SL project updates week 32/1: server, viewer

The Snow Lion, Oceanside dAlliez (click for full size – blog post here)

Server Deployments – Week 32

As always, please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest updates and status on deployments.

• There was no Main (SLS) channel deployment on Tuesday August 5th
• On Wednesday August 6th, all three RC channels should receive the same maintenance update, which addresses some miscellaneous bugs, and fixes the JSON issue “Valid JSON numbers like 0e0 no longer valid after 14.06.26.291532” (BUG-6657) and includes changes from the current Main channel release.

SL Server

Release Viewer

The de facto release viewer was updated on Monday August 4th to version 3.7.13.292225, formerly the Group Ban RC viewer. For an overview of the group ban functionality, please refer to my article here (note this is based on the project viewer, although the functionality has not changed significantly).

All other viewer in the release and project channels remain as per my Current Viewer Releases page.

Oculus Rift Viewer and Oculus DK2

Versions of the Oculus Rift DK2 kit are beginning to appear, and those who have received the updated headset are noting that the current Oculus Rift project viewer (version 3.7.12.292141 – see the Alternate Viewers wiki page) is not compatible with the newer equipment, particularly with regards to the updated tracking system and the new display modes (see: RIFT-130).

Given the extent of changes between the DK1 and DK2 headsets, incompatibilities shouldn’t be that surprising, and problems are limited to SL; other applications built for the DK1 are also apparently having their share of niggles with the newer hardware. At the time of writing, it wasn’t clear if the Lab had or had not received their Oculus DK2, so it might still be a while before an updated version of the viewer with DK2 support appears.

User Group Meetings, Week 33

There will be no Open-source Developer meeting or Simulator User Group meeting on Monday August 11th or Tuesday August 12th respectively. This is because the Second Life technical team will be involved in a strategy  / team building get-together in the physical world, and so will all be offline for in-world meetings as a result of travelling, etc.

Other Items

Off-line E-mail Issues

There are reports that offline IMs to e-mail are being blocked by certain ISP, most notably United Internet in Germany, which operates a number of web-based e-mail services, including GMX, 1 and 1, web.de mail.com and A1. The problems started in early July (see this forum thread and BUG-6591 and BUG-6717), and was initially seen as an issue within SL.

However, SL user MartinRJ Fayray, himself based in Germany, contacted 1 and 1 and received confirmation that certain IPs from SL have been blocked on account of the amount of “spam” they are generating.

As the blocking appears to be simulator IP-based, the situation has given rise to some confusion, as some offline e-mails do get through to users, and others don’t (depending on where they were initiated within SL), leading to people viewing the problem as Lab-based issue.

Things currently appear to be up in the air as to what might happen, as unblocking IP ranges is something United Internet needs to do, although United Internet appear to be waiting for the Lab to contact them.

This is not the first time issues with IM to e-mail have been encountered. In 2013, many Gmail users found that their off-line e-mails were no longer being received, although that was due to a change in Gmail’s filtering policies which could be rectified by a settings change at the user’s end.