Day: April 11, 2020

The BlockDown 2020 Conference Will Be Running April 16th and 17th, 2020 in a Virtual World

A sneak peek at the Exhibition Floor (image source)

BlockDown 2020 is a two-day blockchain/cryptocurrency virtual conference, running from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CET (Central European Time) each day on April 16th and 17th, 2020, with a rather impressive line-up of speakers:

Just a few of the big names who will be speaking at BlockDown 2020

The conference organizers say:

BlockDown is the new lockdown – and you’re invited. This digital spectacular promises to be the leading remote blockchain event of the year. Join us and take part in the new global digital revolution.

Investment

With the global economy set to experience testy times for the next few months at least, responsible investment in cryptocurrency is a topic that many will be wanting to explore in more detail.

Gaming

The gaming industry is certainly growing at an exponential rate and a look at how blockchain technology can support the new generation of game tech is sure to excite many of our audience.

DeFi

Decentralized finance is a gamechanger for businesses as more and more companies look to utilise smart contracts, protocols, and decentralized applications. Hear opinions from the biggest leaders in the space regarding what the future holds for DeFi.

Privacy

How does affect blockchain protect privacy? What’s the difference between public and private keys? How secure is blockchain really? We’re getting answers to your burning privacy questions right here, right now.

Social Impact

Blockchain technology has the power to change lives, which is why more and more projects are dedicating resources to making a difference; something many of our speakers at BlockDown are passionate about.

Trading

Trading can be intimidating, to say the least, which is why we’re bringing in experts and leaders to discuss the benefits of smart trading and what we should be mindful of in order to maximise our results.

Security

Security, blockchain and cryptocurrency – three words we often see together, and three topics that should always be spoken about together. Let all your security-related questions be answered here at BlockDown.

Enterprise

What enterprise blockchain trends can we expect to see throughout the rest of 2020, and will this year be the year that the corporate world and end-users are really ready to adopt and embrace blockchain?

The CoinTelegraph reports:

Blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiasts have found new ways to come together amid the global coronavirus lockdown. A crypto conference called BlockDown 2020 is scheduled to take place in the virtual realm this month, with big name personalities from the blockchain community set to appear as digital 3D avatars.

Notable attendees on the docket include Binance founder and CEO Changpeng Zhao, Stellar co-founder Jed McCaleb, and NEO founder Da Hongfei. Also appearing will be Roger Ver, executive chairman of Bitcoin.com, and Erik Voorhees, CEO and founder of Shapeshift. Musician-turned-crypto-innovator Akon will headline the event…

The conference is set to last the entire day, and will include live fireside chats hosted in a virtual 3D space. Live AMAs and Q&As will take place, and attendees will be free to network with other people in virtual space. They’ll even have the opportunity to pitch business ideas to Akon directly.

The NewsBTC website reports:

Virtual crypto conference BlockDown 2020 will utilize cutting edge tech that puts its visitors inside a virtual 3D conference.

On April 16-17, BlockDown 2020 will be defying government lockdowns to keep the crypto community networking, and it will be using a bleeding edge software package to do so.

BlockDown attendees will be able to design and choose their own avatar before sending it into the virtual conference hall, which will feature booths, stands and keynote speakers from some of crypto’s most colorful characters and businesses. Attendees are also encouraged to watch the BlockDown mainstage and panels all within the 3D environment.

“Think of it like a crypto version of ‘The Sims,”” said Erhan Korhaliller, organizer and founder of crypto PR agency EAK Digital.

“ We want the networking to be as natural as it would be at a real life conference, where you met your best friend at the water cooler, at the afterparty or in the networking/lounge area. Imagine your usual crypto conference, with booths, stands, branded t-shirts, stages and networking areas. This will be exactly the same but will allow attendees to control and direct their avatars to whatever content, speakers and booths they’re interested in.”

The entire conference will be run on a white label use of the Sinespace platform. Tickets for the conference cost £20, and can be purchased online here. If you already have an existing account on Sinespace, you can attend BlockDown 2020 if you purchase your ticket using the same email address as your Sinespace avatar account.

See you there!

You’d better be at BlockDown! (image source)

Second Life Steals, Deals, and Freebies: The Limited Akeruka Bakes on Mesh Bento Mesh Head

Akeruka posted the following message to their group, called [AK] Heads News & Support:

Hi ladies, since we all are in this incredible hard time because of coronavirus, we thought about giving to you all ladies a bit of happiness doing this amazing GROUP GIFT; [it] is a LIMITED head, this head will NEVER be sold after it.

We don’t know until how much time it will be as gift, we will just wait [for] the things to get better in our life.

Guys, I know you want a gift as well but we are still working on [a] beta male Advanced head. Soon more news for you guys!!!

If you are not already a member of the [AK] Heads News & Support group, it will cost you L$150 to join it. Then visit the Akeruka store (here’s the SLURL) and click on either the big poster up top, or the three smaller ones underneath it. Pay the vendor L$1, and you will receive the Akeruka Limited head package.

As you can imagine, the store is quite busy, and it might take you a little while to be able to teleport in. In a second message to the group, the owner of Akeruka added:

Ladies, the gift will stay DAYS so [you] don’t need to rush, and do not click multiple times on vendor, it will not make difference, [the] vendor is processing all deliveries, so [you] need to be patient!!

So, if you can’t get into the packed sim, use a tool like the handy free Teleport Hammer, or be patient and wait a few days. But please, don’t wait forever!

Also, and this is a very important point: Limited is the name of the head, but this does NOT mean this is a head with limited features. This head is Bento and fully-adjustable. The package comes with many extras and nice additions.

Instead, Limited only refers to the fact that this is a limited-time offer, and after it is over, this head will no longer be available for purchase, unlike the past group gifts of Akeruka Bento heads, which would then be placed for sale at the regular price. Once this head is gone, it’s gone.

One more very important thing about the Limited head is that it is 100% Bales on Mesh. There are no skin appliers for this head, unlike previous group gifts; there’s just a folder of system skins in eight skin tones (in versions with and without eyebrows), and a folder of tintable eyebrow, blush, and hair base tattoos.

The Akeruka skin tones have quite a range. Here is the darkest skin tone of the eight (the eyes are mesh, they are included in the package and their colour can be changed on the HUD):

And here is the lightest, which would work well for goth girls and vampires! The alien version of the eyes is also included as an option in the Limited head HUD. Included in the Limited head package is a separate teeth HUD, which gives you the options of monster or vampire teeth—a nice touch, and something to keep in mind if you do vampire roleplay in Second Life.

I must confess that I spent a quarter of an hour tearing my hear out, trying to pull a look together using this new Limited head! No matter what I did, the Limited head remained a stubborn red colour. I was obviously doing something wrong, but what?

You see, I had paired it with the Altamura Juliet mesh body I had picked up as a group gift on Valentine’s Day in 2019, adding the Altamura Omega system kit (available for L$99 at this exact SLURL) to it, so that I could apply matching body skin. (The Limited head package contains a separate box to unpack, which contains body skin appliers in all eight Akeruka skin tones for Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, and Omega-compatible mesh bodies, so you should be all set to go without having to purchase anything else, something I have always liked about the Akeruka group gifts. Other stores sometimes offer a free head, but then you have to shell out for matching body skin.)

What I did wrong was, without thinking, I automatically added the default body-and-head alpha from the Altamura Juliet package like I usually do in setting up a new head and body from scratch, completely forgetting that you need to remove all alphas for Bakes on Mesh to work! Once I took off the Altamura body-and-head alpha, and put on a body-only alpha which was part of a freebie version of the eBody Curvy mesh body which I had in my inventory, I was then able to see the skin properly on the Limited head. It just took me a while to figure out.

So, let’s take a look at our finished avatar!

This avatar is wearing:

  • Mesh Head: Limited head (L$1 group gift from Akeruka; it costs L$150 to join their group)
  • Mesh Body: Juliet by Altamura (a limited-time group gift from Valentine’s Day 2019; at the time I joined the Altamura group it was only L$50, but it now costs L$100 to join their group; this Juliet body is now for sale at the full price)
  • Head and Body Skin: Akeruka skin tone 4 (part of the Limited head package; I bought an Omega System kit for Altamura for L$99 and used the matching Omega body skin applier that was also part of the Limited head package)
  • Hair: Iris by D!va (free group gift located on the other side of the wall behind the front counter; the group is free to join)
  • Dress: Kattie by Arcane Spellcaster (purchased using a free group gift card last year; at that time the group was free to join)
  • Shoes: Sonnet pumps by Hilly Haalan (free group gift; group is free to join)
  • Animation Override: Chubby Girl AO by [ImpEle] (unfortunately, this free product is no longer on the SL Marketplace). This is a nice, simple, calm, free AO with no crazy movements. The Limited head includes a complete facial animation HUD in the package. The Altamura Juliet mesh body comes with natural Bento hand animations built in.

TOTAL COST FOR THIS AVATAR: L$300 (L$151 for the Akeruka head, L$50 for the Altamura group fee at the time I joined it, and L$99 for the Altamura Omega system kit)