One of the most commonly reported aspects of SL is its relationship with RL business. A year ago, the reporting was predominantly rose-shaded and that continued up until recently when some US business reduced or ceased their SL presence. The mood change in the mainstream media was noticeable and to a large extent its continued. Even in the SL blogosphere there's arguably a more … [Read more...] about More than just the jitters? Australian business in Second Life
Op-ed
Stock Exchange churn continues
The near-farcical nature of the multiple stock exchanges in SL continues, with the delisting of a number of companies on the fledgling ISE (International Stock Exchange). A number of these delisted companies were refugees from the World Stock Exchange and they now state they'll list elsewhere. The obvious question is - why would anyone have confidence in any virtual world … [Read more...] about Stock Exchange churn continues
Ageplay three months after the ban
It's been just over three months since the ageplay ban instigated by Linden Lab. There's been no reports of ageplay sexual exploits in SL since that time although there'd be no doubt it's occurred. There also remains an enormous range of children's clothes, skins and accessories on offer: To test the level of risk for an avatar in child form, we logged in on an … [Read more...] about Ageplay three months after the ban
Ongoing grid issues – how geography bites
The explanation by Linden Lab of ongoing grid stability this week is fairly technical but it once again illustrates the significant technical hurdles Second Life has to jump over just to function normally. Add to that the geographical distance and sub-par broadband in Australia and it's not hard to see why we're a frustrated bunch at times. At a forum in May this year, we … [Read more...] about Ongoing grid issues – how geography bites
OECD report: lag issues are no surprise
There's unlikely to be many Australian SL users who don't have to deal with the frustrations of lag. The physical location of the servers in the United States are a key issue, but the speed of broadband internet in Australia is also a contributing factor. To throw the issue into very stark relief, the OECD has relesased a 310-page report entitled "OECD Communications Outlook … [Read more...] about OECD report: lag issues are no surprise