Pop Art Lab & Art Breaker in the Skylight

As previously announced Pop Art Lab will participate in the Linden Lab Skylight test (Second Life in a browser).
Therefore we have decided to extend our Art Breaker exhibition few more weeks. Test period starts on or around November 8. and last 2 weeks.
Whatever happens during this test we think Art Breaker is all the worth to keep up for this.

Few days ago the first test “guest” account visited the lab.
There have been a lot of rumours circulating the blogosphere previous weeks. First of all nothing in this test have been hidden as LL posted inworld notecards to a number of landowners without NDA. Secondly according to LL they fully expected the news to spread. Lastly it is a test and far too early to evaluate or draw any conclusions.
We already had a debate on Twitter whether SL in a browser was a good idea hmm some 3-6 months ago. And I still believe it makes a lot of sense. Sometimes we have to forget inworld issues and start think about what’s been urgent in SL for years. More people! Think about how cool it is the whole web can look at your creations in a very easy way. How cool it is if you can run a class and show your students cool places without having to deal with port and firewall issues. Or when you go meet clients you don’t have to worry about their firewall or bandwidth. Or if you host an event where only 3-5 percent actually needs to rezz anything (by the way we never allow rezz at our events anyway).
Ofcourse we expect bugs and troubleshooting throughout the coming months or year.

Here’s the FAQ. Visitors using browser will have a “guest” tag.

FAQ:

System and Access:

Q: What are the system requirements?

A: The web experience can be accessed from PCs running Windows XP or Windows 7 using Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome and Mac O/S X using Safari, Firefox, or Chrome. Access to the experience will also require a broadband internet connection — we’ll be testing various connection speeds during the test.

Q: How does a guest access the experience?

A: During the test, a select number of participants will be presented with the option of accessing a web-based version of Second Life. For those guests, a link will be displayed that can be used to launch Second Life inside their browser.

Q: Is this open to existing Second Life Residents?

A: Any existing Second Life Resident has the potential to access this test. However, only a small number of participants will be exposed to the link needed to access this test.

Q: Can an existing Resident login with their SL account?

A: No. This test aims to validate access options with potential new Residents and, thus, there is no option to login with an existing Second Life account. Participants will appear as guests and will not have the option to use an existing username or to define a new username during their visit.

Q: Is this going to replace the Viewer?

A: No. This test is not meant to compete with or replace the existing Second Life Viewer. Depending on what we learn from our testing, we may ultimately pursue some or none of these approaches, and your help with this test can help us to determine if this approach should be part of Second Life’s future.

Q: How long will this test be conducted?

A: This test is currently planned to begin on or around Nov. 8 and will run approximately two weeks. However, Linden Lab may extend or shorten the duration of this test in reaction to our early findings.

Destinations:

Q: How are the destinations selected?

A: In order to introduce the best Second Life experience to potential new Residents, Linden Lab has selected a small sample of locations that demonstrate some of the most interesting, entertaining, and popular types of Resident-created content. Test participants will only have access to limited features and interactivity, so Linden Lab aimed to omit locations that rely on features not supported in this version (such as HUDs, etc.).

Locations were selected from the wider Destination Guide, which also factors in a venue’s popularity, appeal and overall quality. More information on general Destination Guide criteria can be found on the Second Like Wiki (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Destination_Guide).

Q: Can test participants teleport to all existing Second Life location?

A: No. Test participants will only be able to teleport to the set of locations listed in a streamlined version of the Destination Guide. They cannot respond to teleport requests sent from residents or to SLURLs posted into chat.

User Capabilities:

Q: Will the test participants be distinguishable from existing residents?

A: Yes. Each guest will have a temporary username that distinguishes their “guest” status. All guests will be identifiable through use of a common naming protocol.

Q: Can they buy items in Second Life or in the Marketplace?

A: No. Test participants can not give or receive L$ and cannot have inventory.

Q: Can they change avatar appearance?

A: As they begin each session, test participants will be able to select from several introductory looks. They will be able to change between the available looks at any time during the session. However, since they will not have inventory, further avatar customization will not be possible.

Will their avatar and username be saved after the session ends?

Test participants will have a maximum of 60 minutes to explore and experience Second Life. However, the avatar and username information is not retained once that time has expired. Guests will have the option to download the full Second Life Viewer and register a unique username to continue their exploration, or they may return through the Web Viewer and initiate a new session.

Q: How many times can a guest visit through the web viewer?

A: There is no limitation on repeat visits during the test.

Q: Where do users go for help?

A: General Second Life questions and troubleshooting can be found in the Support section of the Secondlife.com website. (http://secondlife.com/support/)

Interactions with Residents:

Q: Will users be able to IM(chat) with other test participants and Residents?

A: Participants will be able to use text chat with all Residents. Guests will be unable to hear or initiate voice chat.

Q: What happens if a Resident offers inventory or a notecard?

A: Test participants will not see any incoming inventory offers, including notecards. They are unable to receive, give or hold inventory.

Q: Can a Resident offer friendship to the users?

A: No. Friendships will not be supported in this test.

Landowners:

Q: How many people can we expect to visit our region?

A: At this time, Linden Lab cannot provide an exact estimate on the number of test users that participating landowners can expect. We estimate the total number of visitors to be less than 100 guests per region, over the length of the test. However, we will be monitoring closely the impact of our testing to ensure that there is minimal disruption to participating venues.

Q: What is being done to prevent region overload?

A: As part of the test, we plan to randomly rotate and feature different venues to better distribute exposure to all participants. Thus, not all test participants will see the same set of venues in the streamlined Destination Guide.

Q: Can a landowner choose to opt out of the beta test, after it has started?

A: Landowners can opt out of the test by sending a notecard to Blondin Linden.

Q: Is there a support contact if problems are encountered?

A: Landowners are encouraged to contact Blondin Linden if they have any questions or support issues related to this test.