New Site

Our new domain, thanks to Katharine Berry, is:

teenSLblog.com

TSLB Supports Atticus Tech

For those of you that are not in Atticus Tech’s group, here is the scoop:

In an group announcement, Syn Swindlehurst said:

Recently ‘Atticus Dassin’ has contacted us saying we’re copying a company he created back in 2005, but because of his computer he was unable to play SL and create groups and such. So there might be some legal issues with Atticus Tech for awile, if this guy really tries to make us close Atticus Tech, we’ll need to get a Linden involved, so if you support Atticus Tech, and really want us to stay here, and not be taken over by some guy give ‘Atticus Dassin’ an IM and just express your support for Atticus Tech.

We at TSLB are in full support of Atticus Tech.

Anna’s Designs New “Michael” Hair

Hmmmmm, looks like designer Anna Normandy listened to us asking her to make more mens products. Finally, she release her new “Michael” collection of hair. The second I got word of the release, i immediately went over to get a copy for myself. I bought the “Cinnamin” Pack that has reddish hair. To tell you truth, I liked the hair…a lot. Even though Anna does not have the styles and variety that Wicked Loudon does, this is a great start. I liked the hair SO much in fact, that I have replaced it. The hair is simple, no flairs, but this simplicity is very attractive. The only thing that I found a wee bit annoying was that if you looked at the head from the back, it seems as if you are wearing a wig, but that was quickly fixed with a bit of adjusting individual hair pieces. Overall though, I would definitely recommend this hair for anyone looking for something new and different than Wicked’s hair. So go over to Dernier Cri, try out the Demo, buy the hair, and wait for more!

Atticus Theft Bank?

Atticus Tech has put into gear a Grid banking project. In order to motivate people to bank, Atticus has added a credit feature that will add “credits” to your account so that you can cash it in as L$ or buy Atticus products. The more you spend on Atticus, the more credits you get to spend again on Atticus. This is a great idea though, to get interest and also a very good business generator. However trusting someone that you dont know with your money, is not good. There is also the incident on the Main Grid where a bank owner bailed out with L$60,000. I just don’t see the need for a bank, it’s not like it weighs you down. Syn Swindlehurst and Eric Mauvaise have a very clean record though, and are very nice people, and if I had no choice but to put all my money into Atticus Credit Bank, I wouldn’t be afraid. Also a little warning for Eric, Syn or anyone who want to start a bank: A few stray electrons can cause a lot of damage, and if for some technical or other reason, peoples money disapears, whether or not you were responsible, you will be the scapegoat of everyone that banked with you.

Linking up with TSLB

Hello Everyone

Great news I’m going to link up with TSLB so we can be partners and also be good friends etc. I found TSLB on the TSL Forums and looking around on the internet also I throught this was a great idea so I decided to join the In-World TSLB group yay to be a reqular reader to the blog, to keep up-to-date with updated in TSL and show my support which I love doing in TSL as a TSL Volunteer. I have also decided to add TSLB on my blog site in my blogroll which is great and i’m sure that this TSLB will be very sucessful indeed.Feel free to check out my blog below and be amazed also your welcome to add comments etc!! = (danielvoyager blog )

http://danielvoyagerwebsite2008.wordpress.com/

Send us your questions (again)

We have an interview coming up with Blue Linden! Post questions you want us to ask him here as comments, or on the forums as a reply to the appropriate post!

Send us your questions!

Next week, there will be an interview with one of the biggest figures on TSL, Alex Harbinger. Is there something you want to ask him? Post your questions here as comments! and we’ll ask for you!

Discover Okarthel

While teleporting around the grid in hopes of discovering something new, I came upon Okarthel. I must say, you would never there is incredible beauty. You hear birds chirping from the trees, and water flowing. You even see the light piercing the trees (you actually see physical light). Unlike other silently beautiful sims, Okarthel is fully immersing, you see, and you believe me if I said it the the most elegant, beautiful, well designed, sim I’ve ever been to. You arrive at the telehub, and hear. One thing to always keep in mind at Okarthel, is that there is always more than you see. The Castle on the hilltop, for example, you should check it out, maybe there’s dungeons. The houses in the village, who said they’re empty? And you might want to take a closer look at the little stream at the base of the mountain. I suggest that you navigate the island with-ought flying, in order to add to the realism. Visit Okarthel from HERE.

If you want, you can also see the rest of the beautiful snapshots of Okarthel HERE.

Official TSLB in-world group!

You can join the Teen Second Life Blog in-world to help support us here at TSLB!

All you need to do is run a group search for ‘Teen Second Life Blog’, and click join! It’s 100% free, and you’ll be the first to know about all the upcoming events, new products and important news!

Anna Normandy will now take your questions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=================================================================================

To view all of the pictures from the photoshoot with Anna Normandy,

go to SLikon’s (our photographer/interviewer/reporter) SL People page here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17893359@N02/sets/72157603356891888/

=================================================================================

 

 

 

BEN CARTER: : How long have you been active in Second Life?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I started on my birthday in 05, (Decmeber 10th), and played until about Semtpember 06, Quit for almost a year, and came back June 07.!

 

BEN CARTER: : What would you consider to be your skills?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Hmm. Texturing (mostly clothes), and hairs. I’m wokring on getting better at skins, with Asuka’s Help. I would say though, My best skill is making hair

 

BEN CARTER: : What is your biggest strength, in SL, and in the physical world?

ANNA NORMANDY: : My biggest strenght in SL is, as said before, making hair, and meeting new people. Outside of SL, my biggest strenghts are math (nerd, I know ) And Acting.

 

BEN CARTER: : If you don’t mind me asking, what is you real age?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I’m currently 14. How ever, my birhtday is in 7 days, (December 10th) so in 7 days I’ll be 15

 

BEN CARTER: : So you will be leaving us in 3 years, how do you feel about that and what will happen to AD?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Its a long way away. I’m not quite sure how I feel about it . I’m hoping to take AD with me to the MG and get an island near my Uncle. (He makes skins on the MG)

 

BEN CARTER : : Did your uncle introduce you to SL?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Yes. I remember him asking me if i liked the sims, and i said yeah, so he told me “You’ll love this game”. And he explained everything to me. He got me an account on my birthday (He was over that day for my party). My rez day is my RL birhtday because of that.

 

BEN CARTER: : When did you “officially” start AD?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Lol! I opened a store in Mega Mall Cascade in early 06. I believe it was january. I bought 1K linden to help me get started. Back then I called my store “Anna’s Fabulous Fashion”. Oh the good old days.

 

BEN CARTER: : How long did it take you to stop considering yourself a “newbie”?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Thats a hard question. To be honest, because of my uncle, I always had an idea of what i was doing, and how to play SL. However, I would say I stopped concidering myself a newbie when I didnt ask my uncle questions constantly on how to do things. So I would about about Mid year – 06

 

BEN CARTER: : Most new companies undergo many name changes, is this true about AD?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Yes! My store was once Just called “Anna Normandy”, and then “Anna’s Fabulous Fashion”, and then I adapted the name “Anna’s Designs”. I tend refer to my store to as just Anna’s though.

 

BEN CARTER: : What country do you live in?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Canada ! I live in Southern Ontario.

SIN KOVACS (on estate dialog channel) : : We love Anna’s! <3

 

 

 

 

BEN CARTER: : A lot of people’s parents are involved in the Second Life, helping them buy islands, land, etc., is this true for you?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I owned, i think it was 4096 sq/m of land in Yarmouth. My mom paided the amount for premium, but I usually piaded tier, If i had enough in my account, and I paided to buy the land.

 

BEN CARTER: Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I usually see somehting in a magazine, and get an idea off of that, or somehting just pops into my head. When i’m looking through magazinzes, or RL stuff i own, I see one thing, and get an idea for soemthing completely different. It’s pretty cool actually

 

BEN CARTER: Who is you main “target consumer”?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I tend to make my product more towards the female population. I’m going to be honest here, I have more fun making girl products then guys because I always second guess myself “Will guys like this?”…”is this the right neckline”..Etc.

 

BEN CARTER: What are you monthly profits?

ANNA NORMANDY: : *giggles* Not as much as Asuka or Wicked. I’ll tell you that. But enought to pay rent and make profit

 

 

BEN CARTER: What about your monthly expenses?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Well, I pay about 6K a month on rent, and anywehere from 500L and up on uploads depending on what it is i make that month.

 

BEN CARTER: Why clothing? Why not furniture or furries?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I dont have an imagination for Furniture or Furries. I’ve tried, and nothing would ever come to mind. I’m good with prims, but not when it comes to furries or Furni. Clothing is just alot easier for me to make up what to make

 

BEN CARTER: : Any alts?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Not exactly alts. My brother and RL boyfriend have accounts that they dont use anymore, so if i need some peice and quiet or I need to do something I can’t on mine (Like act like a noob ), I hop on their accounts.

BEN CARTER: : lol, so YOU were the one that orbited me last week, eh?

ANNA NORMANDY: : lol. No. i dont do taht kinda stuff hehe. I dont even know how to O.o. WOw I am a noob! *Giggles*

 

BEN CARTER: : How many items in your inventory?

ANNA NORMANDY: : 13,462. I recently cleaned it out though. Like got rid of a bunch of junk in my texture and Objects folder

 

BEN CARTER: How many L$ in your account?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Thats a secret *Giggles*. I don’t like sharing that info.

 

BEN CARTER: : How many US$ in your account?

ANNA NORMANDY: : None. If i do have any, I send it to paypal. I only sell out when i need to. Which is usualy for spenidnng money. Since i dont have any tier

 

BEN CARTER: What are you most proud of in general, inside, and out of Second Life?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Inside SL, I’m proud of the fact that I came back in June and restarted my SL career — Anything found in my shope now has been made since I came back. Outside of SL, I’m proud of my acting. I’m going away in January to LA for an acting competition called the IMTA’s. I get to preform for big time casting directors. *Yay*

BEN CARTER: : Theater or screen directors?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Screen, for the most part. There may be some theatre directors there as well. I’m not quite sure

BEN CARTER: : The next Jolie? :]

ANNA NORMANDY: : Yuss sir! I really do hope to become big one day. WOuldnt it be cool to be well known in RL, yet come into SL and no one knows your that famous movie star. Even though I hope to be well know in SL as well. *giggles*

 

BEN CARTER: Which of your products makes you most proud of yourself?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Thats kind of a hard question. I like all of my products I would have to say my hair though. Recently, however, I am very proud with how my Holiday Outfits came out

 

BEN CARTER: What is your favourite passtime?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Besides SL, I like to talk on the phone with my boyfriend and my friends, and just hanging out. I also love to blast music and sing while I’m wokring, whether its on SL, or homework

 

BEN CARTER: What kind of music do you like? /me reminds Anna of the stream on Dernier

ANNA NORMANDY: : Oh god..Asuka is nuts LOL. I like to listen to (or so we call it here) Gino Beats. Its like a slower version of Asuka’s Rave Music..I also like hip hop, and stuff like that. Christina Aguleria, Justin Timberlake.. I like their kind of music, but I’m not sure what that genre is called

 

BEN CARTER: : 1. What would you reaction to these statements be:

a. “HEY ANNA! can i borrow some money?”

ANNA NORMANDY: : “No I dont give out L, sorry!”

b. “OMGOMGOMGOMG, ANNA< CAN I GET A COPY OF YOUR HAIR”

ANNA NORMANDY: : You can buy it in my store. If you cant afford the whole pack of 3 hairs, I’ll give you one for 30L. ^__^

c. someone orbits/grief you in some other way on:

i. Your land

ANNA NORMANDY: : Ejected – Not necessarily banned. Depends on my mood.

ii. Elsewhere

ANNA NORMANDY: : I’ll just yell at them, and treaten to report, until they say sorry ^__^, But I dont actually report them.

 

BEN CARTER: : Are you doing anything else right now, other than taking this interview?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I’m browsing the internet, and talking to some of my friends on MSN

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What is your operating system and graphics card?

ANNA NORMANDY: : I have Windows XP, but I have no Idea what my graphics card it. My dad put it in here I think its my brothers old one.

 

BEN CARTER: : How much time do you spend doing SL related activities?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Oh…hmm..Anywhere from 2-6 hours a day. (Horrible, I know). More on the weekends.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER: : Any last remarks/statements?

ANNA NORMANDY: : Thank you for taking the time to do the interview ! hehe. — Oh, and wish me luck in LA *Crosses Fingers*

Delayed Posting

We will not post as often for the next few days, as we transfer the blog to our own website (and I also have 4 tests, so thats a priority)

Thank you for your consideration.

-Jonothan Wexler

Cory Ondrejka, fired from Linden Lab?

I’ve recently been informed by a good friend of mine that it appears Cory Ondrejka has been fired from Linden Lab. For those of you who do not know, Cory is the CTO of Linden Lab, and the person to thank for the Second Life scripting language. Thanks to our friends at Massively, I’ve been able to get a copy of the email sent out by Philip Rosedale (CEO of Linden Lab) to the Linden Lab employees.

“Cory is going to leave LL. He has been with us for 7 years, and was the fourth person to join. So this is a big deal. Cory has been a huge part of the company, having designed big parts of SL, hired many people, contributed greatly to the culture, and given a powerful voice to SL and LL. Among other things, he had the original design idea for the love machine, single handedly wrote the scripting language, and got us all doing A&Os back in 2001. Losing him will be hard for the company. I will miss him a lot. What’s worse is that ultimately his leaving is my decision.“

The email also states the reasoning behind Philip’s decision.

“Cory and I have differences in how we think Linden should be run, differences that in the past few months have become irreconcilable. These are tensions that were more manageable when we were smaller, and there have been times that they have helped us do great work together. But now, as we change and grow as a company, I feel that we need a different set of strengths in engineering leadership. I strongly believe that this is the right decision, although not without pain, for both LL and Cory. Of course, I’m not going to go into the details of these differences. This is one of those times when, in having me as your leader, you will also have to trust me in my decision.“

In a statement Philip made recently, he’s confirmed the fact that Cory is going to be leaving by the end of the year – but he has not, however confirm that it is his own decision.

Thanks to Massively, I’ve gotten the statement that Cory made to the Linden Lab employees, and it is as follows:

“Trying to sum up 7 years of work at Linden is an impossible task. All nighters at the Linden Street office. Gaining 20 pounds but then losing 70. Flying 350,000 miles on Linden travel. Recruiting and hiring many of you. Creating a programming language that now had 2.5 billion lines of code written in it – note to self, next time spend more than one night designing language. Changing the world.

It has been an absolute thrill working with all of you on Second Life. When Philip looked across a rickety card table in November of 2000 and told me that we would do more than build a great product, we needed to build a great company, too, I knew it would be a wild ride. Through the peaks and the valleys, Philip’s ideas challenged and inspired me. They often led to solutions I would never have considered and helped to make Second Life what it is today.

I continue to believe in both Second Life and Linden Lab, but Philip and my visions for the future of Linden Lab are divergent enough that he decided to lead in his own way. While I will miss all of you, I have confidence in engineering – in all of you – to adapt and excel going forward. You are a phenomenal collection of talents and I know that both Linden Lab and Second Life will be hugely successful.“

as Tateru Nino stated on Massively, “Ondrejka is obviously being sensitive, proud and diplomatic. It also gives the impression of ‘fired’ rather than ‘quit’, but he’s definitely going out in style, as a leader. This is a classic ‘creative differences’ situation, and Ondrejka’s handling it very professionally, with positive messages, reinforcement and motivation.“

The statement made by Philip does not state that Ondrejka is to be fired – but after reading the emails sent to all of the Linden Lab employees; it’s hard to believe anything else. Cory’s been a huge part of Second Life’s creation and development – and without him on the team, it’s hard to say what the future holds for Second Life and Linden Lab.

Thanks so much to moo Money and everyone at Massively for helping to inform us of this horrible news. I’ll keep you updated as best I can as more is uncovered.

Snapblog and Scheduled Downtime.

Well, it looks like both the live grid and preview have been offline for some scheduled downtime. According to the Official Linden Blog, it was only supposed to run from 7 a.m. SLT to 11 a.m. SLT. However, grid downtimes are known to run a little bit longer than originaly stated – and it’s been recently said that the grid will be down until 12 p.m SLT. From what I’ve read on the blog, LL is working on upgrading databases, and adding asset server capacity.

 

On a more creative note, I was talking to my friend moo yesterday – and she sent me a link to a really interesting website called Scrapblog. I’m a huge art lover, and I’ve always enjoyed scrapbooking when given the chance. Scrapblog allows you to create an online scrapbook without any downloads or hard to understand tools. I was really amazed on how easy it is to use (pretty much all drag and drop), and it’s all free. You can even make a Scrapblog page without signing up – unless you want to publish it, so other people can see it. Once it’s published, it’s very easy to share with others, embed on on blogs, and post it to other sites. One of my favorite features is that with a few clicks to verify your account, you can import pictures from many different sites (such as photobucket, flickr and facebook) right onto your scrapbook page. Scrapblog offers many different backgrounds, templates, stickers and frames for you to mix and match with – and some of the results that I’ve seen are really interesting.

 

Check it out for yourself! It’s a lot of fun, and it’s really easy to use. I look foward to seeing all your creations, and please feel free to post links as comments for this blog post.

-Lucky Figtree

 

(If you’d like to see more you can view moo’s blog on the same subject, or view the Scrapblog that I created while experimenting with all the fun tools by clicking here.)

 

SL “Dazzle”

A visual interface was released from Linden Lab some time ago, but we just discovered it today, it is an attempt to “modernize” the SL U.I. and is codenamed “Dazzle”

You you know what they say, a picture’s worth a thousand words, so we’ll let you take the new project out for a spin here:

https://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_Visual_Update

Asuka Martin will now take your questions

===================================================================================

To view all of the pictures from the photoshoot with Asuka Martin,

go to SLikon’s (our photographer/interviewer/reporter) SL People page here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17893359@N02/sets/72157603356891888/

===================================================================================

BEN CARTER: : How long have you been active in Second Life?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I started playing around a month after I created my account. When I first came here I was so confused I didn’t know what on earth was going on, so I took a break and came back a month later.

BEN CARTER: : What would you consider to be your skills?
ASUKA MARTIN: : Obviously my favorite thing to create is textures, especially skins. I also like to build avatar related accessories (hair, shoes, etc). Lately I’ve been getting more into furniture and sculpties.

BEN CARTER: : What is your biggest strength, in SL, and in the physical world?
ASUKA MARTIN: : Well my biggest strength in SL would probably be skin making, and textures. Outside of Secondlife I do a ton of artwork. My favorite media is oil paint and I do a lot of pieces with people in them.

BEN CARTER: : If you don’t mind me asking, what is you real age?
ASUKA MARTIN: : 17, my birthday is in March.

BEN CARTER: : So you will be leaving us in 1 year, how do you feel about that and what will happen to Asuka’s and Dernier Cri?
ASUKA MARTIN: : After I leave I’ll probably change my business’s name to “Dernier Cri” and continue my store on the island.

BEN CARTER: : When did you “officially” start Asuka’s?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I started it a week after I began playing. My friend Ally showed me the Cascade mall, and helped me get started. I needed to buy a few usd from the site to pay my first rent but after that things went pretty smoothly. I used to make things for the Sims 2 so I re-created a lot of that stuff into Secondlife clothing. I wasn’t too familiar with the Secondlife avatar so my clothes and skins still ended up looking pretty horrible.

BEN CARTER: : How long did it take you to stop considering yourself a “newbie”?
ASUKA MARTIN : :Hard question. I can’t pin point a specific day, but I felt like a newbie for a really long time.
BEN CARTER: : An easy way to figure out, is to remember when you started thinking of other people as newbies
ASUKA MARTIN: : Haha hmm…. I really don’t know. I didn’t feel like an expert but I didn’t feel like someone who just started playing. It’s really hard to pinpoint when I wasn’t a “noob” but I think after a few months I was getting a good hang of everything.

BEN CARTER: : Most new companies undergo many name changes, is this true about Asuka’s? (off the record: please state any names in you answer)
ASUKA MARTIN: : Actually, when I started my store I decided that I needed some sort of name. I chose “Asuka’s” because it was the easiest thing I could come up in the two seconds I had to setup my store. I intended on changing it, but I never got around to it and it sort of stuck.

BEN CARTER: : What country do you live in?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I live in the United States, Michigan

BEN CARTER: : You are obviously a success story, starting a company and eventually buying an island, how did you do this?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I don’t know how exactly “how” haha. I basically started out selling a little in malls, then I eventually rented from islands and kept making new things and getting more experience. After a while I thought it would be neat to buy my own island.

BEN CARTER: : How did you afford to buy an island? Was it purely from sales?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I was making a lot of real money from sales so the island was affordable. I had around a month and a half worth of Lindens saved up on my account which I used to pay for the island.

BEN CARTER: : A lot of people’s parents are involved in the Second Life, helping them buy islands, land, etc., is this true for you?
ASUKA MARTIN: : Haha, I wish. No, they don’t pay for anything in Secondlife for me. If I have to use they’re credit card to pay initial tier costs or anything like that I would have to pay them back.

BEN CARTER: : Where do you get the inspiration for your designs?
ASUKA MARTIN: : I like to look up real clothing online and base my ideas around things I see in magazines and whatnot. Sometimes I’ll make ideas up out of my head but normally it’s a combination of things I’ve seen or like to wear.

BEN CARTER: : Who is you main “target consumer”?
ASUKA MARTIN: :Most of my designs are aimed towards girls but I’m working on creating more items for men.

BEN CARTER: What are you monthly profits?
ASUKA MARTIN: That’s a secret.

BEN CARTER: What about your monthly expenses? (off the record: texture uploads, rent, etc.)
ASUKA MARTIN: I think it’d be impossible to track my texture expenses. I’m sure it’s a significant amount though. I pay around 15k for tier each month.

BEN CARTER: Why clothing? Why not furniture or furries?
ASUKA MARTIN: I really like to paint people in real life. I think it’s why I like making skins and people related things in Secondlife. I’ve made a few pieces of furniture and I like to build sometimes but I don’t tend to sell those kinds of things in my store. I once tried to make a furry but it was really frustrating and I gave up.

BEN CARTER: : How many items in your inventory?
ASUKA MARTIN: : Currently 20,478 o.o Uh oh.

BEN CARTER: How many L$ in your account?
ASUKA MARTIN: I sell my L$s, so most of my earnings go strait to my bank account. Telling you wouldn’t say too much.

BEN CARTER: What are you most proud of in general, inside, and out of Second Life?
ASUKA MARTIN: The thing I’m the most proud of is being an artist. I’ve loved drawing and making things for as long as I can remember, and I intend on getting into some kind of artistic career.

BEN CARTER: Which of your products makes you most proud of yourself?
ASUKA MARTIN: In Secondlife I think I do the best with my skins.

BEN CARTER: What is your favourite passtime?
ASUKA MARTIN: Hmm it’s hard to say. I spend most of my time making things whether it’s for Secondlife, an art class, or something else I’m doing on my own. Other than that you’ll probably catch me sleeping, listening to music, or hanging out.

BEN CARTER: What kind of music do you like?
ASUKA MARTIN: Rave music! Then probably punk rock. My friends don’t think it suits me at all. I’m really laid back.

BEN CARTER: : 1. What would you reaction to these statements be:
a. “HEY ASUKA! can i borrow some money?”
                                                ASUKA MARTIN: : (does not reply)
b. “OMGOMGOMGOMG, ASUKA< CAN I GET A COPY OF YOUR HAIR”
                                                ASUKA MARTIN: : “OMGZORS LIK NO” kidding.
BEN CARTER: : lol
                                                ASUKA MARTIN: : I tend to all of a sudden forget someone is talking to me if they ask a                                                         question like that. I’ll be completely oblivious or change the subject.
c. someone orbits/grief you in some other way on:
i. Your land
                                                                    ASUKA MARTIN: : i. Ejected, no words exchanged. If someone’s grieving they’re                                                                     not actually interested in shopping on your land.
ii. Elsewhere
                                                                    ASUKA MARTIN: : ii. I probably won’t do anything unless I’m in a really bad                                                                             mood that day. It’s just irritating.

BEN CARTER: : Are you doing anything else right now, other than taking this interview?
ASUKA MARTIN: : listening to iTunes and talking to several other people

BEN CARTER: : Any last remarks/statements?
ASUKA MARTIN: : Hmm, not unless you have any more questions.

BEN CARTER:: Operating System? Graphics Card? Time you spend doing SL related activities?

ASUKA MARTIN: My computer runs on windows XP and I have a Geforce 6600. I’d like to get a new Apple computer sometime soon though. About how much time I spend doing SL related activities? Too much.

New Bloggers

Hey everyone!  Our newest blogger is the well known Lucky Figtree.

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If you want to write for TSLB, pop an IM to Benett Carter inworld, and you might be the next TSLB blogger!

Also, dont forget, if you want to promote products or your business, send an e-mail to tslblog@gmail.com  !

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.inspire Mall (TG Mega Mall)

While on Eden, some of you may have noticed this MASSIVE building that was very empty inside. Yesterda when i looked at the popular places, i saw the usual…Jeffery Land at the top. Today I was more that surprised to see .inspire above Jeffery Land. I decided to go and take a look at it. I was awestruck, the scale and extraordinary design that went behind this mall is just mind blowing. Brooke Barmy (Avani), the mall designer, has really outdone himself. I just cannot describe the mall for myself, even these pictures don’t do the mall justice. Visit it for yourself by clicking HERE.

Although very impressive, the stalls are pretty pricey at L$100 per week for 50 prims and L$25 a week for 25prims on billboards. Still, this is one of the only malls that i would actually enjoy walking around, unlike othermalls that are quicly built for a quick profit. Alex Harbinger has done it again and revolutionized another part of the Teen Grid after a rather long time of “hibernation, he chucks out the VitaGadget, and now .inspire, whats next from this SL mogul?

Second Life Currency Security Comprimise

The following report taken from http://www.news.com/8301-13772_3-9827500-52.html?tag=nefd.blgs

Over on Dean Takahashi’s San Jose Mercury News blog today, he reported on the discovery by a pair of security researchers that it may be possible to steal Second Life users’ in-world currency.

That would be a big problem, of course, because the currency, known as Linden dollars, are directly convertible to U.S. dollars.

According to Takahashi’s story, hackers Charles Miller and Dino Dai Zovi told him that they have uncovered an exploit that could allow someone to fleece Second Life residents of their Linden dollars.

The exploit is related to Apple’s QuickTime software, which is used to display videos in Second Life.

“The exploit works because Second Life allows users to embed videos or pictures on their characters or their virtual property,” Takahashi wrote. “When someone comes nearby and is within view of the object, the Second Life software activates QuickTime so it can play the video or picture. In doing so, QuickTime directs the Second Life software to a Web site. By exploiting the flaw in QuickTime, the hackers can direct the Second Life software to a malicious Web site that then allows them to take over the Second Life avatar.

The end result of that could be that a malicious hacker could then strip the avatar of any Linden dollar holdings.

For its part, Takahashi wrote, Linden Lab told him that the exploit is easily patched. Nonetheless, the company put up a warning on its blog Friday.

Takahashi said that Linden Lab told him, “We were alerted a short time ago by Internet security professionals that a QuickTime exploit has been discovered which may allow an attacker to crash or exploit any user of the QuickTime software from Apple. The Second Life viewer uses QT to play videos and therefore this exploit could potentially affect the residents of Second Life. This exploit affects all platforms that use QuickTime and, to date, Apple has not released a fix for it.”

To date, however, Takahashi wrote, Linden Lab said it isn’t aware of anyone actually using the exploit to rob anyone.

For residents of Second Life, then, the solution may be to avoid holding onto large numbers of Linden dollars.

As I told Takahashi when he asked me to comment for his story on Linden dollar security, “As one SL business owner said to me…you should always have a backup plan in case of a glitch that causes you to lose everything, because you never know what might happen. And in the case of Linden dollars, that likely means doing regular (Linden dollar/U.S. dollar) exchanges so as not to keep too many Lindens in your SL account. You can’t lose what’s not there.”

AD Christmas Collection

I’ve always thought of AD (Anna’s Designs) as a female only store, well, i was wrong. I was going through the classifieds on the forums when I saw Anna Normandy’s announcement of a Christmas collection of PJ’s. I at least love dressing seasonally so I went right over and bought the whole collection (pretty pricey at L$400, but individual pants are L$90). The design and idea of the pants was very nice, so I put on the red candy cane pair, at first glance i thought i had wasted my money (they looked like spandex), but after you go into the appearance menu and make them baggy, well, there is a big difference. They look so good, I’m actually going to wear them regularly. The only awkward thing is an overly large button, I dont know, some people might like it, but I’m not a big fan, the pants are so festive and well designed overall, that I am willing to overlook it.

Further back in the store i also got an AD Striped Polo. I must say, the resolution on that polo was extreme, it looked life-like, and there were almost no visible seams. The only down-part was that the v-neck went way too low, any lower, and you would probably be able to see my pecs, but as with the PJ’s it is so well designed overall, that I will wear it anyways. Kudos to Anna!

-Ben Carter

Wicked Loudon will now take your questions

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To view all of the pictures from the photoshoot with Wicked Loudon,

go to Slikon’s (our photographer/interviewer/reporter) SL People page here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/17893359@N02/sets/72157603356891888/

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BEN CARTER:: How long have you been active in Second Life?

WICKED LOUDON:: I have been in secondlife forever. I mean, since October 05. The profile says December but I started before my 14th birthday

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What would you consider to be your skills?

WICKED LOUDON:: My skills are my hair, which I love, my skins, and me clothing. Asuka is my BFF and she teaches me things all the time.

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What is your biggest strength, in SL, and in the physical world?

WICKED LOUDON:: Artistic talents, and dramatic renditions of things that happen both in SL and outside of it ;D

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: If you don’t mind me asking, what is you real age?

WICKED LOUDON:: 42. LOL, jk XD. I’m 16

 

 

BEN CARTER:: So you will be leaving us in 2 years, how do you feel about that and what will happen to Cursed Designs?

WICKED LOUDON:: I’m bringing it with me ;D It’s not staying behind, lol, and after 07 most of my friends will be gone off of the TG: Asuka, Mike, Mercury just transferred

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: When did you “officially” start Cursed Designs?

WICKED LOUDON:: December 2005 I started up me business, renting from Stupid Harbinger at MegaMall Snow. I had like, 10 items. Lol

 

 

BEN CARTER:: How long did it take you to stop considering yourself a “newbie”?

WICKED LOUDON:: I’m still a newbie. And a nub. ask anyone. And btw, I had trouble paying my rent. It was 45l$ a week. I practically had to go on food stamps to keep my store running

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: How long has Cursed Designs existed?

WICKED LOUDON:: December 2005. I picked up the shop quickly in order to fund my extended habits for buying scripted trampolines and so I could be the first of my friends to have a multi-bracer. I did because selling light sabers in the sandbox wasn’t working out too well. we only had 2 sandboxes back then. And the grid was closed from 10 pm till 2 pm. it was only opened in the afternoon

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Most new companies undergo many name changes, is this true about Cursed Designs?

WICKED LOUDON:: Nope, it has always been CD, except in may this year, where I wanted it to be Cursed Studios, But then that didn’t fly too well. CD has really just stuck

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What country do you live in?

WICKED LOUDON:: United States of America. I live in Louisiana.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Where do you get the inspiration for you products?

WICKED LOUDON:: Pop culture, movies, real life, people, designs, TV shows, jokes, stories, love, lust, grief, pain, lust, people, holidays, cars, trees, plants, animals, people watching all kinds of stuff like that.

 

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Who is you main “target consumer”?

WICKED LOUDON:: People who yearn for diversity. My stuff is more unique and different than Asuka’s. So if someone is desiring something different, they will most likely come into me shop.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What are you monthly profits?

WICKED LOUDON:: Around 60k-75k a month.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What about your monthly expenses? (off the record: texture uploads, rent, etc.)

WICKED LOUDON:: Asuka is a dictator she makes me pay 14k to rent on Dernier for my shop, and everything else,. It’s a deal I guess but I still taunt her with the title slave driver. I pay about 5k a month for texture upload, and about 15k when I release a new skin. I only rent on dernier because it’s pretty pricy for me to run a few stores.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Why clothing, why not furniture or furies?

WICKED LOUDON:: I think that clothing is one of the only steadily profitable businesses in SL. People will always have the desire to go shop for more clothes, but when your house is filled up, you won’t buy anymore furniture. And I’m not a big fan of furies…they seem to hate me. Oh well.

 

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: How many items in your inventory?

WICKED LOUDON:: 36,110. But that’s still a lot.

 

BEN CARTER:: How many L$ in your account?

WICKED LOUDON:: Right now I have 5k, because I just paid rent and sold some yesterday.

 

 

BEN CARTER:: How many US$ in your account?

WICKED LOUDON:: None, I transfer it all to PayPal.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What are you most proud of in general, inside, and out of Second Life?

WICKED LOUDON:: Being friends with Asuka, and Anna

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Which of your products makes you most proud of yourself?

WICKED LOUDON:: I really adore my hair It takes forever. And it hurts the most when Takakura steals the textures

BEN CARTER:: Who is Takakura?

WICKED LOUDON:: Her first name is Calliste. But she is stupid and she doesn’t matter.

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What is your favorite pastime?

WICKED LOUDON:: Being silly, and acting

BEN CARTER:: So you’re into drama?

WICKED LOUDON:: Kinda. But more art. I can paint really well

 

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What kind of music do you like?

WICKED LOUDON:: All kinds ;D

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What do you think you will be doing as a career outside of Second Life?

WICKED LOUDON:: Saturday Night live.

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What would you reaction to these statements be:

a. “HEY WICKED! can i borrow some money?”

WICKED LOUDON::I’d be like, sure okay…wait, do I know you?

b. “OMGOMGOMGOMG, WICKED< CAN I GET A COPY OF YOUR HAIR”

WICKED LOUDON:: Its for sale in me shop on dernier….no you cant have a landmark look it up yourself, lazy c. someone orbits/grief you in some other way on:

i. Your land

WICKED LOUDON:: Okay you’re defiantly banned

ii. Elsewhere

WICKED LOUDON:: Okay im telling “________” to ban you…lol I’m angry >:D

 

 

BEN CARTER:: What operating system and graphics card do you use?

WICKED LOUDON:: I use Windows, and I use an nVidia gforce super ultra godly graphics card. I don’t think that’s the exact word for word name, but something like that.

 

 

BEN CARTER:: How much time you spend doing SL related activities?

WICKED LOUDON:: Like. 12 hours a week

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Are you doing anything else right now, other than taking this interview?

WICKED LOUDON:: I’m showing Anna Normandy my beastly theme music I got from sitting in a chair that gives you a prize if your name starts with a certain letter

 

 

BEN CARTER:: Any last remarks/statements?

WICKED LOUDON:: Its man devouring man my dear and who are we to deny it in here?