Does LindenLabs have the tech talent to make SL work?

Just a quick poll

Not quick enough! Hurry up and post it so I can see whether this is another lead balloon worth demonizing you for...

Edit: There we go. Personally, I think the dev staff have the goods to pull it off. I still worry that SL will be usurped by a new Metaverse. SL is breaking new ground but once enough of the trailblazing is done, you're going to see even more companies trying to move in on the area. They need to ensure that SL remains competitive when it comes to graphics and physics, or else another system will come along and supercede them.

Yes I think that Linden Labs has plently of talent to make SL work but so far they seem to be allocating their resources to new things and marketing instead of stabilizing their base product.

I guess that is a business decision.

what is the point of this poll blaze?

LL will make the business decisions they deem necessary to manage technical progress in accordance with their cash flow requirements.

I have probabaly 50K USD worth of ideas I'd like to invest in SL but I can not because

a. They are yet to be cash flow positive
b. The world is constantly crashing and is constantly unstable

I'm not looking for a guarantee that SL will be around in the years to come, but past performance indicates to me that there is a guarantee that they will not be around in years to come.

20% monthly growth rate isn't a positive sign?

Well, you can always buy 90 cents for 1$.

The question is, when will they start making 1$ for every 90cents they spend?

It'll happen precisely when it happens, and unless one of us not only has a crystal ball but also know's LL's revenues and expenses how could anyone offer anything but their gut instinct? Mine tells me SL has a bright future, but my crystal ball is in the shop.

Other than lag. I have had no problems with SL crashing or locking up any more that other online games I have played. As for linden talent, they seem technically competent to me. The only problem I see is the lindens seem to want to mold SL into a fun happy PC utopia. I would like to see it grow without rule changes every time somone gets their feelings hurt.

I think they have the talent. But do they have the discipline?

Blaze im sorry but this must have been one of the worst things you have ever posted. Do you even talk to the lindens and ask them why thing dont happen or happen the way they do ? Did you even know they are having staffing problems ?

Blaze,

As Linden Lab is a privately held company, how are you so aware of their finances and whether they are cash flow positive or not?

One of the Lindens (Philip I think) said that if they'd worked to make SL 100% feature-complete, it would have taken so long to develop that they never would have been able to secure enough funding to stay afloat. LL has a track record of hiring really talented people. The current growth rate could easily be enough to bring the grid to its knees, yet I can log on and use it without too much trouble at any time. To me, that says that they have the capability to do this thing.

Huns, you touch on something I've been thinking about for awhile. There was a period during which logging in at peak times was next to impossible. I don't remember how long this actually lasted, but I know that in proportion to the rest of my time in SL, it wasn't a huge amount of time.

Anyway, everyone was screaming and clamoring and indignant that everything wasn't perfect. Linden Lab acknowledged the problem and got to work on it, first via software fixes and now via hardware upgrades.

The login troubles have now vanished from the short memories of the masses. Everything is back to working again. They've addressed their growing pains relatively quickly. And, look at World of Warcraft, which had its own growing pains -- from what I read, it took weeks or months to completely fix all that plagued that service. Even with vastly greater money power, even Blizzard got caught with their pants down and could not fix supply shortages overnight.

Linden Lab is a tenacious little terrier of a company and I would rate their performance as excellent given their resources and the challenges of doing something completely different. It's certainly not easy to blaze a new path.

In any case, Second Life already works. Even if Second Life had a mere quarter of the stability, usability and feature set that it currently boasts, it would be a very impressive proof of concept. Such as it is, however, Second Life is an amazing product. But it's brand new.

It would be a little unreasonable to expect Ford's Model T to include anti-lock breaks, inflatable restraints and an MP3 CD player. Technologies need time to develop. Just because Second Life isn't perfect doesn't mean it's not worth working at, nor does it mean those working at it aren't the most capable to do so..

They apparently do not have the right techs or enough. As I continue to have problems with GAMA and which has gone on now for at least a month. I'm told a tech will take a look which takes DAYS for them to do so, and they have yet to figure what the problem is, all they know for sure is that yes there is one.
Sexy Partridge

This post raises an interesting, and I think valid point in talking about LL's technical skills. From a purely technical standpoint, I think their team has done amazing work - as others have pointed out, the outages have been rare and they have worked dilligently to address growing pains and stability problems. Are they perfect? Nope. Are you? Didn't think so. However, I will concur on the technical support side, there is some weakness. Support is always the achilles heel of any growing company, and LL is no different. I have always found my dealings with LL's technical support to be frustrating.

I think LL more than has the technical credentials to take SL to exciting new heights. It is important that quality technical support is not shortchanged in the process.

In the financial world, this is one of those things that you are always guilty until proven innocent.

We have all grumbled at one time or another, myself included, but there is no place else I would rather be.

If u are still here its because u do love sl and will roll with the ups and downs residency brings.

I love my partner, my friends and those adorable Lindens.

Like Cris said, the Lindens aren't perfect, are u?

I predict sl will be around for many years to come and hopefully so will I.

why?

so basically you are saying becuase they dont say how much profit they make if any in a form where you dont know what it is , then they must be going broke?

Maybe its a good idea they dont tell us how much money they make, since becuase its a Subscription service , people will cry for a refund if they knew how much proffit was being made.

seems just another sky is falling complaint.

hmmm...

Rapid population growth.....good percentage of trial and lifetime members become premium accounts.

I would say SL is already working.

Anyone that's ever played around in a large online environment, especially one that even comes close to nthe possibilities of Second Life, knows that bugs are gonna happen. Overall, I am constantly amazed at how smoothly the world if SL turns...

They have the tools,

They have the talent.














































...... It's Miller Time.