Linden Lab just released a new Beta Version of their Viewer 2. 6. On the Log in screen you get to choose between “Basic” and “Advanced” mode. Basic mode is very similar to the Gaikai Web Viewer that Linden Lab has been showcasing for a while already.

However I think that there are some severe mistakes with their vision (if they plan to keep it this way). My Vision for two separate viewers would be a “Consumer Viewer” and a “Developer Viewer”. This however, is more like a Preview viewer that would be great for the cloud.

• You have no Inventory, monetary or editing system. Meaning you can’t buy things.
• You have no Settings window. The Graphics preset for my computer was too high and performance was worse than on Viewer 2.5 “Advanced”
• There is an odd “My Avatar” button that lets you choose between several newbie outfits. Again, that would be great for a complete stranger that just wants to preview some place in SL.
• There is the same issue with the Destinations button, it takes you to featured places and not the whole world. That feels like a desperate attempt from LL to filter the porn or other content that already harmed their image before, which is kinda sneaky but clever
• No Mouselook mode. I think that anyone that wants to just “explore” might want to do it in a first-person mode.
• No Voice chat.

Maybe it would be good for new people that want to get used to SL, but even they might find it frustrating. I could Imagine a future scenario where the noob-cliche/question would be “How can I buy stuff” and when they switch to the full mode they get overwhelmed by options.