Year: 2013

Viewer release summary 2013: week 10

Posted on by Inara Pey

This summary is published every Monday and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:

  • It is based on my Viewer Round-up Page, a list of  all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware) and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy
  • By its nature, this summary will always be in arrears
  • The Viewer Round-up Page is updated as soon as I’m aware of any releases / changes to viewers & clients, and should be referred to for more up-to-date information as the week progresses
  • The Viewer Round-up Page also includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.  

Updates for the week ending: March 10th, 2013

  • SL Viewer updates:
      • Beta viewer rolled to 3.5.0.271345 on March 6th – core update: CHUI
      • Development viewer rolled to 3.5.1.271386 on March 8th – core update: CHUI integration (wiki page)
      • Sunshine (server-side baking project) updated to 3.4.5.271419, March 7th
      • Merchant Outbox project viewer re-released – 3.4.4.271.405 – on March 8th, to assist with DD migration
  • Kokua updated to release 3-5-1-27279 on March 9th – core updates: CHUI crash fix
  • Niran’s Viewer updated to 2.1.2 on March 7th; then 2.1.3 on March 11th – core updates: UI updates; updates to texture handling
  • Cool VL updated on March 9th to:
    • Stable version: 1.26.6.14
    • Legacy version (v2.6 renderer): 1.26.4.57
    • Experimental version: 1.26.7.14
    • Release notes
  • Lumiya release version 2.4.4 on March 7th – core updates: rez objects in-world, unpacking inventory from objects, create landmarks option
  • Metabolt released version 0.9.65.0 (Beta) on March 10th – core updates: ability to update & save Picks; support for Marketplace received items notifications; support for region messages; optional bandwidth setting under application/preferences; numerous enhancements
  • Radegast released version 2.10 on March 9th – core updates: ability to see inventory item’s UUID; option to disable HTTP inventory; ability to see role IDs; new LSL scripted object functions (invite to groups; send inventory; send IM); upgrade FMOD Ex to 4.44; rlv improvements; group info dialogue & object tracker performance improvements; user-defined AI time delays; plus bug fixes

Discontinued Viewers

  • Phoenix officially reached end-of-line for SL on December 31st – read more here
  • Zen viewer was withdrawn from the SL TPV directory and all repositories shutdown on January 27th, 2013.

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Doctors and patients; Ireland and Korea

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of fabulous story-telling in Voice, brought to Second Life by the staff of the Seanchai Library SL. This week features the usual tea-time date at Baker Street, and special presentations in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day.

As always, all times SLT, and unless otherwise stated, events will be held on the Seanchai Library’s home on Imagination Island.

Sunday 10th March

13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street – The Adventure of the Resident Patient

Doctor Percy Trevelyan was a brilliant student, but being poor, had never been able to establish himself in a private practice. Then one Mr. Blessington approaches him with an unusual proposition: he will set Trevelyan up with his own practice at a prestigious address, and pay all his expenses. In return, he will require three-quarters of all earnings from the practice – which would still leave the good doctor in a relatively comfortable position, prompting him to accept the offer. Entering into the arrangement, Trevelyn discovers Blessington himself is infirm, and the arrangement means he has a doctor always on hand.

Everything goes well to start with; then Blessington reads about a burglary somewhere in the city and becomes deeply agitated. Things get worse when an Russian nobleman attends Trevelyn’s practice, along with his son, apparently to seek help with his condition – only for both to vanish while Trevelyan is distracted, and for Blessington to later report that someone has been in his private chambers, something which leaves him even more upset, even though nothing has apparently ben taken …

Join Caledonia Skytower she brings to life another fascinating case from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes!

18:00: Magicland Storytime

Join Caledonia Skytower at Magicland Park for more tales and fun.

Monday 11th March, 19:00 – The Quiet Man

quiet-manReleased in 1952, John Ford’s The Quiet Man is regarded as a classic Irish-American romantic comedy / drama. Starring John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara (and assorted members of their RL families!) and Barry Fitzgerald, it is a popular choice among critics and film-lovers.

The screenplay for the film was drawn in a large part from a short story of the same name originally published in 1933 in the Saturday Evening Post, and penned by Irish author, Maurice Welsh. Together with a number of other short stories by Walsh, The Quiet Man was gathered into a single volume of his short stories, The Quiet Man and Other Stories, which dealt with many recurring characters living in rural Ireland of the 1920s, and set against the backdrop of the civil unrest which affected the country at that time, while examining the complexities and occasional intrigues of life, love and Irish traditions.

Join Caledonia Skytower as she reads Walsh’s original tale of The Quiet Man, Paddy Bawn Enright.

Tuesday 12th March, 19:00: Island Tales

With Kaikalani (“Lani”) – see the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates on this event.

Wednesday 13th March, 19:00: The Seesaw Girl (part 2)

seesawLinda Sue Park’s first novel tells the story of Jade Blossom, a young girl in 17th Century Korea, can never go beyond her family’s inner court. All girls from good Korean families must learn to sew, do laundry, and work in the kitchen. This prepares them for their future lives in their husbands’ inner court.

But Jade has other interests. She longs to take trips to the mountains and the marketplace. If only she could read and paint, but these are things only boys can do. Jade won’t stop thinking about the world beyond the high walls of her home. Then one day she secretly sets off to do what no other girl her age has ever done before

Gina Pralou-Maven reads the first part of this new Seanchai serialisation of a popular story.

Thursday 14th March, 19:00: St. Patrick’s Day: Irish Earth Folk

With Shandon Loring – see the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates on this event.

Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and additions to the week’s schedule.

In March and April Seanchai are inviting library guests to join them in supporting their featured real world charity Project Children! Have questions? IM or notecard Caledonia Skytower.

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A Potpourri of art awaiting your consideration

Posted on by Inara Pey

potpourriPotpourri Markets, founded by Taylor Flanagan and Chloe Seljan, today launches a new art series which is both exhibition and contest. It sees twelve artists from across SL who will compete in a series of “rounds”, each round comprising one or two themes.

Each week, throughout the competition, a panel of judges will vote on entries and eliminate one artist from the contests, allowing the rest to pass on to the next round, with the Grand Finalist being announced on May 24th. At the same time, members of the public can vote each week for their personal favourite on the pieces on offer, the winner being the “Designated Public Artist” for the following week.

The competition kicks-off on Sunday March 10th, with a party at the exhibition space starting at 12:00 midday SLT, which includes the opportunity to see the participating artists’ first round entries on the theme of either “skeletons and red fruit” or “rain and hats”.

Potpourri Markets Art Contest
Potpourri Markets Art Contest

The display area is open-plan, covering most of the region, with each artist designated a display area (labelled A through L) bounded by hedges, with green avenues in between. There are also areas offering setting and various (non-contest) sculptures for public viewing.

The twelve artists taking part are: Anthora Toxx (area A), Megan Prumier (area B), Celestine Ghiardie (area C), Mary Kalil (area D), Derry McMahon (area E), Cherry Manga (area F), Oursinette Brunn (area G), Bunyolafun (area H), Sisi Biedermann (area I), Claude Belgar (area J), Domitalia Jinx (area K) and Monroe Snook (area L).

Potpourri
Potpourri Markets Art Contest

Members  of the public can vote for pieces in the exhibition by clicking on the prominent white signs located with each pieces, or by visiting the voting page on the Potpourri Markets blog. Upcoming themes for pieces include pirates, space, Asian, food, gold and silver, Halloween and circuses, so for those who enjoy visiting SL art installations, the event will certainly be worth adding to your places to visit.

The contest will be running from March 10th through May 24th, as noted above – so even if you can’t make it to see every week’s theme, there is plenty of time to explore the installation and enjoy any of the events Tay and Chloe have planned.

Potpourri Markets Art Contest - public space
Potpourri Markets Art Contest – public space

Related Links

LL offer Merchant Outbox project viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

As recently reported, Linden Lab have announced the first step in the retirement of Magic Boxes in order to encourage remaining merchants who have not done so to swap over to Direct Delivery.

At the time I posted that piece, I noted that a major stumbling block in the adoption of Direct Delivery was the fact that while it tended to work flawlessly for some (myself included), for others it has been at least as problematic as using Magic Boxes, and that Marketplace issues with DD were potentially as widespread as those for Magic Boxes.

To help overcome both reservations on the part of merchants who have not yet swapped over to Direct Delivery, and to help resolve any remaining issues with DD migration, the Lab has moved to do two things:

  • Launch a fresh Direct Delivery FAQ which attempts to answer some of the most common basic questions around Direct Delivery and also point towards other resources
  • Launch an updated Merchant Outbox project viewer. This viewer, built on 3.4.4 code, and so pre-CHUI, is designed to overcome all Merchant Outbox issues recorded in JIRA WEB-4600, and the advice for anyone still encountering migration problems is to give this viewer a run.

If you’ve been using a more recent (3.4.5 or 3.5.0 code base) LL viewer, note that you might find your toolbar buttons vanishing when you run this project viewer – it’s a known issue, and buttons can be restored from the Button Toolbar.

An update Merchant Outbox project viewer has been issued to assit those encounter problems migrating to Direct Delivery
An updated Merchant Outbox project viewer has been issued to assist those encounter problems migrating to Direct Delivery

In addition, Dakota Linden has been responding to requests and questions regarding migration posted to the Merchant’s forum, and her responses may also be of assistance to those encountering problems.

Related Links

LEA announces successful AIR applicants

Posted on by Inara Pey

LEA_square_logo_60After extending the application period deadline from midnight SLT on the 19th February, the deadline has been moved to midnight on Sunday February 24th, the Linden Endowment For the Arts council has announced the successful applicants for the next round of the LEA’s Artist-in-Residence programme.

They are: Solkide Auer, Ambi bimbogami, Vaneeesa Blaylock, Marx Catteneo/Krakassus Jigsaw, uan ceriaptrix, Ole Etzel, Cica Ghost, Mac Kanashimi, Seraph Kegel, Ginger Lorakeet, Sowa Mai, Yooma Mayo, Johnas Merlin, Jack Mondegreen, Mantis Oh, Morlita Quan and Noke Yuitza, Sniper Siemens, thingiwishihadsaid, Betty Turead, and Newbab Zsigmond.

I'am standing on a part of AIR Round Three winner Chic Aeon's
Standing on a part of AIR Round Three winner Chic Aeon’s excellent Machinima Open Studio Project – read my review here

Commenting on the applications for this fourth round in the AIRS programme, the LEA announcement reads in part:

The LEA received nearly 50 high-quality applications, and it was a difficult decision, but those selected submitted truly outstanding proposals that represent a diverse range of virtual art. While a handful are artists returning for a second round, the majority will be exhibiting at the LEA for the first time. Projects range from full-sim immersions, to innovative builds geared specifically for multimedia works such as sound and machinima projects.

The successful applicants now have up to four months in which to establish their installation, which must be open to the public for a minimum of two months during the six month run of the region allocation. It is anticipated that many of the works will open in advance of the four-month build deadline. All openings will, as usual, be announced in the LEA blog.

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Even a robot can have a memory lapse

Posted on by Inara Pey

CuriosityOn Wednesday February 27th, after some 200 days of near-flawless operations on Mars, Curiosity had its first major malfunction. Up until that point, the rover had been operating using one of its two on-board computers – the so-called “A-side”, to process all command instructions and manage its activities on Mars.

The problem was first noticed by mission planners when the rover failed to send any recorded information during routine uplinks to Earth, instead only sending current status information. On examination, this data revealed the computer had failed to enter its usual “sleep mode” as planned during the overnight period on Mars. Diagnostic work using one of the test rigs at JPL indicated that the problem appeared to be a corruption in the A-side computer’s flash memory module.

As a result of this finding, all science work on the rover – including the analysis of samples obtained from inside the “John Klein” bedrock were suspended on Thursday February 28th, as the rover was instructed to switch-over to the “B-side” computer, which was powered-up into a “safe mode” of operation in order that the rover’s functions could be maintained while investigations as to the cause of the corruption on the A-side could be further investigated.

“We switched computers to get to a standard state from which to begin restoring routine operations,” Richard Cook, project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory Project at JPL, commented at the time of the switch-over.

Mars Odyssey: swapped computer "sides" in November 2012
Mars Odyssey: swapped computer “sides” in November 2012

Memory corruptions aboard space vehicles are not uncommon, so the majority of NASA’s space missions carry redundant computer configurations. Corruptions can be the result of several things; recently, for example, the Mars Odyssey orbiter vehicle had to switch-over from its “A-side” to its “B-side” due to 11 years of constant operation finally taking its toll on the “A-side”; wearing it out. High-energy solar and cosmic ray strikes can also cause problems, even when the vehicle is shielded (as Curiosity is).

What made the problem with the MSL rover critical is that it occurred with the memory module which acts as the “table of contents” for accessing the computer’s memory, preventing data and instructions from being accessed and causing the computer to enter into an “endless loop”.

Also commenting on the switch-over, Magdy Bareh, leader of the mission’s anomaly resolution team at JPL said, “While we are resuming operations on the B-side, we are also working to determine the best way to restore the A-side as a viable backup.”

Continue reading “Even a robot can have a memory lapse” →