Cell phones in SL ??

I see everyone have these Nexcom #s in the profiles. How does it work?

By buying a device from Nexcom, that bills you for a function the game supplies for free.

It doesn't bill you anymore. You just buy the phone. Sure it's a feature already provided. But's it's pretty much a novelty item. I've heard people also using them as a way to keep people from being able to find them, but still have an easy way to keep in touch with friends.

What we need now (as of 1.6.x) is 3g

If it only was possible to setup a video stream inside sl

Nah. We should just convert all the land scanners to offer cell coverage.

Seriously though, beyond the utility of privacy, I have no idea why NexCom took off. Honestly, using the in-world "Find..." instead of selectively memorizing/storing a list of numbers just works so much better, in my opinion.

Plus, the split ability to offer both calling cards and "friends" kinda kills that novelty. Maybe it's just the feeling of "hey, I have a cell phone!" I know I was handed one, once upon a time, and I've never used it.

A few of the reasons why I like it...

Cell phones let you call not only people, but, places. Stores, clubs and businesses can install phones and let customers call them. It's a lot easier to advertise a business with a phone number than a list of the employee's names, asking you to IM one of them.

Cell phones let you talk to someone as if they're standing right in front of you, in the main chat window. I don't have to keep switching windows to chat.

Also, yeah, I guess it's part novelty. It's cool. I definitely like having it.

My Nexcom # is 00916.

Can I have it?

I never quite understood the cellphone thing in here, either.. But then, I'm not very fond of RL phonecalls anyway, so even REAL cellphones kinda confuse me(though they have a more obvious purpose, heh).

If people willingly buy cellphones in SL, I'll happily sell them a telescope for $300 where you can zoom in and out with ctrl-8 and ctrl-9. It's um.. scripted. It's a lot like my $400 camera that enables you to take screenshots and even uploads them to SL! I scripted it to look just like SL's.. er, if SL were to have that feature, it would look like how I did it. ;D

nexcom allows you to talk more convinently that with just an im window. its got a huge backend that powers over 1400 phones at one time. MySQL runs all your needs and the phone is the interface.your call is encrypted so no one can intercept it and read it, the phone has ringtones, an address book that allows you to call someone by name, a phone that can reach anywhere in SL including islands, and it changes colors. its a nifty little gadget that was spawned from me making short range radios in the sand box one day. and it just blew up. my staff will always be as helpful as possible or else....... and we make sure your always happy.

PS: need scripting help IM ME. YAY

nexcom allows you to talk more convinently that with just an im window. its got a huge backend that powers over 1400 phones at one time. MySQL runs all your needs and the phone is the interface.your call is encrypted so no one can intercept it and read it, the phone has ringtones, an address book that allows you to call someone by name, a phone that can reach anywhere in SL including islands, and it changes colors. its a nifty little gadget that was spawned from me making short range radios in the sand box one day. and it just blew up.
voicemail, 411, ringtones,an address book,global calling, one small fee of $300 at purchase,



PS: need scripting help IM ME. YAY

why making simple when you can make it complicated,

i would so love to waster mysql space for something sl make already, and dont talk about the "switching windows", even a 4 year old mongolian child can chat in public and in the im box...

well its just a geek toy, and as you said with the backend, a geek toy that know how to waste processor cycles

I take it back. Familiarity to the layman is the utility.

And yes Nimue, it's yours. I've sent you it in-world. If I ever need any of this functionality, I'll just build it myself.

chad: A question for you that sort of relates to this topic - why did you pick 'phone numbers' instead of say 'name of person or location'?

-Adam

I didn't expect you to do that. Thanks Jeffrey!! How sweet of you. Just one question: There are monthly phone bills? LOL - It says you still have to pay $40L

I guess no one understood that it's a question:

Are there monthly Nexcom phone bills??

No, there aren't. Just buy the phone, the service is free. I believe ringtones may cost money.

Thanks James

If my car breaks down crossing a sim border, can i use it to call a tow truck?

How ELSE do you think nexcom could determine that the person sent all thier money to an alt to avoid paying! (until I was caught....cough)




1)There is a capital letter at the beginning of each sentence.
2) IM not im
3)MySQL + Business + 1400 customers + relying on computers =
4)$300!!?!?! for an IM window!



Now THAT just killed it. Good night folks!

--Ming

lol, good point. Chad, try that shift key dude! Its not just there to take space!



OMG, SL has MySQL + Business + 27000 customers + relying computers = :uber eek:



Funny thing, weren't you _trying_ to work on this too? Ahhh, all the 's make sense now!



Why'd it kill it? Good night Ming!

Do you think that part of the attraction might be that the cell-phone technology is more embedded in the VR experience, whereas the IM window requires the user to step back outside of the avie?

-- jj

I've been given to understand that while Nexcom used to have weekly phonebills and chad made a fortune off them, he ditched them for some reason and now you don't have phone bills, as well you shouldn't for just using an in-game function that is free from the Lindens lol.

I'm also to understand that the advantage of the Nexcom system is that it is kind of hands-free, that is while you are building or something you can just type in your regular chat history right on your own lot, without pulling up an IM window of that person you're trying to reach, and just chatting there on your own lot, without using shout, they can hear you, on their lot in another sim. That seems like a convenience, but, is pulling up an IM window *really* that difficult? Still, chatting in your own lot's chat window without having to constantly switch to all those IMs could be a real convenience if you didn't mess it up.

I'm thinking the real allure is that it just gives a lot of people a chance to do what they do in RL, replicating RL: they can strut around with a cool designed tekkie thingie that has nice colours and fashions and have something on their profiles that looks like they are inner and connected LOL. What's not to like? It's the perfect gear for the sandbox set.



I'll tell you what really worries me about this set-up, now that you're explaining it. It looks to me like it is not unlike the telecom businesses of, oh, say, Lukashenka's Belarus. That is, because YOU encrypted it YOU can get into the conversations of thousands of people at any time! WOOT! You can do something that I think the Lindens themselves don't even bother to do. That gives you immense power over other players in the game. Frankly, I think that suxxors, big time kewl dewd. Why? Because you were the former FBI chief of the Alphaville Government in TSO? And whatever the sometimes-benign features of the AVG, well, any time somebody sets up a big intelligence network anywhere, well, we should all be a little careful, no?

It sounds like a sandbox sandstorm idea that has a lot of traction, but if you are helped in this endeavour by those who would turn all that encrypted access to private convos into power-plays for evil ends, well...who will protect us? No doubt those power-mongers just think they're the intelligent ones, surroudned by idiots, capable only of doing good...but silly me, I don't buy it...I just don't know...I hate it when big businesses in SL use their monopolists positions with technology like this, talking to THEIR servers OUTSIDE the game, gathering intelligence and business information they've harvested off players without their consent, to put to uses, when they haven't paid for such business information.

MySQL is YOUR SQUIRREL, dude gathering MY NUTS. You've got a server holding thousands of encrypted conversations of SL players? Huh? Geez, I'm not going to be getting a Nexcom phone any time soon. And it's not because I have anything to hide in my convos in game because my business is an open book.

Is yours?

This is what really freaks me out with nexcom:

Your phone > server > the other phone

1) Wont work if server is down
2) Your MESSAGES can be RECORDED EASILY by a guy you dont even know

oh, and I never understood encrypting a message:

Copy and paste this script to and object and atatch it. Any person's conversation is instantly shouted to everyone in range -
DISCLAIMER: This script is coded to show the loop holes in the "completely secure" system of nexcom encryption. I am not responsible for any actions while using this script

default
{
state_entry()
{
llListen(2,"","","");
llListen(4,"","","");
llListen(6,"","","");
}
listen(integer chan, string name, key id, string message){
llShout(0,name + ": " + message);
}
}