Monday, May 30, 2016

Sunday, May 29, 2016

Second Life Birthday "SL13B"




London City is delighted to have been invited to take part for the 7th consecutive year, at the event that celebrates Second Life being the worlds largest Virtual World experience.  This year Second Life is 13 years young.

Second Life Birthday "SLB" gives a flavour of the wealth of content available for all residents to enjoy throughout the grid, by showcasing exhibits in many parcels, over 17 regions.

London City is the official London at the Second Life Birthday celebrations.  This year, the lovely people at SLB have given London City one of just  a handful or large parcels to showcase the estate, Our building team are hard at work to make this the best experience yet.

SL13B opens to the public on Sunday 19th June.


Friday, May 20, 2016

European Union, The result



Since November 2014, we have polled London City visitors 3 times, to see how they felt about Britain in the European Union and if they wanted to be In or Out of the EU.

November 2014  Out: 60%  In: 40%
February 2016    Out: 46%  In: 54%

We polled you again this week, directly after the Eurovision song contest thrashing to see if you had changed your minds. More than ever, you want Britain to remain a part of Europe.

May 2016          Out: 38%  In: 62%

It is worth remembering our poll is only of a hundred-fifty people each time, and those outside of the UK are also voting.  It does however still demonstrate that those who visit London City are keen for the UK to remain part of the European Union.

It costs the UK £16 Billion a year to be part of the EU (US $23 Bln).

Whether or not these votes indicate that Brits think the EU is good value at £55m a day, or if it is those from other countries wanting us to stay, remains to be seen.

The UK gets to vote in an In/Out referendum on 23rd June.

For more information on remaining in the EU see: http://www.strongerin.co.uk/
For more information on leaving the EU see: http://www.voteleavetakecontrol.org/

Whatever happens, remember to vote.
This is not like an election where we get to change our minds every five years.  This is one vote, one time and we will never be asked this question again.... unless we vote 'Out' (and if that happens, expect a second referendum).   Should we vote 'In', we are in forever.  Choose wisely.


Sunday, May 15, 2016

Eurovision, The usual result



Why do we put ourselves through it?

Our song this year was not bad at all.

Probably not good enough to win, but surely a great deal better than many others.  And yet, as usual in recent years, we came twenty-third out of twenty-six.   We're beginning to think that some of the other countries don't much care for us.

But spare a thought for poor Australia, the clear winner by hundreds of points, right until the very end, when a bizarre new voting system cut in for the very first time, suddenly awarding over 400 extra points to the Ukraine, catapulting them at the last moment to the winners of the 61st Eurovision song contest.

As long as we can see it for what it is, a political barometer that pays little attention to the talents of its entrants, and laugh it off at the end of the show as we always do, and appreciate it for all its splendor and gaudiness, then long may it  reign.

Talking politics, Britain goes to the polls next month to vote In or Out of Europe.
Now is as good a time as any, to resurrect the voting booth, which is just for fun.. and asks you, should the UK stay in Europe or Leave?
Visit the voting booth in London City to have your say.


Saturday, May 07, 2016

Thursday, May 05, 2016

Lab Blog: Update Your Web Browser to Ensure Secure Payments



As part of ongoing work to keep transactions secure and in compliance, Linden Lab blogged yesterday that users must have updated web browsers supporting TLS 1.2 by 15th June to ensure secure payments via the SL Cashier system.

The Cashier system is the tool used when you logon to the web to make a payment via the Second Life site, Marketplace and when you purchase Lindens via your viewer.

For information including a very handy link that will test your viewer, see the official Blog here


Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Abranimations: Dances, Toys, Avatars, Games and Gadgets




Abranimations is the original content creator of motion captured dances, encoded and digitised for Second Life.  Abranimations has been in-world for as long as Second Life has been around.  In fact the original default animations in your library from Second Life of 13 years ago are the work of its creator Abramelin Wolfe.

Times have changed rapidly from the humble beginnings of Second Life and Abranimations is still the leader in cutting edge real life motion-captured (mo-cap) single and couples dances, with sophisticated HUDS, dance balls and animation overrides.


Inside the store, apart from dances, there are also hundreds of other Toys and Gadgets to try out. 

Whilst visiting London City you may have seen a tarot card table a mud wrestling pool, arm wrestling, spin the bottle, avatar cannon or an air balloon soaring in the sky.  All of these are available in the Abranimations London store.


With such an incredible range of Avatars, fun Accessories, Dances, AOs, Huds and toys, you can spend a good hour or two, just browsing this immense store and seeing what is on offer.

To visit Abranimations in London City follow this slurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/London%20City/26/131/24