The BelliHub!

Last week Patch Linden announced that the moles/the lab have been working on the new BelliHub. The BelliHub features some interesting things such as demo homes, information links, hangout games area, the events center and more.

The BelliHub is a place to hang out and discuss all things Bellisseria. This is a good step in the right direction and it would be lovely to see more regions like these in the near future.

If you have not visited the BelliHub regions yet it’s definitely worth checking it out and have a explore around. It’s open to the public.

* BelliHub

Announcement from Patch Linden reads the following below…..

Posted Wednesday at 09:23 PM
Announcing… The BelliHub!

For months, we have been working behind the scenes to provide all of Bellisseria (and Second Life in general) a place where they can go to find information regarding Bellisseria, meet up with residents living in Bellisseria and have all of their questions answered.

Today, we are pleased to release the BelliHub!

BelliHub features:

* Information: Links to pages with details on things like how to get a home, Premium membership, using the land tools, the Bellisseria covenant, etc.

* Bellisseria Events Center: where members of the Bellisseria Performers Group can mark their events on the calendar for all to see.

* Demo Homes: Finally a place where residents can rez and walk around all of the currently released home themes and models.

* Hangout: A games area for residents to hang out and interact.

The BelliHub and BelliDemo regions are a resource for everyone who wants to help prospective new Linden Home owners, or just hang out and discuss all things Bellisseria.

What do you think of the new BelliHub and BelliDemo regions ?

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SL Mobile Initial Release Late 2023

Linden Lab has confirmed that SL Mobile is being developed and that the initial release is planned for late 2023 with limited functionality to start of with with more functionality being added after.

Apparently the core development of this product started in October 2022 built upon Unity. SL Mobile will be compatible with iOS and Android devices. The lab have been working on the graphics, avatar rendering, rendering edges and more.

Second Life Mobile – First Look Preview

Sounds very exciting and I would love to try out SL Mobile when it’s in beta later this year. Hopefully the lab will update the Second Life community on a regular basis on the progress.

Linden Lab Rolls Out Biggest Last Name Refresh

On Tuesday 28th February Linden Lab announced another roll out of new Last Names for Second Life residents. This new batch is the biggest last name refresh to date I believe which removes some of the older last name options with new Last Names from everyone’s suggestions submitted to the lab recently.

The lab throughout 2023 will add/remove Last Names from the main names pool. The suggestions form can be found here for future Last Names.

There are some really good ones like Blossom, Whiskers, Foxtail, Sausage and more. Here is the full list of New Last Names below…

• Jeon
• Foxtail
• Varela
• Kealoha
• Primdashian
• Spicy
• Costanza
• Gupta
• Softpaw
• Vandervoort
• Tordenskjold
• Peabody
• Whiskers
• Quack
• Pixelbottom
• Blossom
• Bork
• Nightingale
• Sausage
• Fibble

Please spread the word. Thanks 🙂

Do you have any favourite Last Names listed in the main names pool ? Got new ideas for new Last Names ? Feel free to comment below.

SL Living Expo 2023 Opens 3rd March In Second Life

Visit the new upcoming 2023 SL Living Expo Relay For Life mega event which officially opens to the public on Friday 3rd March through until Sunday 12th March 2023. This event will be replacing the Home and Garden Expo apparently.

There is loads to look forward to including a art walk, decorating contest, music & performances, fun and games along with a vehicle show. Lindens will be at the SL Living Expo with some new special exciting events including bowling with the Lindens, dinner with the Lindens, Linden Auction Items and much more.

It’s not known if we will hear more about the Premium Plus Linden Homes at the SL Living Expo but it would be nice to hear the ETA on them. During the concierge user group meeting last week one of the Lindens mentioned that Linden Lab is actively working on the 2048 Linden Homes and they have some neat features. Guess the Moles/Lindens are sorting out some bugs/technical issues.

SL Living Expo is one of the Mega Events of Relay For Life of Second Life, which is part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life fundraising.  The SL Living Expo strives to bring together how we live, work and play in Second Life while raising awareness and funds for the American Cancer Society. 

Spread the word about the new SL Living Expo starting this weekend. Yay.

Linden Lab Update On Bonniebots

On Friday 3rd February Linden Lab posted a statement on the situation with Bonniebots on a number of threads on the Second Life Forums. Linden Lab will be making adjustments and changes very soon to address the issues.

Linden Lab have locked and shut down a number of forum threads relating to Bonniebots.

Here is the full statement by the lab below…

We know there has been quite a bit of discussion about Scripted Agents/NPCs lately. Linden Lab is committed to continuing its excellent track record of keeping your personally identifiable information safe and secure. We understand that there is a certain amount of information a “bot” service has been collecting and displaying on their third party website that is causing unease in our community, and we’re working on the best way to address these concerns.

Linden Lab is having conversations with the parties involved, however this should not be taken as an endorsement of any sort. We have spoken several times in an attempt to get a full picture of the situation. These discussions have been mutually beneficial, and will help us as we look to update our policy on Scripted Agent/NPC operation in Second Life.

We recognize the need for improvements in specific areas, so in the near future we will be making adjustments to policies where needed. We have seen many requests from the community with a wide array of suggestions, and we appreciate all earnest and civil engagement. Internal discussions will continue beyond the Scripted Agent/NPC Policy, and any programmatic changes will be communicated as those roll out.

Thank you to everyone who engaged in this topic and added your voice. While we have had to shut down several discussions that became unproductive, we have welcomed feedback through support contacts and have been using this feedback to inform our decision-making. We are listening, and are working to make sure that Second Life is a welcoming and engaging world for all our Residents (and their automata).

What do you think about Bonniebots ? Feel free to comment below.

Happy 2023

Happy New Year 2023 to all my Second Life blog followers and all new visitors. Hope everyone had a great Christmas break and welcomed the new year 2023.

Hopefully this year will be better for everyone. I will be blogging about the big news stories relating to Second Life/Linden Lab, the annual events and OpenSim. Can’t wait 🙂

2022 saw the launch of Premium Plus, more Linden Home themes being rolled out, the return of Philip Rosedale, introduction of event regions, Second Life university video series, more viewer improvements and much more. It was definitely a busy year for blogging and I think 2023 will be just as busy.

Here is the Second Life 2023 roadmap released by the lab on 22nd December 2022…

• Avatar customization improvements to simplify creating your virtual identity, including inventory thumbnails to give a preview of what’s sitting in those boxes
• New user experience upgrades to better fuel retention, engagement, and growth across key parts of the new user journey
• New centralized “hubs” to better connect residents to the communities that match their passions and interests
• First peek at a world and avatar centered mobile-first Second Life experience
• New LSL functions that improve the quality of life for scripters
• Even more performance improvements to increase the quality and visual fidelity of the Second Life experience
  …and much more!

Sounds very interesting and exciting. Hopefully the lab can roll all of this (above points) by 2024.

I will be blogging more soon.

Second Life 2022 Holiday Events and Activities

On 8th December 2022 Linden Lab announced this year’s holiday events and activities to check out during the Christmas season. This year Winter Wonderland returns, the annual Linden & Resident Snowball Fight, the annual holiday & Hop event, new winter last names, new winter premium gift and much more.

The 12th annual SL Christmas Expo is still open until Sunday 11th December which raises funds for the American Cancer Society support of childhood cancer initiatives. There are winter attractions on the Second Life Destination Guide worth exploring for the holiday season.

It’s a good winter package the lab has come up with this year and I’m sure everyone will have a great holiday season this year in Second Life as the temperatures drop in RL.

Spread the word and have fun.

Check out the dates and locations in the link above.

New Last Names For The Winter Holiday Season

On 1st December Linden Lab officially announced another batch of new Last Names which are winter themed and are available for a limited time. As mentioned in the blog post these new winter themed last names may return next year for the 2023 winter season. I think these new winter themed last names suit the winter season very well and it comes on time with Christmas just weeks away now.

New Last Names:

• Tinseltail
• Elf
• Mistletoe
• Gingerbread
• Noelle
• Claus
• Blitzen

Below is a full list of current last names that are available:

Have suggestions ?

Submit your Last Names here

Update To Traditional Linden Homes

On Tuesday 22nd November Patch Linden officially announced the long awaited update to the Traditional Linden Homes. For those that live in the Bellisseria continent with Traditional Linden Homes you will notice new features and new options. From the new custom color tinting system, special number signs, revamped Chippewa Junction and more.

It’s great to see the lab rolling this update out finally. Yay! 🙂

• Latest feedback can be found here

What’s New ?

• “Each of the 4 original home styles will have an open plan version selectable from the mailbox house controller menu. Not only that, but ALL of the traditional homes will now have a custom color tinting system for interior walls similar to other themes. As an extra bonus, the house controller has an option for having the Linden Homes security system sent directly to you rather than being part of the content pack”.

• “We are adding special house number signs to the content pack. Just rez them out and place them around your doorway for your own house number!”

• “We are ALSO debuting a revamped Chippewa Junction as our Traditional themed Community Region. Located on the main hub of the Bellisseria Railroad, Chippewa Junction Town Hall features reservable spaces for conferences, meetings, garden parties and even weddings!”

• “To book a venue space for your event, or for more info, please contact Mischievious Mole. Reservation form: https://second.life/TraditionalWeddingVenueReservation“

Here Is The Summary Of The New Features

• “A brand new traditional community region featuring usable wedding, party, meeting and conference spaces”.
• “New open plan designs for each Traditional home”.
• “Original and new open plan house models upgraded with a custom tinting system, controlled via the house control panel”.
• “House controllers have now been updated to use common communications protocols with the rezzer and with houses on the parcels with which they are associated, so that all themes (except Fantasy) may safely be mixed and matched”. 
• “House Controllers now have an additional menu item for the Security Orb, so residents can have that delivered individually rather than as part of the Content Creation Pack”. 
• “Traditional House Controllers now have four new menu items for the new houses in each theme”.
• “Now all House Controllers give details of the theme, name of last house rezzed and parcel centre in their description field”.
• “House number sign addition to the content pack”.

What do you think of this new update to Traditional Linden Homes ?

Linden Lab Announces New Second Life Membership Plan

On 17th November Linden Lab announced a new Second Life membership plan named “Plus” for $5.99/month (annual billing $65.99 USD per year). There are benefits to the new “Plus” membership over the free Basic membership including more increased groups of 50, weekly L$ stipend of L$150, ability to own mainland with 512m of land allowance and a wider selection of technical ticket types via customer support for non-account/billing issues.

European residents will no longer need to pay VAT charges on any of the membership plans which is good news. The lab have now reduced the price of owning land in Second Life which will help many residents during these tough RL times. The feedback since the announcement has been mixed again with many saying they like the new option and some saying it’s confusing.

Here are the benefits of all of the membership plans below. There are more benefits with the Premium and Premium Plus options (see below).

Here is the new land pricing table below.

What do you think about the reduced land pricing and new Plus membership option ?