Day: April 18, 2014

SL projects updates week 16/2: server update, misc items

Posted on by Inara Pey

Server Deployments – recap

There were no deployments to the Main (SLS) channel or the BlueSteel and LeTigre channels during week 16.

On Wednesday April 16th, the Magnum RC received a new server maintenance package, which included a fix for BUG-5533 (“llTeleportAgent() and llTeleportAgentGlobalCoords() can break any script in any attached object that contains a change event.”).

Commenting on the latter at the Server Beta User Group meeting on Thursday April 17th, Maestro Linden said:

Unfortunately, after the roll we discovered that there was a regression in the Magnum update,  which was BUG-5763 (“AGENT_MOUSELOOK flag is often incorrect when llGetAgentInfo() is called within control() event”), which apparently affects certain guns (which only allow some actions when they think you’re in Mouselook) and certain vehicles (which change control behaviour when they think you’re in Mouselook).

The good news is that Kelly [Linden] came up with a fix for it yesterday, which is out on Aditi now. I gave it a whirl, and it looks like this bug is fixed. But if you have content that was broken by that bug, I’d encourage you to test it out on Aditi, in case there are any additional problems.

Those wishing to test the fix can do so on the Aditi regions Ahern, GC Test 10, and Tehama.  GC Test 10 is probably the most convenient to test on, as it mostly allows anybody to build and run scripts.

Week 17 Deployments

While the final details of deployments for the week commencing Monday 21st April will not be determined until the start of that week, it currently looks as though there will again be no deployments to with the Main (SLS) channel or the BlueSteel and LeTigre RCs, while Magnum will gain the BUG-5763 fix.

Commenting on the lack of high-profile server updates of late, Maestro pointed to the fact that the Lab has been engaged in a series of “invisible updates” recently, notably infrastructure improvements.

Group Chat Update

There were no further tests on Simon Linden’s group chat work, and Maestro indicated that testing on Agni may commence in week 17. An idea initially discussed for testing these optimisations on the main grid had been to use a single large group (the Firestorm Support group, due to both its size and frequency of use). However, commenting on the work, Maestro Linden said, “since the group chat changes are in the backend service, this would mean that … around 1/16 of groups would be on the group chat stuff.”

Other Items

HTTP-in Failures

Some people are noticing an uptick in issues relating to in-world scripts acting as HTTP servers (notably with HTTP-in functions). There has been a known bug with these (non-public BUG-2564)  wherein all http-in URLs and all capability URLs for connected users are dropped simultaneously, all the connected users get logged out, and HTTP-in scripts cannot be contacted. However, some of the issues people are experiencing appear to be occurring since the most recent HTTP updates were made. Lucia Nightfire describes the problems as, “random URL loss and instability is common esp after the http changes.” she goes on to note that she has had to “change http protocol and add heartbeats to some apps since the HTTP changes.” She further goes on:

Sometimes after I crash then relog into a region, its like my caps are reset and re-evaled and  in-turn all my HTTP devices all of a sudden cannot request URLs until the caps are reset or it is [a] repeat URL request failure. Long story short, if your viewer crashes, don’t log into your home region if you have servers there, or you risk interruption.

Maestro’s thinking on the matter is that it may be linked to a server crash – particularly given Lucia confirms the problem does occur as a result of a region crash – as there is nothing specific to a viewer crash which should upset things like HTTP-in functions. Further testing has been suggested to see if a precise cause can be identified.

Small blue dot on a red planet

Posted on by Inara Pey

CuriosityOn Wednesday April 16th, NASA JPL released a remarkable image captured using the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).

The image reveals the the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity parked alongside the multi-layered rock formation dubbed “The Kimberley”, as it prepares to undertake a range of science studies in the area.

The image was captured by MRO on April 11th during an overflight of the rover’s position as it sits at the foot of a rocky butte mission scientists have dubbed “Mount Remarkable”, and which forms a part of a multi-layered rocky location which has been dubbed “the Kimberley” due to its resemblance to a similar confluence of rock types found in Western Australia.

A rover’s progress: Curiosity, the blue form just off-centre in this false-colour image, sits at the foot of “Mount Remarkable”, a butte located in the area mission scientists have dubbed “the Kimberley”. the rover’s tracks can be seen leading back toward the top left corner of the image, where it entered the region on March 12th, 2014.

“The Kimberley” is an area of four distinguishable rock types exposed close together in a decipherable geological relationship to each other.  As such, they should provide further clues about ancient environments that may have been favourable for life. It is of particular interest to Scientists because like “Yellowknife Bay”, where the rover spent several months analysing and drilling rocks, “the Kimberley” demonstrates features which suggest that some of the rocks have only been exposed for a short time, geologically speaking.

This matters because Mars doesn’t have a magnetosphere and thick atmosphere like Earth’s, which protect us from energetic particles from space that break down organic material. So, rocks that have been exposed or close to the surface for a very long time are less likely to contain complex organic material, which might either be the remnants of past life, or help inform scientists about past habitability, the potential to support life in an area – as was the case with “Yellowknife Bay”.

Continue reading “Small blue dot on a red planet” →