Second Life Viewer

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Second Life Viewer

The Second Life viewer (also known as the ‘client’) is the software that allows residents to control their participation in their virtual world. It is a browser for Second Life (SL), similar to the way that Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox allow you to browse the internet. But the SL viewer has more features than web browsers. It contains the control panel that lets you customize your avatar and move it around, build objects, interact with other avatars and objects in the SL environment and search for people, places and things inworld.

System requirements

In order to use the SL viewer, your computer system has to meet minimum technical requirements. Your internet connection has to have enough speed and bandwidth, your processor needs to be fast enough, your ram has to be large enough, your screen has to have sufficient resolution, and your graphics card has to be able to handle lots of large files. Second Life is famous for the quality and realism of the virtual world it creates, and the system you use to access it has to be up to par on the technical end. If your system is lacking, you either won’t be able to participate at all, or you may experience frustration at the slow performance. So either get a new system, or upgrade your current one to meet the technical specs.

Linden Lab viewers

Linden Lab provides more than one Second Life viewer in addition to the ‘official’ or ‘regular’ viewer that is included in the Second Life Installer download. The ‘Viewer Beta’ is a beta version that contains bug fixes and new features. Residents who download this viewer should be willing to participate in the feedback process that beta testing entails. There is also a ‘Development’ viewer that is made available from time to time that is specifically offered to try out new features. If you are interested, check the SL Installer download page occasionally to see if there is a new one available.

Third party viewers

Some third party viewers based on The ‘Snowstorm’ code contain open source features contributed by other SL residents. While they are not official beta versions of the Second Life viewer, they may not be as stable as the regular viewer because some of the features are not built by Linden Lab. But they could be a lot of fun for adventurous residents. And if you have the talent and skills for software development, they could be an entertaining way to customize your individual viewing experience.