Month: August 2011

The Viewer: licence to patent?

Posted on by Inara Pey

Just last week, I reviewed SpotON3D’s approach to accessing grid-based virtual worlds – presenting the Viewer through your web browser and, for those that use it, Facebook.

The presentation of the browser in this way is not new: as Kitely’s co-founder Ilan Tochner pointed out, a UK start-up company, Pelican Crossing (now defunct) did something similar back in 2007. How far that attempt might have gone is now a matter of conjecture. But Pelican Crossing were not alone: others have taken stabs at this approach – and as such, SpotON3D are hardly the first.

inDuality, circa 2007: Viewer-in-a-web page (image from Pelican Crossing)

But they are the first to apply for a patent on the capability to run the Viewer through a web browser / Facebook page with the intention of then licencing the technology to other grids wishing to use it on (quote) “a sliding scale to those grid owners that show an interest”. 

This intention to patient the technology around the wrapper-side of things has led to something of a row in the Open Sim community, with many leading lights (Mr. Tochner among them) taking issue with SpotON3D’s position – and not without cause, it would seem.

Essentially, the matter boils down to two core issues:

  • Whether the code used to present the Viewer through a web browser / Facebook page is actually patentable
  • Issues of open source licensing that involve the Viewer code as supplied to the open source community by Linden Lab under GPL

Patent pending

SpotON3D are focused on the patent issue, as this is obviously where the money is, longer-term, arguing that the software that enabled the Viewer is unique and therefore patentable. in this, they cite an essay on patents and open source software by Lawrence Rosen, an attorney-at-law and general counsel for the Open Source Initiative, which would appear to support their position.

The flip side to this is the issue of prior art (and, one would assume, the first to invent rule that is applied in the USA). This could be used to encourage the US Patents Office to re-examine SpotON3D’s patent application. However, in order to do so, those concerned at SpotON3D’s actions need to have the Patent Application Number for the plugin – and so far, SpotON3D have refused to release it. While they are under no legal obligation to do so, this is being taken as a sign of bad faith in the wider community.

Licence revoked?

The licensing issue is somewhat separate, but could call into question the benefits of patenting the wrapper technology.

The Viewer software in its native form is not well-suited to being presented through the an intermediary form of presentation such as a Facebook page or web browser. This raises questions as to what has been done to the Viewer code in order to make it more amenable for this kind of use, and while SpotON3D insist they remain in compliance with GPL requirements, but others argue this is not the case.

“How do you integrate your plugin with the viewer without modifying the viewer?” Gareth Nelson, himself a plugin creator asked SpotON3D. “You can’t just alter the render target. There are changes to the input handling needed to make it work inside a browser plugin applet, so you patched the viewer too.”

The crux of this point is that if the modified Viewer-side code can be shown to work closely with the plugin that presents it to a web browser / FB page, then it could be strongly argued that the plugin is in fact derivative work, and therefore itself subject to open source distribution in accordance with the GPL.

The potential pot of gold

To many, this all may sound like a lot of fluff; after all, it doesn’t impact on our ability to access the likes of SL and OpenSim directly through the many and varied standalone Viewer offerings that we have. But, while the Viewer-as-a-browser-plugin may seem questionable in reaching a larger audience, the same is not necessarily true with the ability to “access” grid environments through Facebook.

Say what you will about Facebook, but the fact remains that a huge number of people play games in it. Many of these people probably won’t touch OpenSim environments simply because a) they exist outside of Facebook and b) (more importantly), it all adds up to a lot of hassle – going to different websites, registering your details, selecting an avatar, downloading software, installing said software…

But – present Joe Facebook-User with the option of doing all this with the minimum of effort, and with software that self-installs in the background; and all from his Facebook page – and you have a potential winner. Doesn’t matter to him as to whether the Viewer ends up somewhere on his computer – as long as Facebook offers him the ability to remove it, should he become bored and move on to other things.

Linden Lab have been trying to court Facebook users for over a year – and largely tripping over their own feet in the process. Here is an approach that might just work; and those who hold the patent on it stand to potentially make a small fortune if others want to get in on the act – or at the very least, stands to funnel the flow of potential FB users into their own grid (with the financial rewards that also offers).

This is an issue that is likely to run for a time, with the debate now spreading to SpotON3D’s own statement on the matter of patents, which has added fuel to the flames that are already burning.

Fredrik Linden departing

Posted on by Inara Pey

As reported by Tateru Nino, Fredrik Bjork – better known as Fredrik Linden – is leaving the Lab this Friday and off “on new adventures.”

Fredrik has been at the Lab for around 18 months, predominantly as the Director of Web Engineering. Most recently, he’s been in the limelight with regards to the new web profiles & the social media tools that have been added to them.

As Chair of the Web Profile User Group, Fredrik has always been one of the most attentive and responsive members of the Linden team, seeking-out feedback from users and taking on-board ideas and requests to ensure concerns are met and improvements made. This was very much highlighted with the launch of the social media add-ons to web profiles; when a large number of users voiced concern (via Twitter) over the lack of an option to completely opt-out of the Twitter-like Feed aspect of the software, Fredrik ensured there was such an option within an hour of the launch. Nor did he limit his input to the UG meetings – but clearly sought out views and ideas as expressed through blogs, etc. – as his comments on this blog clearly demonstrate.

Nya Linden will be taking over Fredrik’s responsibilities within the UG from next week, where she’ll doubtless receive Friendly Greetings. To Fredrik, I repeat the words of my Tweet from earlier:

Sorry to hear you’re leaving; but hope the adventures are fruitful. All the best to you 🙂

A look at the new V2 log-in screen

Posted on by Inara Pey

As has been widely reported, Linden Lab have updated the Viewer 2 splash / log-in screen with version 2.8.1.

The new screen, available in both Basic and Advanced modes is a completely new, and interactive layout which may well encourage newcomers to SL to explore and take a dip in things – and could well help users who are logging-in specifically to attend an event to get to it from the off, and without having to log-in to home, or somewhere and dig-out a landmark.

The new screen features 5 distinct areas:

  • The Editor’s Choice: twelve images of locations within Second Life
    • Use the left / right arrow buttons below and to the right of the images to page through them
    • Hover the mouse over an image to display further information about it, including an option to set it as your current logging-in point when you click on the log-in button
  • The What’s Hot Now bar which features eight “pages” of four destinations apiece that are proving popular
    • Locations apparently selected on the basis of the number of avatars currently in attendance
    • Page through the list 4 locations at a time using the left /right arrow buttons
    • Hover the mouse over a location for further information and the option to add it as your Start At point when you log-in this time
  • The Destinations bar
    • Multiple pages of destinations in Second Life sorted into categories which can be selected from a drop-down list (see image above)
    • Page through the list 4 locations at a time using the left /right arrow buttons
    • Hover the mouse over a location for further information and the option to add it as your Start At point when you log-in this time

To the right of these are two text areas drawn from the same feeds that server your dashboard at http://www.my.secondlife.com:

  • An Upcoming Events feed which lists the current events listed in your dashboard and which can be paged through using the left / right buttons. Clicking on an event does two things:
    • Displays a pop-up with further information on the event
    • Updates your Start At location to deliver you to the venue when you log-in (a warning that this has happened is also displayed in the pop-up)
  • A Blogs Feed that features all current LL blog entries found on the dasboard, but without any streaming into familiar categories (“Featured News”, “In-world”, etc.). Clicking on a blog title open-up a pop-up window and displays the blog entry in a scrollable format (below).

Overall, the new approach is a nice idea. Were I to pick any issues with it at all, it would be:

  • The lack of any Grid Status display – that there is none is utterly and completely short-sighted; if there are issues in-world, people have the right to know before money or goods are put at risk through asset server errors and suchlike. Yes, it may spoil the nice shiny hue to SL, but not including such a listing and ensuring it is updated ASAP a problem occurs is a pretty glaring omission – as Rodvik, if you’re reading this and given your promise to get better notification of issues and problems out to users, this oversight needs fixing
  • The lack of any info relating to current and 60-day logins is also unfortunate, and one has to wonder at the logic behind removing it.

Overall, and interesting approach lacking a couple of features, but one that may encourage people to start exploring more, and help newcomers to seek out places of interest and potentially avoid getting unpleasantly dumped into one of the many (un)welcome areas within SL.

Update

At SLCC 2011, Brett Linden, Managing Editor at the Lab, reviewed the new log-in screen, commenting that it is currently “version 1” and the Linden Lab would like feedback on it in terms of how people are using it, information displayed, etc. Brett and the Editorial Team can be contacted at editor@lindenlab.com.

Meeroos: LL’s CS shoots itself in the foot. Again

Posted on by Inara Pey

I hate wagging the finger at Rodvik, I really do. But there are times when it has to be done; and this is one of them.

As has been the talk of Twitter, Malevay,  the creators of Meeroos recently came under a form of attack: one day old avatar accounts with names closely approximating the official “Meeroo Resident” asset management account started to be used in attempts to cash-in on the Meeroo success – right under Malvay’s own noses. You can read about the situation in detail here.

As a result, the Malevay raised a series of tickets against the culprit accounts – and to cut a long story short, someone at LL’s Customer Support reacted in a totally lackadaisical and inexcusable manner and simply banned all account names looking like “Meeroo Resident” without thought or consideration as to the possible consequences. The result: the official Meeroo asset management account also got banned, with potentially serious repercussions for all involved.

How this came about is unclear, but what is apparent is that it smacks of sloppy enforcement and LL’s Customer Services end, and a lack of checks and balances to prevent avoidable mistakes occurring when dealing with people’s accounts. As Crap Mariner points out, are LL’s Customer Services incapable of carrying out the most rudimentary of checks on accounts prior to blocking them?

Insult was added to injury when the account was apparently reinstated on the QT without the account holder receiving any communication from Customer Services. They simply found out when they another periodic attempt to log-in to the account and see if it was there.

Now, this is not the first time this kind of thing has happened; numerous people have reported they’ve experienced their accounts being suspended without warning, only to be subsequently reinstated equally without notification, for no readily apparent reasons.

Back when the new “communications platform” was launched, people  – like Darrius Gothly – who accidentally violated the community standards for the platform were horrified to find members of the Customer Services team were publicly chastising them and using screen captures that clearly showed personal information – although why the heck Customer Services should need to capture screenshots was, and remains, a mystery. At the time, Amanda Linden tried to excuse the situation as “working out the kinks” in the new system. And explanation which, frankly, floated on the sea of scrutiny about as well a brick on the Atlantic.

This most recent incident involving Meeroos has many questions around it; to be fair, a lot of them are unrelated to LL’s Customer Service operations per se. However, it is and will be the actions on the part of LL’s Customer Services that will continue to receive a lot of attention – and a lot of criticism – both for the original account blocking error and the manner in which it was silently reinstated.

Had this been a one-off situation, people might be a little more forgiving, but it is not, as pointed out above. Rodvik identified customer services as being one of the Achilles’ Heels of Second Life. This situation with Meeroos demonstrates that this is very much still the case, and that it really is about time LL were seen to be tackling the problems, rather than people being left feeling they’re still only talking about tackling them.

Redzone: closure of a sort

Posted on by Inara Pey

As headlined by Tateru Nino, the RedZone farrago both returns and gains a measure of closure.

Michael Stefan Prime (Aka TheBoris Gothly and Zfire Xue) – identified as the man behind the RedZone tool by other SL users – has been remanded into the care of US Marshalls and a four-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to four out of seven charges of parole violation, specifically:

  • Associating with Shawn Cahill, a three-time convicted felon, in violation of standard condition 9 that he not associate with any person convicted of a felony.
  • Failing to allow the U.S. Probation Officer to inspect any personal computer owned or operated by the defendant in violation of the special condition directing him to do so.
  • Failing to notify the U.S. Probation Officer of all computer software owned or operated by the defendant in violation of the special condition directing him to do so.
  • Beginning employment without prior approval by the U.S. Probation Officer, working for cash, and engaging in employment that did not provide regular pay stubs in violation of the special condition directing him to do so.

Interestingly, as recorded in court documentation, the prosecution moved to dismiss three other violations when Prime pleaded guilty and waived his right to any evidentiary hearing relating to the four charges above. The three additional charges comprised:

  • Committing the criminal offence of Possession of Stolen Property 1st degree on or before March 23, 2011, in violation of the general condition that he not commit another federal, state, or local crime.
  • Committing the criminal offence of Trafficking in Stolen Property 2nd degree on or before March 23, 2011, in violation of the general condition that he not commit another federal, state, or local crime.
  • Associating with Shana Bobo, a three-time convicted felon, in violation of standard condition 9 that he not associate with any person convicted of a felony.

The first two of these charges relate to earlier convictions against Prime, although it is the third charge, relating to one Shana Bobo, that is liable to generate further speculation among SL users who have followed this case and the entire RedZone situation, given Prime’s involvement with a female SL user at the time of RedZone.

Details of the original case against Prime, which lead to his imprisonment and eventually the violation of the terms and conditions of his parole as a part of the entire RedZone affair, can be read on-line.

There are still issues surrounding this entire sorry affair – not the least of which are vulnerabilities within the Second Life software environment and the fact that four months down the road, Linden Lab still have yet to incorporate the Media Filter code that is readily available in all responsible TPVs, which can warn users of a potential threat to their privacy.

However, as far as RedZone itself is concerned, this will hopefully see closure brought to that particular sorry affair without people feeling the need to dig further into this individual’s past and engage in trial-by-forum, which came to undermine much of the good work carried out to try and stop such exploits and identify in-world sims where people could find themselves open to data-scraping by the RedZone tool.

Jacek Antonelli announces retirement

Posted on by Inara Pey

Jacek Antonelli, one of the major driving forces behind Imprudence  / Kokua has today announced she is retiring form the Imprudence team. Her announcement in part reads:

After 3 years of serving this project, I will be retiring effective September 1. As often happens in life, the priorities in my life have shifted over time, and it is now time for me to focus on other things.

Obviously, this will be a major transition for the project. But, I will be working for the next month to make it as smooth as possible, so that everything can continue with minimal disruption. At this time, we have not yet decided who, if anyone, will replace me as “benevolent dictator“, or whether there will be some other form of project leadership. Of course, we will keep you guys informed as the details are fleshed out.

My retirement is not an occasion for somberness, but rather for fond reflection on the past, and hope-filled anticipation for the future. I am proud of the work we have done and what we have accomplished so far, and I look forward to the great things that will be accomplished after I am gone. What’s more, I am immensely proud that we have accomplished all this without compromising our principles or our integrity, even when the road was most difficult, and the temptation most pressing.

Imprudence has been a major force in the world of third-party Viewers, and the team, lead by Jacek, have rightly gained themselves a loyal and enthusiastic following. Over the years, Imprudence has often been a pathfinder for new functionality, and/ or has striven to meet the most-needed requirements of users.

It is not entirely clear what will be happening in the future – the team have a month to get things sorted out, and hopefully both Imprudence and the still in-initial-development Kokua will remain with us, and the vision of seeing Imprudence 1.4 stablised and Kokua gorwing into its worthy replacement will be realised over time.

As a former Imprudence user myself, I’ve always appreciated all the work the team has put into the Viewer, and I personally wish Jacek every good wish and every success, both in her virtual and real lives.

Thank you for everything you’ve done, Jacek.