th 19:00: Ringworld

Gyro Muggins reads the first in Larry Niven’s science fiction series focused on a gigantic artificial ring, the Ringworld, built around a far away star at a distance roughly equivalent to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun.

Roughly 1.6 million km wide, the ring rotates slowly around its central star to provide a gravity on its inner surface roughly equivalent to that of Earth, and it has an atmosphere suitable for humans. It was built by a race known as the Puppeteers, who have been working to affect both humans and the cat-like, warrior Kzin.

Regarded as a classic, Niven’s novel (and…

Happy Monday everyone! The week starts splendidly with these amazing live shows! Let your friends know and prepare to dance for many hours – or to have a hell of a soundtrack for your daily activities 😀

10 am Field Trip: The Vinnie Show at Surfside!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crystal%20Falls/151/73/32

11 am Field Trip: Winston Ackland at Surfside!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Crystal%20Falls/151/73/32

2 pm Field Trip: Lexus Melodie at Fisherman’s Wharf!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Retirement/210/90/25

6 pm Field Trips: Winston Ackland, David Csiszer, Wald Schridde

Winston Ackland at The Black Diamond!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Reed%20Valley/115/125/22

David Csiszer at Coffee House!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Faulconbridge/45/233/25

Wald Schridde at Brazen Head!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Benvolio/100/79/25

7 pm Field Trips: Beth Odets, The Vinnie Show

Beth Odets at NoWhere!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pyaar/182/204/3501

The Vinnie Show at Cavern Club!

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gigli%20Virtuosos/43/146/22

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And as always you can hear all of these talented musicians 24/7 at Radio Grind! http://cp6.digistream.info:20354/

Logos copyright and Trademark Google, Linden Lab and Apple Inc., respectively

With the recent confirmation that Linden Lab is working on an iOS solution for accessing Second Life, there has been renewed interest in what is available – and it struck me that since my initial reviews of mobile clients such as Mobile Grid Client (2011) – and with the exception of Lumiya – I’ve not really updated on those clients that are available.

This being the case, here’s a quick round-up of those mobile (Android and iOS) solutions recorded on the Third Party Viewer Directory. These are not intended to be comprehensive reviews, but will hopefully provide a general overview of the products and their capabilities / status.

Android

Mobile Grid Client

• Available since: 2010.
• Last updated: 2016.
• Text only.
• Subscription package.
• OpenSim support: yes.
• Website.
• Reviewed:  November 2011.

Mobile Grid Client is the longest running…

Happy Saturday everyone! Two artists will have a busy busy day to give you a great start to the weekend, not to mention the others! Enjoy their talent, have fun exploring the grid and please don’t forget to support the arts in SL, they all work very hard to give you awesome performances ❤

10 am Field Trips: Lexie Luan, Lexus Melodie

Lexie Luan at Hippiestock!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lagrange%20Point/166/190/22

Lexus Melodie at Fairhaven!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Stratography/168/134/22

11 am Field Trip: Lluis Indigo at Mama’s Pub!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Delectable%20Delights/129/204/3504

12 pm Field Trip: Lexus Melodie at Hippiestock!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lagrange%20Point/166/190/22

1 pm Field Trip: Winston Ackland at Hippiestock!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lagrange%20Point/166/190/22

6 pm Field Trip: Effinjay at MacLinton’s Pub!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MacLintons/83/113/25

7 pm Field Trip: Lexie Luan at Key West!

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Key%20West%20Island/118/100/30

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And as always you can hear all of these talented musicians 24/7 at Radio Grind! http://cp6.digistream.info:20354/

Petit Lac Des Cygnee – click any image for full size

Petit Lac Des Cygne (“The Little Lake of Swans”) is a private estate that recently opened to the public for several days of each week (it is closed to public access on Mondays and Tuesdays). This is a stunning Full region utilising the 30K LI allowance designed by Cougar (Cougar Sangria). Were I to sum it up in two words, they would be: quite magnificent.

The setting in modelled after the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-west France, and is stated to lie some 100 kilometres from the Atlantic Ocean and 50 kilometres from the Spanish border with France – both as the crow flies. Originally located on a Homestead region, the setting had only recently located to this Full region, and has been expanded upon by Cougar in the process to provide a rich setting, in which resides…

DiXmiX Gallery: The Huntress

Warning: the images in this article are NSFW.

Now open at DiXmiX Gallery is an exhibition by The Huntress (TheHuntressSnare) simply entitled The Huntress. It presents 15 monochrome images, all of them nude studies of The Huntress, and which stand as a celebration of the female body.

DiXmiX Gallery: The Huntress

By using monochrome, rather than colour, the images The Huntress presents a series of images that have a certain depth that might otherwise be lost. The dark background used in each tends to focus the eye and the mind much more keenly. This results in two things: it brings added life to the studies whilst also making no bones about the sheer sensuality contained within them. Within many of them, this is not only a woman comfortable with her body, she is prepared to delight in it and decorate it…

Sansar Social Hub

On January 10th, 2019, Linden Lab released Sansar update R28.3. no detailed release notes are currently available (if they are needed), but the core of the update appears to be the new Social Hub.

Available from the Atlas or via a user’s Home Space, the Social Hub is intended to be an experience where Sansar users can conveniently explore, relax, play games, and  – hopefully – meet other users. It can also (obviously) be used as a convenient meeting place when joining friends in Sansar.

Social Hub teleport portal

The easiest way for users to reach the Hub when logging-in is via their Home Space, which how includes a small teleport alcove to one side (previously marked as “under construction”). Walking into the teleport device within the portal will load the Social Hub experience and deliver you to it – no need to touch anything.

The…

Bellefleurs has been on the SL Photogenic Destination Guide for quite some time by now. Months ago, I was asked to go with a friend who wanted to visit, and I took a lot of photos. Photos pile up, and I delete many, but I lightly processed these and have been unable to discard them because I find them restful to look at.

I’ve returned a few times for some moments of peacefulness; I usually like the music stream too.

The house is huge, and interesting to wander in, but it’s the grounds that I enjoy.

“Bellefleurs was first built in 1591, and has been the seat of the Duchesses of Ominum ever since. Built in the High English Renaissance style, it has been a crossroads of history and played a unique role in a secretive past. As befits its “backstory”, Bellefleurs houses a collection of art and portraits from…

Logos copyright and Trademark Linden Lab and Apple Inc., respectively

On January 9th, 2019, and thanks to a pointer from Whirly Fizzle, I blogged Lab working on a Second Life iOS client?noting that a Bit Bucket code repository had recently been set-up by Brad Linden for just such a purpose.

In writing the piece, which includes some of the Lab’s recent commentary of the subject of mobile / streaming solutions for Second Life, I indicated that I had contacted Linden Lab with a series of questions concerning the repository and what it might signify, and that I’d provide an update on receiving any reply.

Being so early into the work, the Lab declined to comment on all of the questions I asked, but here is what they did say via-email in responding to my enquiry:

As you point out, we discussed at our Town Hall events last year that we’re…