Original post by Jack Linden

Today, we’re happy to formally announce SLim, a lightweight, voice-enabled instant messaging client that will allow you to communicate with your Second Life friends without logging in to the full viewer. While the viewer will still serve as the primary communication engine when you’re inworld, having SLim installed will enable you to connect with friends whether or not they are actually inworld.

SLim further lowers the barriers between virtual world and real world communication and ensures that you’ll always be able to connect with your Second Life friends regardless of location or broadband connection. Capable of running on any computer, SLim will extend the value and experience of Second Life beyond the borders of the virtual world.

Among other benefits, SLim will give you:

·       Access to your Second Life Friends list with real-time “presence” status updates

·       The ability to seamlessly migrate a text conversation into a voice call

·       The ability for SLim users to leave voice mails for offline friends

We’re putting the finishing touches on the technology now and will be announcing the availability of the client and a new SLim-enabled First Look viewer very shortly. Initially, you’ll be able to use SLim to communicate with Residents who are using the SLim-enabled First Look. Eventually, the main release viewer will also be SLim-enabled.

Voice is a critical component of the Second Life experience and SLim will play a major role in that facility moving  forward.

Click here to see the official SLim press release.

Btw, I’m returning from the Virtual World Conference in LA this afternoon and won’t be able to read your comments until I get home.  Will comment on the blog then.  Thanks.  

Original post by Joe Linden

Users of “Sametime 3D” who are collaborating on a business document will be able to meet in a variety of virtual worlds, with IBM’s software handling the logins transparently, said Neil Katz, a company spokesman who worked on the project. Platforms supported by IBM include OpenSim, SecondLife, Forterra, and ActiveWorlds.

Katz said IBM will initially be working with select customers to test the new software’s capabilities, before rolling it out to the mainstream.

IBM foresees uses for corporate 3D chat such as walking customers through the replacement of a computer part by rezzing a 3D model. The Sametime 3D integration also smooths the process of importing data from an application such as Powerpoint into a virtual world.

IBM already hosts private regions within Second Life, and is working to draft interoperability protocols that connect disparate virtual worlds.

While reliability issues have plagued virtual worlds such as Second Life, corporate applications may be made to run in a more stable manner, particularly using OpenSim.

“We’re creating a room with 20 or 30 users, we’re not building a persistent virtual world with thousands or hundreds of thousands of concurrent users,” he said.

Original post by Eric Reuters

Original post by Akela Talamasca

Original post by Akela Talamasca

Original post by Robin Linden