"Making the cake fluffier" is an expression I use to describe upgrades. It doesn't sound so cold or clinical, and would aptly be as warm as a yummy cake. With lots of icing. Mmm. And maybe white chocolate, which isn't even "really" chocolate just like how Second Life isn't "really" life. Aha. I kid, I kid.

To the point, there are a few things I'm hoping for in Second Life. I've seen some of these suggested before and I join in the collective voice (like a posiBorg), and some of them I have posted myself to the SL Forums or to Linden Lab tech support. Some of them have just occurred to me tho, and this is why I'm blogging. If any of these are already possible and I am not aware, please let me know — thank you graciously!

What is good can get better. What is better, can be best! Here goes:

• Instant Messages can be sent to someone's emailbox?when he/she is offline from SL. So, why not send Event Notifications too? One may be, say, blogging, and then the email auto-checker reminds one that a fun time in cyberspace is being missed. This is a very obvious feature, and I tend to overlook the obvious, so I'm very pleased!

• There should be an option to turn off all the thunk-and-click sounds of the interface when touching buttons, not to mention the earth-grumbling roar of creating prims. It can be fun at first like Kid Pix, but for me, it's no longer needed. So, at the very least, an option.

• Better inventory management, like shift-click and selection rectangles to drag-and-drop SCADS of items from one folder into another. I know I'm not alone in this one. It's a pain with, say, 200 Gestures.

• Ability to save Snapshots in .JPG instead of .BMP by default — it'd save the conversion process. Also, a better way to auto-name Snapshots starting at a set number instead of 001 each time. (I tried to override this and it didn't work like I'd hoped.)

• Gradual fade-in-and-out of audio streams from parcels of land. It's very abrupt and startling right now. Granted, this may mean there is a certain type of implementation that has to be dealt with concerning overlapping "sonic regions", aka noise pollution, but I'm sure the clever folks will work something out.

• A hotkey to hide ALL menus and extraneous windows so one can enjoy a pristine, uncluttered viewspace at an instant's notice. (For third-person, not mouselook.)?Related: power shortcuts for different window configs.

• Some sort of dynamic bandwidth allocator that focuses on "what you are seeing" directly in front of you so that textures for posters and other essential reading are rendered to their highest resolution ASAP, instead of being unintelligible blurs for what may seem to be an agonizing wait.

• Better lag compensators? Easier said than done, I know. LOL.

• Perhaps a new-and-improved system to set up custom keys for walking and flying. I find it awkward to use arrow keys and Page Up/Page Down, for example, when my chat bar is open.

• This one especially applies to games and other busy activities where you need focus: a way to send auto-away messages or temporarily disable incoming IMs. I don't like to leave them unreplied because it appears rude, but I can be slow.?"Busy Mode" right now blocks… well, too much. =)

• Maybe it's?elaborate, but a type of travel journal to assist with blogs and show where you've been that day (or past few?days) would be nice. It's been recommended to me to use notecards for manual journalling, but hey, in an era of automapping, let's take this one step further, shall we?

• More tribal drumming!

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• Even more beautiful sunsets!

  

• A countdown timer you can set –?that can't be tampered with –?to automatically log you OFF Second Life, for all of those times you're feelin' awfully addicted but have First Life duties to attend to!