I apologize in advance if anyone’s posted the links below already.

Hate some (or all) of Viewer 2.x?  You’re not alone.

But…  there are some fixes/tweaks available, none of which are difficult!

Here are some links,  should you want more info. Use at your own risk! I’ve done the “StarLight” tweak and find it improves things a bit for me. I’ve not tried the others listed on the wiki page.

• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_2_Tweaks
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_Skins/StarLight_for_2.1_Beta (works fine for me)
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/felineslade/4393320025/

If you LIKE 2.x, or don’t want to hear what I dislike about it… stop reading now.

Like Ener, I’m not a fan of Viewer 2.0 or 2.1.  It’s too dark (even for my Goth blood), and most of the changes and re-wording of old terms (“Local Chat” is now “Nearby”, for example) seem nutso. The pop-up sliding menu dance… awful. The whole sidebar/slide left thing drives me nuts. And the non-transparent widows and changes to chat/IM windows suck. There’s a lot more that I hate. So do many, many others. Granted, some peeps (esp. some noobs I’ve talked to) seem to think that 2.x is just fine. Hmmmm.

Don’t get me wrong. I like NEW. I like EXCITING.  Take me to the mall or an amusement park if you don’t believe me!

I do not, however, like waking up one day to find out that the names of everyday things have been changed, or that my usual direct route to the local S&M shop requires 3 detours, or that someone has posted flyers all over my car’s windshield, obscuring half my view.  It’s like waking up in an alternate universe… one with poorer design than the previous one.  Oh, I was kidding up there… I meant Krispy Kreme shop, not S&M shop ;p

I’ve tried 2.0 and 2.1 for extended periods of time.  It really sucks that so much screen “real estate” gets obscured by the (non-transparent) sidebar and huge menus. It sucks that some of my old keyboard shortcuts are gone, or that I have to go through 3 levels of menus to do what I used to do in 2 clicks. It sucks that basic communication is more difficult (to me), unless I rearrange the default options.

Don’t rename things and make me have to stop and re-learn keystrokes and shortcuts and menus I’ve used hundreds (or thousands) of times. Is that a violation of good rule of design?  “Don’t alienate your existing user base by making changes… unless the change is either necessary, useful, or both.”

In other words, change what needs to change; do not change things that worked quite nicely. Gee, you could at least offer an option to revert to the older menus, like new versions of word-processing apps often do.

Okay, okay, some of those annoyances can be fixed. Kind of.  And the “notification” area in the bottom right is welcome (and long overdue), replacing tons of dialog popups when you first login.  The teleport history is nice as well. And thank goodness I can set the top bar to actually show my (Sim & vector) location… seems pretty dumb to me to not have it there as the default. There is more than one way to accomplish some of the old tasks (hmmm, I’m neutral on that one).

I know, I know, it’s all been said before.  I don’t DESPISE 2.x, but I am not feeling any ♥.  I’ll use it. Someday.  IF I have to.  But so far, it just gives me a headache. One day, after a few more versions, I may actually like it. But for now, it kinda does less.. with more.  *Giggle*

Feel free to post your loves and hates of 2.x. Or just google it and read what others say. Hmmm, you’re probably wishing I’d taken that route!

*sigh*  I miss the pie wheel already. I have a feeling his time in the virtual universe is limited.

By the way… I mostly use Snowglobe. It has some unique stuff not in the old 1.2x viewers. And it doesn’t make me learn to brush my teeth with my non-dominant hand (I can do it.. but I dribble a bit). Oh… and I can also use SnowGlobe as an OpenSim viewer (for Reaction Grid and so forth).

Or is it… “Virtual Dreams and Lucid Worlds” ?

Do you find that being in a Open Sim world like Reaction Grid, or Second Life, to be like a waking dream?

Have you ever dreamed about your avatar?  Have you ever had a lucid dream? Or has a virtual world at least influenced your dream? Some peeps report having dreams of flying more often after being in SL, for example.

Can virtual worlds — or maybe even violent video games — help one cope with nightmares, or even with real life?

Check out this article from GameSpy: http://www.gamespy.com/articles/109/1093219p1.html

or see the original MSNBC source:  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37342086/ns/technology_and_science-games/

On the flip side:  Building & scripting in virtual worlds is a way to shape an idea or vision into reality. If you’ve limited yourself to shopping, clubbing, and socializing, you are missing out on the fun of creation… and it might also spill over into your dreams (for better or worse!)

Now, if you find yourself dreaming that you are a blue-haired “furry”  of the alternate sex… I’ll leave that to you to analyze. ;p

You can find all sorts of avatar looks in Second Life and Open Sim worlds like Reaction Grid (RG) or other virtual worlds like Blue Mars.  I’ve seen robots, humans, jello blobs, disembodied heads, furries, nekos, vampires, geeks/nerds, androids, pregnant ladies, army men, monsters, wizards, beach bunnies, and… goths.

Goths.  Hmmmm, they sure are popular. Are they just vampire wannabees? Or uber fashionistas who favor black fabric and pale skin? Is Emo a subset of Goth?

Well, I’ll let you decide for yourself. Personally I favor the goth look (black matches black so well, and I’m fashion-lazy!), but you might sometimes find me “slumming” in jeans or sweats and tshirts, esp. when I’m building stuff in sandboxes  (Ener has a really nice sandbox in Reaction Grid now, and the Ivory Tower Sandbox in Second Life is nice). I’m still working on my goth persona in RG, where peeps like SunnyGirl Whitfield are bringing awesome clothes and skins.

I came across “Goth” as a “Top Ten Word of the 90s” on the Merriam-Webster dictionary website. Here is what the entry said:

GOTH:  This word contains over a thousand years of drama. In brief:

Well, that was interesting. Like us Goths can really be defined in one paragraph! *Giggle*

So, some questions to ponder:

1. What is your favorite look?
2. Do you have an alternate/secret look for your avvie?
3. Do you avoid certain types of avatars/peep, based on their looks?
4. Do Vampires have an undesired bad rep in virtual worlds ?
5. What would you like to see more of?
6. Do Vampires sparkle? (sorry, couldn’t resist a jab at Twilight!)*
7. What does “goth(ic)” mean to you?
8. Would virtual worlds suck if we all had to look like homo sapiens?
9. Can you identify the IMVU avatar in the photo to the left?

* Real ones do NOT.  What, you don’t believe?  Then don’t look behind you.

(tips I’ve compiled from various sources.  some you know.  some you may not.  some are debatable… so please don’t throw virtual tomatoes, just post any corrections/clarifications in your comments!)

Speed up your Client (your computer):

1. Lower your Draw Distance.  I keep mine on 96m or 128m unless I’m doing landscape photography or want to see the bigger picture for a few minutes.
2. Update (or roll back) your video card drivers. New is usually better, but not always.
3. Set Graphics to Low or Medium. Only use High for photography/machinima, etc.
4. Close any unnecessary apps when SL/Open Sims are running.
5. Stop any unneeded Windows services, esp. if you have 1 GB RAM or less. I close Print Services, Windows Time, Windows Search, and a few others on my 8 year old ‘puter.
6. Get more RAM! This probably should be #1, lol.
7. Try running in a smaller window vs. full-screen.  See which your graphics card likes better.
8. Running SL on a lappie? Make sure it is on a flat surface or raised a bit for better cooling.
9. Detach any unneeded jewelry, HUDs, and scripted objects from your Avatar.
10. Lowering or raising your Network Bandwidth settings (under Preferences) sometimes helps, too.  Higher bandwidth is not necessarily better (anything 600 or above should work fine).
11. When all else fails, clear your SL/Open Sim cache and then defrag the hard drive it lives on.  Ener and I like Defraggler instead of the Winblows defragmenter thingie.
12. Don’t fear Snowglobe or alternative viewers. You’ll probably get different frame rates in different viewers. Meerkat and Imprudence work well for me in Reaction Grid, but most peeps say Hippo is best (though the newest version is sometimes buggy for some peeps).  Many SL’ers swear by Emerald, although it (and most other alt viewers) may soon be “illegal” according to SL Terms of Service. Currently, LL only lists 3 approved alt viewers.  Ugh.

Weird tips to reduce Client lag:

1. Mute Blingtards (some swear this really helps lag, I have no idea!)
2. Really stuck in a crowd or classroom? Use Advanced –> Rendering and turn off some stuff.
3. I sometimes use Wireframe view (no textures) or turn off character rendering temporarily if I don’t need to move or see other peeps… and I get a 20 FPS jump!  IM/chat still works.

How to speed up a Sim for EVERYONE:

AVATARS:

Reduce Max Number of Avatars allowed on Sim.  Not always practical/desirable, but it does help.

STUFF:

1. Reduce number of objects in the region. Duh.
2. Using more interior walls and less windows/transparent stuff has same effect (if you can’t see it, your computer doesn’t have to build it and render the textures). Break it up so everything doesn’t compete for simultaneous download and rendering time.
3. Space high prim objects/buildings further apart when possible.
4. Landscaping is nice, but don’t overdo it. Same goes for high-prim, high-texture “realistic” cities, etc.
5. Mega prims, unless used sparingly, can adversely affect the Sim.
6. Don’t overdo it with glow and lighting effects. Not everyone is using a $300 graphics card.

PHYSICS:

1. Making some objects Phantom (so SL or your computer doesn’t have to calculate collisions, etc.) can free up some CPU cycles. Ener already made a post about this, yay!
2. Don’t use physical objects unless necessary. Flexi is usually cool, however (rendered Client side).

SCRIPTS:

1. Reduce the number of simultaneous scripts running.
2. Use mono scripting (this is a subject of some debate, but in general mono is better… esp. for longer scripts).
3. Reduce the number of “listens” in scripts and remove “listens” when no longer needed.
4. Use llSleep() and slower timers to make scripts not run constantly. Do you really need a Sim FPS monitor to update every second? No. Once a minute or longer will do.
5. Small, efficient scripts don’t use lots of resources. Longer scripts — esp. those with lots of functions — are worse offenders.  But, one long efficient script is better than 5 shorter ones that suck but accomplish the same results.
6. Many script functions have a corresponding “off” function that can make things more efficient.
7. Or use llSetScriptState() to turn scripts off/on as needed (such as only enabling a particle script from the main script when it needs to run, then disabling the particle script when its job is done).
8. Once float text is set, you can remove the script that made it. Float text remains :)  Very handy if you have an object that only needs static text above it.  I think the same is true of simple rotations (llTargetOmega)… remove the script, things keep spinning. Correct me if this is no longer true!
9. Disallow user scripts when needed (such as a region that already has lots of scripts running; let’s not bring more!)
10. Peruse a good scripting book, such as the Official Guide to SL/LSL Scripting.

TEXTURES:

1. Avoid use of 1024×1024 when 512×512 images or smaller will do. 1024 should RARELY ever be needed. (Ener can tell you all about this!) I typically use 512×512 for clothing/art, 256×256 for small signs, etc.
2. Textures can affect both the client and the Sim, I think? (Ener, correct me if I’m wrong on this), since textures have to be pulled from the database, then rendered by your machine.
3. Repeat the same texture in different places when possible.
4. Use 128×128 textures for really small/insignificant stuff.
5. Use default SL “library” textures if they will suffice (they may load faster).

Other things that may help:

• Sculpties tend to use less processing/rendering time than high-prim objects. Above a certain number of prims/polygons, sculpties tend to be more efficient… or so I’ve been told.
• Temp-on-rez scripts(when used to defeat prim limits) are to be avoided, unless you use it sparingly, as in an object vendor display. When I do it, I render only temporary+phantom objects, so they poof away in 60 seconds and don’t use any physics time.
• Simple rotations (llTargetOmega) are rendered Client side, so they probably only affect individual users with slow machines, not the Sim in general. But let’s not overdo it with the spinning crapola, okay?

Quick post, a couple of useful links for you hypergridders:

Oline stores where you can buy & sell stuff (and get freebies) for OpenSim Worlds:

http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2010/01/opensim-retail-outlets/

Got a spare ‘puter sitting around? Make your own OpenSim world, for free. Okay, okay, not for the faint of heart, but here it is:

http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2009/11/opensim-deployment-gets-easier/

OMG I NEED THIS!

It never ceases to amaze me that even many Veteran* Second Lifers don’t take advantage of the cool keyboard shortcuts.

Please don’t tell me you are still using the drop-down menus for everything, or are using the (gasp) on-screen camera control, or a laptop touchpad!  Trust me, keyboard+scroll mouse is 100 times better (Kristolynn agrees, so it must be so).

Surely you know the basics:  CTRL-I (Inventory), CTRL-F (Find/Search)… but do you know how to check your frames per second, or to take a quick snapshot? Can you undo your last object edit with the press of 2 keys?

So, without further ado, here are some very useful links to check out.  Find one that looks like your speed, print it out, and superglue to your left retina:

For the Noobs or the Lazy:

• The Official SL Basic Keyboard Shortcuts :  http://tinyurl.com/2c2pbh
• SL QuickStart Guide:  http://tinyurl.com/6zpq8q
• Another Basic Keyboard Cheat Sheet:  http://tinyurl.com/68m46v

For the Adventuresome Avatar:

• More Keyboard Shortcuts:  http://snipr.com/sug9d
• Another moderate-length list:  http://snipr.com/suglc

For those Without a RL:

• “All” the Offiical SL Shortcuts:  http://tinyurl.com/yz4op5n
• Alternative SL input & Accessibility:  http://tinyurl.com/yjp74a2
• Nice one-page printable Shorctut List:  http://snipr.com/suh0s (Windoze & MAC!)
  

What are YOUR favorite shortcuts? I use these every day:

CTRL-SHIFT-H (Teleport Home….  aka Quick Escape)
CTRL-SHIFT-Y (Set to Midday… begone, evil Night)
CTRL-SHIFT-1 (Yes, I’m OCD about FPS)
CTRL-ALT-T (Toggle Transparent on/off… OMG, what are you hiding under your kilt?)

If you know a cool shortcut not on these lists, share it with us here!

Technical Note: These shortcuts should work in regular SL clients. Alternate (non-LL) viewers or pre-release LL viewers may have slight discrepancies. Gee, did ya think I tested them all? I have other duties.  Now where did I misplace Ener’s laundry? Hope she doesn’t count her unmentionables  ;p

* Veteran? What constitutes a SL veteran?  Hmmm… if you know about “Advanced Sky”, have started a group, and have learned how to escape a griefer cage, you’re pretty much there.  If you are a LL scripter or have more than 15K inventory items, you are hopelessly addicted… just like me!

I often run into SL peeps looking for a way to get started selling their clothing, gadgets, and other SL creations.  It’s amazing the new, useful, and extraordinary things our residents come up with!

But not everyone wants (or can afford) a full sim or a huge retail store.  “Mini” shops that rent by the week are very popular with new SL artisans. And experienced store owners often like to sell their wares in multiple mini shops, to increase their exposure by using multiple SL locations.

You might want to drop in on the Atomic Dreams Future Mall in Enercity Easton, where we have about 10 mini shops left to rent.

You can have from 40 to 70 prims (which is plenty for most peeps to showcase their most awesome items), and prices start around $200 L/week (less than a US greenback!).

A sale of just one or two items a week can easily pay your rent. We will also list your store name in our land description, so peeps can more easily find you with SL searches.

There are also a few private skyboxes and skyhomes for rent high up above the mall. These are great for peeps who want privacy and a place to cal l their own, but don’t need a long-term financial commitment right now.  Use the teleporters on the ground at Atomic Dreams mall to check out our sky-high real estate, which can be moved to any height you choose if you want even more privacy!

SL Map/SLurl shortcut to Atomic Dreams:   http://snipr.com/psr80

PS:  IM the secret word “RADIUM” to DreamWalker McCallister after renting your minishop, and you’ll get one free week rent added with your first paid week! Click any of the rental cubes at the mall for information or help with renting your spot.

Have fun out there!

–DreamWalker

no words can do this sentiment, and its impact, justice

you can view it in my bunker home in Enercity Park – enjoy  =)

lower level of the bunker

iliveisl Sheriff

As I was patrolling around the iliveisl.com sims today (I’m the Sheriff, ya know!),  I realized something. I owe a LOT to this site and the “Ener” sims.  In short, iliveisl.com and its creators are the inspiration behind what I do in Second Life.

I’ve been on SL for over 3 years, but only in last year and a half or so really got into it. I won’t mention my early jobs, but I never expected or planned to be doing what I am now: building and scripting (and, of course, sheriffing). Hmmm, is sheriffing a real word?

My meeting Ener Hax was a serendipitously awesome thing.  I soon had land in the brand new beautiful Enercity Harbor, and was wondering what to do with it. A friend asked, “Hey, why are there no Pepsi machines in SL? Where can I find a big red barn to live in?” and other things.  I thought… “Gee, how hard can it be to make those?”

Before I knew it, I was running a junk store (TaSteLeSS Designs), building things, and learning the Linden scripting language.  My early Pepsi machines are still one of my best sellers, and scripting is now one of my favorite hobbies. It’s nearly as much fun as meeting new and interesting peeps around the iliveisl.com sims!

I don’t always get to be freely creative in my RL  job, where goth geek girls are rare… but here I can build or code anything my dark lil heart desires! If you haven’t tried scripting yet, a good place to start is the handy autoscript site.

So… thanks, Subquark, Ener, Allison and the iliveisl crew. You are the best thing that’s happened to me in SL. If anyone out there needs a great place to live or work or play, come join us.  I’ll be glad to take you on a zombie hunt! There are plenty of cool (and free!) social places, hidden areas, and retro-futuristic designs. I hope to live and “work” here a long time. Oh, and I promise not to tazer anyone unless absolutely necessary!

lol, that title sounds terrible (sophomoric sense of humour) but that’s what it’s called in local papers. anyway . . .

so she went about and passed out her very funny ban lines warning to like three peeps and i am anticipating some hackles being raised.  just the nature of peeps and nothing wrong in that

but she is the real deal for the estate and just pointing out part of the covenant.  ban lines are not very pretty and a security device is certainly allowed, just give like 15 seconds for someone to pass over

we are huge on privacy, and never go on peeps land unless invited or some emergency (not sure what would ever be an emergency that would not be called to our attention by the owner?)

anyway, be nice (i think all our residents are very nice btw) and don’t do ban lines, it’s easy and mean peeps don’t deserve the positive reinforcement or waste of your time (we wasted two hours last nite dealing with a real @$$hole, but that’s just one out of like 1000 in our experiences)

have fun!  =D