WADE1 Jya

PeterCanessa Oh wrote: @ Wade - apparently the 'fact' of the death of the PC is only 'obvious' to you. Would you care to elaborate? Well just look at what mainstream consumers go for & what's driving tech trends. I get most of my info from closely watching tech trends. Most people don't need a desktop/laptop anymore to do what they do. If you call being only used for very narrow applications like medical simulation, protein map unfolding, examining what happens in particle accelerator collisions, or anything that chews through incredibly large data sets, etc... alive, the PC might stay alive for a very long time. As the market narrows more and more, PCs will slowly stop being offered so much & since there is far less demand - prices will trend way up. It's a vicious cycle. They will be out of reach to gamers and resemble more today's 'supercomputer' than a desktop/laptop. Majority of gamers won't care. They'll be satisfied with what a tablet can do as more and more developers catch on to tablet's true capabilities. Meanwhile tablets/phones will get increasingly powerful and cheaper, more & more resembling today's laptop/desktop in functionality. 3D projection screens will provide larger displays when needed. At a certain point they basically are today's laptop/desktop only much lighter & smaller. At this point if SL hasn't died yet, I'm sure Lindens will slide it on there, or someone else will, because it will become so simplistic. Eventually the barrier would break down completely.

I heard its textbased & 2D. can't wait :catlol:

LOL yeah I'm really excited to see what non-SL things Linden Lab's working on. Sometimes 'big guys' are found singing a different song then everyone else.

To the OP: My answer is yes. I know it is only a matter of time, the PC is dying. Obvious facts are obvious. Hopefully, SL continues to draw a little niche crowd for sometime well into the future. It would be a shame to see it die. Technology tends to distribute very unevenly, especially in a weak economy many people just can't afford the latest devices, so SL could last quite a long time for this reason. Perhaps, like how certain console gamers keep rediscovering the fun of old platforms, SL will always have a certain set of fans. Alternatively, there was talk from Linden Lab of getting SL onto mobile, which would be a brilliant move, but lately that talk faded away. So, they're other working on it supersecretly :catvery-happy: or gave up :catsad: Realistically, I think they gave up. BTW somebody here said phones only do 2D. Well... that's just incorrect, the newest phones/tablets, and even older devices (like iphone 3G) can handle 3D quite well. You just have to know how to work within the parameters of the device. The parameters are very strict and can even seem at times to be impossible. Most developers, it seems, can't manage 3D yet, so they fall back on 2D which is why 2D is status quo.

Yes, join the club :catsad: Its called 'data corruption' and the marketplace has been infected with it for weeks now. Unfortunately Lindens seem helpless to stop it & there is no info on what to do next. Wish i was joking but its true :catsad: Might be a relief to know your account isn't hacked anyway.... it's just Lindens hackored everything themselves & scrambled the stores. JIRA is here anyway you can add your issue to the long list there if you want.

If anyone is to be blamed, blame management. Employees will just do as they are told & if the wrong employees are working there, that is still management's fault. You can blame the VCs for forcing management to monetize us so heavily, but it's still really management's fault for becoming so VC dependent. They could have taken it slow & built the company naturally off genuine growth. After seeing the disaster here, this is how I plan to grow my company, with no monster sponsors to hijack control of it. As Kampu posted quite a ways back: "рыба воняет с головы" This was his best theory. Concise yet probably true. The stink comes from the top. I've seen other 'bad Lindens' come & go, with people, like Kampu, on a campaign to oust them. These 'bad Lindens' were only just following company directives. When they are gone the same tired bad agenda continues to unfold.

I agree some of these laws are going too far now. Much too far! CISPA (which both facebook & google support), is a good example of internet policing going way too far... it's kind of unbelievable actually. However regardless of what we think of these laws, this is our future how the internet will operate. Considering this dynamically shifting legal environment, if I was Linden Lab, I would not place my business model on the very razor's edge of legality.

^^ Exactly!!! This is what bothers me about Linden methodology. When using internet company's services, these kind of conversions from one system to another happen all the time, where users must complete some sort of transition process. Every other company seems to bend over backwards to ensure the transition is a delightful & simple process. Quite often it is reduced to a one click process for the user & we don't even need to know all the inner workings. It usually works like this: *click* *click* ....oh! Okay, I'm done. Great!!! :catvery-happy: Linden Lab never takes this approach. Each transition is a grinding, broken, labor intensive process with many many steps for end-user to complete. Never is the effort put in to make the solution elegant & simple. That's just thoughtless towards the end-user.

Kampu Oyen wrote: Well, I understand that they comply quickly with take-down notices, so they're not completely irresponsible. They are forced to comply with takedown notices. It's the law & the reason they comply is self preservation. Otherwise the liability exposure is just too tremendous. If they failed to comply, they would be shortly ripped apart in a feeding frenzy of lawyers, in concert with a company-crushing stompdown by the US government itself. The fact that they have created a business model which profiteers off a current loophole in IP enforcement law is irresponsible in my books... and frighteningly shortsighted as the landscape is being rapidly reconfigured as we speak. There are many other ways they could structure distribution, this way is just the way that is most easy to monetize. It is the way that requires the least effort or thought.

"This is an intended feature not a bug." :catvery-happy: Just kidding, but notice the bits which get money to LL always work flawlessly & sometimes a little too well? Makes rather transparent their priorities IMHO

I doubt they'll grant the request. We don't have a space here & haven't had space for a very long time. Any space we did have anywhere across Linden Lab properties -- even space in newly-glommed SL-related properties -- has been eliminated, or made ineffective in one way or another. Every time we lost a square on the board, people begged & pleaded to regain their space, yet to no avail. Us having no space is even actively enforced & it's quite obviously an overtly intentional decision (part of a roadmap). For contrast, take a comprehensive look across SL at what kinds of activities are actively nurtured & what kinds of activities are passively allowed to occur. Think on those things & why you might not be informed of any roadmap either. I came to a conclusion of what is happening more than a year & a half ago.

Just curious what reason you're getting moderator messages? I see you're talking a lot about this one issue, but doesn't seem like that alone is a big deal deserving of moderation? The reason I ask is because I want to follow the rules also & would not want to be banned for something I'm unaware of! I've never got a moderator message, except once when i mentioned a product I created was for sale in SL because I was proud of what I made & wanted to tell others about it. Moderators jumped on that infraction mad quick making it clear I was never to speak of such things again anywhere around forums or some sort of big trouble would ensue! So I learned my lesson & now only talk about completely unrelated topics, such as this thread here :catindifferent: Coincidentally, that was the last product I made in SL. (Not to blame the moderator, it was probably just a natural departure point - one of those 'aha' moments where everything suddenly become as clear as day.) Customers inworld still love my work & I am active to help them with any service needs, but feeling I had no voice around here anymore to talk openly about what I do, I flew away & haven't returned since creation-wise. I guess I felt like someone at the top was telling me that what I do here was unwanted -- & that obviously bodes poorly for my future here. It was a disheartening experience to be sure. Since then I've become highly engaged creating independently, I'm unsure what (if anything) it would take to pull me back now, as I'm very satisfied & happy with my current creative work, which also happens to be quite largish & longterm projects. Right now I'm just waiting for my occlusion data to finish baking :catvery-happy:

Pamela Galli wrote: This thread is proof positive: there are no merchant LL cheerleaders left, at least anywhere that merchants hang out. Does that say something, LL? That we are all beyond bewildered, shocked, astonished, and deeply disappointed? Yes, I used to be cheerleader myself for sure but one by one they knocked away all my reasons for optimistic outlook. Another thing I notice is there is a lot less of us then there used to be. First they pushed away vast majority of educators/nonprofits, then scared away solution providers to head for the hills, finally the merchants are now dwindling away... could be an illusion.... my stores are still ticking along inworld... maybe just the forum itself is growing in unpopularity... but I suspect there's something deeper to this. Corporate winddown strategy? Who knows... when there is no communication or roadmap, no more quarterly reports, I can only begin to imagine the darkest of dark scenarios & conspiracy theories. As to the union idea, thanks for the advice people. Might not develop into a union per say but I'm researching a bit what sort of representations or organizations are possible & what rights we may have as group or as individuals. Quite interesting to look at anyway... if something interesting develops you'll all find out.

Kampu Oyen wrote: ....mostly, it's just plain SAD ^^ this yes i feel exactly the same way, its sad to see. this is just not the direction i expected SL to unfold, when I signed up back in 2006.

hehe well they have issues too. nobody's perfect :catembarrassed: for example, my old ipod that I used for years... supposedly was a fire hazard (it did get a bit hot). Apple took the initiative to contact me about it & replaced it with a much newer & cooler model for free. Contrast this with Linden Lab essentially ignoring customers & never offering compensation even for the most severe showstopper issues. There's a lot of aspects which Linden Lab could improve dramatically on, simply from emulating Apple's good example.

Well...its not the first time. Their first public showing of mesh was ripped off Marvel IP i.e. The Incredible Hulk Linden Lab should really set a better example. At a certain point it brings the company character & direction of what exactly they are aiming for here into question. For their own sake, its just very embarrassing & not good strategy. Not only does it show lack of innovation & a creativity void at the lab, they lose interest of serious developers who don't want to associate with this kind of environment. It just makes for a bad rep. Maybe they don't understand how much this kind of behavior is a huge turn off & potentially it could actually lead to demise of the platform. As IP laws tighten, they should not want to look complacent, or worse yet like accessory to theft. SL Marketplace, combined with unsupervised mesh uploads is developing into an incredibly risky venture, where Linden Lab actually takes a USD cut, directly profiting off transactions involving stolen IP. The wild west era of our 'information space' is fast drawing to a close. Linden Lab better wake up & get with the program.

Bouttime Whybrow wrote: you forgot to add peace on earth and goodwill towards man. LOL well that would be awesome if they could do that too! :catlol: It's all too easy to give up before trying. Although it might seem like a lot of hard work or impossible to raise the bar around here, it is possible. Apple is a good example to prove this, a company that works to mutual benefit with developers & consumers. If you develop with Apple, you learn that they just don't allow anyone to put up junk, broken applications, or graymarket/blackmarket IP. It's a business methodology that leads to everyone loving you & the profits just can't stop accumulating. The opposite end of the spectrum is those borderline-illegal companies who attempt to scrape a profit off of blackmarket transfers & piracy. This route now leads to governmental shutdown, failure, and perhaps the CEO in prison. The laws are only getting tighter in this regard. Although Linden Lab is perhaps unlikely to ever acheive Apple's kind of stratospheric record-breaking success & high level of meticulous quality control in every detail, there's nothing wrong with setting your sights high. Apple started small too after all. "If you aim for the stars but only make it to the moon, remember there are people who have not yet made it to the moon."

My advice? If you can avoid reselling, just don't do it... Myself, i would not touch it with a ten foot pole. If you are choosing this area, be exceedingly careful your choices. It's a minefield. You won't know the true origins of your products. You're likely to face aggressive competition from other resellers undercutting you in a constant price-slashing war that trends rapidly towards L$0. You won't be able to control most aspects of your brand, or business direction very effectively. If items require any customer service or worse yet if there are any IP issues (for example DMCA), it could get very complicated & stessful quickly. Potentially, (in an unlikely worst case scenario) you could even face litigation. Much better, if you can possibly manage to do it, is to learn how to design everything entirely by yourself, from the ground up. Take full command of your own business & you will go far :catembarrassed:

Jennifer Boyle wrote: What would you have LL do? Try harder to not always choose the path of least resistance. To re-quote: "Make it worthwhile for commercial developers & allow innovation to thrive. Create a more secure environment & some basic market regulation such as Apple supplies." Establish a baseline of predictable quality. Structure their market & protect consumers, instead of passively appealing to the lowest denominator & leaving users to fend for themselves.

Bored? Sure... :catvery-happy: Guess its the trainwreck syndrome... can't look away :catsurprised: On my breaks lately from non-SL design projects, I'll pop over here... firstly to help my SL customers having trouble with SL Marketplace delivery issues, or other Linden-originating problems & then once they're all happy & made good... I'll pop over here to check out the forum mood also (excellent market indicator) & catch up on the latest unfolding disaster. My sales going okay, only way they'll improve probably is if Lindens stop the current trainwreck... I'm in a mode of waiting to see the crash (or hopefully recovery) of this world. Launching products into this current environment would just be bad timing for multiple reasons. As you may have noticed, there is much more of a wave to catch launching in calmer weather, when the current is going in the right direction. For now at least, I feel the majority of my time is much better invested elsewhere.

VCs aren't invested in whatever it is these days that constitutes Linden Lab's broadbrushed definition of 'merchant' or any other specific type of user. As long as a set margin of profits come out of Linden Lab somehow they are satisfied. They are not even going to be very interested in what happens today, they are only invested in Linden Lab's future profitability. So all Linden Lab must present to them is a credible future business plan, that is all. That future plan does not necessarily have to include 'merchants', marketplace, or even their Second Life product. Don't be under any illusion there would be some intrinsic loyalty.

Sassy Romano wrote: ...If there's one thing that the Commerce Team excel at, it's a fantastic resolve to completely ignore the major stakeholders in their project progress.... One thing that will help you understand all this, is from Linden Lab management view we are not the major stakeholders. We are not part of the equation at all. The major stakeholders Linden Lab are serving & trying very hard to please are their venture capitalists: Globespan Capital Partners, Benchmark Capital, Catamount Ventures, Jeff Bezos and the like. If you want Linden Lab to pay attention to you, better pull some large capital together. The small consumer has become irrelevant. My personal strategy has been to vastly reduce my dependency, quietly pull back & set a trajectory past them. Welcome to plutocracy - your world since 2007.

My guess is its not indexed, probably Lindens froze it completely, which would be a smart move considering the data corruption issue. Maybe it'll get indexed sometime in 2013 if they haven't shuttered the site by then.

Sad thing is Linden Lab has successfully hypnotized most SL users into fiddling around with marketplace to attempt their shopping & thinking of marketplace as the one and only place to shop. So, for many small merchants, moving inworld might not offer enough to survive because inworld will continue to operate at a fraction of its previous vibrancy, until the day they shut this horrorshow of a website down & redirect everyone back inworld... hopefully soon.

The good news is law enforcement are taking these kind of incidents more & more seriously everyday, as is government, as they recognize 'informational space' is part of the world we all share, it is just realistically part of the landscape of 21st century lifestyle. The days of wild west atmosphere in cyberspace are ending. If you end up talking to jokers, just ask to speak with their superiors... or take it to a higher level of jurisdiction. This is how I deal with things when things need done :catwink: