Month: April 2015

Using Amazon AppStream to stream a viewer

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update, Saturday April 11th: Bill Glover, who has also shown a keen interest in the possibility of using Amazon AppStream, has been carrying out his own experiments with Firestorm and Second Life. He notes of his experience:

I set-up a stream with the Firestorm and was able to use it from both a Chromebook and an Android phone. It was really very responsive over a hotel wifi network, but there are many caveats.

It works, but it’s expensive and nowhere near being useful for just casually streaming SL without some custom client development and viewer integration.

You can read his initial thoughts on things over on his blog.

On Wednesday, April 8th, and following the announcement that the SL Go service is to be discontinued, I speculated on how the Lab (or indeed, someone else) might offer up an alternative to fill the void left once SL Go ceases at the end of the month.

After looking at various alternatives (including Highwind’s GDN – Highwinds being one of LL’s CDN providers), a conversation with Dennis Harper pointed me towards Amazon AppStream, and the more I read, the more it seemed to be a viable option, and hence it became the focus of my article.

As a result, Nebadon Izumi (Michael Emory Cerquoni) sat down to see just how easy (or not) to get something up and running, albeit using OS Grid and the OnLook viewer, and reported some success.

What made me think to try was your article. “You get 20 hours of free streaming per month with Basic Amazon AWS account (required to access the AppStream service), then its 83 cents per hour. I also tried this on my Android Tablet, but while the graphics were beautiful, input is a problem, and the viewer will need overlay controls like SL Go, which will require development.

– Nebadon discussing using Appstream for Second Life with me

Once he had his account created, Nebadon was able to install the viewer and use the supplied web browser to obtain and install the VS C++ 2010 re-distributable packages he needed in order to run the Singularity-based OnLook viewer, “you can go anywhere on the web and download any software you need to make your application run,” he noted to me. “Once I had these and the viewer installed, it took about 20-30 minutes for the viewer to deploy, and I got a set of instructions on how people can connect to it.” The whole process took him, he estimates, about 2 hours.

This is obviously a long way short of providing a full-blown service, and anyone wishing to use Amazon AppStream as the basis for a streaming solution for their grid who obviously have to dig a lot deep into issues of cost and pricing, payment mechanisms, potential demand, management, scaling, and so on; it also has yet to be tried with a viewer connecting to SL. Nevertheless, as a trial exercise, Nebadon’s work at least shows that the viewer can be streamed relatively easily using AppStream, and that’s a good place to start.

A fractal rhapsody

Posted on by Inara Pey
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

Officially opening at 13:00 SLT on Saturday, April 11th, at the Influence Art Community is a new exhibition of fractal art by Gem Preiz.

“I spend my time amazed with the extraordinary detailed patterns of the fractals, as well as their incredible diversity,” Gem says of his work. “From my explorations in this fascinating universe, I bring back digital images that I have been displaying on SL for two and a half years, using them to illustrate themes which inspire me.”

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

The result is a series of pictures which come together under the title Rhapsody in Blue Fractals, which Gem uses to form a narrative tracing the story of the universe through to humanity’s arrival and our attempts to fill it with our own creations.

The pieces  – twenty in total – are displayed two and three at a time through a series of rooms hanging in space, a single blue walkway running between blue-framed doorways providing the means of progress from one room to another. The choice of blue is deliberate, as Gem notes, “blue as the water from which life arises, as the sky and the air we inhale.”

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

Each piece bears its own title, giving a clue to its place in the story: Genesis, emerGence, BioloGy, and so on – the capitalised G another link to the blue theme and the title of the piece; Rhapsody in Blue being George Gershwin’s famous 1924 musical composition for piano and jazz band. And it is also, as Gem notes, a play on the first initial of his name, and the person to whom the exhibition is dedicated.

The pieces themselves are also rendered in blue, and each one is intricately detailed and quite beautiful in depth; so much so that time is really required to study and appreciate each piece fully – and even then, it is possible to come back and pick out yet more details on a subsequent visit.. They also represent something of a retrospective of the various styles of fractal art he has produced over the last 30 or so months, something which adds a further layer to the exhibition as a whole.

Rhapsody in Blue Fractals
Rhapsody in Blue Fractals

I’m not sure if there will be a music stream running once the exhibit formally opens, however GEM suggests three YouTube tracks should be listened to when visiting the exhibition, and having wandered back and froth through it with them playing, I tend to agree with him:

Oh, and when you reach what appear to be the end of the blue path and are facing the last image – trust to fate and step off the edge; there’s a little surprise waiting, which is perhaps itself a commentary on the possible cyclical nature of the universe!

RFL RelayStock 2015: calling all Relay Teams

Posted on by Inara Pey

relay-rockers2015 will see the return of RelayStock, a weekend of Peace, Love, hope and great music, all in aid of Relay for Life of SL.

Hosted by the indomitable Relay Rockers team, RelayStock, SL’s very own update on Woodstock, will this year take place on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th at Relay d’Alliez, and is billed as the largest multi-team event in the 2015 RFL of SL fund-raising season.

RelayStock will provide team camp site with either a tent or a minivan, all located around a 60’s style festival stage, and the weather and conditions will be typically “Woodstockian” – so expect rain and mud as well as dancing and fun!

An open invitation has been given to Relay Teams to come along and support the event.  Team can do so by completing the reservation form, in which they can reserve a camp site where they can set-up their kiosks and vendors. In addition, participating teams can volunteer to host a DJ session on the stage of up to 2 hours in duration, and take part in the final round of the Relay Rocker’s Celebrate Remember Fight Back (CRFB) Top DJ Competition.

Those teams interested in running a DJ session over the weekend should indicate their interest in the reservation form, and note the time at which they’d prefer to host a session, which, at the time of writing, were (all times SLT):

  • Saturday, May 23rd:
    • 08:00 – 10:00
    • 10:00 – 12:00 noon
    • 12:00 noon – 13:00
  • Sunday, May 24th:   
    • 08:00 – 10:00
    • 10:00 – 12:00 noon
    • 12:00 noon – 14:00
    • 14:00 – 15:00

RelayStock 2015

Special Events for the Weekend

The complete schedule of events is still being drawn-up, but highlights include:

Saturday, May 23rd

  • 13:00 – 17:15: the Relay Rocker’s 2015 CRFB Top Dj Contest finals
  • 17:15 – 21:00: Saturday BYOK Fever, featuring the music of:
    • 17:15 – 19:00: Madelyn Majestic – Relay Rockers / T1Radio
    • 19:00 – 21:00: Fuzzball Ortega – Steelhead Salmon / T1Radio

Sunday,  May 24th

  • 15:00 – 17:00: Rep Rap
  • 17:00 – 20:00:  The famous T1Radio TIme Machine and a Trip to the Sixties with Trader Whiplash and Team Relay Rockers  BYOK

Commenting on the event, Rockers co-founder Trader Whiplash said, “The Relay Rockers have been fortunate to have participants from many teams in our CRFB Event. RelayStock is our way of saying thank you for the huge support across the grid for the competition.  It  affords every team the opportunity to share in a super fund-raising event. This is just another example of the One Team concept in Relay.  It doesn’t matter whose kiosk or vendor the donations land in, after all we are all on the same team in the end.”

Such is the nature of RelayStock that, in 2014, more than L$ 1.5 million was raised by some 50 teams over the course of the weekend.

So, whether you’re part of a Relay Team or not, make a note in your diary of the dates. All things being equal, and with trader’s support, I’ll have a special preview of the event ahead of the weekend itself.

For More Information on RelayStock, teams should contact  Ariel Stormcrow, Relay Rockers Co-Captain (ariel-at-relayrockers.t1radio.com).

About Relay dAlliez

RelayStock will take place at Relay dAlliez, a region dedicated to the memory of dAlliez Estates estates founder Alliez Mysterio, who along with Nuala Maracas and Trader Whiplash, helped found the Relay Rockers team in 2005. Alliez was lost to breast cancer in 2013.  The region was first made available in 2014 to any Relay Teams wishing to host their own RFL of SL fund-raising events.

Currently, there are still several prime weekend dates open in the 2015 RFL of SL season which can be used by Relay Teams to host their own events. Representatives from teams interested in doing so can visit the Relay dAlliez InfoHub for more information and to submit a reservation request.

Avatars as art

Posted on by Inara Pey
Femme by Sabbian Paine - Holtwaye ArtSpace
Femme by Sabbian Paine – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Open now at Holtwaye ArtSpace are two exhibitions of art which focus on avatars.

The first, Femme, features a series of eight images by Sabbian Paine, located on in the north wing of the gallery’s ground level building.

While small in number, the images displayed are highly individual and both graphically and narratively powerful in content.

Femme by Sabbian Paine - Holtwaye ArtSpace
Femme by Sabbian Paine – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Take Swan Lake as an example (the leftmost picture in the trio at the top of this article). Here is a piece of masterful execution as the poise and elegance of the woman, the fall of her gown, the arms of her arms, presents an image strongly evocative of  the stately appearance of a swan. At the same time, the black gas mask encasing her head adds a subtle twist to the image, removing her identity from view in what may seem an oppressive or menacing way whilst simultaneously enhancing her swan-like looks. Thus there is a subtle enfolding of elements here: the direct comparison with a swan, the hinting at the classic ballet and the idea of hidden secrets.

Each of the pieces offers a narrative of its own, making this a small, but highly engaging exhibit in which you may well find yourself spending far more time studying each piece than you might otherwise have expected.

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Located in the skyborne gallery space (reached via the teleport sign outside of the ground level complex) is a relatively new (having opened on March 28th) exhibition of images by JJ Goodman.

On display are eighteen images, the majority of which are once again focused on avatars (although one or two are broader in nature).

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Here the focus is very much on avatars going about their lives, be it a man bathing in a pool, participants in a carnival, a group of guys dancing at a 50s-style diner, and so on. Many of the images have a vibrancy both in colour and composition which give them a unique feeling of “living”. Others are beautifully posed, lit and shot as to evoke a story of their own.

In this there is something marvellously engaging in the juxtaposition of various styles displayed within the images displayed here, with the likes of Chess Girl, Duncan, and Coop’s Serenity offering that rich depth of narrative which draws one into each of the pictures – and particularly in the case of pieces like Coop’s Serenity, directly into the subject’s eyes -, which beautifully contrasts with pieces like 50’s Guys and Candy Girls, where the story is painted more in the picture as a whole, and the richness of the colours within it.

JJ Goodman - Holtwaye ArtSpace
JJ Goodman – Holtwaye ArtSpace

Taken together, these two exhibition present two fascinating and very different studies into avatars as art, and both are recommended visits.

Related Links

Something for the petrol heads

Posted on by Inara Pey
Museum of The History of the Vehicle - LEA 2
Museum of The History of the Vehicle – LEA 2

For those with a passion for trucks, vans, motorbikes, motor racing and – most of all – cars, there are a couple of events going on in SL that might interest you.

The first, The History of the Vehicle, is taking place at LEA 2. Billed as being six months in the making, the exhibit is curated by Sapphire  Hotaling as a celebration of wheeled vehicles in Second Life from 2005 through to the present day, with some 130+ individual vehicles from almost 50 designers and creators on display,

Museum of The History of the Vehicle - LEA 2
The History of the Vehicle – LEA 2

With the exception of the main building, located on the north side of the region, and a large display area to the east, the majority of the museum space is open air, with various display areas clearly marked and reached via footpaths, and a landscaped park extending to the south and west of the region, linking the main vehicle displays with a memorial to vehicle racers and designers who have passed away, and a stage area which will host live events at the weekends throughout the time the exhibit is open – check the display boards within the exhibit for details.

There’s no set route for exploring the region – just go where your feet / the footpaths take you. Individual display areas are clearly enough marked, and while nothing is for sale within the region, there are plenty of note card / LM givers to the in-world and SLM stores for the designers displaying their latest wares.

Museum of The History of the Vehicle - LEA 2
The History of the Vehicle – LEA 2

The displays are interesting enough, and some do indeed give a feel for how vehicles have visually evolved over the years; however, I have to confess that I toured the exhibit unable to shake the feeling it’s more car show that historical piece. Outside of the “Evolution” exhibit, there is precious little information chart the actual history of vehicle development in SL – the evolution of scripting, capabilities, etc., which to me is a bit of a shame, although I fully understand that putting something together like that isn’t necessarily easy – not everyone is interested in scripting evolution, etc.

Even so the range of vehicles on display is impressive, and the park like layout helps to make the exhibit feel less crowded, vehicle-wise, even allowing from the large east side display area; once you step off of the main path and onto the grass with its wooden walks, it’s easy to relax and find a place to sit a while.

All told, History of the Vehicle makes for a visual treat for car and vehicle fans.

Continue reading “Something for the petrol heads” →

Could the Lab use Amazon AppStream to “replace” SL Go?

Posted on by Inara Pey
Sl Go proved itself very popular among SL users running low-end hardware
SL Go proved itself very popular among SL users running low-end hardware

On Thursday, April 2nd, it was announced that SL Go, the streaming service for accessing SL  provided by OnLive, is to shut-down on April 30th alongside OnLive’s other consumer services. The reason for this is because OnLive has sold the IP and patents associated with the services to Sony Computer Entertainment.

Since the news broke, there have been numerous calls made for Sony to maintain SL Go as a service, including  an on-line petition. However, as painful as it is, all such calls and petitions to  Sony are unlikely to succeed, as I explained in a recent blog post.

In that article, I also considered whether or not the Lab might invest time and effort in offering something that might fill the void. At the time, I thought the answer to this would most likely be “no”, as the Lab seem to have enough on its plate already with Second Life and its next generation platform.

But the more I think about it, the more I feel that the Lab should endeavour to offer some kind of “SL Go replacement”.

One potential means by which they might do so could be via Amazon AppStream.

Obviously, there are issues involved in providing such a service beyond the physical provisioning. Anything which requires some form of external hosting is going to incur costs, for example. However, the flip side to this is it’s fair to say the SL Go has demonstrated that if users believe they are getting a beneficial service, they are willing to pay for it, providing the price is not prohibitively high.

Certainly, there are a wide range of potential benefits to be had from such an endeavour, particularly if implemented through something like Amazon AppStream:

  • It offers an easily scaled means by which the Lab could provide an “SL streaming service” to users on low-end hardware and those on mobile devices – something long demanded by SL users
  • It could provide the means by which SL could be accessed through web browsers – again, a long-desired means of attracting new users to the platform who might otherwise be put off by having to download and install the viewer
  • It obviously means that those SL users on low-end systems can enjoy the full graphical richness of SL in the manner LL would like to see all users experience it
  • It could help those preferring to run older operating systems – such as Windows XP – to continue accessing SL even after they might otherwise be unable to even install the viewer
  • It might even help the Lab map and test options which might be beneficial for their nascent next generation platform.

While developing such a service might not necessarily be easy, the Lab isn’t entirely without any experience in this area. As I and many others have pointed out, in 2010 they did experimenting with streaming the viewer, using the Japanese company Gaikai (coincidentally purchased by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2012), which delivered the viewer to web browsers, as shown in the video below. If there is anything remaining of this work at the Lab, it might possible to put it to work through something like Amazon AppStream.

That said, there is a lot for the Lab to consider in attempting to fill the forthcoming void that will be left by SL Go. And while I would not be at all surprised to learn they are already doing so, they might still require some encouragement to take things beyond just considering options. Something which might encourage them, or at least demonstrate to them that there really could be a worthwhile demand for such a service, could be for users to politely speak up.

One way to do this might be to add your name to the existing petition – I would hope someone at the Lab is keeping an eye on it.

Another could well be to leave a positive and polite comment on the subject following this article, as (and all ego aside) I do know eyes at the Lab pass over this blog (just as they do many others).

There is no guarantee that Lab will move to provide some kind of “SL Go replacement”, but on the other hand, as someone once said, nothing ventured, nothing gained.