Amber Palowakski

Actually, the latest official viewer is 3.0. :-) It is understandable that when 2.0 first came out, many people were uncomfortable with the change, and wanted to stay with 1.23. There was one hell of a learning curve, especially for those of us who had used the 1.x versions for several years already, myself included. On the tech side, there were multiple issues and bugs with the early iterations of 2.x. When 2.0 came out, I *hated* it. I couldn't find anything, and it was difficult to work with. Nevertheless, I saw the "handwriting on the wall", so to speak, and realized that was were the future of SL was going to lie. I could remain within my comfort zone, and stay with 1.23, or move on, and enjoy all the future innovations that LL would implant into the new viewer. I remembered that at one time 1.x was totally new to me, and I wasn't able to find anything in my first weeks in SL, but I figured I am a fairly intelligent person, so I stuck it out a few weeks, and learned a new viewer. Those first weeks with 2.x were hell to me, but once I learned my way around it, I saw that it actually was easier to work with than 1.23. Ultimately, my decision to move to 2.x paid off. 2.x has progressed considerably over the past two years, and later revisions answered many of the complaints of the early versions, sometimes as optional choices, or retrofitting some earlier features. The total graphics capabilities and features are so much better. I am finding I can't live without my lightings and shading. Features such as that, avatar physics, multiple attachments to the same attachment points, Estate Windlight settings, Display Names, etc. are all things I had long hoped to see in the viewer. New developements like mesh are even more exciting. As far as official viewers go, 3.x (the current official series), is by far superior to 1.23. There is so much more one can do with it. While it will still have bugs and quirks, that argument is a straw man, so to speak. 1.23 has bugs and quirks. There has never been a perfect viewer that didn't have issues. If one is still using 1.23 and refuses to touch 2.x/3.x, they have absolutely no idea what they are missing. That being said, there *are* times when 1.23 is a superior viewer. That is in the case when one's computer system, especially the graphics card, is incapable of handling the advanced features of the latest viewers. By all means, use 1.23, otherwise, you will find your SL experience to be entirely unsatisfactory. The whole point of Sl is to enjoy it, afterall! Now as for the issue of thrid-party viewers, we fall much closer into the realm of what personal opinion. As many others have noted, the various 3rd-party viewers address specific needs of their following. I have tried several of those viewers, and didn't like them. But the *only* reason I didn't like them was for the same reasons I didn't like 2.x initially. It was new to me, and I didn't want to bother learning a new viewer. If you don't like the official viewer, and find the graphics of 1.23 too weak, by all means, experiment with the 3rd parties. hopefully, you will find the one that meets *your* needs! Once again, *your* enjoyment of SL is paramount here, not what some other self-proclaimed techie feels is the best viewer to use. All these things considered, you have many options by wich you could explore and enjoy SL. Be bold, be brave, and find what works best for *you*! Blessings! :-)