Book Review - Second Life: The Official Guide
Category Book Reviews
Yes, I call myself a geek but I have yet to check out the phenomenon known as Second Life. That changed yesterday when I finished the book Second Life: The Official Guide by Michael Rymaszewski, Wagner James Au, Mark Wallace, Catherine Winters, Cory Ondrejka, and Benjamin Batstone-Cunningham. I can now see the appeal on a number of levels...
Contents:
Part 1 - Getting a Second Life: What Is Second Life?; Getting Started; The Grand Tour
Part 2 - Living a Second Life: Changing Your Appearance; Using Your Library; Managing Your Inventory; Building; Using the Linden Scripting Language
Part 3 - Success in Second Life: Who Are You?; Making Money; Real Residents; A Cultural Timeline; The Future and Impact of Second Life
Appendices: Real-Life Education in Second Life; Glossary; Additional Resources; Menu Commands and Functions
My learning style would be best described as "read first, then try." One of the reasons why I had not yet tried out Second Life is because I had no idea as to what was involved and how to get started. Yeah, you can always dive right in, and then clean up mistakes as you go. This book allows you to avoid the "mistake" phase, orient yourself from the start, and start getting the most out of your on-line experience. The writing is a nice blend of intro and advanced material. For newbies, there's the "here's where to start, and here are the basic instructions on how to move around and interact" information. At that level, Second Life is basically a three-dimensional chat room. But the real fun comes when you start building your own objects and scripting your own actions and gestures. There are chapters included on how to manipulate the Linden Scripting Language to personalize your avatar. And using "prims", you can create and build just about anything you can imagine. For creative types, Second Life is a playground without limits. Architecture, engineering, fashion design, you name it. And a little time spent with Second Life: The Official Guide will spark your imagination and get you geared up to expand your creativity. The book even explains how it's possible to buy and sell using Linden dollars (which *do* have a real-life exchange rate).
A very useful and aesthetically appealing book that will likely hook you into a new virtual existence.
Yes, I call myself a geek but I have yet to check out the phenomenon known as Second Life. That changed yesterday when I finished the book Second Life: The Official Guide by Michael Rymaszewski, Wagner James Au, Mark Wallace, Catherine Winters, Cory Ondrejka, and Benjamin Batstone-Cunningham. I can now see the appeal on a number of levels...
Contents:
Part 1 - Getting a Second Life: What Is Second Life?; Getting Started; The Grand Tour
Part 2 - Living a Second Life: Changing Your Appearance; Using Your Library; Managing Your Inventory; Building; Using the Linden Scripting Language
Part 3 - Success in Second Life: Who Are You?; Making Money; Real Residents; A Cultural Timeline; The Future and Impact of Second Life
Appendices: Real-Life Education in Second Life; Glossary; Additional Resources; Menu Commands and Functions
My learning style would be best described as "read first, then try." One of the reasons why I had not yet tried out Second Life is because I had no idea as to what was involved and how to get started. Yeah, you can always dive right in, and then clean up mistakes as you go. This book allows you to avoid the "mistake" phase, orient yourself from the start, and start getting the most out of your on-line experience. The writing is a nice blend of intro and advanced material. For newbies, there's the "here's where to start, and here are the basic instructions on how to move around and interact" information. At that level, Second Life is basically a three-dimensional chat room. But the real fun comes when you start building your own objects and scripting your own actions and gestures. There are chapters included on how to manipulate the Linden Scripting Language to personalize your avatar. And using "prims", you can create and build just about anything you can imagine. For creative types, Second Life is a playground without limits. Architecture, engineering, fashion design, you name it. And a little time spent with Second Life: The Official Guide will spark your imagination and get you geared up to expand your creativity. The book even explains how it's possible to buy and sell using Linden dollars (which *do* have a real-life exchange rate).
A very useful and aesthetically appealing book that will likely hook you into a new virtual existence.
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