Month: June 2014

OnLive extend SL Go’s free trial period to 7 days

Posted on by Inara Pey

SL go logoImportant note: The SL Go service is to be shut down on April 30th, 2015. For more information, please read this report.

On Tuesday June 3rd, OnLive announced that with immediate effect, the trial period of their SL Go service, which provides a full Second Life viewer experience to both computers and android devices, will be extended from 20 minutes to a full seven days for those who sign-up to the service.

The OnLive announcement came via Dennis Harper, OnLive’s Senior Product Manager for SL Go, and reads in full:

OnLive will now be offering new SL Go users a 7-Day Free Trial with sign up for an ‘unlimited access’ subscription package.  A valuable piece of feedback from the Second Life community has been that the 20 minute free trial is not sufficient to get a true experience of SL Go.  Now new users can try SL Go free for an entire week, experiencing Second Life on their Android tablets or seeing how SL Go can render ultra-high graphics even on a lower powered laptop computer.

Impressions of SL Go from the Second Life community have been brilliant so far, and this new 7-day Free Trial will hopefully encourage even more players to check it out.

Dennis Harper
Sr. Product Manager, OnLive

The SL Go service streams Second Life, including the viewer, directly to the user’s system or device. Because all of the processing occurs within the OnLive SL Go servers, and the fact that there is no viewer to install locally, SL Go is an ideal solution for those needing to access Second Life from low-end computers or who wish to access SL from a suitable android tablet while on the move.

SL Go now features a 7-day free trial period for subscribers
SL Go now features a 7-day free trial period for subscribers

Since its introduction in March 2014, the service has proven popular with users, but has also received some criticism – which has been heard and reacted to by OnLive. In April 2014, for example, and a month after launching the service, the company announced a new pricing structure for the service directly in response to user feedback concerning the original pricing system.

The original 20-minute free trial period offered to new subscribers also came in for criticism – more so after the pricing change -, with users feeling that it wasn’t sufficiently long enough for them to gain familiarity with using the service, particularly from a mobile device when using the on-screen UI overlay. Extending the trial period is a direct response to this criticism and should allow users more than enough time to familiarise themselves with the service.

Second Life user Mondy Bristol has produced a video showing SL Go in use on her Nexus 7 (2012).

 

 

 

Second Annual OpenSim Community Conference announced

Posted on by Inara Pey

2014 banner

On Saturday May 31st, the Overte Foundation and Avacon have announced the Second Annual OpenSimulator Community Conference, with a press release on the announcement being circulated via e-mail on Tuesday June 3rd.

The conference will take place on the OpenSimulator Conference Centre grid on November 8th and 9th, 2014. It will be a celebration of the platform and the large and varied community using it. As such, it will feature two days of talks and presentations across four tracks, keynote speakers, panels and social events.

Anyone who is interested in the OpenSimulator software and the future of the metaverse is invited to attend, as well as OpenSimulator developers, grid administrators, and members of the community who participate on OpenSimulator grids.

The 2013 conference arena
The 2013 conference arena

The four presentation tracks will comprise:

  • Business & Enterprise: sessions will cover a broad range of topics on doing business in and with OpenSimulator. These include grid hosting, third-party development, private entrepreneurs, in-world and enterprise businesses, and also corporations and organizations using the platform for marketing, fundraising, product research, focus groups, etc
  • Content & Community: this track will examine different aspects of content (e.g. large scale immersive art installations, ballet, theatre, performance art, machinima, literary arts, clothing designs, virtual fashions, architecture, music performances and other cultural expressions) and community (e,g, role-playing groups, science fiction communities, virtual towns and interest groups, historical explorations, religious and spiritual communities, book clubs, etc.), within OpenSimulator
  • Developers & Open Source: will encompassing the technical aspects of OpenSimulator, and seeks presentations related to servers, viewers, external components, grid architecture, development, administration, and anything necessary to the installation, operation and use of an OpenSimulator system
  • Research & Education:  seeks presentations regarding the use of OpenSimulator in research applications in computer science, engineering, data visualization, ethnography, psychology, and economics. It will additionally feature sessions that cover a broad range of uses related to teaching and learning in and with OpenSimulator

In addition, the conference will feature  a new Learning Lab area. which will be available for hackerspaces, speed builds, and workshops for hands-on learning experiences guided by experts in the OpenSimulator community.

The Call for Proposals for all four tracks and the Learning Lab is now open, and all proposals should be submitted by July 1st, 2014.

Commenting on the event in the announcement, conference chair and organiser Chris Collins (Feep Tuque in OpenSim) said:

Last year’s conference was a terrific success with over 350 attendees from 45 unique grids and over 1000+ commits to the core code, which made OpenSimulator a much more stable and scalable platform.

This year we hope to build on that success by offering more opportunities for the community to be involved and doing more outreach to attract new users.  With all the hype surrounding the Oculus Rift and other virtual reality technologies, we think this is the perfect time to let the VR community know that OpenSimulator is a great platform for building the open metaverse.

Further information on the conference will be made available in due course – including details of keynote speakers, volunteer registrations, etc. Registrations will open on September 15th, 2014.

Sponsorship and Crowdfunding Campaign

While the conference is being held in virtual space, it does incur some expenses (such as the professionally managed set-up and operation of the conference grid and the streaming and other web services). As such, the organisers are seeking sponsorship from businesses, entrepreneurs,  and community members alike to help support the conference through a range of sponsorship opportunities, which have this year been updated and revised to better meet the needs of sponsors.

In addition, the conference is running a Crowdfunder Campaign to allow those wishing to make smaller donations to do so. Some unique rewards are on offer to those participating in the campaign, the full details of which can be found on the Crowdfunder Campaign page.

About the Organisers

The Overte Foundation is a non-profit organization that manages contribution agreements for the OpenSimulator project.  In the future, it will also act to promote and support both OpenSimulator and the wider open-source 3D virtual environment ecosystem.

AvaCon, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the growth, enhancement, and development of the metaverse, virtual worlds, augmented reality, and 3D immersive and virtual spaces. We hold conventions and meetings to promote educational and scientific inquiry into these spaces, and to support organized fan activities, including performances, lectures, art, music, machinima, and much more. Our primary goal is to connect and support the diverse communities and practitioners involved in co-creating and using virtual worlds, and to educate the public and our constituents about the emerging ecosystem of technologies broadly known as the metaverse.


Gource visualisation posted by nebadon2025 charting the growth of the OpenSimulator project by code commits from core developers up until the time of the 2013 conference

The Drax Files Radio Hour 21: the image of Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

radio-hourI missed reviewing The Drax Files Radio Hour #20 as real life has been keeping me rather busy of late. Hopefully, the transcript of the Creating the VR Metaverse panel at SVVR will go some way to making up for things (and even that was late in getting into print, courtesy of RL!).

Episode #21, the last of the “live” podcast for this series, continues in spirit with the last, the two major interviews – with Voidpointer and Catalyst Linden – having been recorded at the SVVR conference. As usual, and as well as being available on the show’s website and on Stitcher, episode #21 is also on YouTube, and it is to that recording (embedded at the end of this article) any timestamps given in the text refer.

The early part of the show re-visits SVVR and Leap Motion, who are in the process of adding on-screen rigged hands which move in accordance to the user’s hand movements / gestures, and have also creating a prototype cradle which allows the Leap unit to be attached to a Rift headset, allowing it to track hand movements, with the rigged hands appearing on the Rift’s screens.

The recent Designing Worlds show on the new user experience and user retention  – on which Jo appeared – is discussed. Time hasn’t allowed me to watch the show as yet, but it is on my “to-do” list. I confess that I’m always leery of suggestions from users on what “needs” to be done or “should” be done with the whole new user experience. Yes, the Lab hasn’t done particularly well over the last 11 years  – to a point – but that doesn’t actually mean that we, as users necessarily have any clearer idea of what needs to be done / should be done, simply because all too often our own views tend to be somewhat biased to some degree, or we simply fail to take into consideration was has actually been tried in the past and trot out ideas which have been shown to make very little difference in the scheme of things.

Which is not to say that ideas shouldn’t be discussed, but rather a broader forum should perhaps be established, where more in the manner of two-way discussions between Lab and users can take place, ideas more fully synthesised and options looked at.

The new mesh avatars also get a mention, and some of the problems of supplying mesh avatars to new users are highlighted. Leaving aside the valid problems mentioned in the show, What surprised me most about these avatars was that they appeared to have been released prematurely or at least without thorough testing. For example, they were promoted as using fitted mesh, yet the base shape was released as No  Modify, thus nullifying the ability to customise them using the sliders without swapping the shape (something new users are hardly likely to know how to do).

To his credit, Ebbe Altberg took it on the chin when I Tweeted him about this, indicating that it and a number of other issues would be fixed. But really, so basic a mistake shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

ebbe-avatars

This episode features two interviews with Linden staffers. The first is with Voidpointer Linden, who is well-known to attendees of the Server Beta meetings, which he attends from time-to-time. He has worked on a number of SL projects, including pathfinding, and more recently, the Oculus Rift. The interview commences at the 24:10 mark. Catalyst Linden, the senior director of development at the Lab is interviewed at 37:27 into the recording.

Voidpointer Linden in human form (stock)
Voidpointer Linden in human form (stock)

Both Voidpointer and Catalyst point to themselves as being “gamers”, and both indicate that on first encountering Second Life as gamers, they simply didn’t get it – although they do now.

A major part of them getting it is clearly to do with the fact that they have joined the Lab, and so SL has become their paid job. However, there is also the fact that as former gamers, they are perhaps both well-placed to understand why and how SL’s appeal needs to be broadened in order to attract more users to it.

During his chat, Voidpointer’s comments on the Lab needing to appeal to as broad a span of potential users as possible, even going so far as to acknowledge that the company needs to address those who, like Pamela from segment #8 of The Drax Files Radio Hour, simply do not see virtual worlds or VR as something they need to embrace, because it has no relevance to them.

Attracting a broader audience is also a theme in Catalyst Linden’s comments, and he goes some way further towards demonstrating why the perception that Linden staffers “don’t get” Second Life really is in error. Even as someone who has only been at the Lab for around 12-15 months, it’s clearly evident that Catalyst does get Second Life and its potential appeal as well as any user who has given serious thought on this subject.

Continue reading “The Drax Files Radio Hour 21: the image of Second Life” →

A chaotic parade of demons

Posted on by Inara Pey
Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

Now open through until June 30th on LEA19 is Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade. Curated by Yooma Mayo, this is a collaborative / shared space installation, featuring the work of 25 SL artists (see the installation poster at the end of this article for the names of all who participated), which draws its inspiration from the Gazu Hyakki Yagyō.

Dating from the 1770’s, Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, “The Illustrated Night Parade of a Hundred Demons” was the first volume in an ehon by Toriyama Sekien, and which featured illustrations of assorted beasts, demons, ghosts, monsters and more, drawn (literally and figuratively) from assorted Japanese folklore, stories and artwork.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA 19

Sekien’s demonic parade, spread over a number of volumes, was not something you’d wish to encounter, as doing so could prove fatal or result in the procession laying claim to you, and carrying you away.

The parade at LEA19 features quite the menagerie winding its way up into the sky over the region. I confess to not being sufficiently familiar with all of the beasties and assorted demons and others from the original to say which among those spiralling upwards in Second Life are drawn directly from Japanese lore – although some educated guesses can be taken. However, it is fairly clear that a number of the demons here are from times a lot more recent that the 1770/1780s – which doesn’t make them any less fascinating to witness.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

For those wishing to poke and pry some more into the individual creations, Yooma has provided a list of all the demons in the parade (broken down into three parts) listing their name and the artist responsible for creating them, together with a snapshot of the creature in question.

Hyakki Yagyou - Chaotic Parade
Hyakki Yagyou – Chaotic Parade – LEA19

Rather than run through them here, what I will say is that this parade is an imaginative, vibrant swirl of colour and motion, each piece within it forming a unique part of the whole. Each of them is delightfully detailed – even the creepy-crawlies – and naturally draw you in and encourages careful camming and studying in order to capture it all. Doubtless when doing so, you’ll find you’ll have certain favourites among the gathering…

…Just be careful they also don’t decide to make you their favourite, and spirit you off forever on their nocturnal chaotic meanderings!

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poster

Viewer release summaries 2014: week 22

Posted on by Inara Pey

Updates for the week ending: Sunday June 1st, 2014

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 Current Viewer Releases 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. This page 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
  • By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information

Official LL Viewers

  • Current viewer release: no change from version 3.7.8.289922
  • Release channel cohorts (See my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • SL Memplug RC updated to version 3.7.9.290286 on May 28th and then to version 3.7.9.290405 on May 30th – core updates: fixes to address memory leaks in the viewer (download and release notes)
    • SL Zipper RC version 3.7.9.290133 removed from the Alternate Viewers page on May 30th
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V3-style

  • No updates

V1-style

  • No updates

Mobile / Other Clients

  • Group Tools updated to version 2.2.30.3 – May 30th – core updates: unknown, no release notes (download)

Additional TPV Resources

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Of missing soldiers, warrior cats and romantic mice

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 and volunteers at the Seanchai Library.

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

Sunday June 1st

13:30: Tea-time at Baker Street: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

Tea-time at Baker Street sees Caledonia Skytower, Corwyn Allen and Kayden Oconnell open the pages of The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes, the final set of twelve Sherlock Holmes short stories first published in the Strand Magazine between October 1921 and April 1927.

This week: The Adventure of the Blanched Soldier

The year is 1903, and the Second Boer War has not long ended. Holmes is visited by a veteran of that campaign one James M. Dodd, who has a strange tale to tell while seeking Holmes’ assistance in locating a colleague and friend.

During the war, Dodd served in the Imperial Yeomanry, alongside one Godfrey Emsworth.  Dodd lost contact with Emsworth not long after the latter was wounded. Now six months later, which trying to locate his friend, he has encountered a strange situation which has aroused his suspicions.

Upon contacting Emsworth’s family, Dodd was told Emsworth had departed on a voyage around the world. On visiting the family, he is again met with the same story, and Emsworth’s father intimates Dodd is lying about ever having known his son. Relating the rest of his story, Dodd reveals several more events that lead him to believe that all is not well with his friend and former colleague. He’s then rather surprised when having related events, Holmes considers that, but for one clue, the answer to the entire matter is elementary, and agrees to accompany Dodd to visit the Emsworth family to confirm his belief.

Find out how Holmes so quickly deduced what is going on, and what has happened to Godfrey Emsworth by joining Cale, Kayden and Corwyn.

Monday June 2nd, 19:00: Space Wars: The Man Who Would Be Kzin

Gyro Muggins launches a new series of sci-fi tales as he dips into Larry Niven’s Known Space universe and pulls out a story from the Man-Kzin Wars.

The Kzinti, are a warlike race Niven first introduced to the world in his 1966 story The Warriors. They permeated many of his stories set in the Known Space series, and well as appearing in his Nebula and Hugo award-winning Ringworld. In his stories, Niven references a series of conflicts between Kzinti and humans, but did not write about the wars himself. Such was the demand for more information on the wars, however, he allowed the Man-Kzin wars to become a shared universe series, with the majority of the stories written by other science-fiction authors such as Poul Anderson, Dean Ing, Jerry Pournelle, S.M. Stirling, Greg Bear and others.

The Man Who Would Be Kzin, written in 1991 by Greg Bear and S.M Stirling, appears in the Man-Kzin Wars IV, and The Best of All Possible Wars. It poses the interesting question: how exactly does a human spy infiltrate a civilisation of 8-foot tall anthropomorphic tiger-like cats?

Tuesday June 3rd: The library is dark

Check the Seanchai library blog for any late-breaking news of an event.

Wednesday June 4th, 19:00: Tales of Despereaux

Following-on from Flora and Ulysses, Caledonia Skytower reads from Kate DiCamillo’s first novel to win a prestigious Newbery Award.

The Tales of Despereaux is a story of four parts, each part told from the perspective of a different character. Despereaux Tilling, is a mouse, and the hero of the piece. Born a runt with big ears and eyes, he is an incurable romantic, given to reading tales about knights and princesses. Chiaroscuro is a dungeon rat with an obsession with light, bright things. Miggery Sow is a simply serving girl with an impossible dream.

Together, these three become bound in a tale of dungeons, betrayal, kidnap, redemption and a princess named Pea, as well as a host of other memorable characters.

Thursday June 5th

19:00: Ladon

Shandon Loring delves into Greek Mythology once more, focusing on the many-headed dragon which guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides, and tormented the Titan Atlas as he held the heavens on his shoulders.

21:00 Seanchai Late Night

With Finn Zeddmore

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Please check with the Seanchai Library SL’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule. The featured charity for May-June is Habitat for Humanity: envisioning a world where everyone has a decent place to live.

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