Month: February 2017

Can you help the East River Community in Second Life?

Posted on by Inara Pey
East River Community
East River Community

Located on the mainland continent of Sansara, the East River Community (ERC) will this year celebrate its ninth year of operations in Second Life – although it can trace its roots as far back as 2006 with the MBYC, one of the first sailing clubs in Second Life – and sailing remains very much a part of the ERC’s activities.

Comprising a federation of groups, the intent within East River has always been to create an open, collaborative and convivial space for residents and businesses, nurturing the growth of relationships, friendships, personal projects, and encouraging collaborative activities  with both members and non-members of the community.

ERC has always been particularly engaged in fostering cultural activities and in enhancing the Mainland experience by demonstrating an attractive residential and commercial environment can be created purely through resident action. Newcomers are always welcome to explore the community’s regions, which offer a wide variety of public spaces including art galleries, cafés horse riding tracks, entertainment venues, nautical events, a harbour and airport for boating / flying enthusiasts and, for those wanting to get their first taste of water-based activities, a variety of free-access zero-cost boating.

Arriving at one of East River Community's airfields
Arriving at one of East River Community’s airfields

One of the mainstays of ERC has been its founder, Indigo Mertel – who has also contributed immensely to the Second Life community as a whole through a wide range of user-focused activities from establishing and building East River through to her work in curating and disseminating Second Life news form a wide range of notable sources, to the benefit of all users.

Indigo Mertal by Paola Tauber
Indigo Mertal by Paola Tauber

Not only did Indigo found East River, and has been active within the community throughout its live and growth, she has been responsible for holding and managing six of the community’s regions, including meetings much of the financial cost in maintaining them. She recently contacted me with some sad news – and with her permission, I’m reprinting it here in the hope that one or more people might be able to step forward and help.

“I’ve been contributing to the East River Community with land for years,” Indigo revealed in a note she passed out to bloggers on Sunday, February 5th. “But many things have changed in my physical life these past months, and I am now in the sad position of no longer able to contribute to the community as I have done in the past.

“I’ve procrastinated this decision for a long time, because I was very uncomfortable with the idea of harming or breaking a community many have put so much effort into helping to build. But eventually, I had to come to a decision.

“We all want the East River Community to survive, and so I’m putting out a call to everyone, both within ERC and beyond, in the hope we can find donors willing to offer tier to the group so that East River can continue to be a vibrant part of Second Life. And with this in mind, I intend to continue covering the costs involved for a limited time, so that those with a desire to help ERC can contact me directly.”

If you are in a position to help ensure ERC continues as we know it today, regardless of whether you are active in the community or not, please contact Indigo in-world.

You can find out a lot more about ERC by visiting the ERC website, and by watching a Designing Worlds special on the community, which I’ve embedded below.

 

Links

OBR in Second Life 2017: dancers and volunteers sought

Posted on by Inara Pey
via OBR in SL
via OBR in SL

One Billion Rising (OBR) will once again be taking place in Second Life on Tuesday, February 14th, 2017.

When launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, One Billion Rising was the biggest mass action in human history; a call to action based on the staggering statistic that 1 in 3 women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls who are at risk. OBR aims to bring people together, raise greater awareness of the plight of those at risk the world over, and bring about a fundamental change in how vulnerable and defenceless women and girls are treated.

Activities in Second Life commence at 00:00 SLT on the morning of February 14th, and will continue through a full 24 hours across the OBR regions. However, before the day itself dawns, the organisers are looking for dancers and volunteers.

Dance forms a major part of OBR, with supporters taking to the streets around the world to dance to the official OBR anthem – and in Second Life, the event has always been marked by the production of a special OBR dance video. 2017 will be no exception – see the video below for 2016’s dance.

There are around 70 slots for dancers wanting to take part in this choreographed event, with filming taking pace on two days:

  • Tuesday, February 7th: 13:00 – 16:00 SLT
  • Saturday, February 11th: 09:00 – 12:00 noon SLT.

If you would like to participate, please fill-out the OBR in SL Video Registration form asap – slots will be filled on a first come, first serve basis.

If you would like to volunteer to help run the event, as Stage Manager or Greeter, please complete the OBR in SL Volunteer Registration form – the next rounds of training will take place on the weekend of the 1oth through 12 of February  – check the form for times on those dates, and see the Training Sessions booking form.

If you would like to attend the One Billion Rising in Second Life press day, and receive press releases, please complete the Information for the Press form.

You can keep up with information on the event through the OBR in SL website, and specific enquiries can be directed in-world to Samantha Ohrberg.

 

Second Life Maintenance RC viewer 5.0.2.323359

Posted on by Inara Pey

secondlifeOn Friday, February 3rd, Linden Lab released the latest Maintenance RC viewer – version 5.0.2.323359 – which brings with it another round of updates and fixes, together with a couple of new features requested by users, one of which could prove popular for creators and builders: the ability to select default folders for saving uploads.

Also for builders, the RC includes some long-awaited fixes to the build floater / objects when building. Several other niggles people have had with the viewer are also fixed with this update, making it a handy set of improvements to have.

The following is not intended as an in-depth review of the RC, but is intended to highlight the core changes.

Custom Folders for Uploads

With Maintenance RC 5.0.2.323359 users can now select their own preferred inventory folders into which uploads – images / textures, sounds, animations and mesh models are saved by default (rather than having all textures + images go to Textures for example).

You can select your own preferred folders for image, animation, sound and mesh uploads, rather than using the normal default folders
You can select your own preferred folders for image, animation, sound and mesh uploads, rather than using the normal default folders

To set a custom folder for an upload type:

  • Go to Inventory and right-click on the desired folder.
  • Select Use As Default For. This opens a sub-menu of upload types (shown on the right).
  • Click on the type of upload you wish to always save to that folder.

Note that this only applies to uploads: images / textures, mesh models, etc., received via transfer will still go to the their “default” folders.

So, for example, an animation passed to you in-world by someone else will still go to your Animations folder, regardless of any custom destination you have set for animation uploads.

You can also review which custom folders you have set at any time via Preferences > Uploads, a new tab in the preferences floater. This list updates dynamically as you select / change custom locations for your uploads.

The new Uploads tab in Preferences
The new Uploads tab in Preferences, with a custom location set for mesh uploads

Other Requested Fixes / Updates

There are several other oft-requested updates are also included in the RC:

New Block list tally
New Block list tally
  • A long-term and understandable annoyance among role-players / combat players is that a change made by the Lab some time ago meant that the Damage icon would not show in parcels that were damage-enabled. This has now been reverted.
  • The issue of the Sun sometimes appearing to jump around rather than moving incrementally has been fixed.
  • The Block list has been updated so that the last name on the list once again displays correctly, and a tally has been added to show number of avatars / objects blocked, and total limit (see right).
  • Avatars should now correctly display after a fresh inventory fetch.
  • Changes in wearables should now properly save.

Build  / Edit Improvements

The following build / edit fixes and improvements have also been made to the viewer:

  • Repeats per meter value is now correctly saved.
  • An object created when a linkset is open is now shown in the linkset list.
  • Select Face will now show selection for all faces until such time as an individual face is selected.
  • The contents of any object worn from the ground should now correctly update.
  • The Script Debug Floater should now be useful once more.

Other Updates and Improvements

The release notes for the viewer also draw attention to the following updates:

  • Hanging texture downloads have been cleaned-up for better performance (via contribution from Ansariel Hiller).
  • Viewer Login will no longer save password when it is not supposed to.
  • Beacons will once more show when in Mouselook.
  • Teleport location selected from World Map no longer omits Z value.
  • Grid selection short cut at login is fixed.
  • Crash Fixes in LLPanelEditWearable::isDirty(), LLFloaterIMContainer::visibleContextMenuItem(), opening many scripts.
  • /displayname and /completename no longer change when toggling “View Display Names”.
  • Link added to Events in World menu.

Full details on the viewer updates, included a list of resolved MAINT JIRAs can be found in the viewer release notes and download page. Note that as they are MAINT (LL internal), not all of the JIRAs may be open to public view.

Angi Manners at DixMix Gallery in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners
DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners

In Lust We Trust is the title of an exhibition of 15 images by Angi Manners (Anj4) which opened on Saturday, February 4th at DiXmiX Gallery, curated by Dixmix Source.

A creator of avatar skins and co-owner of the Polar Bear brand of erotic poses designs for photographers, Angi regards photography as her passion. For In Lust We Trust – and as the title might imply – she presents a series of erotically charged pictures, together with three or four which veer more towards the sensual end of the scale than the erotic, but all of which might be considered NSFW.

DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners
DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners

There is no doubting the artistry involved in all of the images: the composition, framing, lighting, posing, is all exquisite; yet I initially found myself drawn more towards those I regarded as being more sensual than outright erotic – such as Let Me Think About It, The Body Applier (both of which are seen at the top of this article), That’s Not So Funny (directly above) and Pole Dancing.

It’s a reaction I found interesting: I consider myself broad-minded; in both the physical world and in Second Life I’ve been involved in many “adult” activities, yet I’ve always regarded sexual engagement between two people as a deeply personal thing, and can suffer so degree of inner discomfiture when seeing sexual acts openly performed / displayed.

DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners
DiXmiX Gallery: Angi Manners

This is not in any way a negative reflection of Angi’s work. Far from it; rather, it speaks to the power of her images as I found myself pondering my reaction to those which are more explicit and erotic, questioning what actually triggers that inner sense of discomfort I can feel around overt public eroticism. Thus, In Lust We Trust  – for me at least – offered a fascinating play on emotions and reactions which, quite conversely, drew me back to the more erotic series of images to study them further, adding a further subtle twist to the title of the exhibit.

In Lust We Trust in located in the gallery’s Black Gallery exhibition space, occupying both the lower and upper floors, and will remain open through until March 4th.

SLurl Details

2017 Viewer release summaries week 5

Posted on by Inara Pey

Updates for the week ending Sunday, February 5th

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 Release version: 5.0.1.323027, dated January 25th, promoted February 3rd – formerly the Maintenance RC viewer download page, release notes – new promotion
  • Release channel cohorts (please see my notes on manually installing RC viewer versions if you wish to install any release candidate(s) yourself):
    • Maintenance RC viewer, version 5.0.2.323359 released on February 3 – new features, improvements and bug fixes (download and release notes)
  • Project viewers:
    • No updates

LL Viewer Resources

Third-party Viewers

V5-style

  • No updates.

V1-style

  • No updates.

Mobile / Other Clients

  • No updates.

Additional TPV Resources

Related Links

Space Sunday: Juno and Jupiter, China, Google and the Moon

Posted on by Inara Pey
An artist's impression of Juno firing its main engine at it passes over Jupiter's cloud tops. Credit: NASA
An artist’s impression of Juno firing its main engine at it passes over Jupiter’s cloud tops. Credit: NASA

On Thursday, February 1st, 2017, NASA’s Juno spacecraft completed its fourth 53.5 day orbit of Jupiter since its arrival on July 4th, 2016. The vehicle, reached perijove – the point at which it is closest to Jupiter’s cloud tops at 12:57 GMT (07:57  EST), just 4,300 km (2,670 mi) above the cloud top at a velocity of about 208,000 km/h (129,300 mph) relative to the planet.

As there were no plans to utilise the craft’s main engine to slow the craft into a 14-day orbit around Jupiter – a issue with a potentially faulty set of valves in the motor system is still being investigated – the spacecraft was able to conduct a “close-up” data gathering exercise as it swept around Jupiter, gathering data on atmospheric radiation and plasma.

Also active during the flyover was the spacecraft’s imaging system, dubbed “JunoCam”. This has already captured some stunning images of Jupiter during past perijoves, and the hope is it will have done so again. Thanks to an outreach programme in which NASA invite “citizen scientists” to download raw JunoCam images and process them at their leisure, together with a programme that allows the public to suggest areas the camera might image during each perijove, JunoCam has become extremely popular.

A stunning view of the intricate boundaries between Jupiter's bands of cloud, as captured by JunoCam during the December close pass over the cloud tops in December. The white spot is one of the
A stunning view of the intricate boundaries between Jupiter’s bands of cloud, as captured by JunoCam during the December close pass over the cloud tops in December. The white spot is one of the “pearls” – thought to be a storm – which form bright “strings” in Jupiter’s southern hemisphere

The next close flyby will be on March 27th. It’s not clear yet whether this will be a science pass, or whether the Juno Mission team will risk firing the vehicle’s motor to slow it into the planned 14-day orbit. If they do, then the science suite will likely be powered down to conserve electrical power during the manoeuvre.

But even if Juno doesn’t achieve that final 14-day orbit, its science mission will not be unduly compromised. The craft will be able to meet all of its mission goals even if it remains in the 53.5-day polar orbit it currently occupies.

A major reason for Juno's polar orbit around Jupiter is that it allows the vehicle to pass
A major reason for Juno’s polar orbit around Jupiter is that it allows the vehicle to pass “between” the most powerful and intense radiation belts emanating from the planet. However, as the mission continues, the tilt of the spacecraft’s orbit relative to the planet means that over time, it will increasingly delve into these more intense radiation belts. Credit: NASA

The Jovian system is a place of intrigue. Not only is Jupiter a potential key to helping us understand the evolution of such gas giant planets, it sits at the centre of a gigantic magnetosphere so vast and powerful, it extends 5 million kilometres (3 million miles) towards the Sun, and reaches out as far as the orbit of Saturn – 651 million kilometres (407 million miles) – in the other direction.

All of Jupiter’s Galilean moons,  Callisto, Ganymede, Europa and Io, orbit within this magnetosphere, “bubble” and are affected by it. However, it is innermost Io which has the greatest interaction, and a proposal has been put forward to have Juno examine the relationship between Io and Jupiter in greater detail.

A false colour enhanced image of a volcanic plume above Io. Credit: NASA
A false colour enhanced image of a volcanic plume above Io. Credit: NASA

With Jupiter on one side, and the other three big moons on the other, Io, roughly 320 km (200 mi) small in diameter than the Moon, is constantly being flexed by the opposing gravitational forces. This flexing physically manifests in the moon being the most volcanically active place in the solar system. At any given time, Io has an estimated 300 active volcanoes belching sulphur, sulphur dioxide gas and fragments of basaltic rock up into the space above itself to interact  with Jupiter’s magnetosphere.

As the material from the eruptions rise from Io, it is bombarded by high-energy electrons withing Jupiter’s magnetsphere.  These ionise the ejected material, forming a vast plasma torus of highly energised (aka radioactive) particles around the Jupiter and straddling Io’s orbit. In addition, Jupiter’s magnetic field also couples Io’s polar atmosphere to the planet’s polar regions, pumping this ionised material through two “pipelines” to the magnetic poles and generating a powerful electric current known as the Io flux tube, which can most visibly be seen (if you are close enough) as Jupiter’s polar aurora.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: Juno and Jupiter, China, Google and the Moon” →