What the heck is wrong here? Linden Lab is doubling our price next time we renew, which is fall of 2011, that's what. Has someone lost their mind? Is there an accountant or CFO that has lost sense of reality? At a time when higher education is carrying and legitimizing Second Life they pull a stunt like this?
Okay, so life has its lumps, and this is a major one. But Higher education has given much to Second Life, and, at a time when big business is abandoning it. We are filling our academic journals with research reports about Second Life, offering classes and many other activities that support this company. Some things just simply cannot be understood. Another rip off is that Linden is not standardized with other virtual worlds and if we cannot afford the island anymore, all of our digital assets go away too. Insult to injury.
On the brighter side, the market will respond with alternatives and there have already been other options. After criticizing OpenSim in another posting, I take it back and recommend we all take a close look at OpenSim:
http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Main_Page
I will be seriously investigating OpenSim and other options like ReactionGrid and others. And, I present at an academic conference in 3 weeks so I will be sure to inform about the price hike. Kindly and professionally of course. : >
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Good luck on your investigation!
ReplyDeleteI recommend following Ener Hax. Nice article here:
http://iliveisl.com/a-few-opensim-options-for-ed-peeps-and-non-profits/
And Pathfinder:
http://becunningandfulloftricks.com/2010/10/07/a-virtual-world-in-my-hands-running-opensim-and-imprudence-on-a-usb-key/
And there are a lot of resources at Hypergrid Business, including a list of all the OpenSim hosting providers, and their prices:
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/opensim-hosting-providers/
http://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2010/10/how-to-choose-an-opensim-hosting-company/
Good luck again!
Maria Korolov
Editor, Hypergrid Business