Chic at Ebbe's Place

Open Sim  --- Second Life

I joined the Hi Fidelity Alphas when the call came. I got into world and explored and found a couple of very impressive builds -- way beyond "alpha" expectations. True, there was no physics yet, so you walked THROUGH stairs rather than up them, but still lovely and many possibilities are evident.

There are (or appear to be at this point) some security concerns for content creators. The forums concurred with my reading of the Google docs. So for those of you familiar with OpenSim, Hi Fedelity appears to be based on the "Free Meta" concept.

When the phrase "3D web" was mentioned, they were not kidding. Most anything you can see on the web, you can take. The theme seems to run true with Hi Fidelity. Now things COULD change, and perhaps if the "I don't care  -- I give my stuff to the world" concept doesn't entice folks over, it may.

Still, there are plenty of people working at HiFi in the alpha state. I hang around the forums and read the posts -- most which are WAY over my head technically. Since I am now a seven month citizen of OpenSim  -- a Canadian grid on the Hypergrid which means lots of travel, I understand the concept,  but again "security concerns". I can see that some folks certainly will be willing to share their designs. After all, I give away thing to the "Free Meta" too. But long time making a living with my virtual products folks may balk at the exploit possibilities.

There has been a lengthy discussion over at Opensim Virtual (a Google+ group) about security and exports and the hypergrid. It has been a good one and I am pleased it will remain on my Google+ page for historical reasons. Most folks there believe in the "free" concept and so it is likely that Hi Fidelity will find its audience.



One thing of interest that I read on the HiFi forums this eve concerned avatars. Someone wanted their SL avatar in HiFi. You actually can build whatever you can imagine it seems -- if you have the skills. So it is possible if you want to take the time and effort.

We get SO attached to "ourselves" it is funny. I am in that camp, but still it amazes me. It seems to me that PART of the key to getting folks to accept a new world is to be able to take some of "yourself" along with you. There are many mentions of "ten years of this look", "Maitreya body" (I get that one) etc.

The Next Generation promises a "better avatar". Is that better than Maitreya? Wow if that is true. But at the same time, "better" needs to stay in that comfortable and familiar zone, at least that is the message I am getting from reading posts in many forums.

By the time the new year rolls around we may have a clearer picture of what the new platform will be like -- here's hoping.