I just read all the posts about the recent
Second Life viewer 2.0. Log into the website and search for "
Recommend Abandoning Viewer 2.0." When you click on the link here, it will take you to the middle of the comments... ya gotta scroll up to read all of it... if you have time. It's a worthy read.
One of the reasons I don't comment there is because I am a corporate avi. And, I figure no one will hear my opinions because of that. Blah blah says the corporate avatar who only thinks of the bottom line and business... so no one will pay heed or even allow me to have an opinion.
But, I do have a perspective that might be different from the old guard, newbies or even Linden Labs. I have been a cheerleader for the lab ever since I got here. I shared the same dream and vision of the grid as many of you. I really believed in the utopian concept of sharing, creating and making this a new frontier for our internet future. A digital world where we can have a secondary life while managing our real lives in here using banking, purchasing, researching educational needs, implementing concepts frugally and socializing with some of the most sophisticated, artful, technological minds in the world.
I really believed and I still believe this. Though things have changed mostly because of economic downturns around the world, LL has been inundated with the real life BS of corporate reality; ie., lawsuits, con artists, technological hurdles, social communities of various interests, and a pervasive attitude of me-ism.
I am a builder here (not top notch, but I like building very much). I spend most of my time building and hanging out at clubs and live music events. And every chance I get, I am exploring and posting blogs about my experiences in Second Life.
The comments that I read today is worrisome. I just loaded viewer 2.0 for my alt. She is a building alt to help me practice in-world because my main avatar,
RAFTWET Jewell is so busy with IMs, chat, and blogging that it has become impossible to build as her. So my alt has loaded 2.0 and is practicing with it on another computer.
My first reaction was, "OMG! my desktop shrunk." The menu tabs on the right bolt out in a very large format decreasing your view by nearly half. And, I didn't like the movement keys below that are very large and seem to be in the way when you use them. The other thing I didn't like is that the system seems to be illogical and not very intuitive. It took me 30 minutes to figure out how to make a "pick" in my profile. I even asked a senior associate at the Fermi sandbox and she didn't know! I had to Google a search for "how to make a profile pick in viewer 2.0" to find the answer.
More clicks are necessary to accomplish what I used to do while building. And, for me, that is a problem, because I am showing signs of carpal tunnel and it made my wrist and thumb ache after a session. I never did find out how to see if someone has pushed, bumped or griefed me. (If you find it, please IM me and tell me where it is?)
With that said, I think the new viewer is more user friendly for a brand new avatar coming into Second Life for the first time. I do like that I can close all the windows and have a clear desktop for when I am exploring or building. But, I have to use more clicks to do that.
As with everything, I know this is a major attempt to make things better. I don't want to sound like a major complainer because I do welcome change. When I first got here, the GUI seemed daunting and not user friendly at all for a non-technical person like myself. And, I learned through trial and error and through the good graces of this sharing community.
With the new viewer, I hope I will keep an open mind and learn this new system. I want to believe that LL will listen to our criticisms and suggestions with an open heart and mind. The techies out there need to get on the blog and make your comments and suggestions, because we all need your input! If you don't see me in SL for a while, it's because I'm practicing as my alt with the new viewer... I will learn it. Just like I learned the old version.
