I've been reading about the resident survey that Linden Lab has been randomly sending to Second Life residents via their client. I was surprised to find it on my screen the other day. It asked the question, "Is your Second Life experience getting better or worse?"

The brown noser in me immediately wanted to answer "better", but when I thought about it, it hasn't gotten any better. As you can see by my answer on the right, I chose the simple response that the grid seems to be buckling under the large amount of logins. I don't know if this is the real cause of the problems, but we've had more inventory loss, texture issues, and transfer problems than ever.

Did you receive the survey? How did you/would you answer? Leave a comment!

While it's Halloween and we're embracing our fears, I'd like to chat about encoding video. When you look at all the setting choices that you have, it can be downright intimidating. I recently had the chance to speak with the wonderful Machinimist extraordinaire, Paul Marino, about this very topic and he set me straight.

There are a couple of programs that you can use to encode SL-friendly Machinima. The first being Quicktime Pro. It runs roughly 30 USD and gives you some quick and easy options. Since I'm running the Ed Wood Festival this year, I'm using it to re-encode every video in Quicktime MOV H.264 compression with AAC 48khz, Stereo, 160kbps audio.

Another handy program is something that Frank Dellario, ILLBixby Cerveau of the ILL Clan, recommend. It's called Super C, because it has the copyright symbol after Super. It's totally free, but can be daunting because of the sheer amount of options in it. It also has a hard to find download link, so keep your eye out for it.

Do you have a program you'd like to recommend, or specific settings that you like to use? Leave a comment!

I love holidays. So many awesome designers release freebies. I've collected the locations and info of some of them for you. Most are available through the end of today, so get busy!

Freebies:

• Refuge - Freebie Halloween tee and Radiant Ruthie costume
• The Body Politik - Freebie Sculptie Witches Hat
• Little Rebel - Freebie Halloween tee
• Skin 2.0 - Freebie skin
• Canimal - Free Halloween HUD frames. To get them, join the Canimal group and it will be in the notices.
• Stellar Designs - Free Halloween layered tee
• AQUA - Free Pumpkin Pie Schoolgirl costume as part of a pumpkin hunt.
• Violet Voltaire - Free Spider Cameo Set
• Battered Boudoir - Free Halloween Lingerie
• Sae Luan - 12 Limited Edition freebies in Haunted House
• DEKA Designs - Free Halloween Outfit
• Sinistyle - Undead Inside tee
• Adam n Eve - Free Halloween eyes
• Port Seraphine - Pumpkins stuffed with goodies are hidden around the sim.
• Minnu Model Skins - Free male and female Halloween-themed skins

Cheapies:

• Nicky Ree - 50L Halloween Web Dress
• Alienbear Gupte - 25L per pumpkin, each containing a piece of jewelry, with 20 pumpkins in all. This is a scavenger hunt.
• Here Comes Trouble - 50% off of all costumes today.
• Catalyst - 10L Ribbed Vertigo dress in orange.
• Caliente Express - Halloween sale
• Total Betty's - 1L Trick or Treat Nightie Set
• Gritty Kitty - 1L Witch Hat & Scarf
  
• Tete a Pied - 50% off of the Drow, Gothique, and Marie skins
• Corduroy - 1L each Halloween leggings (Haver, Sera, and Mina)
• Lico Lico - There's an entire section with kickass freebies and cheapies!
• artilleri - Halloween Hunt - Each skull is 1L and contains a variety of artilleri items in orange.

Did I miss anything? Leave it in a comment!

You'll have to wait a few days to get your fashion fix from the quad. Canimal Zephyr, Ginny Talamasca, Elikapeka Tiramisu, and Starley Thereian recently announced that they have closed their islands for several days, citing personal reasons. The islands affected are Canimal, Dazzle, ETD Isle, and Celestial City.

The announcements all came in at the same time, so I hope that everything is okay. They have asked that you respect their decision. Come back to us soon, guys.

I'm slightly late in getting this out, but there's still time for you to participate! Roslin Petion, of Tete a Pied, is hosting a special group-only event tonight, October 30th, at 7pm PDT/SLT. If you're a reader of the Second Style blog, you'll have noticed that Grazia Horwitz has been flaunting her custom skin from Tete for the last few days!

Now you can have your very own custom skin from Tete. Have you ever liked the eyes, cheeks, and lips on different skins? Tonight only, if you're wearing your group tag, you can mix and match components, or add freckles and beauty marks, for the low price of 1200L per skin.

On another awesome note, TaP marked down some of their skins for Halloween. Their Drow, Gothique, and Marie skins are 50% off until November 1st

Back when I was a wee newblet (the second time around), Secondcast was the Second Life podcast to listen to. Since that time, almost two years ago, they've recorded 63 total episodes, of which only about 13 of them were in the last nine months. One fifth of the cast, Lordfly Digeridoo, recently pronounced Secondcast dead, after months of inactivity.

While I can't speak for them, I can speak as someone who has been on the show four or five times, with the latest being an episode that never aired in July. I heard the tone of the program change before me. What was once a fun project ended up taking a backseat to their own personal projects. Walker Spaight wrote a book, Johnny Ming and Torrid Midnight went to work for the Electric Sheep Company, Lordfly Digeridoo for Millions of Us, among others, and Cristiano Midnight busy as ever with SL Universe.

Instead of focusing on the fact that it's gone, though, I'd rather relate a happy memory I have from the show. After having been on a couple of times, Johnny asked me to make an episode into a Machinima. It turned into a total disaster. The rest of the cast was really bored and did not hide that fact. They goofed off when I needed screenshots, then got cranky before they were to watch all the Machinima.

Read on for the rest of the story ...

According to MEDIAWEEK, during the week of November 5th, CNN will be putting a new spin on an old idea. Instead of embedding a reporter in Second Life, they will be having the residents do all of the work. However, instead of submitting tips to existing blogs, the news will actually come from the residents.

In order to prepare our fair citizens for their duties, they will be handing out kits, allowing them to send stories and photos. In addition, they will be offering weekly "news meetings" and training sessions, led by CNN.com staffs, and even Larry King himself! Furthermore, you'll be able to read the news on kiosks throughout the grid.

I wonder if it will consist more of real life or Second Life news? I guess we'll find out next week!

UPDATE: I just spoke with a Director of Public Relations at CNN Worldwide and she clarified some things for me. While it's a possibility that Larry King and other on-air personalities will be in SL, plans have not been finalized in this matter. She also stated that the reports will be 100% user-generated in-world i-Reports.

I know that this is Second Life Insider, but I just can't wait to show you a preview of the game that I think will replace Second Life. It's called Real Life. Supposedly you're able to do almost as much as you can do in SL, except maybe fly.

In all seriousness, I think "Log off now!" is a catchphrase that's here to stay for a long time. While I thought that CSI:NY and Electric Sheep Company did a great job with the episode, it was hard to resist mocking them in a fun way. Just remember that if SL becomes too much for you, you can always give RL a go!