One thing you quickly learn about Second Life, is that nothing is forever. Our favorite stores, designers or builders come and go, leaving behind heartbroken residents. Running a business in Second Life is expensive and time consuming, not to mention the hassles and grief you get from disgruntled, drama-prone customers. Creating can be rewarding and fulfilling, but not always easy.
One such business that is moving away from Second Life is Phaze Demesnes, a unique collection of creations that include amazing flocks of low-lag birds, the owl that hunts rabbits; untold numbers of dragons, horses, and unicorns; the unusual avatars like goats, elephants, and a tiny dragon; and all the geeky toys like the Einstein Eye that watches avatars; not to mention the masterwork, the Universal Translator that works in SL in any language, and so forth.
A sad story with a silver lining during the Second Life holidays this year: even though the Phaze Demesnes sim is closing down at the end of the year, its creators, Fred Beckhusen (Ferd Frederix) and Debbie Edwards (Wavingirlsav Voom) are giving away all their creations free at Phaze inworld in Second Life through the end of the year. (The orange words are a clickable link to the inworld location.)
Phaze has been in Second Life for 5 years and was featured in the Destination Guide with this description: Phaze is a magic land of water, dragons, fairies, demons, unicorns and robots. Follow the paths that lead to dozens of quiet, romantic spots in a colorful and relaxing landscape. Find the dragons to ride and the demons to fight in the arena. Chat with the animated talking trees, statues and paintings.”
However, Phaze is not disappearing completely. Ferd and Wavy are taking their generosity, humor, and creativity into their own grid Outworldz, an opensim, at the end of the year.
You can contact Fred and Debbie through their website for directions how to get there. You can also keep up on Phase Demesnes’ future on its Google Plus page. as well as @Ferd_Frederix on Twitter, Fred Beckhusen on Facebook, and Fred Beckhusen on YouTube.
Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
~ Calvin Coolidge
We at ZoHa Islands would like to take a moment to let you, our valuable customer, know how thankful we are for your support of our business. Without you, we wouldn’t be doing what we love.
Onlive is pleased to announce that SLGo now offers you a choice between Linden Lab’s SLV or the popular Firestorm viewer on PC and Mac. If you’re already a subscriber, simply launch SL Go on a PC or Mac, and you will be presented with a choice of viewers.
Onlive is a pay-as-you-go or monthly subscription service that allows you to access Second Life from a PC or Mac and have a high-fidelity Second Life experience with amazing graphics quality, full shaders, shadows and full motion capability. This allows people with older or low-powered computers to be able to access Second Life, where they may not have been able to do so before.
Now, SLGo on PC and Mac offers access to the full Firestorm Viewer interface, including edit menus, inventory, preference settings and chat management. All viewer customizations are saved from session to session, even if played on a completely different device or platform.
SL Go is offered via a monthly subscription at $9.95 USD per month for unlimited access. You can also choose to purchase by the hour. OnLive does not associate any SL Go information with Second Life. Second Life users, personas and avatars remain private. OnLive values your privacy in Second Life.
SLGo also allows you to access Second Life from your tablet, although the interface is significantly different.
If you’re not a subscriber, get started with a 7-day free trial here. (the orange word is a clickable link).
I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Social Media Manager
Second Life residents who use AMD grphics cards are probably already aware of the ongoing issues with AMD’s Catalyst drivers. The most recent updates to these drivers conflict with the ability to see rigged mesh in Second Life. This problem is related to the 14.9.2 driver update deployed by AMD. The fastest way to fix this problem is to have hardware skinning disabled. There is an article on this bug in the JIRA that can be found here.
I am reposting pics from the Living in a Modem World blog that clearly show the problem on the left, and the fix on the right by disabling hardware skinning:
In her blog, Inara Pey has written an article about an additional work-around for Windows users with an AMD graphics card.
In her post, Inara outlines steps that Yoho Waco, a contributing writer to her blog, came up with in order to get around this problem. AMD sends out these driver updates to the graphics cards automatically, and so one of the solutions is to roll back to an earlier version of the drivers to enable users to see mesh again.
But for those who wish to use the latest Catalyst or Omega drivers for their cards, this workaround should fix the mesh rendering issue. Yoko uses uses Windows 7 64-bit, but Inara’s article indicates that the basic approach should work with all versions of windows, 64-bit and 32-bit.
Like Inara, I have a Nvidia graphics card, so I was not able to test these steps. But if you have an AMD graphics card and have been experiencing problems seeing mesh, I encourage you to review the article and follow the steps found there.
This is a perfect example of how Second Life residents come together to create a solution to a problem that benefits all. There have been and will continue to be a lot of negative things about Second Life. But I love how this community pulls together to help one another.
I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Social Media
When asked “What’s the one thing Linden Lab could do that would have the biggest impact on further improving your Second Life experience?” residents responded with a resounding request to have a way to communicate suggestions for improvements or ideas with Linden Lab — from different approaches for the way things are done today, to brand new features that could dramatically improve their experiences, to seemingly small things that could have a big impact. As a result, Linden Lab has created a page on the Second Life website for residents to use to share suggestions.
The Feedback and Suggestions page (clickable link), allows residents to submit thoughts, ideas, and suggestions for improvement. You can also find this page by going to the Second Life website and clicking on Help and finding New Feature Suggestions in the drop down.
Just sign-in with your Second Life account, select the topic or category that is most appropriate, and describe your suggestion in the text box. Once you submit, you’ll see a confirmation page and receive an automated email as well. Linden Lab has indicated they will not be able to reply to individual suggestions, but that each idea will be routed to the appropriate Lindens and each one will be reviewed and considered.
Linden Lab is always on the lookout for ideas as they continue to surface in social media, direct conversations, or via JIRA, but this new page should make it easier than ever for any Second Life Resident to share suggestions directly with them.
Linden Lab emphasizes this is not a portal for support requests, bug reports, and other inquiries. Residents should continue to use the Support and Downloads page and the JIRA to report problems or get support (hover your cursor over the orange text and you can see the clickable link).
I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZI Social Media Manager
“Truly, I am so very grateful to the people and sponsors who help us make this event possible. I’ve been asked many times why I focus on doing charity in SL, when I could just drop some cash off or send some. And the reason I bust my butt in here is simple. Or to me it’s because not everyone can just drop $50 in a donation jar. But most people can drop $50L in one.” ~ Jayda Ronin
Recently, I was contacted by Jayda Ronin (jayda lycheborne), because her motorcycle club was looking for a full prim sim to hold their annual Toys For Tots charity event. ZoHa Boa, the owner of ZoHa Islands, graciously agreed to rent the land to her at a reduced price as a contribution to their charitable event. I put her in touch with a salesperson at ZoHa Islands and she got Jayda all set up with her land. To visit the sim, click on the SLURL here.
Jayda’s elves worked long, hard hours and transformed this sim into an amazing, wonderous Winter Wonderland in only four days!
This sim isn’t open to the general public until Friday, Dec. 5th at Noon SLT. I was fortunate enough to be invited early and was given a tour and a sneak peek of this amazing sim. When I first landed, I was enchanted! This wonderful, magical place truly embodies the spirit of the Christmas season. The sim is positively gorgeous. The windlight setting, the snow, the builds, the snow (I liked the snow; can you tell??) — it was breathtaking. I shivered in RL because it was so realistic.
Jayda Ronin
Jayda is very passionate about her charitable work. As founder and president of the Valhalla Outlaws Motorcycle Club (VOMC), she is the heart of this organization. She is tough on the outside, but inside she has a heart of gold. She will tell you herself, “I’m an asshole… but I’m the nicest asshole you’ll ever meet… and I feel very strongly about helping the underdog.”
This humble woman brushes off any attempt to give her credit for the charitable work that the VOMC does. “My crew will tell you it’s mostly me, but I say it’s a group effort. Because I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, without them.”
Jayda formed the VOMC in 2011. Jayda states: “I formed the VOMC with my former partner and still one of my best friends . . . and our goal when we made the MC was for the purpose of giving back. We started as a group of about 12 DJ’s and a few creators who wanted to give back, so that collectively we did something in SL that wasn’t all about us.”
The VOMC holds rallies for charities all year long. “We do Toys for Tots every year at this time, and we do NAMI.org annually as well, which is the National Alliance for Mental Illness. Then we participate in RFL, and we’ve done WarChild.org, the BCA Rockfest for Breast Cancer etc. Basically when we aren’t doing our own big ones, we support the others. Several of us help out Soco with her Autism one.” Jayda says.
Jayda credits Nan Ember of Nanscapes as the genius behind the creation. Nan’s profile states simply: “I do sim landscaping. If you are interested please contact me for pictures of my work.” Having seen the transformation of this sim in only four days, I would highly recommend her work. But don’t take my word for it; come see the Winter Wonderland for yourself! (this SLURL won’t be valid until Noon on Friday, Dec. 5th, don’t forget!).
The Winter Wonderland will be open December 5th through December 14th. All sorts of events are planned (see schedule later in this post) but if you want to visit the sim between events, the public is warmly welcome. Highlights of things to do include:
• Carriage rides
• Flying reindeer that are ride-able (and steer-able!)
• A platform in the sky for bowl sleds to ride and shoot across the ice
• A huge frozen pond for skating, hot chocolate, and of course snowball throwing
There are so many spots to stop and enjoy a little peace and tranquility. This sim has an amazing feel of winter, with ice and swirling, falling snow! There is a photo contest that is going to be held for the duration of the Rally. There will also be three big production concerts, as well:
• In This Moment
• Celebrity Christmas
• Disney on Ice.
There is also some fun-filled Gachas, and all proceeds go to Toys for Tots. And of course there are Toys For Tots donation kiosks scattered throughout the sim.
The Photo Contest Boards are at the landing point of the sim. There is a cost of L$10 to enter, and L$10 to vote. Vote as often as you’d like, but you can’t vote for yourself. There will be a minimum of L$1,000 given for first place. Make sure you thoroughly explore the sim, as there are LOTS of places to take pictures. This contest is open to ALL ages. Please remember this is a General Sim and open to ALL. (in other words, keep your bits covered).
Please follow these simple rules:
• Photos must be taken on the VOMC Winter Wonderland sim, and it CANNOT BE PHOTOSHOPPED. You may use windlight settings.
• Only 1 entry per person
During the live Dj events, gift cards and prizes from the event’s sponsors will be handed out to those who have dressed in the theme of the event. There are no contest boards. Everyone gets a treat! ‘Tis the Season!
EVENT SCHEDULE: All times are SLT
Friday, Dec 5th
4-6pm – DJ Reb Redgrave – Come as you are 6pm – In This Moment Concert
7:30pm – Seven Ronin
Saturday, Dec 6th
4-6pm – DJ Canuck – Best in Silver & Gold
6-8pm – DJ Nan Ember – Best in White
Sunday, Dec 7th
4-6pm – DJ Skokamo Auer – Best in Christmas Elves
6-8pm – DJ Silky Lioncourt – Best in Winter Wear
Monday, Dec 8th
4-6pm – DJ Beauwolf Wilder – Best in Nutcracker
6-8pm – DJ Carina Darkfury – Best in Blue & Silver
Tuesday, Dec 9th
4-6pm – DJ Beauwolf Wilder – Best in Santa’s Workshop
6-8pm – DJ Mukren Kush – Best in Ugly Sweater
Wednesday, Dec 10th
4-6pm – DJ Jimmmy Sharktooth – Best Wrapped
6-8pm – DJ Shealynn Cardone – Best in Peppermint
Thursday, Dec 11th
4-6pm – DJ Shibari Metall – BEST IN 80’s Christmas ( attire )
6-8pm – DJ Shealynn Cardone – Best in Holiday Hats
Friday, Dec 12th
4-6pm – DJ Mukren Kush – Best in Red and Gold 6pm — Celebrity Christmas Concert Tribute
Saturday, Dec 13th
4-6pm – DJ Trouble ( Axl Berkmans ) – Best in Merry Mint ( green & white ) 6pm – Disney On Ice Tribute
Sunday, Dec 14th – LAST RALLY DAY!
4-6pm DJ Khor – BAD SANTA Event
6-8pm – Winter Formal and Closing Party – DJ Carina Darkfury.
Below are some pictures that I took while on the sim. But truly you must visit this amazing place in person. And drop some Lindens in the donation kiosks while you’re there.
For more information or inquiries, please contact Jayda Ronin in-world.
I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZI Social Media Manager.
One thing you quickly learn about Second Life, is that nothing is forever. Our favorite stores, designers or builders come and go, leaving behind heartbroken residents. Running a business in Second Life is expensive and time consuming, not to mention the hassles and grief you get from disgruntled, drama-prone customers. Creating can be rewarding and fulfilling, but not always easy. 
A sad story with a silver lining during the Second Life holidays this year: even though the Phaze Demesnes sim is closing down at the end of the year, its creators, Fred Beckhusen (Ferd Frederix) and Debbie Edwards (Wavingirlsav Voom) are giving away all their creations free at Phaze inworld in Second Life through the end of the year. (The orange words are a clickable link to the inworld location.)
You can contact Fred and Debbie through their website for directions how to get there. You can also keep up on Phase Demesnes’ future on its Google Plus page. as well as @Ferd_Frederix on Twitter, Fred Beckhusen on Facebook, and Fred Beckhusen on YouTube.
