September 2009 – Page 2 – AvatarPlanet Blog

Using multiple Second Life viewers simultaneously – part 2

In Part 1, you learned several ways to log several avatars onto Second Life simultaneously on a single computer. Now, in Part 2, you’ll learn how to set the target so you can run multiple instances of the viewer simultaneously, and you’ll see it demonstrated in two videos by Torley Linden, one for Windows and one for the Mac. This picture is a scene from the Windows video.

To run several instances of the viewer simultaneously, you need to add "-multiple" to the target line. To do this, take the following steps:

1. Right click the shortcut on your desktop and left click "Properties"
2. Under the Shortcut tab, put your cursor on the "Target" line and use the right arrow key to move to the end of the line.
3.Add a space to the end of the line and then after the space, type "-multiple"

That’s it! With the current version of any of the viewers mentioned above, you’ll be able to log on as many avatars simultaneously as your computer supports.

There is one problem, however. The next time you install an updated version of the viewer, the shortcut will be replaced and you’ll have to add "-multiple" all over again. You can get around this by renaming the shortcut. This can be done either by right clicking the short cut and left clicking "Rename", or by opening the shortcut Properties tab as described above and typing a new name on the first line. For example, I’ve renamed my standard Second Life viewer shortcut to "Second Life – multiple". Doing it this way, you will be able to continue using the shortcut without changes after you install updated viewers.

One note: if you run multiple copies of the same viewer simultaneously, Voice will work only on the first one. Also remember that each copy uses system resources and will slow your computer. Using several computers will usually result in better performance than using a single computer.

Here is the Windows video:

Torley Linden has also made a version telling how to run multiple instances of the viewer on a Mac:

The other parts in this series are:
Part 1: Four ways of running multiple viewers and avatars simultaneously
Part 3: Running multiple viewers and avatars on multiple computers with a KVM switch.
Part 4: Why on earth (ok, virtual Earth!) would someone want to run multiple viewers and avatars simultaneously?

You can get information about where to download alternate Second Life viewers at wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Alternate_viewers#Third-party_Viewers.

Using multiple Second Life viewers simultaneously – part 1

Five Second Life avatars logged onto a single computer

It’s common for Second Life members to have multiple avatars, but many don’t know that they can easily have several of their avatars logged on simultaneously. When you try to log on with a second avatar, you get an error message that Second Life is already running.

Nonetheless, it is possible. There are at least four ways for you to log on more than one avatar simultaneously. The picture is proof. These are five avatars logged on simulaneously on a single computer. The Second Life version of Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid is behind them.

The following applies to Windows PCs. I haven’t tested any of this on Linux or Mac systems. If you’re a Mac user, read Part 2 of this series; it contains a video showing how to do it on a Mac. The four ways on a PC to log on multiple avatars are:

Multiple Computers: The obvious way is to use multiple computers. If you have a laptop and a desktop computer, you can have two avatars logged on simultaneously, one on the desktop and one on the laptop. The big advantage to this method is performance. Running several avatars on a single computer will impact its performance a lot more than running each avatar on a separate computer.

USB external hard drive: A less obvious way is to start a separate instance of Windows as a subprocess. You can do this using an external USB drive with Mojopac installed. It’s not an ideal solution because of the performance penalty of using USB, but it works. You can have Second Life installed on both the computer and on the Mojopac hard drive and log on two avatars simultaneously. I’ve done it and it works. There may be others ways to do it other than with MojoPac; MojoPac is the one I’ve used.

Multiple Viewers: Use multiple Second Life viewers. For example, in addition to the standard Second Life viewer, I have the Greenlife Emerald, Imprudence, Meerkat, RealXtend, and Snowglobe viewers installed on my computer. I can run all of them simultaneously, each with a different avatar log on (although I can’t run the Second Life and Snowglobe viewers simultaneously without taking the step mentioned in the next paragraph).

Multiple Instances of One Viewer: The multiple viewers method works but is not officially supported by Second Life. The officially approved – and the easiest – way is to add "-multiple" to the target line in the shortcut. It works with the standard Second Life viewer and with the Greenlife Emerald, Imprudence, Meerkat, RealXtend, and Snowglobe viewers (I haven’t yet tested it with other viewers). You’ll learn how to do it in Part 2 of this series, where you’ll also be able to watch a video showing how.

This is the first of a four part series; the other parts are:

This is the first of a four part series; the other parts are:
Part 2: Videos and more details about running multiple viewers and avatars on a single computer
Part 3: Running multiple viewers and avatars on multiple computers with a KVM switch.
Part 4: Why on earth (ok, virtual Earth!) would someone want to run multiple viewers and avatars simultaneously?

University of Texas’ major move into Second Life

Colleges and universities are experimenting with ways to use Second Life to enhance their educational offerings and recently this column featured the program at Texas State Technical College that allows students to earn an AA degree with classes taken entirely in Second Life. Now the University of Texas has announced a worldwide first – the move of a state-wide university system into Second Life.

Current planning calls for all 16 University of Texas campuses to be represented in an archipelago of at least 49 islands in a one year experiment, the Virtual Learning Community Initiative (VLCI). The goals include creating a "virtual learning community of students, faculty, researchers and administrators," and transforming "the learning experiences and opportunities for individual undergraduate students." The University expects to allocate three islands per campus, and four islands for collaborative use.

Among the goals for the project are to enrich the learning experience while reducing brick-and-mortar costs, improving energy efficiency, and developing a model that will be useful for other state-wide systems. The University will be working closely with Linden Lab to develop the new program and to collect data on successful ways of using Second Life that will be shared with educators and similar systems, and has announced eleven objectives for measuring its success.

You can learn more about the University of Texas Virtual Learning Community Initiative at tuelearningcommunity.com/vlci.

Debugging Second Life performance problems

Your avatar tries to walk, but goes nowhere, then after finally making some progress suddenly gets whipped backward. If it continues happening, what should you do?

Problems like this are examples of lag, and can be caused by either the Second Life server, your network connection, your computer, or your Second Life Preference settings. This article will survey some basics of what you need to know to diagnose the problem, and will provide links to sources of more complete information.

Before getting into diagnosis tools and procedures, there are some basic questions to ask:

– Do you have a dial-up or satellite internet connection? If so, there may be little you can do to get satisfactory performance. Second Life requires a minimum of a dsl or cable internet connection.
– Does your computer meet minimum requirements to run Second Life? These vary depending on your hardware and operating system; you can look up minimum requirements for your system on the system requirements page. Bear in mind that you’ll require more than minimum requirements for a rich Second Life experience.
– Are you using a wired or wireless internet connection? Second Life allows but does not support wireless. In many or most cases a wireless connection may work satisfactorily, but if you’re having problems, first try connecting your computer to the internet with a wired connection before doing further diagnosis.

After you’ve eliminated those possible causes of your performance problems, you can move on to other possible causes. One key piece of information you’ll need is where you’re experiencing the problem and whether others are also experiencing it. Try teleporting to several unrelated sims. If you have the same problem in all sims, you can probably eliminate the server as a source of the problem. If no one else is experiencing the problem and you experience it in several different sims, then the problem is probably in your computer or your internet connection.

Second Life now has a handy tool for helping to isolate the cause of your problem. It’s the Lag Meter. You can open in by clicking the Help menu and selecting "Lag Meter". It’s shown in the picture above. All three buttons should be green. If any are orange or red, then there’s a problem, with red problems being the more serious.

Client button: "Client" refers to the Second Life software (the Second Life viewer) running on your computer. If the Client button is orange or red, it indicates a problem with your client, probably in your Second Life Preferences settings. Some settings to look at are your Graphics draw distance, putting a check mark next to "Avatar Imposters", turning off particles, and setting the Avatar Mesh slider to a lower setting. You can get more options in the links provided at the end of this article.

Network Button: This indicates a problem with your internet connection. Possible causes include your router, your ISP, your antivirus and firewall software, and other programs running while you’re in Second Life. If you’re having network problems, then clearing your Second Life cache may help. You can clear your cache by clicking Edit/Preferences/Network and then clicking the Clear Cache button.

Server Button: This indicates the problem may be on the Second Life server running the sim that you’re in. The problem is not necessarily the server itself. There may be too many scripts running, or too many avatars in or looking into the sim.

Here are some links for getting more information and for reporting problems:

Information about using the Lag Meter

If you’re technically minded, the Statistics Bar (you can select it from the View menu) can be very useful. Read about it here.

If you read these links and explore the Knowledge Base but can’t find an answer, you can get information about filing a trouble ticket or chatting with support. Note that only Premium and Concierge Second Life members can file trouble tickets. Basic members can learn what support services they qualify for here.

The following video will give you information about using the Lag Meter.

Now you can follow Apollo on Facebook!

Second Life: Dollhouse or Reality?

This weekend I heard someone say, "Second Life is just a dollhouse where people spend their time dressing avatar dolls and furnishing virtual houses!" Someone else insisted, "Second Life is a game for people who don’t want to admit they’re roleplaying."

So what is Second Life? Is it just a game, a place where folks waste their time dressing dolls and role playing, or is it something more? This picture shows a dollhouse in Second Life that you can actually buy (at Babydolls Boutique), but let’s that put aside. The criticism of Second Life isn’t that it contains dollhouses, but that it is a dollhouse.

Dictionary.com quotes the following Random House Dictionary definition of a dollhouse as, "a miniature house the scale of children’s dolls," and the American Heritage® Dictionary definition as, "A small model house used as a children’s toy or to display miniature dolls and furniture."

If all a person ever does in Second Life is modify the appearance of their house, then the first description would be pretty accurate, but how many of us limit ourselves to working on our Second Life houses and doing nothing else? There may be some, but no one I know. If the dollhouse is taken to be Second Life itself, and not literally our houses in it, the analogy is even less valid. "Toy" and "miniature" do not begin to describe Second Life, a world which spans the globe, with generally 60,000 or more people logged on at any one time, and in which many of the world’s largest corporations and universities have an active presence. People are building businesses, establishing careers, and finding new ways to interact in Second Life. It is no dollhouse.

The role play argument may be slightly harder to dismiss. Dictionary.com offers two definitions for roleplay:
1. To assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of (another), esp. in a make-believe situation in an effort to understand a differing point of view or social interaction: Management trainees were given a chance to roleplay labor negotiators.
2. To experiment with or experience (a situation or viewpoint) by playing a role: trainees role-playing management positions.

Roleplaying is clearly a huge and vibrant part of Second Life. It takes many forms. You can fight with guns, knives, and arrows in a reproduction of the 19th century American Southwest, or do high tech battle in science fiction sims. There are fantasy battles, and there’s even a reproduction of real life jail, where people can voluntarily be locked up as virtual prisoners for a week, or play at being guards or other prison staff. There’s also a virtual wrestling league where avatars can engage in wrestling matches; I wrote about it in April. It’s clearly roleplaying.

A few months ago, I wrote about a Muslim sim where you can go on a virtual Hajj. Roleplaying can be an attempt to understand other cultures, and this Hajj is one way of doing it. This is a classic, nongame use of roleplaying.

The line between roleplaying and real life becomes murkier in Second Life places like the 1920s Harlem Cotton Club, which I wrote about in May and New York City’s Chelsea Hotel, which I’ve also written about. Both are places that replicate a different time and place, where people can dress up to fit in with the setting, but where the primary reason for going is to listen to live music and dance.

Another murky area is the forms that our avatars take. Few people have avatars that mimic their real life appearance. Most of us don’t even try. When we choose avatars of a different gender, or nonhuman avatars, is it roleplaying?

But is everything in Second Life roleplaying? If a singer adopts a furry avatar and establishes a global base of fans through Second Life performances, or a college offers classes conducted entirely in Second Life (which I wrote about recently), or when Pop Art Lab tries to change how people worldwide listen to music, which I wrote about on Saturday, is it roleplaying?

It’s not. When people are creating new things, establishing new careers, and building businesses, they are generally not engaged in make-believe or simply playing roles. It’s for real. And this aspect of Second Life is real. Call it synthetic reality, augmented reality, or whatever you want, but it’s real, an augmentation of our physical lives, allowing us to do things and meet people we could not if we were limited to the physical world.

Second Life certainly can be used as a dollhouse or for roleplaying, but it can also be used – and is being used – for very real activities that augment our physical lives.

Pop Art Lab celebrates its first birthday

Pop Art Lab's first birthday celebration

"Some people say Second Life is just a dollhouse," Mankind Tracer told dancers during a break between songs while performing at Pop Art Lab’s first birthday bash on Saturday. He was quoting cynics who question the seriousness of virtual worlds such as Second Life and say we are doing nothing more than dressing up our avatar dolls and furnishing our virtual dollhouses.

Cynics about cars and telephones a century ago, who viewed these new contraptions as nothing more than toys for dabblers that would never have any serious application, could not see how thoroughly each would change the world. Today’s cynics make the same mistake in dismissing Second Life and other virtual worlds.

The performers at the Pop Art Lab birthday party are one example of the many ways virtual worlds are changing our world. Not long ago, performers starting out in their career were limited to local stages; today, their avatars can perform before global audiences. The performances on Saturday reminded me again of what extraordinary musical performers we have in Second Life. In addition to Mankind Tracer and his Tracerettes, Pop Art Lab party goers were entertained by singers Hazideon Zarco, Avvy Banzrane, Obeloinkment Wigglesworth, and Starflower Orbit performing a combination of classic Sixties songs and their own compositions.

Claus Uriza at Pop Art Lab's first birthday celebration

Pop Art Lab’s founder Claus Uriza

The theme for the party was the psychedelic Sixties. Some guests got totally into the role, such as the woman shown in the picture here, smoking what appeared to be an enormous joint while dancing. Avatars could also recline in flower seats rotating slowly above the dance floor and enjoy 3D art contributed by the Caerleon Art Collective.

These photos and the ones below are all from the Pop Art Lab party.

This was my first visit to Pop Arts Lab. I’d been intending to visit ever since hearing founder Claus Uriza talk about it at the Second Life Community Convention in San Francisco last month (see my coverage of Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4), but I was always too busy to take the time. On Saturday, however, I decided to skip other important business I should have been tending to and instead I logged onto Second Life and teleported to the party. I’m glad I did!

The party itself was fun, and the music excellent, but the Pop Art Lab itself was the important discovery. I didn’t get to explore it at the party, but I plan to return. Even apart from what it offers, visually it’s a treat, very imaginatively laid out.

Pop Art Lab consists of themed music domes clustered around a dance circle, with bean bags scattered around for those who don’t want to dance. There are domes devoted to Rock, Pop, Hip Hop R&B, and Electronica, and a stage. There’s more than I have the space or time describe here. It’s not a club, but a place to go hang out, alone or with friends, listening to a variety of music in a wildly imaginative 3D environment. The best way for you to learn more is to pay a visit.

The party may be over, but Pop Art Lab remains a fascinating place to visit. Second Life members can teleport there at slurl.com/secondlife/Pop%20Art%20Lab/85/128/131. If you use Second Life’s in world Search to search for "Pop Art Lab" you’ll find not only the main teleport link, but teleport links for each of the themed music domes.

Second Life 911 WTC Memorial pictures

Today mourners gathered all day at Second Life’s 911 WTC Memorial site to pay respects to the 3,000 people who died on September 11, 2001. The ten pictures belown were all taken at the memorial site today.

Second Life members can teleport to the site ,

911 Memorial Events

Eight years ago, America awoke to an assault. Today, people around the world remember. Here are some events in Second Life to commemorate September 11, 2001. All times are Pacific (SLT). be sure to consult the Second Life events schedule for last minute changes. Also, note that Memorial Blue Angels and Memorial Live Performance are both scheduled for the same location 6pm-7pm. Second Life membes can teleport to the links provided for each event. If you’re not a Second Life member, you can join for free.

The following is a partial list of memorial events in Second Life on the eighth anniversary of September 11, 2001. All times are Pacific (SLT). Be sure to consult the Second Life events schedule for last minute changes. Second Life members can teleport to the links provided for each event. If you’re not a Second Life member, you can join for free.

Starting 9am: Memorial at WTC in NYC sim: streaming video of Sept 11, 2001 all day. slurl.com/secondlife/NYC/87/134/24

9am – 11am: Memorial Blue Angels – Live music. slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/20/74/22

Noon – 1pm: Memorial Blue Angels – Live music slurl.com/secondlife/Saddle%20Canyon/32/161/23

1pm – midnight: Memorial Blue Angels – Live music slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/20/74/22

2pm – 3pm: Memorial Live Performance slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/190/81/22

3pm-7pm: Poetry and music remembering 911 slurl.com/secondlife/Alajuela/181/76/22

6pm – 7pm: Memorial Live Performance slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/20/74/22

6pm – 8pm: Club P4 Dance slurl.com/secondlife/Tian%20Di/89/115/42

6pm – 9pm: Sit and talk with others. slurl.com/secondlife/Cottonwood/251/203/103

7pm – 10pm: Coyote Country Saloon – music and onstage performances slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/190/81/22

7pm – midnight: Memorial Live Performance slurl.com/secondlife/Salt%20Creek/190/81/22

Additionally, people will be gathering all day at the WTC memorial site slurl.com/secondlife/dAlliez%20Land%20Headquarters/108/148/26

September 11 memorial in Second Life

Friday is the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. If it’s not convenient for you to honor those killed on that day by traveling to the memorials and sites where people died, you can visit a memorial in Second Life.

The Second Life Memorial consists of four polished grey slabs arranged in a square surrounding a pool, with names of the victims on all four walls. Names are grouped by where people died, the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, American Airline flights 11 and 77, and United Airlines flights 93 and 175. In a hallway behind one corner of the memorial, photographs of the victims line two walls.

As you walk around, rain falls gently and thunder rumbles overhead.

It’s impossible not to be overwhelmed with feeling for the enormity of what happened on that day. Each one of these nearly 3,000 victims was a person, with a life, a family, friends, and a future that was snuffed out in a flash. Walking around the memorial, seeing name after name, drives home the loss that so many suffered, the potential of so many that will never be reached.

The memorial is owned by Second Life’s Silicon Island group, founded by avatar Liam Kanno, who in real life is O. Liam Wright, who according to an article in 3PointD.com was at Ground Zero during the attack.

Second Life members can teleport to the memorial at slurl.com/secondlife/dAlliez%20Land%20Headquarters/108/149/26.
You might also want to visit the Ground Zero Museum Workshop website, groundzeromuseumworkshop.com.

Free Land at Burning Life 2009

You can have land for free at Second Life‘s Burning Life festival, which will be held October 17-25, 2009. Not only won’t it cost you anything, it also won’t affect your tier if you already own land. You don’t even have to currently be a Second Life member (though you do have to join to get the land; basic memberships are free)..

However, this is not ordinary land. You will possess it only for a week, and you should consider it only if you are excited by the idea of Burning Man and Burning life, by the idea of people coming together once a year in the desert to cooperatively build a city from a barren desert, letting imaginations run wild, and then dismantle everything a week later, leaving the desert as barren as it was before, without a trace of what was briefly built there. You can learn more about Burning Man at www.burningman.com and at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_man. You can learn about Burning Life, Second Life’s version of Burning Man, at burninglife.secondlife.com. This picture (http://www.flickr.com/photos/andromega/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) is from a past Burning Life

There are four ways you can get land at Burning Life; it’s all free, but on the condition that people who get the land adhere to the spirit of Burning Life: working together cooperatively as a community; nothing commercial, no sponsorships, no logos, and no tip jars; and adhering to the Ten Principles.

1. Walk-in campsites: These will be available in two half regions beginning October 17. It will be like camping in a national forest without designated campgrounds. You can claim some space and build there, as long as your building is done cooperatively with or at least respecting other builders in the area and not using more than your share of prims.

2. Land Rush: These will be about 275 parcels ranging in size from 1568 square meters with 350 prims up to 3360 square meters with 750 prims. These will be given to the first avatar who claims them in staged releases for about a week beginning around September 14.

3. Small Art Sites: These are about 90 parcels that will be given away in Land Rush style. They are in an areas called "open playa" that’s designed for smaller art works. Parcels are 576 square meters and have 300 prims each.

4. Theme Camps: These are 52 plots that will be awarded to "whoever proposes the most amusing, amazing, or interesting ways to engage their fellow Residents." If you’re looking for ideas, Linden Lab recommends taking a look at the Theme Camp list for the real life Burning Man festival, held every year in the Nevada desert.

For more information about getting free land at Burning Life, read the Burning Life process page. You should also consult the Burning Life home page.