Open Simulator - an Alternative to Second Life Grid

I've been a little quiet lately, because I've been looking into the OpenSimulator project, or OpenSim as it it referred to.

You can find more about OpenSim here.

I am currently testing out the latest version of OpenSim on an Ubuntu Virtual Machine. I have it up and running with a MySQL Database back-end. Now I'm looking to integrate something called ModRex, which extends the capabilities of the server when used in conjunction with the RealXtend viewer, which you can find here. The RealXtend viewer only runs on Windows, or via WINE on Linux.

I'll keep you all posted as I learn more and achieve more. If anyone is using this stuff - please let me know.

Second Life Rebirth

Well dear readers - anyone who knows me understands that I'm not a man to be kept down by circumstances (see previous post about my SecondLife account). I created a new persona in SecondLife, and I'm glad I did.

My SecondLife name is Metajunkie Frequency. Once you get in world, please feel free to add me as a friend and IM (Instant Message) me if I'm online.

Since last I was in SecondLife they have added the ability to voice chat as well. I haven't used this new feature yet, but this sort of ability would seem to be on its way to becoming ubiquitous in cyberspace.

The basic free account no longer even requires a credit card for sign-up. The main restriction for the free account is that you cannot own land within SecondLife. If you have never tried a virtual reality world before, SecondLife is a great way to start. The biggest thing that makes SecondLife so unique is that anything you create within the world is actually yours. Legally you own the intellectual property rights to everything you create. While most people won't be creating their own objects, for those of us who enjoyed Legos or Lincoln Logs as children, you might find some joy in trying to make something in this virtual world.

You can create your free account at the main SecondLife website. You will see a button or link to "Join Now >> It's fast, free, and easy!"

If you are new to SecondLife, I recommend going to the Welcome Island for an Introduction and some Training after creating your account. The alternative is to jump right into SecondLife by looking for a particular group or place within the Virtual World. By going to the Beginner's Island you will not only find information about how to interact in the virtual world, but you will also be able to find free objects such as four-wheelers, homes, clothing for your avatar, and all sorts of things to make your stay in SecondLife an interesting one.

One of the coolest things I've seen on this small island so far, is a free Google Translator. I clicked to get my free copy, but I haven't set it up yet. I did however see it working first hand. There was a German speaking person chatting with me and several other people. I saw the original German text appear in the Chat dialog box, and then the English translation below it. While it wasn't perfect, it did allow us to communicate. This is really an amazing technology.

Perhaps the best change I've seen in SecondLife so far, is the avatar creation process for newbies. If you are new to SecondLife, you are a newbie. An avatar, in case anyone reading this doesn't know, is the graphical representation of your person within a virtual world. When I originally joined SecondLife years ago, the process of setting up the "look" of the avatar was a bit of a drag too early in my cyber-adventure. I'm glad that Linden Labs, the makers of SecondLife, streamlined this process for the newbie.

No doubt you will probably spend more time on your avatar's appearance than you will want to admit to. If you are the sort of person who is into fashion and fast cars in RL (real life), you will no doubt want to impress your online friends with a stunning presentation. The fashion industry is one of the largest virtual industries in SecondLife. Talented graphic artists and programmers come together to make convincing "skins" and clothing for avatars complete with animations that allow, for example, your hair to bounce as you run and fly.

Did I say fly? Yes. You can fly in your SecondLife, and I actually recommend it be the first thing you do after you get onto the island.

Once you are on the island you can find a button to click in the lower left portion of your interface screen. The button is labeled "fly". Once you have clicked on that button, press the "e" key on your keyboard to increase your altitude (i.e. climb higher in the virtual sky). Then use your "a" and "d" keys to turn to your left and right respectively. In this way, you can get a quick idea of how small the island is. This is important to your sanity.

It can be overwhelming for a newbie to have for the first time in their life an "avatar" and all sorts of buttons to click to do different things. And, it might take you a while of walking around before you see exactly how constrained this initial area is. By flying up, and looking around, you will see that the island only consists of a central hub with five main off shoots.

There are really no more than about ten different areas with unique content. But some areas are filled with large quantities of content, and others only one thing. For example, one area has a house set up. By clicking on the sign near the house, you can claim a free copy of the house. In order to have the house permanently exist in SecondLife, you have to have a premium account, but you can own the objects that make up the house in your inventory until that time. A different location along this island's coast has a bill board with probably hundreds of free items. There is currently another area that has a piano for you to experiment with, and an area that has a game set up (which didn't work for me when I tried it last).

In World Update: While I'm writing this blog, I'm logged in. The Island was just defined to someone from Israel by a SecondLife Mentor via voice chat as a "Demo" of SecondLife. She mentioned that this isn't yet really SecondLife.

As I flew away, toward the large bill boards that the island has set up to explain, the voice chat faded until I was far enough away that I could not hear it. This was a good thing, because the conversation was actually a bit painful. I guess that it is good that there are mentors to help the hopelessly noobesque (no, that isn't a real word, yet).

So hop in and explore! If you like facebook, this should be like crack cocaine. When I'm too old to get up and dance, my avatar will still be doing the jig in Virtual Realities. As more and more online services converge, Silicon Worlds like SecondLife will no doubt become our primary interfaces to overwhelming flows of information. Your only price to admission is your time and the investment you have already made in your computer and Internet connection. Live life to its fullest - get a SecondLife! ;)

Economy Note:

The average exchange rate for the 10th of November, 2008 was $L 262.12 to the US Dollar. It seems the SecondLife economy may be more stable than our own. It is a very managed currency which has averaged between 260-280 Linden Dollars to the US Dollar since about 2006. You can check out the currency information at the LindeX Market Data web page.

SecondLife Disaster of the personal kind

Today, I tried to get back into SecondLife after being away for over a year. I had tried previous to this, but was befuddled by what I thought were client software issues. Not having time to figure out what was going on, it took a back seat to other life issues. On several different occasions I attempted to login to SecondLife with no joy. My client wouldn't update properly, then my password wouldn't work. It was a huge hassle.

Linden Labs, the makers of SecondLife updated their website since the last time I attempted. This time, I changed my password, but when I logged in after that, all I could see was a phone number to call. So I called.

The kind and courteous gentleman who assisted me informed me that my account had been deactivated for non payment. He said it was deactivated in October of last year. I got married in October of last year, and I moved into my new house in November of last year. But most importantly, I had lost a credit card and had it replaced sometime prior to that. That credit card was on file with Linden Labs. When its authoritative numbers were sent to the big bit bucket in the sky - Linden Labs was unable to withdraw my yearly payment. I'm sure they sent out messages informing me of this - but as I mentioned, a wedding, and a move which caused my email server to be down for several months positioned me to be the less than active netizen. Shame on me. :)

The kind gentleman explained that he was obligated to tell me that since I had been gone for over a year, that my SecondLife land had been reclaimed, all my Linden Dollars seized, and perhaps all of my inventory items as well. I didn't know what to say. He was being so nice, and I've always found English accents so disarming. All I could muster up was, "Ummm that's not good." I asked him if there was any way to know for sure. He looked into my inventory and told me that my inventory was still showing over a thousand items in it. That was a good thing, since I had created some of those items myself. I asked about my Linden Dollars. He said, "The account is showing a zero balance."

He advised me that the only way to reactivate this account is to pay the yearly fee. I asked him why Linden Labs didn't just revert my account to a "free" account. He stated that the account was set up to withdraw monies on a yearly basis, and that had not occurred. But, we already knew that. I'm not sure why they didn't just revert my account to a "free" one, which would mean that I could not own land. I asked him if I could have the account reactivated as a "free" account; but, he told me that was not possible. If I want this account reactivated, I need to pay the yearly fee.

I can understand the reclaiming of land. After all, if someone owns premium property and then disappears for over a year without paying - the virtual neighborhood could surely suffer. But, I see no reason to have seized my Linden Dollars. Especially when I had been saving to launch a business in SecondLife. I had in all likelihood accumulated well over 100,000 Lindens. At the current rate of exchange, 100,000 L is equivalent to approximately $386.

I don't know if there is any petition method to try and recover my lost Lindens; but, I'll try.

I'm writing this today, not to bash Linden Labs or SecondLife, but to warn others who may be allowing their accounts to lapse. Even though SecondLife is a virtual world, the money to be made is real enough. Even though the interface seems like a game, there is real work that goes into building and programming objects for this virtual world.

Because Linden Labs has pioneered "virtual property rights" within SecondLife, they deserve credit and respect of netizens across the world. But, because they have been so energetic about creating a virtual world with a thriving economy and personal rights, it seems all the more strange that my Lindens were seized.

You can donate to this blog with the PayPal button in the sidebar to help me get back into SecondLife. Thanks for all your help. See you in the Metaverse!