The other big news in Second Life® (see previous post on new resident homes), is the new beta viewer. It is going to be terrific when it irons out any bugs–I haven’t found any. It’s sleek and easy to use, mimicking a web browser, with the typical search bar and easy to find links to landmarks, also in a bar. On the right side is a collapsible sidebar where you find your inventory, profile, appearance editor–all sorts of things that were scattered about in the old viewer. In addition you can apply media to the surface of any prim. There is an option for bubble chat–a chat bubble appears above your head when you chat. I would like it better if you could type right in it, but it’s an interesting idea that I have tried in a few situations.
Below, you can see the sidebar expanded in the left photo and collapsed in the right one.
The discussion among educators is that this easier to use viewer might make the whole experience better for both faculty and students. Read about and download the viewer here: https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2010/02/23/second-life-viewer-2-beta-now-available
Wandering 