Category: Reviews

Today, the telephone – in the form of pocket-sized smartphones – is an essential part of most people’s every day life. Looking at one, it is hard to imagine how far the technology behind this means of long-distance communication has come since its birth in the 1870s.

Of course, we all know something of the history of the telephone, with names like Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Grey (if not poor Antonio Meucci) being familiar to many of us, if only as a result of our school days. But what is it’s real story? How did the early telephones work? what have been the various eras of the ‘phone?

Denzel Coy brilliantly and charmingly answers these questions in Second Life through his Telephone Museum. Within it, visitors can explore the telephone’s entire history, from its beginnings with the unfortunate Meucci, the unlucky Grey and the fortunate Bell, through the first box systems, to candlesticks and on to the rotary era – all the way up to the modern cellphone.

This is a fabulous environment for anyone interested in history or technology as well as the telephone. On displays are around 50 exquisitely crafted telephones from the last 140 years, made by a number of Second Life creators – Raya Jonson, Jin Zhu, Zaida Gearbox, Neotoy Story and Plato Novo, to name but a handful, as well as Denzel himself. Alongside of them are information boards complete with audio playback capabilities, allowing visitors to read or hear the information they contain, together with reproductions of adverts for telephones from the different eras, and more.

The displays are laid out around two levels, with the lower progressing from information on Meucci, Grey and Bell, through to the arrival of rotary dial telephones in the 1920s. These displays are all offered around a model of the very first telephone device from 1876. From here, visitors can progress to the mezzanine level, and the history of the telephone from the 1950s through to the present day, with a brief detour into the world of the military field telephone.

As well as the audio capabilities, the museum includes a number of interactive elements – including the display case of the aforementioned 1876 device being alarmed against theft! There is also a gacha station, where visitors can obtain a number of items, including some rare models of the ‘phones on display and the Telephone Museum Ultimate Guide. There is also a trivia competition on the main floor, where people can test the knowledge they’ve gained during their visit.

This is a superb exhibit to visit, perfectly presented in an environment designed by Denzel. Informative and educational, it is also entertaining and offers another look at just how exquisite mesh models can be in Second Life.

SLurl Details

• The Telephone Museum (Dent, rated: Moderate)

As we all know, the Moles are the resident builders of Second Life who form the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW). They take care of all the major Mainland infrastructure projects, up to and including activity locations such as PaleoQuest, The Horizons Experience, and other reached via the Portal Parks.

February tends to be Mole Month, with the annual Mole Day taking place in Bay City, celebrating the work of the Moles. 2017 has also been especially poignant for the Moles, as their long-term Mole-In-Chief, Linden Lab’s own Michael Linden, departed the company for pastures new. This being the case, I thought I’d take a little time out occasionally to visit some of the more notable Mole builds in Second Life which may not be as obvious as the “big” places like the Horizons Experience – and a good place to start, thanks to an indirect nudge from Kinnaird Flachra, seemed to be the Shareta Osumai Tea Gardens.

The Tea Gardens can be found in three locations in Second Life: in the Premium East continent (which also includes Cape Ekim, and the mystery of dragons and Professor Linden, which I first visited far back in 2013), and at Premium South 2 and Premium South 3. All three locations, unsurprisingly, are identical, and form part of the hub for the Japanese themed Linden Homes.

The major feature of the gardens is the pagoda tea house which sits alongside and ornamental pond fed by a stream which tumbles and meanders down from nearby uplands. The tea house is set within a fenced garden, filled with autumnal trees and offering cobbled paths for wandering, the stream cross by delicately arched bridges, and with a small sand garden or meditation.  Those not wishing to walk can catch a ride around the garden on a mole-pulled ricksaw.

Beyond the garden is a broader area of trees and cobbled walks to be enjoyed and, northwards, lies a path winding up into the hills to the local Info Hub, where various freebies can be obtained and people can learn about Linden Homes. This path, winding via stone steps, also leads the way via  Mole Temple – which (and while it didn’t contain anywhere near as many statues) reminded me a little of the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas, Shatin, Hong Kong.

It’s easy to be dismissive of the Linden Home continents – I’m not a great fan of many of the house styles myself, and do find myself wishing more was done to blend the edges of some more naturally into the sea where they form the edge of the grid – but areas such as the Shareta Osumai Tea Gardens, Cape Ekim and others scattered across these regions offer little gems awaiting discovery.

SLurls and Links

All the tea garden areas are rated Moderate

• Shareta Osumai Tea Gardens, Premium East
• Shareta Osumai Heights Tea Gardens, Premium South 3
• Shareta Osumai Tea Gardens, Mitami, Premium South 2
• Other LDPW locations covered in this blog (excluding Experience regions):
  • Temple of the Prim (rated:  Moderate)- see A pilgrimage of the prim in Second Life
  • The Prim Rig (rated: Moderate) – see A journey to the source of prims in Second Life
  • Cape Ekim (rated: Moderat) – see: Of forgotten explorers, dragons and mysteries