A new term is needed

A new term is needed to describe builds that look like they were made when Second Life was new and haven't been updated nearly a decade later. Not that this is bad, mind you. There are plenty of items at the Isle of Lesbos that are several years old or using build techniques that haven't changed over time. Due to careful texturing and component updates that include sculpties, most items look fresh and realistic (as far as my skills allow). What I'm referring to, however, are builds such as this place I found while map hopping:

The owner/builder has mostly taken care with the layout and it is generally pretty, but the textures are cartoony like most of the ones in our basic Texture Library while pose balls litter the build when "sitter" scripts could have been used (I'm still updating seating on the Isle to use these). I look at this and think "Its  2003 again!" I like this place and will probably visit again, but it is ... "off."

I don't want to say outdated. Heck, Jefferson's home Monticello home hasn't changed in a couple hundred years and Buckingham Palace is even older. But those are real world places, using the finest materials of the time that still look great today. And I'm pretty sure they get fresh coats of paint once in a while. In Our World, new paint comes in the form of better textures from more skilled artists. By itself, this upgrade can improve most any scene. Add in a few sculpties and everything gets even better.

Right. It costs money. And some folks don't have a problem with older builds. If it sounds like I do, then I'm sorry. Really, I don't. I prefer the newer looks, but there is a certain style to the older items. Just what it should be called, I don't know. What do you think?

Burn2: Volunteers & Land

At first, I dressed as a chocolate cake, but I was told it is Desert Wear,  not Dessert Wear.

Waaaayyyy back in 2008 I was fortunate enough to win a parcel to build on for Burning Life (Web), the Second Life version of the world famous "not-a-festival festival" known as Burning Man (Web). Then I laid low for a few years, trying once more to win a parcel but then finding other things to do. This year, I'm back.

I'll be a Ranger at this year's Burn2 (Web), as Burning Life is know known. Before, during, and after the event I'll be helping make sure things happen harmoniously. Whether it I'll be tracking down lost prims, giving directions, mediating disputes, or helping other staffers, I plan on having fun, fun, fun.

The festival doesn't start until October, but volunteers are important year round! There are many areas you can volunteer and help out within whatever time you have available to commit. Your skills are needed or we will help you learn so that you can contribute. Please think about volunteering and be truly part of the Burn! Check out more info at http://www.burn2.org/volunteer-signup

Of course, you can also get a parcel to set up your own art installation. Many have been assigned, but there are still some left.

Plots are now on wave3 and will be based on the donated sims.
One way to help the Burn is to gift a Sim for the Burn. For information touch the kiosk to go to the website or go directly to: http://www.burn2.org/sim_gifting

Monies from plot sales and donations are used to finance the sims for Burn2 event. This is not a Linden Lab sponsored event anymore, therefore in the spirit of the 10 principles of Burning Man - Radical Inclusion, Radical Self Reliance, Unmediated Interaction - We MAKE the BURN! Please help us Fuel the Burn in any way you can. We invite all sl residents to participate in one way or another. This is your Burn!

Its never too late to get involved but I'd recommend leaping in now so you can get the most out of Burn2

Vintage Internet Joke

During yesterday's Tech News Today (TNT) podcast (Web) I was excited when it was suggested that folks skip the Nintendo Wii hack that allows one to take a virtual tour of various places such as Venice, Italy via Google Maps (Web) and simply go to Second Life to do it.

Then the other shoe dropped.

Natali Morris: "Does anyone use Second Life any more? It is such a vintage Internet Joke."

((sigh))

So I thought I'd zip into SL and take some magnificent pix of Venice's Grand Canal then send them off to Natali and the hosts of TNT to show how wonderful Our World can be for visiting historic and scenic places. After visiting three places, I changed my mind.

There is no water at Venice Grand Canal (SLurl) at all. Just a bleak, gray sky and lots of asphalt and a diner.

Venice Island appears to be Private Access Only as teleport attempts consistently failed. There is water, however.

Venice Isola (SLurl) has a river and tries to capture the romance one might find in Venice, Italy, but falls rather short with blinding Glow and Full Bright on most prims.

Venice Passion (SLurl) looks like Venice, Italy! There's the canal, the fabulous bridges, tons of buildings right on the water, and shopping, but no romance for me. That guy is my brother. I coaxed him to coming with me and in this pic I'm trying to get money out of him so I can buy things ... threatening to push him into the river if he doesn't cough up the $Lira.

The latter place is as close as I was able to find in-world, though if you visit The Particle Laboratory in Teal (SLurl) there is a bit of a Venice feel and you can ride a gondola. Maybe Venice does exist, but using the Map or Search fails to find it. As I've recommended before, La Perla II (SLurl) is probably the best place to experience the feel of old Italy, but you can do a lot worse than Venice Passion.

So I have to say "No, Natali, you can't really visit Venice in Second Life, but there are quite a few other spots that are absolutely fabulous in their own right, so don't think of Our World as an Internet Joke." Then I'd refer her to my "Official Recommendations" posts on this blog or just looking at the Second Life Destination Guide (Web) for great places to visit.

Why Full Bright?

A hard day in real life running about with family to various appointments today meant that whenever I could get near a bed I made sweet love to it ... ZZZZZzzzzzzz. That gave my lazy brother a shot at the computer and, like he's fond of doing lately, he logged into Second Life. Lazy in that we have an older desktop computer sitting around doing nothing so if he really didn't want to wait for me to sleep to use the main computer he could get that connected.

The best pic that my brother, CC Columbo, snapped today, though we do have to have a talk about things growing out the heads of people in pictures. I don't know what preset he used, but I love the effect on the large wall blocking a tacky nightclub from the view of our house.

But that's an aside because I'm still sleepy. The point is that my brother made a few snaps for our "family scrapbook" and after I woke up we chatted a bit about how it is nice to live on the Mainland again while we looked over the pictures. We agreed that the Linden Homes we had were very attractive and a great value in terms of prim use, but the complete dearth of neighbors was disheartening. With our land in Nangrim, we see more people (at least on the mini-map) and the variety in the land use is entertaining. We have a few castles around us, a giant mushroom, a tacky nightclub, a Linden Highway, and more. The "more," sadly, includes Full Bright objects.

An unfinished skybox set to Full Bright makes the eastern view less attractive. The beverages on the table in our treehouse are also at Full Bright, but they are No Mod so we can't fix them.

One of the two castles near by, this one at ground level, is set to Full Bright for some reason, as are the trees of our next door neighbor. During daylight, you can hardly tell that anything is at Full Bright, but the trees look nicer set that way when the sun is up than if they weren't set so.

I guess that is one of the joys of Mainland, though ... some neighbors just make others look so much better. I'm kidding! I really don't mind. CC does to a point (he set up a wall to block a really tacky nightclub), but he tends to set full Noon all the time when he's in-world anyway so Full Bright doesn't bother him as much.

By experiment long ago with the same trees that our neighbor has planted, I learned that often plants like those look better in daylight with Full Bright on. But why whole buildings? I guess because someone liked the look. Since the castle in the one pic is full Mod, that person would probably be the owner. Other items on his parcel are not set to Full Bright and his profile shows he's a builder, so I'm guessing he could turn off the feature if he wanted to do so.

At this point in the post I'd like to point out that I'm still kinda sleepy so I have no idea where this meander is meandering to other than to ask "Why?" though to anyone specific or about anything specific. But I guess "Why?" when it comes to making certain decisions. Like why did anyone make the castle Full Bright in the first place? Mainland makes you think.

Who was Minding the Store?

An important part of the upcoming introduction of "Mesh" to the Second Life Grid appears to be an increased emphasis on protecting copyright (see Mesh Update: Part Deux). Very interesting as this 2009 official video demonstration of mesh uses the Hulk character copyrighted by Marvel Comics:

Between this and news about copyright from elsewhere in the tech world -- Samsung postponing a product launch pending resolution of a lawsuit with Apple (Web) -- makes me wonder "Who was minding the store when I bought an "Apple" laptop in Second Life and an iPad just yesterday?"

Is that a DC Comics-regsitered superhero logo on my shirt?

The Apple logo on the "laptop" is a violation, I'm sure, as would be the photo-texture rendering of the keyboard and ports. I found it on the SL Marketplace by searching with the term "Apple." Amusingly, the iPad there is the kicker considering the Samsung/Apple news. Sure, it was a freebie in-world, but its a very accurate reproduction, right down to the icons -- a key part of the Apple lawsuit against Samsung. It was positioned near accessories the creator probably hoped I would buy to compliment the gift.

So who at The Lab is in charge of policing copyright violations? If they leave it to the public then I doubt brand-name violations like this will be officially noticed. There's no incentive. One merchant turning in another to trim competition? Probably not as they'd be caught, too. Would real world brands go after individual residents? Gucci was involved with that back in 2007 (Web) yet a current search of the SL Marketplace (Web) turns up over 100 items using the name in some fashion, if not outrightly. The furor of old really hasn't had a huge effect, it seems.

Much like real world "KIRFs," I suppose. After all, someone in China recently cloned a whole Apple store, right down to the t-shirts (Web). The shop I visited when looking for a new Second Life laptop and tablet was a pretty good clone, too, though the owner wore a suit as he leaned against a table that could have been hauled out of the real world Apple store an hour from my house.