Virtual world specialist and all-around clever guy, John “Pathfinder” Lester, explores the possibility of putting a virtual world server and sims on a single USB drive.
I had heard about some clever folks who figured out how to install and run OpenSim on a USB key. You can also install and run a viewer like Imprudence on a USB key. Which means you could walk up to your friend’s PC, stick your USB key into it, run a few programs on the key, and suddenly be in your own personal virtual world. [Link: A Virtual World in my Hands: Running OpenSim and Imprudence on a USB Key]
Pathfinder describes how he uses the OpenSim server combined with the Imprudence viewer, which allows you to copy your own content from Second Life then import it into your OpenSim grid instance.
Unfortunately, the key phrase is “your own content”: anything that you attempt to export using Imprudence must be 100% attributed to the account doing the exporting. This means that if you used an alternate account for some of the work, as I often do, your own creations are stuck in Second Life. If you have mixed creator tags on anything you export, even if you’re the actual creator of that object and even if you own the copyright on all aspects of the work, you can actually be permanently banned from Second Life without appeal, due to restrictions in the Second Life Terms of Service. While I recognize the need to protect copyright and Linden Lab’s need to protect their butts legally, I would be saddened to lose control of my own content (or get banned) due to a technicality.
All the same, I think I might try Pathfinder’s technique on some simpler items. Maybe I can retain at least a few mementos of my Second Life years for the future.