... you have to have the patience of a saint, and nerves of steel, to use it with any sense of urgency.
Yesterday I attempted to attend a virtual conference. First I turned up to see what was happening, only to find out that nothing would start until 10pm my time, and I wasn't the only one - lots of confused avatars were milling around, not really sure what to do / where to go. I told a few where they could find more information and popped off to Dublin to meet Apr and Mona to celebrate St Patrick's Day. At 10pm, with matchsticks propping up my eyelids, I logged into the area to attend the keynote speech - again lots of people milling around. I clicked on the link to the main arena only to be told the area was "full" - a virtual area full of virtual people. A friendly avatar told some of us to try teleporting nearer the area and walking! I'm up for most things, so I gave it a go. As soon as I approached the area I got the message that the server was overused and it kicked me out! It was like hitting a bouncer at a nightclub. So ... I went to bed. I mean - life is to short, even a Second Life,
My other experience yesterday was meeting Apr and Mona in Dublin. We managed to link up, but poor Apr didn't rez properly and wondered around for about 30 mins as a little cloud - a cute little cloud, but hardly worth getting dressed up for (see pic). Even worse, she informed me that my top hadn't rezzed and I was wondering around with my virtual boobs on full display (not in the pic)! Personally I would have preferred to be a little cloud.
Then today. I have been experimenting with running media in-world, and early this morning I cracked it. I was able to create a TV and stream mp3s, YouTube videos - you name it, I could stream it. Great! However, when Apr turned up for the Friday morning session, she wasn't able to see the video - she could see the screen, but the video wouldn't play. We spent the rest of the hour trying to get it to work, but had to give up in the end. Luckily she has a great sense of humour, so we had a good giggle.
I think if I was charging people for the time I spend teaching on there, I would have to give them refunds.