Relay For Life. Wonderful cause and they encourage people to do something. You look at all these cool things you can do to raise money for charity. You're psyched and ready to get out there and think: I can do that.
No you can't.
If you're not an established presence, don't expect a good turnout. The hotshots are out in force with their friends and friends' friends too so your efforts and voice get smaller and smaller until you're a speck. The theory that having a regular event brings in more people is a myth; either you have it or you haven't. And nothing says camraderie like teams of friends' and acquaintances scheduling opposite. Consider towel thrown in. I'll be sticking with slots at existing festivals and faires. Except Halfway There Fair. Because I wasn't invited to that. Voiceless DJ, remember?
Thank you to those who attended Hearts & Souls' Friday events and had a good time with us.
Our weekly music event for RFL will conclude this Friday on location at the Starship Diner pier at the Fishiversary. I'll be playing a 90 minute set from 7pm SLT. Lots of Surf tunes!
On that note, it's 7Seas' 6th Fishiversary this coming weekend. I'm working on some new catchable Daleks as well as a new Dalek for RFL donation to accompany the perennial Purple Dalek (you saw it first with me in 2011). It will be good to see the Shikamis again. Their key builder Meissa Thorne has departed Second Life but I have a Flat Meissa coming along for the Starship Diner pier. Also expect many silly wearables debuting. I've got great neighbors, with WyVy on one side and Marianne & Pygar on the other. Toryn was my buddy request but her place is on the far end of the next sim! *arrgh*
I love my new Swing Club. Look for action each second Saturday. Sometimes it's friends, sometimes it's folks from the retro circuit, sometimes it's just me and Seven. We have fun regardless. You should come. You're missing great tunes. Usually from 6pm SLT.
St John is a nice place. I'm happy Miz Gabi made it. It's laid back and barely a hint of drama to be found. I randomly play an hour here and there on my stream when I feel like it. It's all about the European influence in the architecture, the Jazz, the heady scent of magnolia, and the low down, all existing in harmony. There's tea and cakes so come on by.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Monday, April 14, 2014
Is SL Conducive to Mobile? or SLGo's 1001 Uses
March marked working twelve years in the same place in RL. To get to that I survived two major waves of layoffs. Since the financial crisis in fall 2008 the company I work for hasn't been the same. Wellness solutions take a back seat during these rough times, and while we enjoyed a period of recovery, it just wasn't long or strong enough. Also there's been a definite direction during this time towards mobile usage versus stationary home and office computers. Stats show (always enable cookies or companies cannot learn what and what not to change) that the majority of people who visit our website do so via mobile web browsers. Our homepage redirects them to a mobile site but the fact of the matter remains.
We have both online and offline products (our company predates mainstream Internet) and for the first time this past year, people are turning away from the traditional and expecting more for their smartphones and tablets.
I can see where there may be interest in bringing Second Life to full capability in mobile apps, and SLGo makes for an impressive demonstration, but even SLGo does not allow a user to do just anything. With Pocket Metaverse and Lumiya you have apps with limited capabilities: both are best served by jumping inworld to IM contacts, then jump back out before the battery burns up. I know because I've used both. While Lumiya wins for 3D rendering, the landscape is posterized and crude. None of these will ever take the place of a hands on full use viewer on desktop or laptop.
That goes the same for SLGo with regard to functionality. It's a lite viewer in that its purpose is to experience Second Life. Explore, shop, adjust your outfit, take in a performance. You can rez for the purpose of unpacking and such, but you cannot build. This is a licensed product and there are limits, and it does not connect the same way a conventional viewer would.
At an introductory interview / Q&A session hosted by Prim Perfect's Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin, Nate Barsetti - a former Linden - explained the tech behind SLGo. Their powerful servers do the rezzing and rendering on your behalf and the results are broadcast to your app or plug-in. One stands a chance to take advantage of superior maneuverability during special events. SLGo is designed for both mobile AND desktop, and those with particularly slow or inferior resources for Second Life would experience less lag and full-on quality viewing. Take that a step further: a "season pass" to Fantasy Faire, Home & Garden Expo, or SLB can make these the times of your virtual life. I suggested that at the time.
Their rates now include deals. Imagine attending a week of Burn2 and not feeling the heat of an overburdened system. While some lag and sim strain will persist in heavily visited sims, the majority of it comes from your own computer from rendering fellow avatars. I know people who never had to run on low graphics during a Relay Weekend. If they don't have to, with SLGo neither should you. If you were thinking about trying SLGo, smoketest during a special event and let us know how things worked out.
We have both online and offline products (our company predates mainstream Internet) and for the first time this past year, people are turning away from the traditional and expecting more for their smartphones and tablets.
I can see where there may be interest in bringing Second Life to full capability in mobile apps, and SLGo makes for an impressive demonstration, but even SLGo does not allow a user to do just anything. With Pocket Metaverse and Lumiya you have apps with limited capabilities: both are best served by jumping inworld to IM contacts, then jump back out before the battery burns up. I know because I've used both. While Lumiya wins for 3D rendering, the landscape is posterized and crude. None of these will ever take the place of a hands on full use viewer on desktop or laptop.
That goes the same for SLGo with regard to functionality. It's a lite viewer in that its purpose is to experience Second Life. Explore, shop, adjust your outfit, take in a performance. You can rez for the purpose of unpacking and such, but you cannot build. This is a licensed product and there are limits, and it does not connect the same way a conventional viewer would.
At an introductory interview / Q&A session hosted by Prim Perfect's Saffia Widdershins and Elrik Merlin, Nate Barsetti - a former Linden - explained the tech behind SLGo. Their powerful servers do the rezzing and rendering on your behalf and the results are broadcast to your app or plug-in. One stands a chance to take advantage of superior maneuverability during special events. SLGo is designed for both mobile AND desktop, and those with particularly slow or inferior resources for Second Life would experience less lag and full-on quality viewing. Take that a step further: a "season pass" to Fantasy Faire, Home & Garden Expo, or SLB can make these the times of your virtual life. I suggested that at the time.
Their rates now include deals. Imagine attending a week of Burn2 and not feeling the heat of an overburdened system. While some lag and sim strain will persist in heavily visited sims, the majority of it comes from your own computer from rendering fellow avatars. I know people who never had to run on low graphics during a Relay Weekend. If they don't have to, with SLGo neither should you. If you were thinking about trying SLGo, smoketest during a special event and let us know how things worked out.