Some Merchants Just SUCK

Some merchants in SL are as bad as they are in RL. Trust me.

I had purchased an air hockey table in-world from jrenslow Bach, as described in my XStreet item Discussion copied below, and tried to contact him in-world when I had an issue. He gave no response to IM or to a note card so I posted in the Discussion section of the item's XStreet listing (URL) hoping he would contact me. A month later, he did, demanding that I change my Discussion post but never offered the free upgrade promised.

Here is the Discussion Posting:

Posted By: Uccello Poultry at 2010-03-06 20:45:15 (has not purchased this item)
The description on XStreet was rather vague so I searched in-world to find a demo. One was not available but the quality of the other merchandise seemed good and I thought "well, I can afford to lose L$400 so ..."

Yes, I lost my L$400. When the description says ★Menu Controlled that's exactly what it means ... you move your paddle one increment at a time left/right/forward/backward via pop-up menus. Other Air Hockey tables in SL have you drag the paddle to hit the puck. The menu only starts or ends the game. Also, the description here indicates the set is Copy/Mod. With no description for such on the signage I figured it would be the same in-world. No, it is NO COPY. It leaves your inventory when rezzed and cannot be copied in-world.

Until this unit has significant changes or improvements, please learn from my L$400 and find another unit to buy. Find my other reviews on XStreet. You'll see that I seldom give negative feedback and it is usually mild.

Terms of Service do not permit me to copy/paste the IM from today here, but jrenslow Bach was exceptionally rude, demanding that he show me the upgraded table rather than give me the free upgrade promised. He also said that he is going to have my first comment removed by XStreet, so I posted a second comment:

Posted By: Uccello Poultry at 2010-05-05 14:23:43 (has not purchased this item)
At this very moment, the maker is arguing with me that I cannot have a free upgrade as promised unless I change my earlier comment in the discussion. Also, he tells me that he is going to have XStreet remove the discussion stating I never bought the table. It is still in my inventory. DO NOT BUY FROM THIS MERCHANT. VERY RUDE.

Additionally, I filed a complaint with Linden Labs, ticket #4051-7706335 and I'm highly recommending you shop, shop, shop before giving your money to jrenslow Bach.

Hover Text Pollution

There was a time that when one rented space in a mall the most common rule was "No Hover Text" and I was fine with that. It's a handy thing to use but it can be quite annoying, especially when it interferes with an otherwise scenic view. Here I am at a bunny pen my friend Jehria has and I can't see the bunnies for all the pollution. She likes it so I can't complain about it here but I finally got my wife to turn off the hover text over her bunnies in our bunny garden at Dolce Valentina (SLurl). Now I can enjoy the bunnies and the environment. But visiting Lops of Lesbos (SLurl), where this picture was taken, is still hard on the eyes. Ah, what we do for our bunnies, huh?

Why Google needs to buy Linden Lab

The clever boffins at Google have given a peek (Web) at the latest enhancements to Google Maps (Web), the service that at minimum shows maps but has so much more tucked in every corner of it's code, and as you can see from the video above, the new additions are spectacular. In the first release of Google Maps, one could "fly" a point-to-point route along the maps and that was not only useful, but fascinating. I remember spending many an hour retracing family trips and pretending to be on adventures. Later, 3D-rendered structures, albeit simple gray blocks, were added to many cities and "flyby" took on new meaning as I soared through the concrete canyons of major cities. Now, Google is pairing it's Street View (Web) with the 3D modeling to provide a more realistic flyby experience. Now I can trace that one-time 86 block walk with my brother from New York City's Times Square to a comic book shop without my feet hurting so much.

But why does this make me think that Google should buy Linden Lab (AKA, The Lab), one of the leaders in online 3D worlds? A few reasons, actually, not the least of which is innovation. As demonstrated in the video, Google is more forward thinking than The Lab and has the deep pockets to let this creative expression loose. Admittedly, developing a non-goal oriented "game" akin to predecessors like World of Warcraft was innovative and more than a bit cheeky, but The Lab has done little innovation since. Adding Windlight, Mono scripting, and a variety of ways to acquire land were simply expected evolutionary changes, not revolutionary leaps that tickle the imagination. One could argue that Google's photo realistic offering is only evolutionary as well, but I say it is not. The revolution is that the growth wasn't necessary to sustain the product. Further, it defines a forward-looking progression that opens a variety of leads for further change. What has The Lab done to this end?

The term photo realistic makes me think of another reason Google should buy The Lab: The current push by The Lab to make the in-world experience a more photo realistic one; an experience more akin to so-called real life than the cartoon-verse other online worlds provide. Linden Homes (Web) is an example. The Lab is clearly trying to direct the look and feel of being in-world by having structures and landscapes that are not the typically fanciful fare one often finds on the Mainland or in parceled rental regions where aesthetics are not governed. The fantasy regions of the Elderglen (pictured here) are a slight exception, but the uniformity and enforced building standards belie the outwardly whimsical appearance. Log out of the Second Life home page (Web) if you are not logged in and explore the 'What is Second Life?' section to see the current emphasis on In-World as Real Life. If you've seen the Get an Avatar campaign (sorry, I don't know it's exact name nor can I find an example of it at the time I write this post), you have seen that all the examples are of residents with avatars that resemble their Real Life persons. If this is truly the direction that The Lab wants to go, integration with Google Maps or Google Earth (Web) is a must. No other service is as advanced, detailed, or forward-thinking.

But the innovative spirit and the push toward photo realism are just two reasons Google needs to buy Linden Lab. There are many less obvious reasons, but if you combine these two with The Lab's greater push to monetize the World (do you really think they bought XStreetSL to make our shopping lives easier?) an enveloping matrix develops: Second Life is not a game, it is a lifestyle. Certainly, Residents that form the core users knew this. Definitely the large percentage of noobs that try SL for a few days and drop out because there is no "end goal" learn this. If The Lab truly wants to integrate the virtual life with our meatspace lives beyond almost requiring use of Twitter and Facebook and Avatars United. Google is a leader in social media, a bleeding-edge tech developer, and has more money than most nations. The Lab needs Google.

Google probably doesn't need The Lab. And it has other options such as Blue Mars (a really, really photo realistic world, I hear; Web) if it needs such an acquisition. But I believe that such a combination will happen regardless of the parties involved. The Internet is becoming both an information appliance and a place to live. We just need to determine who will redefine that world.

Giving in to the bunnies

Someone gave my alt an Ozimal Bunny and it got lonely so I had to get it a mate. You know what happened next, I'm sure. Above is me with Hare-iette. She lives with Ozzie and Oreo. Probably two more bunnies soon. Three (plus?) live in the Bunnyarium at the Isle of Lesbos (women only; SLurl) with more outside in the flower pasture.

You can meet Ozzie, Hare-iette, and Oreo on Dolce Valentina (an Adult sim with a nude beach; SLurl). If the SLurl doesn't take you right there, use the Teleporter at the entrance for "Earth Park," one of two areas in the region where street clothes are permitted.

Usra, Daniel, and M

Most of you know I have an alt named Usra. She's heavy into the Loco Pocos theme and tends to take over my posts when those adorable avies are concerned. In fact, she posted on the Lucky Kitty Crew blog today about some prize hunts involving Loco Pocos creators (Web). After that she headed over to the new Welcome Islands and Discovery Islands to wish people a Happy Easter and to give out Easter eggs. She ran into friend Daniel Voyager (the other bunny in the pictures below), blogger/reporter (Web) and M Linden, CEO of Linden Lab (Web). Sadly RL beckoned, but not before Usra helped out M with an LM to the fabulous Bare Rose clothing adjustment tutorial and talking about the new islands meant to introduce new Residents to Second Life. No chance to grill him on the use of Megaprims there, but the addition of a tutorial sandbox is being looked into and there are discussions about live helpers being present (remember Mentors?). Here are some pix (no, I didn't note the names of the other people):

M Linden (on the far right in all the pictures) kept commenting on how much he loved Usra's avatar so I gave him the URL to the Lucky Kitty blog post I mentioned then he broke out his Devil avie ("Now that explains a lot," Usra joked) and his ghost avie. I remember he was among the Lindens that filled the Loco Pocos sim last Halloween buying avies for the holiday. He seems genuinely nice and very interested in the fun aspects of Second Life. Much of our conversation was focused on the magic of the the world and how the new welcome experience was designed to foster that impression. Sadly, Lindens still hide from the presence servers so my attempts to hug him failed. Haven't hugged a Linden yet because of that, but maybe one day ...