Year: 2016

A farewell to March at Seanchai Library

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off a week of story-telling in voice, brought to our virtual lives by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Monday, March 28th: 100 words at a Time

Long ago, Crap Mariner swore an oath to write a 100 word story every day until the day he died. A decade later, he’s holding true to that promise.

Crap MQuirky, witty, irreverent, Crap’s stories will cover any subject that comes to mind. Nothing is off-limits to his razor wit and keen eye for wordplay; nor is any subject  or above having him poke at it, prod it into submission or offer an opinion or observation upon it by way of one of his stories.

Nor is it all about humour, mocking, sarcasm or plain fun. Craps stories can stop you in your tracks as they visit you with  – as Caledonia Skytower says – “a moment of profound feeling and insight, leaving you breathless.”

Tuesday March 29th, 19:00: Echo

EchoCaledonia Skytower reads Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Newbery Honour novel.

Three entwined stories focusing on a magical harmonica, start with the tale of 12-year-old German boy Friedrich, growing up in the time of the rise of National Socialism in Germany. Already an outcast because of the birthmark that disfigures his face, Friedrich discovers the harmonica, and with it, hope for the future.

Two years later, 11–year-old Mike Flannery finds himself in possession of the harmonica, and with it, the opportunity to prevent his younger bother being sent away to a state home by the woman who adopted the boys to suit her own purposes.

In the final story, Ivy Lopez, whose parents are migrant farm labourers. It’s a year after Pearl Harbour, and her family find themselves running a farm after the Japanese-American owners are placed in an internment camp. Forced to attend “Americanisation” schooling, Ivy encounters institutional racism, and also strength and refuge when the harmonica enters her life. But soon enough, her family’s ties to the Yamamotos put them in crisis, and Ivy finds herself keeping what she fears is a terrible secret.

Wednesday March 30th, 19:00: Feeling’ good with Faerie

Spring has sprung, our own resident winged-one is back and she’s feeling good! She’s ready to share that goodness with her friends at the Library with stories from Alice Gray’s compilation Stories from the Heart.

Faerie says, “With the current world events, I think everyone could use a story to make them remember the good in the world.”  Stories include A Perfect Pot of Tea, Encouraging Words, Bouquet, Beauty Contest and more.

Thursday, March 31st, 19:00: Draco! Draco!

With Shandon Loring

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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 March / April is Project Children, building peace in Ireland one child at a time.

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Space Sunday: of ice and salts, aurorae, and mountains

Posted on by Inara Pey
A true colour image returned by the Dawn space probe of one of the bright "spots" in Occator crater on Ceres, revealing what might be a cryo-volcano
A true colour image returned by the Dawn space probe of one of the bright “spots” in Occator crater on Ceres, revealing what might be a cryovolcano (credit:NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI)

The science team behind the joint NASA / ESA Dawn mission has released the most stunning high-resolution images yet seen of Ceres, one of the solar system’s three “protoplanets” located in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

The Dawn spacecraft has been mapping Ceres for also a year, operating at its lowest altitude above the tiny world since December 2015. During the course of the year, the images and data it has returned have, alongside information sent to us about Pluto and Charon by the New Horizons mission, caused planetary scientists to start seriously reconsidering all they thought they understood about minor planetary bodies in the solar system.

However, one thing everyone has been waiting for has been to see high-resolution images of Occator crater and the strange bright spots within it which have been the cause of so much interest and speculation, ever since they were first imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope.

A false-colour image showing the main peak in Occator crater with the small bright spots off to the right
A false-colour image showing the main peak in Occator crater with the small bright spots off to the right (credit:NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI)

While the vehicle may have commenced its most detailed mapping orbit of Ceres in December, due to the complexities of Dawn’s orbit around the tiny world, it was not until relatively recently that it was able to overfly the 92 km (57 mi) diameter Occator and capture images of what lay within it, and these images were released on March 22nd, as a part of a science briefing given at the 7th annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas.

Taken from an altitude of just 385 kilometres (240 miles) above the crater, the images reveal a huge dome-like structure with a dimpled top forming the brightest of the “spots” in Occator. It looks for all the world like a volcano, prompting speculation that it might be what is called a “cryovolcano”. The theory here being that Ceres may contain significant quantities of volatiles (ices), which are gently heated by the dwarf planet’s interior, causing them to erupt through the surface layer, the deposits they leave behind slowly building up the volcano-like dome.

A false colour elliptical map of Ceres showing that Occator (just right of centre) is not the only bright spot on the tiny planetoid others, mostly associated with young (around 70-150 million years old) craters
A false colour elliptical map of Ceres showing that Occator (just right of centre) is not the only bright spot on the tiny planetoid others, mostly associated with young (around 70-150 million years old) craters (credit:NASA / JPL-Caltech / UCLA / MPS / DLR / IDA / PSI)

However, this is not he only theory on what might be happening. Spectral observations show that the light patches found in Occator and elsewhere are consistent with a magnesium sulphate called hexahydrite, which resembles Epsom salts here on Earth. Thus, an alternative theory is that impacts in places like Occator expose the salt-rich ices trapped in the crust to the vacuum of space. This causes the ice to sublimate (vaporise), leaving the salt behind.

Commenting on the two the two theories, Ralf Jaumann, planetary scientist and Dawn co-investigator at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) said, “Before Dawn began its intensive observations of Ceres last year, Occator Crater looked to be one large bright area. Now, with the latest close views, we can see complex features that provide new mysteries to investigate. The intricate geometry of the crater interior suggests geologic activity in the recent past, but we will need to complete detailed geologic mapping of the crater in order to test hypotheses for its formation.”

In the interim, NASA has released a new video summarising Dawn’s investigations of Ceres.

Cygnus Rendezvous with ISS

March 22nd saw the latest Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply vehicle lifted-off from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida in a spectacular night-time launch beneath a full Moon.

The automated vehicle, carrying 3.5 tonnes of supplies and equipment up to the International Space Station, made a flawless ascent into the Florida sky, the clear weather and moonlight offer some extraordinary opportunities for photographers, as shown in the image below, taken by Alex Polimeni for Spaceflight Now.

Long exposure photograph shows the trail of the Atlas V launch vehicle as it carries the Cygnus OA6 vehicle "Rick Husband" into orbit on March 22nd, 2016. In the foreground is the world famous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre (credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now)
Long exposure photograph shows the trail of the Atlas V launch vehicle as it carries the Cygnus OA6 vehicle “Rick Husband” into orbit on March 22nd, 2016. In the foreground is the world-famous Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre (credit: Alex Polimeni / Spaceflight Now)

Continue reading “Space Sunday: of ice and salts, aurorae, and mountains” →

A cheerful visit in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

[G]aio; Inara Pey, March 2016, on Flickr [G]aio – click any image for full size

There are some extraordinary lovely regions popping up across Second Life right now, several of which I’ve been fortunate to visit recently, and I’m adding. [G]aio (Italian: cheerful, happy) to the list.

The work of cambiamento Radikal, [G]aio is a homestead region nestled between tall green mountains, presenting the feeling of being a small cluster of islands sitting on a lake and caught in a perennial summer’s morning, the sky yellowed by a slowly rising sun gradually hauling its way up over the eastern peaks.

[G]aio; Inara Pey, March 2016, on Flickr [G]aio

The largest of the islands offers  a Tuscan farmhouse sitting to the south-west, the outhouses of which present games rooms and the chance to enjoy a little wine. Those who prefer can dance out in the courtyard (touch the sign next to the house for poseballs), or they can sit and sip wine and watch the sheep drinking at the water trough alongside a small coral. The latter is home to a saddled horse awaiting anyone who might want to ride him.

Outside the farm buildings, a stone path leads the way along a tongue of land running east, past grapes growing on the vine and corn on the cob, to a children’s play area. Beyond this, the tongue of land continues east then north to arrive small headland crowned with a copse of tall fir trees through which sunlight slants.

[G]aio; Inara Pey, March 2016, on Flickr [G]aio

A rope bridge connects this headland with the second largest island as it sits cupped in the arms of the first. A rutted track undulated across this island, under the boughs of trees and between thick hedges. Two stone bridges, hopping to a much smaller island offer the way back to the farm, leading visitors past a magical faery ring in the process.

[G]aio may not appear to be as extensive as other region designs, but this doesn’t make it any less endearing. There is a beautifully rural feeling to it, perfectly underlined by a gentle ambient sound scape. It is also a place which naturally lends itself to photography under a range of windlight settings (there are also poses available, and rezzing is set with a 60-minutes return time).

[G]aio; Inara Pey, March 2016, on Flickr [G]aio

For those who simply want to spend time together, snuggling, exploring or dancing, [G]aio is equally the ideal destination, offering plenty of opportunity for all three, with cambiamento a convivial host (we spent a good part of my most recent visit in conversation). Should you enjoy your visit to {G]aio, do please consider making a donation towards the region’s upkeep (via the courtyard water trough).

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SL project updates 16 12/3: invisiprims

Posted on by Inara Pey
Invisiprims: as they were with ALM disabled (left) and ALM enabled (right) and as they appear now, with or without ALM enabled (LL official viewer)
Invisiprims: with ALM disabled (left) and ALM enabled (right); and as they appear now in the official viewer, with or without ALM enabled (click for full size, if required)

As noted in my week #11 update, the current release of the LL viewer now effectively “breaks” the remaining invisiprim capability in the viewer, with any object or surface using them rendered as either solid grey or black, something which is seen as less than optimal with regards to long-standing in-world content, prompting some debate as who should be done with invisiprims going forward.

To understand what has been discussed, and what is likely to be done, it is necessary to dip back into some history.

Background

One upon a time, Invisiprims were the means of achieving an alpha mask effect. For example, their use in footwear meant that an avatar’s feet could be masked to prevent them showing through shoes and boots. They could also be used in-world as well, a typical example being their use to mask Linden Water from being seen inside boat hulls or things like dry docks – one of the most famous examples being the dry dock at Nautilus (shown below).

As it used to be: the Nautilus dry dock uses an invisiprim to mask the Linden Water - but for the last few years this has onlt worked for viewers with Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) disabled
As it used to be: the Nautilus dry dock uses an invisiprim to mask the Linden Water. For the last several years, this has only worked when the Advanced Lighting Model (ALM) in the viewer is disabled

Invisiprims were able to do this by making use of two unique texture UUIDs within the viewer which, when called, would act as alpha masks. However, this always came as a cost to rendering, and could lead to unpredictable results (e.g. glitches with rendering, odd interactions between the invisiprim textures and other textures, etc.). Because these issues became particularly problematic when using some of the advanced rendering capabilities (what is now called the Advanced Lighting Model or ALM) in the viewer, a decision was taken a number of years ago to have ALM ignore the alpha masking effect of the invisiprim texture UUIDs.

Thus, anyone running the viewer with ALM enabled for the last several years  has not seen the masking effects of invisiprims; avatar body parts show through wearable items which use them, for example (hence the adoption of more efficient alpha layers by clothing and accessory designers). Nor do in-world invisiprims act a masks for things like Linden Water when viewed with ALM active (as illustrated below), although they would still alpha mask if ALM was disabled in the viewer.

As it has tended to be: the Nautilus dry dock uses an invisiprim to mask the Linden Water, the texture of which is completely ignored by the viewer when rendering with ALM enabled.
Following the changes made a few years ago to the Advanced Lighting Model, the “magic” invisiprim texture UUIDs are ignored during rendering, with the result that they no longer mask things like Linden Water when seen in a viewer with ALM enabled

While this latter point – the lack of ability to hide things like Linden Water from view – may have appeared less than perfect at the time the changes were made, it has over the ensuing years become accepted behaviour when seen in-world.  So what has now changed to once again make invisiprims a subject of discussion?

The New Problem and Its Proposed Solution

In short, a recent change to the viewer rendering system, (found in the current release viewer, 4.0.2.312269) means that anything using the invisiprim texture UUIDs is now seen as a sold grey or black surface / object regardless as to whether ALM is enabled in the viewer or not. This has led a lot of long-standing, No Mod in-world content looking distinctly odd and unsightly (shown below, again using the Nautilus dry dock).

The new invisiprim issue is that regradless of whether a viewer is running with ALM disabled (l) or enabled (r), worn or in-world objects using them now appear either solid grey or black (click image for full size, if required)
A change to the 4.0.2.312269 release viewer means that invisprims now render as solid grey or black surfaces / objects whether or not ALM is enabled in the viewer. With in-world content, this has led to some unsightly results, such as the Nautilus dry dock looking like it has been filled with cement (click image for full size, if required)

BUG-11562 was raised highlighting this latter impact to in-world content, with a request that the change be updated so that any surface using the “magic” invisiprim UUIDs is simply rendered as “invisible” (i.e. transparent, as is the case when running with ALM enabled). There has also been some debate among TPV developers about how to adopt the Lab’s code change, as well as the matter being discussed at both the Open-Source Developer meeting and the TPVD meeting held on March 25th, 2016 (audio extract below).

The latter discussions have resulted in both the Lab and TPV developers agreeing that the best solution would be to follow the BUG-11562 suggestion, and have surfaces and objects using the invisiprim UUIDs render and transparent objects whether or not ALM is enabled in the viewer.

A change to support this has already be submitted to the Lab to achieve this. Subject to further testing, it, or a solution similar to it, is likely to be integrated into a future viewer update.

SL project updates 16 12/2: viewer, Aditi inventory, TLS 1.2

Posted on by Inara Pey

Nusquam; Inara Pey, March 2016, on Flickr Nusquam – blog post

The following notes have been taken from the Open-Source Developer meeting held on Wednesday, March 23rd, the Server Beta User Group meeting  held on Thursday, March 24th, and the Third-Party Viewer Developer (TPVD) meeting held on Friday, March 25th (for which audio extracts are included). My thanks to Yuzuru Jewell for sending me the notes from the Open-Source Developer meeting.

SL Server Deployments – Recap

On Tuesday, March 22nd, the Main (SLS) channel was updated with the improved server maintenance project previously deployed to the three RC channels. This comprises server script fixes (not LSL changes) and internal improvements. There were no planned deployments to the RC channels.

SL Viewer

There have been no further updates to any of the official viewers since the recent promotion of the former Maintenance RC viewer to release status. This viewer has already demonstrated a much lower crash rate than previous release viewers, thanks in part to the contributions made to the Lab by TPV / open-source developers.

HTTP / Vivox Viewer

It is anticipated that the HTTP / Vivox RC viewer, version 4.0.3.312816 dated March 23rd, 2016 at the time of writing, will be the next RC to be promoted to the de facto release viewer.

Quick Graphics RC Viewer

The Quick Graphics RC viewer, version 4.0.2.312297 dated March 11th, 2016 at the time of writing, further testing has been going on with a hard limit on the number of avatars rendered:  anyone outside the closest N will simply be invisible./

64-Bit Viewer Builds

The 64-bit official viewer project is continuing. As a part of this work, the Havok sub-library will be updated to 64-bit as well (allowing 64-bit versions of TPVs to including the sub-libraries, and will see CEF updated to that Mac users can utilise PPAPI should they wish to continue to use Flash driven devices for in-world media (currently, Mac users must use the less secure NPAPI – see here for more on installation requirements).

Inventory Updates

Once the HTTP viewer has reached release status, the Lab will be shifting viewer focus back on the inventory improvements work Aura linden has been working on. This includes switching all of the old UDP inventory messaging paths over to HTTP, and to deprecate old inventory messages and the removal of server-side support for such messaging.

Once live, this means that older versions of viewers which still rely on the old inventory messaging paths will no longer have functional inventories.

Aditi Inventory Syncing

As I’ve previously noted, there is a new system in place for synchronising Aditi (Beta) grid and Agni (main) grid inventories for avatars. Rather than requiring a password update in order to force your Aditi inventory to be overwritten with the contents of your Agni inventory (generally around 24 hours after the password change), the new process simply requires you to log into Aditi.

Whenever you do so, your inventory is flagged so that the contents of your Angi (main) grid inventory is merged with your existing Aditi inventory  (in theory preserving most of your Aditi inventory, rather than simply overwriting / deleting it) the next time an update process is run (at around 06:00 SLT daily). This process works one way: the contents of your Agni inventory is merged into your Aditi inventory – it doesn’t merge anything you have on Aditi into your Agni inventory.

The “in theory” statement above is important, as some issues / potential confusion has arisen with the way the process operates.

Syncing, Cache Clearance and Slow Inventory Load

Whirly Fizzle reports that following an inventory sync, items created on Aditi (and therefore unique to it) prior to the sync may seem to be missing from your Aditi inventory the first time you log-in to Aditi following the sync process. As the viewer uses the shame cache location regardless of which grid you log-in to, logging off and clearing cache corrects the problem (fresh inventory download from the correct grid asset servers) but it can lead to exceptionally log log-in times when trying to get back into Aditi (Whirly indicated in her case, it took two hours for her to log back into Aditi after clearing cache).

“Shared” Asset UUIDs and Agni Precedence

A further issue appears to be that worn items are essentially treated as “shared” assets between Agni and Aditi. This can led to problems on Aditi when editing the contents of a worn object there.

For example: Lucia Nightfire had her Agni inventory merged into Aditi. She then modified a script for a HUD which originally came from Agni. This was fine until the next time her Agni and Aditi inventories were synchronised (remembering that your Aditi inventory is flagged for update each time you log-in to the beta grid, unless it is flagged already). following this further merge, she discovered that the changes she’d made to the script on Aditi had been reverted due to the Agni data relating to the HUD and its contents overwriting the Aditi information.

The issue appears to be the result of the respective Aditi and Agni versions of the asset having the same UUID, with the Agni version of the asset taking precedence over the Aditi version during an inventory merge. It’s currently not clear if the same issue will occur with the contents of objects which are rezzed in-world as well; further tests are being carried out to check on this.

Two-Factor Account Authentication

As recently indicated by the Lab, phishing issues are still a problem in Second Life. These issues led to a request during the TPVD meeting that the Lab look to implement two-factor authentication on accounts.

The lab has been carrying out back-end infrastructure work, which has involved some changes – transparent to users – in the log-in and authentication process, and going forward, further work is to be carried out, which may include a move to two-factor authentication, although the Lab is still looking at options and time frames.

Continue reading “SL project updates 16 12/2: viewer, Aditi inventory, TLS 1.2” →

SL13B: sharing the adventure in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
via SL13B website
via SL13B website

The dates have been set for this year’s Second Life anniversary celebrations.

SL13B will kick-off at noon SLT on Sunday, June 19th, and run for a full week of celebrations, entertainment and activities, through until Sunday, June 26th, 2016 inclusive. The theme for 2013 is The Shared Adventure.

The blog post announcing event reads in part:

Second Life has been home to countless virtual adventures, and continues to break new ground. Each of us shares in the adventure, as our creations are enjoyed by avatars from far and wide.

What does adventure stir in you? Is it an endless vista of unexplored jungles and ocean depths, a space opera, or even intrigue in dimly lit alleyways. What dangers are afoot, and how will you and your cohorts seek to overcome them?

L12B Community Celebration; Inara Pey, June 2015, on FlickrSL12B Welcome area by Walton F. Wainwright (Faust Steamer), June 2015 (Flickr)

The key dates for the celebration themselves are:

  • Saturday, June 18th: Press Day
  • Sunday, June 19th, noon SLT: Opening Day
  • Thursday June 23rd: The Birthday
  • Sunday, June 26th: end of entertainments and performances
  • Monday, June 27th through Sunday, July 3rd: Sims open for viewing, no performances

In keeping with the shared experience theme,  and in a departure from previous SL13B events, the organisers are inviting Second Life creators and builders to apply for the chance to design and build one of the celebration’s entertainments stages or public areas.

In all there are six public areas people can apply to develop. They are, in brief:

  • The Cake Stage: the centrepiece of the celebration, spanning a square of four regions with a total available LI of 32,000 (8,000 per region, with the stage expected to straddle the corners of all 4 regions). The cake can be constructed in whole or in parts from prims, mesh or sculpts, with mesh preferred.
  • The Live Stage: for singers and “live” entertainments and set within a single region with a 10,000 LI allowance. The stage needs to be suitable for solo acts as well as moderate ‘band’ sized acts, with the successful applicant responsible for developing the entire region.
  • DJ Stage:  straddling two regions with a total LI of 10,000, this stage is for DJ and other pre-recorded acts. The successful applicant is responsible for the decoration of both regions.
  • Stage Right: again straddling two regions and with a 5,000 LI allowance, this stage will be used for a mixture of DJ and live entertainment, with the successful applicant once more responsible for developing both regions.
  •  Auditorium: straddling two regions and covering approximately half of each, and with a LI allowance of 2,500 per region, the auditorium will be used mainly for presentations, talks, workshops and classes. It should be split into a minimum of two sections, with one part of it should be capable of seating up to 70 avatars
  • The Welcome Area: Taking up a full region and with a LI allowance of 8,000 and a total ground area of 57,600 square metres, the Welcome Area is the point at which the majority of visitors will arrive at the celebration regions.

Again, please note that the above descriptions offer a brief outline of the build requirements for each area, all of which have very specific requirements which must be considered when applying. for full details on these, please refer to the SL13B Infrastructure Build Requirements.

If you are interested in applying to design and build any of these areas, please email either  doctorgascoigne-at-gmail.com or diana.renoir-at-gmail.com or contact them in-world.

L12B Community Celebration; Inara Pey, June 2015, on FlickrSL12B auditorium by Anthony (ADudeNamed Anthony), June 2015 (Flickr)

General applications from builders, exhibitors, performers and presenters will be announced in due course, as will a call for volunteer helpers and greeters and the opportunity for bloggers to apply for early access on the Press Day.

Keep up-to-date with all things SL13B through the SL Community Celebration Website.