Will Ross
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This week's topic is yelling at strangers -- tips and etiquette for using voice chat.
Voice has arrived in Second Life, and for better or for worse, it's not going anywhere. At the time of this recording, voice chat was only available in the First Look Viewer, so because it's in beta form we won't talk specifics about the controls. Instead, we're going to talk basic voice chat etiquette and hardware.
The first thing you'll need to do to use voice chat is download the First Look Viewer, and you can grab this here. I'd normally have something sarcastic to say here, but since this episode is so chock full of delicious tippy goodness, it's going to run long, so I'll just dive right in.
Headsets
First off, hardware.If you're going to use voice chat, you need a headset or at least a set of headphones. No matter how low you turn your speakers down, they're still going to pick up on your microphone, causing background noise, or worse, feedback. Now, this isn't a deadly faux pas yet, but trust me, it's going to be. Being the person who's causing echo will soon be the equivalent of that guy who keeps playing that same "Half Baked" sound clip over and over again. And while we're on the subject of background noise, try to use voice chat in a relatively quiet environment. As much as we love you, we don't really have any desire to listen to your roommate's Guitar Hero rendition of Psychobilly Freakout, no matter how hard that song is to four-star on expert. Yes, Sean, I'm talking to you. Choosing a headset for gaming mostly comes down to personal preference. They're available in one-ear or two-ear models, in a variety of price ranges -- though to some extent you get what you pay for. Expect to spend at least $20 to $30. I highly recommend USB models because they tend to be more user friendly and reliable than their dual audio plugged cousins. When shopping for a headset, I recommend trying to find a model with three features: an inline volume control, a clickable mute button and a wind screen on the microphone. Models without volume control have to be adjusted manually through your operating system software, which is a hassle, and I've noticed that headsets without a windscreen give you "Vader breath" issues. The mute button is just handy so you don't accidentally transmit something embarrassing. "Honey, the kids are coming over today, so could you take the restraints off the four-poster."
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