Rodvik has announced that Linden Lab™ is working on new products “in addition to” Second Life™. While this is terrific and has the potential to bring additional income (and solvency) to the company (and our grid), there is something directly related to Second Life that I feel LL should be addressing, and addressing quickly.
Linden Lab should be working on creating an app for Android and iPhone that will provide as much of the functionality of the viewer as is possible, given the limitations inherent in these devices. While apps do exist that will allow a resident to connect to the grid in this manner, they are frustratingly limited in what they can actually do.
I believe a market exists for a full-featured app, even absent the immersive visual aspect of Second Life. Further, I believe Linden Lab needs to be at the forefront of development of such an app. Power users – sim owners, estate managers, shopkeepers and content creators – would especially benefit from such an application, and this is the “bread-and-butter” segment of our community that LL can always strive to better serve.
Additionally, this could prove to draw more residents to SL’s new social profiles and away from third-party social networking sites like Google+ and Facebook – sites that have been actively antagonistic toward pseudonymous users. With the proper interface, one that is – say it with me now, kids – ‘fast, easy and fun’ to use.
What would I like to see in a mobile client like the one I’m proposing? Here are a few necessities as I see them:
* Teleport, invite to teleport, accept teleport, teleport to an object or another nearby avatar, teleport to region by name, teleport via landmark in inventory.
* Inventory management, including the ability to give/accept inventory, upload/download textures, and read/create notecards.
* Rebaking, wearing/changing clothes, attaching/detaching worn items.
* Basic location of, and interaction with inworld objects (touch, sit, stand).
* The ability to touch a scripted object and access available menu options.
* The ability to reset scripts in a selected object (where allowed by permissions and ownership).
* The ability to play the stream on the parcel the avatar is on, either through the app or by exporting the URL to an external streaming media app.
* The ability to easily buy and sell L$, and to track buy/sell rates.
* Full group functionality, including creating/editing roles, inviting/ejecting members, reading/writing group notices, and moderating group chat.
* Integration with a mobile-optimized SL Marketplace. Make it easy for a seller to track sales on the road. Make it fun for someone to make an impulse purchase for a friend while on the go.
* The ability to edit the “About Land” attributes of any owned or managed parcel.
* As many region tools as possible, but particularly Top Scripts, Top Collisions, restart region, and ban from estate.
* And of course, local chat and IM.
(Have I missed any must-haves?)
Would it be a perk for premium members? A paid app? An app with a monthly surcharge? Personally, for something that could deliver all of these features, I’d be willing to pay a little bit more.
LL shouldn’t wait for someone else to do this. They should grab the reins and the market share, and get people used to using an official mobile SL-client.
I really think this is a “must-have” offering.
What do you think?