A senior Linden Lab executive has indicated that Second Life's client software is being developed to take advantage of more powerful computers, but did not rule out future efforts involving low-end systems.
Ginsu Yoon, Linden Lab's VP of business affairs, told The Industry Standard in an interview last week that the "core part" of the Second Life experience were best shown on higher-end computing platforms.
"I know that there's a lot of theory in the industry that what you really ought to be focusing on is the light-weight experiences, Web-embeddable experiences, you can run it on any machine, you can run it on mobile devices, or wi-fi networks," Yoon said. However, he said that virtual worlds was headed toward a richer experience requiring more powerful computers. "If you don't show the capabilities that are possible on the high end, I think that you don't really get an opportunity to develop toward where the world is going," he explained.
Yoon was responding to a question of whether Linden Lab was considering low-powered laptop computers called netbooks as platform for Second Life. Yoon acknowledged the increasing market share of laptops, and said that the rise of laptops -- and wireless networks -- had slowed Second Life's adoption. Users with less-powerful laptops and slower wireless connections often report difficulties using Second Life.
"There is a continued movement toward mobility," Yoon said. "And I think netbooks are a much smaller factor than, for example, iPhones, and more powerful handheld devices. ... Those things are certainly things that we are interested in the future. But it's not sort of the core of where we think we develop toward the leading edge."
Yoon dismissed the idea of the Second Life client being dropped in favor of browser-based access. "I know that the common refrain in the industry is 'Oh, it's got to be in a browser, everything has got to be in a browser,' he said. "But there are plenty of experiences that are in a browser, that are supposed to be in a 3D world, and that doesn't do it."
However, Yoon expressed interest in new types of input devices. "your interaction with the computing environment is not always going to be about a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse," he said. "You will have more natural interactions, in terms of gestural interface and the kinds of things that lend themselves very well to interacting in a 3d environment." Yoon predicted "Minority Report-type interfaces" using 3D cameras to translate the movements of users' hands in a virtual world, as well as brainwave devices to control avatars' movements in-world.
Sources cited, referenced, or consulted: Ginsu Yoon, Lindenlab.com, Secondlife.com, New World Notes (nwn.blogs.com), Chris Ulbrich/Lewis PR.
Comments
This sort of attitude is counter-productive in my view. You should always develop for the most common denominator in the computer industry, or even a step lower than that. That way you ensure that your product works for a majority of people.
As a professional developer in RL, I have actually told my bosses that I don't want a more powerful machine than my users to work on at times. My POV is that if I can develop their applications on a system comparable to theirs, then they will certainly be able to run it properly on their machines.
Well, it does fit in nicely with the Linden Lab philosophy of carefully researching what works and then doing the opposite. Does keeping your customer base well informed help keep them loyal? Well then, we'll create policies on the spur of the moment and then hide out in the basement until all the shouting is over. Are customers clamouring for a more stable platform? Well then, we'll throw in yet more bells and whistles nobody asked for and make the existing platform even more buggy. Do the majority of our users have middle-range machines? Well then, we'll create programming that would put a strain on Bill Gates' highest end computer.
Not long ago, Linden Lab announced that it would no longer make downloading the most recent (and often bug-filled) viewers mandatory. About a month later they announced they were only kidding. To make it worse, their latest viewer will not run on many machines that had previously been operating fine in SL.
It's possible, of course, that the plan is to convert to an enterprise client base. If this is true, however, Linden Lab would do well to remember that when it comes to constant computer upgrades, many corporations actually lag behind private users.
Of course, the other possibility is that the people at Linden Lab are simply tired of dealing with all the people on Second Life and now want the platform all to themselves. If that's the case, they're doing a bang-up job.
Christopher Simpson/Holman Tibbett
http://ad-nauseam-original.blogspot.com/
I agree that Linden Lab should stabalize their viewer but on the other hand, to push SL to a new level of experience, users will definitely need to increase the horse power of their machine. It's a no brainer that to get from point A to B faster, you have to run faster. I think that Yoon is bang on with his vision of the future. It was this kind of thinking that resulted what we have today. I know it's a pain at first but the end will be rewarding. Browser based application in my mind is not yet powerful enough to provide a rich experience. I know, I have been a software developer for over 16 years now. Tried as we may, our effort are always in vain as users wanted more. I also agreed with Yoon that we need a new set of user interface to increase user level of experience with SL. Current interface are clunky at best.
That's my 2 cent worth.
Cheers!
An Tay
As much as I hate to admit it, I tend to agree with this strategy. I've seen the many problems of SL and have been as frustrated as anyone. But I think we need to realize that the very nature of this is that it will need to be on the cutting edge for the time being.
I have found I can run Second Life perfectly well on my low end, three year old lap top as long as I turn all of my graphic settings to low. This is not an issue for me as my main computer can handle anything Second Life can provide. The idea here is that most users, even those with low end laptops, can access Second Life and have a rewarding experience. I think most of the difficulty now and in the future are those trying to access Second Life over wireless connections. The constant flow of information demands a stable and wide broadband connection.
I personally want more from Second Life; more graphic intensive applications; more media streaming, and more stable voice chat. The format is there, future growth depends on harnessing the user's available resources.
Readers: I just updated a transcription error in the following quotation from the interview with Ginsu Yoon:
"I know that there's a lot of theory in the industry that what you really ought to be focusing on is the light-weight experiences, Web-embeddable experiences, you can run it on any machine, you can run it on mobile devices, or wi-fi networks."
In the original version, I had typed "Web-inventable experiences" while listening to the audio file.
I apologize for the error.
Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
It's important to keep in mind that SL is a 3D game. Not a utility, a game. Games are always going to require high-end hardware to make the experience worth while, which is why we still see the Nintendo Wii selling strong as ever despite all this talk about "mobility".
Personally, I think this is a long overdue move. SL is trying to be the pioneer in a new age of virtual graphical experiences. You can't stay on the leading edge if you are using outdated machinery. I'm sure no one has lost any sleep over the choice to design Fallout 3 for high-end PCs.
We have MySpace for those who are limited to a Blackberry.
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