Frustrated virtual agencies look beyond Second Life
The fledgling virtual agencies and service companies who made it big during the boom years of Second Life are looking toward greener pastures, weary of unmet promises from Linden Lab and drawn by competing virtual worlds.
Linden to increase land supply, drop prices
Linden Lab announced on its blog yesterday it would be increasing the land supply in Second Life for the second quarter of 2008.
Second Life on The Daily Show
Jon Stewart had his own take on the appearance of Philip Rosedale and other virtual worlds experts before Congress last week: “Virtual worlds hearings! It’s official: Congress has given up on the actual world!”
At VW08, kids are the focus
At one of the largest gatherings of the virtual worlds industry, the energy of platform developers, consultants, and marketers was focused on how to target the under-18 crowd.
Cisco in Second Life to stay
“We’re definitely committed to Second Life,” Cisco’s Jeanette Gibson told Reuters at the Virtual Worlds Conference in New York. “Second Life is here to stay, and so are we.”
Ondrejka looking to get out of academia
Reuters caught up with Linden Lab ex-CTO Cory Ondrejka at the Virtual Worlds Conference in New York. Ondrejka teased us for getting our coverage of his departure from the company wrong. “I didn’t leave Linden Lab. Philip fired me,” Ondrejka corrected.
Vivox to Lipsync, Part 2: Call us!
On the heels of yesterday’s blog post that virtual worlds voice implementer Vivox would keep its service closed to third party developers like Lipsync, company executives told Reuters they’ve wanted to cooperate but didn’t know how to get in touch.
Vivox to Lipsync: No voice for you
Vivox executives told Reuters at the Virtual World Conference there’s no plan to open access to Second Life’s voice stream to external developers, limiting the practical usefulness of planned “lipsync” technology.
Logitech subsidiary debuts “3D Mouse” for Second Life
3Dconnexion, a subsidiary of computer peripherals giant Logitech, debuted a made-for-Second-Life “3D Mouse” at the Virtual Worlds 2008 Conference in New York.
Rosedale discloses FBI griefing probe to Congress
Linden Lab Chief Executive Philip Rosedale testified before the U.S. Congress on Tuesday that he has asked the FBI to investigate denial of service attacks in Second Life, but reassured lawmakers that the online community is able to police itself.
Reading lips in Second Life
A new technology could add a whole new level of immersion to voice chat. Called “Lipsync,” now a viewer alternative to the Second Life browser, it lets Second Life avatars move their lips in rhythm to their speech.
The last big feature: “HTML on a prim”
Speaking last summer at the Second Life Community Convention, Philip Rosedale pledged that stability would be Linden Lab’s top priority for the coming year, plus two major new features: the introduction of voice, now live in the virtual world, and the ability to access web pages inside Second Life.
Linden tightens the reins on its brand
Linden Lab clamped down on Monday on use of its logo by third parties, and introduced a new brand for people and companies to promote their connection to Second Life.
Linden looks outside the company for new CEO
Rosedale spoke at length in a Second Life interview about what Linden Lab was looking for in a new chief executive. He is looking to bring in someone from outside the company rather than promote from within.
Rosedale faces “founder’s dilemma” and steps aside
Company founders like Philip Rosedale face a troubling choice: Do they want to be in control, or do they want their companies to succeed?
Reactions to the Rosedale announcement
Linden Lab Chief Executive Philip Rosedale announced on Friday that the company he founded has begun a search for his replacement as chief executive. Here is reaction to the announcement from the Second Life community and others in the technology sector.
Ageplay sim eyes new grid
Wonderland, a Second Life region dedicated to depictions of adult-child sex, is exploring setting up a sim off the Second Life Grid called Litesim.com, according to a report by Massively.com.
The first days of Second Life
When executives from San Francisco-based Linden Lab built Second Life, they had a sense they were doing something historic. So, to keep tabs on their creation, they contracted their own journalist to chronicle the growth of the Internet’s first virtual world.
Volkov Catteneo: Yes, I am Robert Leatherwood
Robert Leatherwood told Reuters over the weekend that he was the owner of the Volkov Catteneo avatar.
Linden Lab hiring up to 40 part-time content creators
Linden Lab will be paying up to 40 Second Life residents US$10/hr to create content as part of its “Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW)” initiative, Jack Linden said on Thursday. Linden will pay its workers in American dollars and not game currency, a break from most Second Life-based employment.
Jack Linden said he wanted [...]
