Yes, the rumors are true! This picture was taken from my MacBook Pro, showing me exploring the awesome 
Here island on an AT&T Tilt cellphone. This Second Life mobile viewer (aka client), a collaboration between virtual world leader Linden Lab and streaming game pioneer Vollee, has been out in beta for several months since the original announcement, and I’ve just gotten my hands on it. Check out supported handsets and you may be able to try it too!
One of the biggest practical benefits of a “light client” is simply that it allows you to log in and enjoy Second Life on the go. By smoothing the process of being able to connect with others, communication and fun is facilitated. And consider the historical asymmetry of how easy it is to do IM-to-email, but the other way around isn’t as elegant. By creating more bidirectional paths to ease saying “Hi!”, we become more useful in a Metcalfian way.
You should’ve heard my excited reactions when I was outside — yes, one can be outdoors and inworld at the same time — and logging in from my porch. My wife was the only witness, but we both remarked at how neat it is.
Alas, I’m in an area with poor network coverage so I’ve been experiencing freezes and disconnects — I’ll need to do more testing in metropolitan regions, but despite those instabilities, one of the amazing things about this streaming technology is that despite some visible graphical artifacts (due to data compression), Second Life-Vollee actually shows WindLight clouds and even water reflections! (Which makes me wonder, on a tangent, if there’d be some way to make lower-end desktop machines enjoy Second Life with better graphics than they’re actually capable of; it’d likely have some noticeable latency like VNCing, but… a thought.)
Even on the QVGA 320×240 screen the Tilt has, the visuals of this Java app look colorful and watching stuff rez in brings a warm, familiar feeling; a lot of the UI is styled similarly. No, you can’t sort your inventory, but the main emphasis (for now) is exploration & socialization, so there’s an easy menu where you can do local chat or send IMs, as well as teleport directly to a region by entering its name. Popular Places and Events are also in there, but you know I don’t have much use for either of those — the former has high-trafficked but mostly uneclectic locations, and the latter is spam-laden and kludgy.
I gravitate to tools I can use everyday, and as such, I’m going to keep using the Second Life-Vollee beta, join the forums, and learn more about the AT&T Tilt. This is the first time in many years I’ve had a cellphone, and while I don’t intend to make “normal calls” a lot, I really appreciate having my Second Life when I’m out and about.
Also see:
- More info-links on the Second Life wiki
- Pictures on Flickr from various Resis
- LadyDeath Lafleur has some crisp screenshots
Thanx muchly to Julian Corbett and Frank Fay for getting me connected!
![Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/4341983054_53aed5ab46_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:53] White Lebed: When I met Jayjay and joined the UWA sims as an artist-in-residence I didn't know much about this place. Once I realize what an amazingly special wonderful program this small team runs I was so impressed. And I wanted everybody know about what is going on here. Since it is better to see once than hear 100 times, I thought it would be the best way to tell the world about them is to invite machinima artists and ask them to film it. It was wonderful to be able to see this place through your eyes. And I love that the machinimas we got were not just advertisements, they were wonderful art pieces. What I never expected is that Jay will turn out to be the best fundraiser in thPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2773/4341231363_c8b3458d23_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:47] Jayjay Zifanwe: CISKO VANDEVERRE, Berlin, GermanySEEKwww.youtube.com/watch?v=H6zbFx3DxwsPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4341230493_2f782e6088_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:44] Jayjay Zifanwe shouts: BRADLEY DORCHESTER, Perth, AustraliaMachinimUWA: Art Architecture, Research, Teachingwww.youtube.com/watch?v=YN1k80dA3I8Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4341963584_bda095aac6_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:42] Jayjay Zifanwe: COLEMARIE SOLEIL, Florida USA UWA Machinima Challenge Submissionwww.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIQP-YrYLwPosted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4341958070_318b895425_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:38] Jayjay Zifanwe: CHANTAL HARVEY, Maastricht, NetherlandsUniversity of Western Australia in Second Lifewww.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_pc90Eu4k[13:39] Jayjay Zifanwe: I want to say hi to all machinimatographers and their friends, fans and crews.Before I go into details, I want to express that I am very sorry that I cannot be here myself, at this ceremony - my real life got in the way. My boss wont give me the night off, not even for an important event like this. (cries). My ONE chance to meet the famous Torley and ask him to consider being a part of the MMIF machinima festival on the 20th of Februari - down the drain!Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
![Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4006/4341206009_e30658c02b_s.jpg "Torley posted a photo:[13:36] Jayjay Zifanwe: LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWAblip.tv/file/3147141 (LASLOPANTOMIK YAO, Barcelona, Spain MachinimUWA blip.tv/file/3147141)Posted by Second Life Resident Torley Linden. Visit University of WA.")
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I think the day Ican take SL out of the house with me will be the day RL loses me completely LOL
Y'know, Events *used* to be genuinely useful before searching them got borked more than a year and a half ago. Any idea why VWR-270 has yet to get any attention? Seems like a relatively simple issue with a major impact…
Torley, I had to try it, the minute I saw my LG Shine was supported. I'm paying for unlimited data anyway, so figured, "why not!"
I haven't figured out how it's useful to me (yet…give it time), but you're right. It worked WAY better than expected for a cellphone!
@Samantha: VWR-270 has irked me too, and I don't specifically know why it hasn't been fixed yet. :\ Would be a good thing to bring attention to at a bug triage office hour, and I'll ask our developers about it because it appears to have been forgotten in the internal bug queue for a LONG time too.
@Ipenda: Oh! Glad you gave it a try already!
@Ipenda Mine's too. I have TyTN II and unlimited internet connection at the rate 3.6Mbps. Hope Unlimited application will be released!
I have been looking into this for a while now & its made me renew my interest in finding out if I can actually use it. Last time I had looked the Treo was not supported. Hopefully that has changed (crosses fingers). Its been a while since I checked. Thanks for reminding me about it!
RL be gone from my site.