By Victoria Wheeler
Yah, BIG HEADS UP – There is now a way to get into SL via a web browser. It’s not a full SL client, but it’s good enough for you to have an IM or Chat convo with a friend or two, and do some minor Inventory ‘maintenance’.
You get there via http://ajaxlife.net which switches to an IP address, so don’t panic. Then just log in as you usually would with a SL client. All you’ll see is one screen. Here’s what the main screen looks like, note the disclaimer:
The Ajaxlife login page
You log into your last location (and see those coordinates) or one you can specify, and you’ll get the ‘Message of the Day’ from the Lindens. You can see the Map and although Teleport is shown as an option, it did not work for me even after several attempts.
Ajaxlife SL Map, with standard background image shown behind it.
Other limitations include not being able to move or see your avatar, you also can’t see other avatars, either. But hey, you’re there, and others logged in ‘normally’ can see you and IM you.
You can see which of your friends are online, and be notified as they come and go. You can see the names of all avatars on the sim on which you are located. Oh, and your Friends and other avatars can see you, too. You’re ‘live’ and online in SL with Ajaxlife.
Click the Inventory tab and see, Wear and remove individual items and Textures – a right-click on an Inventory item will get you Properties, Delete and Rename, and change some permissions. You can create, edit and pass Notecards, too.
You also can see how many Lindens you’re carrying.
You can Search, but only for People. When you open an av’s Profile by double-clicking on its boldfaced name, you only see their 2nd and 1st Life tabs, but you get their pictures, and you can Pay, Offer Teleport. There is an Instant Message button that’s not supposed to work, but “Drop Inventory Here” definitely works.
There’s a Stats window but I doubt if the casual user will have much use for it, I sure don’t.
This web interface can be a little bit slow, but that it exists at all is worth the minor wait.
Here’s the blurb from the Ajax info site located at:
Katharine Berry, a student in the UK, has created an in-browser AJAX application that allows you to log into the virtual world of Second Life, but without all of the laggy graphics. This is a great way to pop in-world for a moment if you just want to chat with other residents, and as far as anybody else will be able to tell your avatar will look just fine (although mostly immobile).
<They say the following, too, but I found the reverse is true (you can intiate IMs, but can’t Teleport)>
While you can’t yet initiate new IM sessions or use the Search functions (these are coming), you can reply to any incoming IMs and participate in local chat wherever your avatar happens to be. You can also teleport your avatar to other locations via an on-screen map, although once there you can’t really walk around.
The interface is really simple, really fast, and works in Firefox, Internet Explorer, and newer versions of Safari.
All in all, I think this is a very cool application, and if it’s to be considered a work in progress, even at this stage, it’s worth using. Two thumbs up (that’s all the thumbs I have).
Our gratitude to Tenshi Vielle for informing us about Ajaxlife.
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