Second Life has very good audio when you consider how much info has to transmit back and forth (and lip synch too). if it is still the same as two years ago, voice is carried on different servers and that helps with server and bandwidth load

one really nice thing is that you can set audio to be from the perspective of your avatar or from your camera position

i started in Second Life before there was voice. i remember when it was first introduced, many people complained

lol, anytime Linden Lab does anything – people complain!

that’s just the nature of being the leader in something

G.A.M - Gallery Art Monkey

my first “real” project” in Second Life was building an art gallery for a Deaf artist in Norway who was having an real art opening and wanted one to coincide in Second Life

this was in the days of massive SL media hype

as a result of connecting up with this artist, i was introduced to the Deaf and HOH community in Second Life. because there was no voice then, it made everyone Deaf in effect

today, the majority of people still do text chat and not voice. there’s enough drama without incessant blabbing going on! (plus i imagine the sound effects from bling and scripted objects has to run from very well done in incredibly craptacular!) =p

there are all kinds of reasons for this. ranging from physical voice issues, to gender bending, to age, and to what i call the “veil” of virtual worlds. being an avatar can be an escape for many people and thus, derr, the name of Second Life, right?

it does not mean that you are a freak or hiding behind your avatar, it’s just a way to express yourself online (but you could be a freak too!) =D

many celebrities do this in plain sight. like The Rock! if that is not an alter ego, i dunno what is!

Tom Cruise – Thomas Mapother IV
Jamie Foxx – Eric Marlon Bishop
Whoopi Goldberg – Caryn Elaine Johnson
Demi Moore – Demetria Gene Guynes
Mr. T – Lawrence Turead (i <3 mr t)
Lady Gaga –  Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
Snoop Dogg – Cordazer Calvin Broadus Jr (i <3 him 2)
Marilyn Manson – Brian Hugh Warner
Shania Twain – Eileen Regina Edwards

for some people (who could that be? oh, yeah, “my friend”) this veil let’s them express parts of themselves that they don’t, or can’t, express in real life (like being tall, or able to walk, or a furry, or any zillion other things)

for many people, voice is not a big deal and fortunately, you don’t ever have to use it =)

but for business and teaching, voice can be handy and even pretty necessary (although this is somewhat new ground for the American with Disabilities Act – ADA section 508)

OpenSim has had voice (FreeSwitch) but from what i hear (lol) it was iffy at times. for some people, like an adult language teacher friend in Reaction Grid – voice is crucial

fortunately, OpenSim development is addressing these issues (thank you OS peeps) and Whisper is available (and connects up to lip synching)

if you want to try out Whisper and see if it is good enough for your needs, you can head over to Snoopy Pfeffer’s Mumble sandbox in OSGrid (Snoopy is a massive expert/guru/ninja of all things OpenSim) =)

to read much more about this, take a look at Maria’s extensive blog post on it. if it looks (sounds) good, maybe your provider can hook you up! (SimHost does this btw, of course!) =)

w00t! see you, err, hear you in-world! =D