Just how do you identify an alt online?

Jan 20 2013

The image of Tateru Nino's Second Life avatar, as if printed in a bookAlts (AKA alternate accounts) exist in pretty much every online and offline service, from Second Life to Social Security. Usually, identifying an online alt is just a little bit easier than identifying an offline alt.

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No IPv6 plans for Second Life?

Oct 30 2011

IPv6, as you’re probably aware by now, is the successor to the current Internet Protocol (IPv4). Developed in the 1990s, it provides more address-space, and has little bonuses like more efficient routing, and small, but measurably improved performance. With IPv4 largely having run out of address-space (earlier this year), and ISPs charging ever-increasing rates for their remaining stocks of IPv4 addresses, there’s a small, but increasing number of systems that are only accessible through IPv6, and a much larger pool that are available through both.

As a major consumer of IPv4 addresses, the question of whether the Lab has any plans to add IPv6 support to Second Life is an interesting question – and one that has been being asked since 2004. However, Lab’s answers take some interpretation at times.

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No more Plan-Bs

Dec 30 2010

About 15 years ago, an improved Internet Protocol was developed called IPv6. Among the improvements was an vast increase in the number of usable Internet addresses (IP Addresses) because – you know – we were going to run out eventually; and before very long, it seemed at the time.

However, being the ingenious sods that we sometimes are – as a species – we managed to cook up a number of “Plan-B”s to buy us more time in which to act.

And then we took that time, we squandered it, and ultimately we lost it.

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Consensual technology

Nov 5 2010

Internet technologies largely run on consensus. This makes the rate of significant change in Internet technologies actually quite low.

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