It's the weekend!

To think we were all grumbling about the rain and temperature only a week ago.  If ever there was a case of being careful what you wish for, it is tomorrows forecast.

Here in London we are set for 34c, which is around the mid 90's in old money, or closer to 100F indoors if you do not have aircon.

Being a responsible estate, we urge you to invest in copious amounts of grog for this coming weekend which is likely to be very thirsty work, with all the partying we will be doing.

We recommend Asda this week for their posh bottled beer offer and at only 42p a bottle, what's not to like?

A reminder to please drink responsibly, because I won't be, and you might need to get me home again afterwards.

Happy weekend, and here come's the Sun!



Update.. they got it wrong - and it's hotter than they thought

Substation and Worlds End today

Here are some pictures from last nights party.  A reminder the Substation and Worlds End parties are on Sunday starting at 11am SL time (7pm UK).

London Support - We're Hiring!

Four years hence, London City became the first of the Linden Lab Official Community Gateways, with new residents 'born' directly into the estate, and starting their adventure in Second Life.

We have a  trusted team of specially trained residents known as London Support, helping new users acclimatise to the virtual-world.

We are currently looking to increase our team of Support Agents. A shift is typically a couple of hours or more if you wish, and is semi-regular, 3 or more times per week.

We have a familiar faces policy, which means we recruit from the community of visitors and tend not to hire people that we do not know.  It is better for all concerned if we get to know each other first.

You do not have to be an expert, but you do have to be friendly and engaging.

If you are a born helper and like the idea of giving back some of your skills to the new users, and you are able to work comfortably within a team, please see the information contained in the tab Our Team  at the top of this page.

Substation today

So here we all are at the Disco and Abba show last night.   And a reminder that the party continues today at 11am SL (7pm UK) with Substation and then Worlds End on the Beach from 1pm SL (9pm UK).

Substation and Worlds End today

Don't forget that it is Substation today at 11am SLT, followed by Worlds End at 1pm SLT.
Meanwhile here are some pictures from last nights party.

Linden Research Inc to be acquired

Subject to approval from the financial regulators in the U.S., Linden Lab and its Tilia Subsidiary, are to be acquired by an "investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager".

“We’re excited for this new chapter to begin. We see this as an opportunity to continue growth and expansion for Second Life and our money services business Tilia,” says Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg. “We're grateful for the ongoing support from our community, business partners and investors. Now more than ever, there is increased recognition of the value and utility of virtual worlds to bring people together for safe, shared, and social online experiences.”

At this time the lab has no comments to make, other than the press release on their corporate page

https://www.lindenlab.com/releases/linden_research_to_be_acquired   

According to Google:  The main reason why small businesses want to be acquired:
Proof that the company has been successful and is profitable. It increases exposure for the company. It provides more security for the company. It will lead to more growth for the company.

My 2 cents:

Given the surge of SL during covid and the forthcoming uplift to the cloud, it is likely that it's success has piqued the interest of investors; especially as it bucks the trend where multiple similar platforms have failed.  This could be a good thing in terms of growth.   First order of business however, is usually to restructure, which obviously causes some turbulence.

One thing you can absolutely guarantee is that the Residents of Second Life will want to know, what if any impact this will have on Second Life.. and they will want to know soon.

High Fidelity flies a kite

Arguably a little late in the day when products like Zoom have already taken the lions share of live meetings during the Covid crisis, but High Fidelity has relaunched as an hybrid meeting VR/RL meeting place.

CEO Philip Rosedale explains,

"High Fidelity started out in 2013 hoping that VR hardware would be as ubiquitous as the mobile phone by 2020. 

 Turns out, we’re far from that reality. Our mission from the beginning has been to serve humanity by building technology that helps people be together, in the most natural way possible, from anywhere in the world. 

 So we have spent the last several months optimizing our patented 3D audio technology to work on nearly any device. It’s designed for crowds -- you can hear 3D surround sound of everyone near you and hear others who are in the distance."

This new version of High Fidelity is cloud-based and works using a browser. Everyone in your family, all of your friends and colleagues, have a device that should be able to use it. People can use it to connect with each other for a wide variety of reasons — from listening to live music, to family gatherings, hosting parties, networking at conferences, big festivals, political rallies, classrooms, happy hours, or anything else you can dream up."

It is an interesting concept where you can appear as a moving icon against any background you choose, together with your friends and family.  If this has been launched at the start of the global lockdown it may have gained some traction.  Whether it still will now that everyone is venturing out into the big wide world again, remains to be seen.   It's appeal to me is limited, since it makes no mention of screen sharing for the all important "countdown" round in our family quiz on Zoom.




For more information head here https://www.highfidelity.com/

Here comes Summer!

It's time to make sure that the fridge is well stocked with delicious ice-cold grog, as we get partying in the sunshine.  Get your shorts on and get a tan on those lily white legs!

Summer in The City

London City invites you to soak up the sun at a Summer Festival. Through July, the parties will focus on a disco theme with outdoor concerts at the amphitheatre and daily events. As the mercury rises, break out your costumes, dive into the Olympic sized swimming pool, and make a splash.

Visit in Second Life