Comments on: Open Source Second Life client announced

By: Matt Biddulph

Matt Biddulph — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 23:23:51 +0000

I've written some more about modifying the client on my blog, with added screencast and hardware hacking.

By: Giulio Prisco

Giulio Prisco — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 16:47:08 +0000

As an avid Second Life user, consultant and �serious� application developer I have made a significant investment of money and time in Second Life, and in the last few months I have often been afraid of losing (part of) my investment. In fact, I was persuaded that if Linden did not start opening the platform very soon, Second Life would fade out with the arrival on the scene of open platforms more suitable for business applications, but I did not think they would start opening the platform so soon. If, as we hope, opening the client software is the first step towards opening the entire platform (or at least licensing the server code under suitable conditions including the right to modify it), then I think serious operators will be much more willing to invest in Second Life: they will know that they will be able to run their own modified versions of the server if they need to do so. If I could run a Second Life server, the first two changes I would do are: permitting users choosing freely their own SL name, and in particular using their real name; and integrating a real-time voice system.

By: Roo

Roo — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:57:30 +0000

Update 3: Hiro Pendragon has an excellent anaylsis of the news, including likely (positive) security implications.

By: Trevor F. Smith

Trevor F. Smith — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:34:12 +0000

From the SL licensing page: http://secondlife.com/developers/opensource/licenses

“Note that some components necessary for use with the Second Life viewer are licensed from third parties under different licenses. The license for those components is clearly marked inside the distribution of those components. Some components may require payment of royalties or have other restrictions associated with copying, modification or redistribution. Please consult the license for all components when licensing the software.”

By: Taran Rampersad (Nobody Fugazi)

Taran Rampersad (Nobody Fugazi) — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:12:53 +0000

The license choice is probably the best news. The GPL instead of a BSD-like license guarantees people won’t be creating their own proprietary spinoffs from community efforts.

By: Roo

Roo — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 13:44:08 +0000

Update 1: some good coverage at CNN Money, (which I found via 3pointD), including a quote from Irving. Update 2: Matt Biddulph has been hacking already.