SL THRU THE WEB IS HERE!

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: 

Ajaxlife Second Life Your Web Browser

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.

Second Life Fashion Dilemma: Class or Trash?

By Victoria Wheeler

Some Second Life citizens don’t care much what they wear, as long as they ‘feel’ comfortable and appropriate. To some SL denizens, fashion means keeping up with trends straight from the real world. To others, their SL wardrobe means looking as ‘seductive’ as possible in order to quickly engage someone in a conversation that goes beyond the ubiquitous, “Where did you get those wings?”, into more er, personal territory.

When it comes to what my avatar wears in SL, I’m torn, 50-50 between those last two options, class vs. trash. 

Well over a year ago, as a noob, I was thrilled by all the styles available in SL. The options were intoxicating, and the prices were right. Having been raised in New York City, I’d long been a fan of wearing what was current. I bopped around SL buying all kinds of wonderful clothing. I was blissed at the opportunity to dress in the high style of which I’d always dreamed.

I even started a small collection of ‘period’ outfits. After all, SL was about fantasy. I bought dresses from eras such as the Renaissance, Tudor England, the 1700’s, Victorian England, some Antebellum hoop-skirt ball gowns, several ancient Roman togas and sandals, native American buckskins, a 1920’s Flapper outfit, a 1940s woman’s business suit with matching ‘period’ underwear, hosiery and shoes, and a Japanese brocade kimono, among other ‘interesting’  and unusual things. I’m not into the fantasy role-playing or furry thing, but I do own a dramatic female knight’s outfit, an animated mermaid costume, and a serious purple cloak to wear when casting magic spells. 

I purchased lots of outfits one might consider ‘fashionable’ in the real world, too. Well-designed clothing I thought was elegant and casual, classic and ‘now’. We know there are extremely talented SL fashion designers, and discovering them was wonderful fun for me.

Then something happened to make me realign my clothing choices. My heart was smitten by a charming, handsome man in SL. Originally from South America, now living in the States, he introduced me to his love of Salsa dancing. I noticed the women at the SL Salsa clubs were wearing short, sexy dresses that swayed deliciously to the dramatic choreography and hot rhythms of Salsa. The wheels in my overheated brain began to turn, and one day, I showed up for our ‘Salsa date’ decked out in a ruffly, sleeveless, clingy red mini dress cut down to my navel in front and in back, well, you know to where.

My male friend’s reaction to this bit of virtual fluff was way too encouraging to ignore, so I decided to find more outfits appropriate for both dancing and capturing my dance partner’s libidinous attention.

Now that I had an audience, I was on my way to months of ‘dressing to impress’. In the past, when I dressed as I would in the real world, no one in SL noticed. My historically correct outfits were also ‘non-events’. Once I knew a reaction was forthcoming I tricked out my avi in something sheer, shiny, slinky and slit, and sparkly platform shoes. Thanks to the great exchange rate, the urge to shop in SL is tough enough for me to resist. The urge to shop for an outfit that successfully elicited lustful reactions from my gender of choice (hetero males), really got me hooked.

Time passed, and I amassed a sizable wardrobe of slutty outfits and 4″ killer heels when, one day, it occurred to me what I’d been doing. I’d become quite clever at filtering out any article of clothing that didn’t fit my perceived notion of what was ‘sexy’. I optimized any purchase ‘for the hunt’, and never settled for anything that wasn’t guaranteed to raise a pixelated eyebrow. Had I sold out my avatar’s dignity (and by proxy, my own) for sexual attention?! It occurred to me I had done just that. 

If you’re expecting this epiphany to have a wise and happy ending, don’t. In spite of the cleansing effect of my confession, I still suffer from Fredrick’s of Hollywood syndrome in SL. Aware as I am of my unsavory SL dressing motivation, recognizing that I have become a 3-D floozy isn’t the same as doing something about it, or even caring. Sure, I’ve tried a mash of contemporary and come-hither, but I know which side gets more weight – the side that shamelessly lures men like moths to a flame. There’s no self-hatred or potential for reform going on here. Just the acknowledgment that I dress for an audience that has no sense of discrimination for quality and style, only for what exposes – the more, the better. 

So, next time you see me in my flexi-lace mini skirt, fishnet thigh-highs, barely-there midriff top and shiny vinyl fetish stilettos, go ahead and smile. I know what I’m doing. I’ve made my choice. I think.