With thanks to New World Notes —ce: New World Notes: Nylon Pinkney Is Online: Game of Thrones, Second Life Style
Archive for the ‘New World Notes’ Tag
Nylon Pinkney Does It Again … Game of Thrones Style
New World Notes: Interview With Ebbe Altberg
Source: New World Notes: Watch: Interview With Ebbe Altberg on the Future of Second Life & Sansar
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(With thanks to Daniel Voyager)
Hamlet Au has written up an interview he’s done with Ebbe Altberg, Linden Lab’s CEO, and posted a video of the talk as well. I’ll leave you to link to the article and read (and watch) it there, but I’ll interject: it’s my belief we were lucky that the Lab, which was thrashing for direction five years ago, managed to get this man. There may have been some jokes about the “IKEA CEO (some assembly required),” and I myself did a version of that:
But I think he’s been a godsend to Linden Lab and Second Life, and sounds committed to growing what’s old as well as supporting what’s new (Sansar). Hopefully we’ll have him for some time to come.
How To Properly Clear Out Your Inventory
With thanks to Nylon Pinkney and Hamlet Au — click through for the remaining three frames!
Incredible Promo Machinima from The Secret Store
I love getting notices on blog articles from my colleagues; there’s so much good stuff out there. Check this out (with thanks to Iris Ophelia at New World Notes):
I’ve just watched this myself. As Iris says, this is one of the smoothest machinima I’ve ever seen, as well as a crackerjack promo vehicle for The Secret Store. Applause and props to Maylene for making this piece!!!
Call For Tim Gunn!
Remember 2009, when Winter Jefferson, SL’s favorite male-fashion vampire, offered us a makeover for Philip Linden’s avatar? If you don’t, go and refresh yourself, and then prepare. For Iris Ophelia, Hamlet Au’s fashion and gaming correspondent at New World Notes, is trying to make over Ham — for the second time.
Long-time readers of NWN will recall that Ham wore the same skin and seersucker system suit for years, probably (I guess) since he was the embedded house correspondent from Linden Lab in his blog’s early days. It took Winter Jefferson again to update Ham’s look, back in 2010, and then it was still pretty similar to what he looked like before. (Ham does like to stay similar to his RL looks, I’ll say — though he’s usually more in jeans than a suit.) Now Iris Ophelia is taking him on again, all the way from his 200x-vintage hair to his (apparently) shoeless feet. It’s a wonderful piece to read; even Winter has kicked in on it again, and I couldn’t resist offering my own thoughts. (He needs to get away from the ice-cream suits occasionally!)
Hmmm…. Methinks we really need Tim Gunn in world. If anyone, Tim could do something about the clothes on this man….
Academic Survey for Second Lifers: New World Notes
From New World Notes comes an invitation to participate in an academic survey — which we’ve seen a fair few of lately, including one on purchasing habits and reasons inside the virtual economy. This survey deals with a variation on that old question that has plagued many a psyche, not to mention a conscience, since we started going through Second Life: Am I really interacting with a man or a woman on the other end here?
Read Ham’s article carefully. There are two separate links, for those who are men in real life, and for those who are women. Click the appropriate link to continue. The survey itself will ask you if you prefer to use a male or female avatar in world. (No personal information is gathered, such as name or E-mail address.) The questions look a little peculiar, and seem to be focused on avatars who participate in sword-and-sorcery RPG areas. (I wonder if it was originally meant for World of Warcraft players?) Beyond that bubble, it looks quite straightforward. Hamlet has promised a writeup when the results are released.
Reblog: The Eyes Have It
Eyes can matter a lot for a look, or for a role. Here's a selection of eyes from AtG articles and photo album additions over the past six months or so. Clockwise from the top: purple eyes for the "Amethyst Beguilement" shoot; blue mirror balls for "Auspicious"; my natural Poetic Gold Flake blues in my natural appearance; my Keiko avatar's green eyes (I always need to watch out for Lo Pan from "Big Trouble in Little China" when I'm using this avatar); a pair of glasses shows how important good eyes with depth and reflection can be; and some gold irises for the "Binary" pair.
Iris Ophelia, writing for New World Notes, has done an excellent piece on why eyes are so important to the well-groomed avatar’s look in Second Life. From her story:
A good set of eyes are equally as important as a good skin, but because eyes are so small (and because we stare at the back of our avatar’s head more than the front) it’s easy to forget about them. I’ll admit that I almost never even credit the eyes I’m wearing with my outfits because they’re usually the smallest detail. Nevertheless I pay a lot of attention to how my eyes look in world and in pictures, so today I’m sharing some tips to getting the most out of your SL eyes
She has several excellent tips for you to go over and consider. Why not cast your (real) eyes upon them?
Need To Leave a Party? Just Mention the Arrow In Your Knee
Hamlet Au comes through again at New World Notes with the perfect excuse for any situation: you took an arrow in the knee, and you’re stuck there. (Ouch, but grin) It’s a mesh arrow attachment that makes it look like you took one for John Wayne at Fort Apache. Have a look, and get the teleport link to pick one up.
Desmond Shang Comments on Land Loss in SL
In case you haven’t read this already, click through to New World Notes and read this comment by Desmond Shang, the “Guvnah” of Caledon, on why the loss of regions in Second Life may be a good thing for the Grid, instead of a tale of woe, doom ‘n gloom. I’ve wondered myself if SL has grown too much over the years, as I see the Map expand with more and more isolated islands that don’t link together except at the corners — where you can’t cross over from one island to the next by just walking or flying in. According to Hizzoner, a drop in land expansion might be a good thing in the long run.
(Personal thought: if it brings people back to the Mainlands, along with a general cleaning of house there in many of the junkier sims as a form of “urban renewal,” it might be more than just a Good Thing.)
Abbotts Aerodrome Purchased By Cheshyr Pontchartrain
New World Notes had a big budget of news today, and I’d encourage you to go and read it all. (That’s why I provide the link [grin].) But the biggest story today is the announcement Ham discovered in the comments on Cubey Terra’s blog. Another avatar, Cheshyr Pontchartrain, has purchased the leasehold and goodwill to Abbotts Aerodrome, the pioneering aeronautical store and airport begun by Cubey way back in the dim ages of the Grid. This saves the business from the “cold hand of the Alterator” — or perhaps we should say the De-Rezzer — when Cubey chose to close Abbotts down, as was reported last week by Liv Leigh.
It’s good to know that this landmark of SL history will still be among us. Hopefully Linden Lab will consider maintaining some of these as historical services to the community as time goes by, but the best route for such is probably still looking — or hoping — for an angel to come in with cold cash and purchase it, as Cheshyr has done here, or as Frank and Nanceee Sinatra did by purchasing the old Bogart’s club and placing it on one of their regions. Any Lindens reading this, please consider beginning a program of the first option! I’m sure a committee could be set up to advise on such matters, part Lindens and part Residents, to reach a reasoned decision on nominated builds for the Governor to keep in place. Not all of the mainlands are wastelands, after all.
Around the Grid 