Month: March 2020

Zia and Melu at Sisi’s Gallery in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery: Melusina Parkin

I’m reporting this a little late, given that both exhibitions only have a few more days to run, but currently on display in the featured artists sections of Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery are Melusina Parkin and Zia Sophia (Zia Branner), who will be at the gallery until the end of the month, so there really is only a couple of days left in which to see them!

Melusina Parkin really needs no introduction to readers of this blog; I’m an admitted admirer of her work, which I’ve featured in these pages on numerous occasions. Within her space at Sisi’s, she offers Journeys, another utterly engaging take on Second Life, the places it offers and their innate beauty.

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery: Zia Branner

Melu’s eye for angle, depth, composition and detail always presents chances to see Second Life in a new way and / or light. Rather than focusing on the whole to tell a story, she discovers the part that perhaps utters only a single line: the curve and rise of a paved footpath as it winds between cresting undulations of flowers before it vanishes over a low rise; the silhouette of a lighthouse caught between the branches of a thicket as the Sun dips between the coastal hills beyond; a tree dipping branches into the sea as if testing the temperature of the water…

All these, and the rest of the images in Journeys form whisperings that are just enough for the imagination to create an entire world around them. At the same time, there is a rich impression of openness and space present within each piece that truly gives us room to breathe, to feel a sense freedom – something that in the current climate of having to stay at home and away from the rest of the world, can be refreshing and uplifting.

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery: Melusina Parkin

Zia Branner is an artist in the physical world who uses paints with acrylics and use a variety of structure material – paste, gel, sand, glue, bandages and paper – together with oil crayons and acrylic ink, to accentuate elements with her pieces. Canvas is her preferred medium, although she also uses wood and paper, and while she has had formal art teaching, she is also autodidact, learning techniques and approaches whilst experimenting with art.

For her exhibition at Sisi’s, Zia offers an impressive portfolio of her art, from sweeping landscapes that encompass coastal scenes and rolling dunes to charcoal-like sketches of flowers and more abstracted pieces that use colour and line to capture the attention and hold the eye.

There is a vitality about each of these pieces, be it as a result of the sweep, turn, and mix of colour in some or the tactile sense of texturing visible in others, that truly brings them to life, perfectly echoing Zia’s view that “making art is rebellion against the finality of mankind”.

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery: Zia Branner

As always, the floors of the gallery above the featured artists spaces are home to Sisi’s own remarkable and utterly captivating work. Having started painting in acrylics in the early 2000s, Sisi has developed her technique to encompass a range of styles and approaches, from painting to mix media and digital collages to Second Life photography, whilst encompassing a wide range of genres – fantasy, wildlife, portrait, landscape and so on. It is not hyperbole when I say her work is genuinely second-to-none for its sheer beauty and richness of expression.

Located just outside of the gallery is a broad glass-like spiral stairway leading up to the Artists United Gallery, were pieces by the likes of Rage Darkstone, TerraMerhyem, Nils Urqhart, Layachi Ihnen, Milly Sharple and more are offered in a richly eclectic and engaging exhibition that adds further depth to a visit to the gallery.

Sisi Biedermann’s Gallery: Sisi Biedermann

SLurl Details

SL17B performer applications

Posted on by Inara Pey
via and © Linden Lab

On Friday, March 27th, 2020, Linden Lab opened applications for those wishing to perform at the upcoming 17th anniversary of Second Life.

SL17B will run from Friday, June 19th through until Friday, July 10th, with the core entertainments for the celebrations taking place between June 19th and Sunday, June 28th. This year the theme is road trips and vacations.

The official blog post announcing applications from performers reads in part:

Calling all performers! Second Life is seeking talent for our upcoming 17th annual Second Life birthday celebration (SL17B), held June 19-July 10. Get ready for a fun-filled week of live music and deejay performances, shopping exclusives, and amazing community exhibits.

One of the things that makes Second Life so vibrant and exciting is the wide range of Performers who share their talent with our Residents. Are you a DJ who can spin up a great party set? Maybe you’re a Live Musician who plays an instrument or sings! You might be one of the grid’s amazing Dance companies, or perhaps you’re a Particle Performer! Whatever your medium, we would love to hear from you.

Note that this call is not related to the SL Music Fest, which will take place over the opening days of SL17B, but is for those who wish to perform as a part of the event’s full week of activities and celebrations. As such, applications are open to DJs, live performers, dance troupes, particle performers, etc.

Those interested in providing their services should complete and submit the official performer application form no later than Monday, May 18th. Successful applicants will be contacted by SL17B Event Staff Leaders in de course.

SL17B Applications In Full

Follow the links below for:

Keep Up To Date and Early Access

Updates on SL17B preparations will be made via official blog posts and through the Second Life Birthday in-world group, membership of which will give members early access to the celebration regions.

Related Links

Second Life companion app: mini update, March 2020

Posted on by Inara Pey

As I’ve previously reported (see: Linden Lab confirm Second Life iOS client in the making), Linden Lab is developing a companion app for Second Life.

As the last mini-update I gave for the product was in July 2019 and there is some further news to be had, I thought it time to provide a further update on where the client stands.

First and foremost, while the client was initially defined as an iOS client, speaking during the 19th episode of Lab Gab on March 27th, 2020, Ebbe Altberg confirmed the Lab has now started on an Android version as well, which they have to have up to parity with the iOS version at some point.

In addition, he indicated that the iOS version is currently close to being at an “alpha” testing status, which may only be for internal testing.

So, lot’s of activity there. We have a person who’s worked on a mobile – what do we call it? Companion client, because I want to make it clear that people understand that the mobile client will be primarily a communication client, where you can chat with people, and stay connected, but it’s not a 3D viewer. So you will not be running around with your avatar in the mobile client for quite some time. But you can at least, when you’re on the road, stay connected with your friends and customers, etc.

The iOS client is very close to what we call an “alpha”; I don’t know exactly how the alpha will then progress to a beta to like a full release that people can try…

I’m not sure if alpha is even just for internal people; we probably want to get the whole company using it first, but we might, umm, some pre-production grid, get some external users involved in the alpha as well, I don’t know the exact details. But it’s being worked on; hopefully most of us will be able to use the iOS client to stay connected with Second Life in, I don’t know, a month or two, I’m guessing.

And we also have added more resources, so we now have people working on an Android version as well. So hopefully that will catch-up and will get neck-and-neck or almost parallel with iOS here by the time we get to full release. So, actively being worked on.

– Ebbe Altberg, Lab Gab, March 27th, 2020
(video extract)

Summary of What is Known

The following notes are an amalgam of my July 2019 mini-update, and more recent comments from Third Party Viewer Developer Meetings, Simulator User Group meetings and the aforementioned Lab Gab session.

General Capabilities

  • As noted, the app should initially be regarded as more of a communicator / companion app than a fully-rounded client. The intention is to provide users with a means of maintaining basic contact with other users whilst away from their main means of accessing SL.
  • It will support logging-in to the Second Life service and initially provide IM and group chat support.
  • Initially it will not:
    • Present you with an in-world location, nor will your avatar rez in-world.
    • Support local chat (as your avatar does not have a defined in-world location)

A mobile user won’t actually be in an area … they can use p2p or group chat, but not local, because we’re not rendering the world (yet) in the mobile app [and] we didn’t want things to be unbalanced: you can see me but I can’t see you, I can “go” somewhere but can’t see anything [etc.]. [But] direct IM is supported (that’s what I meant by p2p).

– Oz Linden, VP of Engineering, Simulator User Group Meeting,
March 17th, 2020

  • In theory, the app should work with both mobile ‘phones and tablets / iPads, although there may be some configuration differences.
  • Over time it will be enhanced – but additional capabilities and their order of development is still TBD.

Availability

  • As noted above, the iOS client will likely be available to users ahead of the Android client.
  • The time frame for the iOS client appearing is not confirmed, but might be in a next 2-3 months.
    • The Lab had started the work on getting the initial test versions through Apple’s acceptance process some time ago.
    • It had been previously stated that iOS users will need to have TestFlight installed on their iPhone (or iPad), as the app will be made available though Apple’s beta testing environment for apps. I assume this is still the case.

 

There may be further news on the mobile client in the April 3rd Lab Gab session, in which case, I will update this article.

Attuned to a Silent Melody in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Silent Melody, March 2020 – click any image for full size

A full region, Silent Melody is an impressive, open region designed by Celtic McDaniels (Celtic3147) that offer room to explore, take photographs, relax and, at a time when we’re all being told to stay home, simply feel the richness of nature and breathe.

Rising from east to west, this is a setting that presents what might be taken as a slice of wilderness brought into the virtual; a place where water tumbles from pool to pool or down sheer faces of high cliffs to feed fast-flowing streams that in turn tumble away to coastal bays and channels that cut the region’s eastern side into attractive, irregular lowlands and islands.

Silent Melody, March 2020

The landing point is on the largest of these islands, sitting just above its rocky coastline, a lily-filled pool fed by a fountain and guarded by a brickwork square of path, offers a place to start explorations. From here, a track winds south and down to where a wooden bridge connects to a tongue of mainland that licks its way to the open sea, passing between the jaws of the landing point island and a smaller isle that forms the south-east corner of the region.

Two further bridges connect the landing point, one to region’s inland areas and the other to another little isle to the north-east. Both of these northern and south isles offer their own attractions – a shingle beach here, a chair hanging from the boughs of a tree there, while a picnic corner sits at the tip of the tongue extending between landing point and southern island.

Silent Melody, March 2020

Between these eastern isles and the western highlands, the land is a rich mix. Tracks are to be found running through parts of the grass and flower carpeted landscape, while picnic and seating spots lay scattered under the shade of trees and shrubs, little bridges connecting tracks and greenswards by spanning stream and inlet.

In the heart of the region sits a natural bowl of rock nestled against the feet the the western cliffs. It folds its arms around the ruins of a cabin, an old piano sitting outside to presenting a romantic setting, even through keys and strings have long since between given over to moss. An usual sitting spot can be found here, perfect for cuddles or contemplation – but you might have to look up in order to find it!

Silent Melody, March 2020

Just to the south of this stone ring, a track winds to the west, ending in grassy humps that rise to a rocky out-thrust from the high cliffs, stone steps rising from grass to its flat top. Here sits a large French provincial style house – but be warned, it is a private residence, so do try to avoid trespassing too close. However, it is possible to skirt the front of the house and reach a grass-topped path that runs around the cliffs like a hat band sitting half-way up their bulk. This path offers a way out onto the east-pointing finger of rock that extends away from the cliffs and channels one of the streams running down from the cliffs, before depositing it by way of the further set of falls to the inlet that cuts deepest into the region.

A humpbacked bridge sits at the end of this rocky out-thrust, reached on one side by a track that winds inland over the lowlands to the east, whilst on its far side a set of stone steps run down to a low-laying finger of land also pointing eastwards. From here, and via a further bridge, this one of wood, it is possible to reach the region’s north side, where a slender, white-sanded beach is watched over by a cosy waterside café.

Silent Melody, March 2020

West of the café, just a short walk over flower-speckled grass, sits formal gardens and a little precinct of town-style houses, little places of business and a second café, all squared-off around a stone fountain and dominated by the imposing bulk of an Irish-themed pub. The garden paths leading visitors to this square also pass an outdoor dance area marked by a pavilion and glass-sided piano. It’s one of two of what might be called “formal” dance areas within the region, the other being a deck connecting the bulk of the landscape with the little rocky isle sitting in the south-east corner of the region.

With its sense of space, subtle sound scape, plethora of places to sit (including those that might take a little time to spot, high and low, such is the fun of exploring!), and lots of opportunities for photography, Silent Melody offers a pleasing visual medley for all who visit.

Silent Melody, March 2020

SLurl Details

Sansar’s sale and Tilia Inc: Ebbe Altberg reveals more on both

Posted on by Inara Pey

Speaking at the Above the Book session at the 2020 Virtual Worlds Brest Practices in Education conference on March 26th, and again during the Lab Gab episode 19 segment that aired on Friday, March 27th, Linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg revealed more about the about the sale of Sansar and the future of that platform. Also during the VWBPE session, he revealed something of the future path for Tilia Inc, the Lab’s subsidiary company.

The following is an amalgam of his comments during both sessions, complete with a quotes, audio extracts from the VWBPE Above the Book session, references to source material and supporting links.

Sansar’s Sale

Summary

The decision to sell Sansar came, at least in part, from the recognition that as a platform, it lay at a very different stage of its evolution compared to Second Life, requiring different investment and resourcing¹.

With the decision made, the Sansar team were apparently given the freedom to attempt to raise money / seek interested parties in order to keep the platform going (hence, perhaps, Ebbe Altberg’s February 12th comment that the former Sansar team were involved in discussions concerning the platform’s future – see the quote in Sansar: lay-offs, rumours, and confusion, February 12th, 2020)².

As it is, with the sale of Sansar, some 30 members of the team have (so far?) received offers to join Wookey Project Corp, and as of the March 27th Lab Gab session, “a bunch of them” are back to work¹. In support of this, I noted in a recent blog post that Sansar’s Community Manager, Galileo, appears to already be part of the Wookey Sansar team, having posted the Sansar blog post referenced below. Further, both Sheri Bryant and Julia Munck, formerly Sansar’s General Manager and Sansar’s VP of Product respectively at Linden Lab, have departed the company – presumably to join Wookey Project Corp.

It appears that the focus for the platform will potentially remain on it being a platform for large scale virtual events in the music / entertainment sectors, and that both desktop and VR support will be continued – although obviously, strategy and direction are now the remit of Sansar’s new owners.

Linden Lab will remain a “partner”, inasmuch as Tilia will continue to be used for Sanasr Dollar transactions and fiat money payouts (see more on Tilia below)¹ ².

Ebbe’s Comments – VWBPE Above the Book

To make the long story short about Sansar, we at Linden Lab decided to sell it and to give the team the chance to go raise funds and go it alone. I think it’s easier for them to go raise money as a separate stand-alone company rather than as a part of Linden Lab. Second Life is a very established, profitable, product and we kind-of had a start-up inside of an established, profitable company. And it was actually easier for them, I think, to raise money as a standalone, rather than as a part of Linden Lab.
So … the staff that worked on Sansar are all getting offers by the new entity to come back and start working on Sansar again, and I think they’ve started this week, so I’m super happy that the product and the technology and the team all get a chance to continue … and it makes it easier for Linden Lab and Sansar to both succeed, I think, going forward. I’m happy for the way things ended up in the end.

References

  1. Lab Gab – 0:40-3:00.
  2. VWBPE 2020 Above the Book – 49:55-51:47.

Additional Links

Tilia Comments

We are all likely familiar with Tilia Inc., Linden Lab’s subsidiary that handles all micro-transactions and payments /payouts related to Linden Dollars and Sansar Dollars, and which manages the Lab’s compliance with regulations relating to its role as a Money Transmitter / Money Services Business (MSB).

Tilia officially launched on Thursday August 1st, 2019, having been formally introduced to SL users in July 2019 – although as I noted at the time, SL and Sansar users may have had some awareness of its existence as the Tilia Inc., logo had been on both the SL and Sansar web pages related to L$ and S$ account purchases and Sansar account management for some time. For my part, I’d been speculating about the company since November 2015, and did so again in July 2019, when I noted that Tilia appeared to be geared towards providing its services to other companies.

I first ruminated on Tilia being a means for Linden Lab to offer virtual economy solutions in July 2019, as a result of the (fairly obvious!) clue on the Tilia home page

Whilst speaking at the VWBPE Above the Book event, Ebbe indicated that with the sale of Sansar, Wookey Project Corp is effectively Linden Lab’s first customer for Tilia’s services, as the latter will continue to provide payment / payout capabilities for those using Sansar and the Sansar Dollar.

In addition, he also indicated more customers for Tilia are on the way:

We’re partners with them [Wookey Project Corp] because they’re using Tilia for payments / payouts just like Second Life is doing, and Tilia will have more and more customers over time. We have several of them lined-up to be integrated to get those payment services.

No specific details on which companies are planning to use  Tilia, I’ll hopefully have more as they are announced.

Lab Gab 19 summary: Ebbe & Brett; LL, SL, Sansar & more

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

The 19th edition of Lab Gab was live streamed on Friday, March 27th, featuring Brett Linden, the Lab’s Senior Director of Marketing, and linden Lab CEO Ebbe Altberg, who were invited to discuss the Lab’s response to the SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic and talk about Second life in general.

The official video of the segment is available via You Tube, and is embedded at the end of this article. The following is a summary of the key topics discussed and responses to questions. Note that the last 15 minutes of the video is something of an advert for the Linden Lab sponsored Mankind Tracer concert being held on Sunday, March 29th, which is not a part of this summary.

Sansar Summary

[0:40-3:00]

  • The decision to sell Sansar came, at least in part, from the recognition that as a platform, Sansar is at a very different stage of its evolution compared to Second Life, requiring different investment and resourcing.
  • Some 30 of the original team have received offers to join the new entity running Sansar (Wookey Project Corp), and “a bunch of them” are already back at work.
  • It appears that the focus for the platform will potentially remain on it being a platform for large scale virtual events in the music / entertainment sectors, utilising the platform’s ability to instance events for “many thousands” of attendees. Also, desktop and VR support will both likely be maintained.
    • However, the overall strategy and focus for developing Sansar is now obviously up to the new owners.
  • Linden Lab will remain a “partner”, inasmuch as Tilia will continue to be used for Sansar Dollar transactions and fiat money payouts, with Tilia also due to gain more customers in the near future..

Coronavirus Related

Dealing with the Virus

[3:00-7:48] plus as timestamped below.

  • On a set of personal notes,Ebbe, Brett and Lab Gab’s host, Strawberry Linden have thus far avoided infection (like the rest of the Lab’s staff they are working from home), but obviously, they do have concerns about the virus and its potential to impact family and friends.
  • Linden Lab is fortunate that it is exceptionally well geared towards remote working (many staff worked from home as a matter of course well before the current pandemic, and that’s been the way since the company’s formation).
  • It is not anticipated that Second Life should experience significant service interruptions due to the current health situation.
  • A comment that has been used among LL staff during calls and virtual meetings has been, “stay safe, stay virtual”.
  • [14:53-17:04] Users can help ease unnecessary stress on SL / LL staff by avoiding squabbles and upsets that can result in unnecessary abuse reports, etc., and by providing help to one another to lighten calls to support staff, as well showing support / friendliness to new users.
  • [27:55-29:33] All LL offices are closed. The co-lo data centre is open for access, if required, but all co-lo work is actually outsourced.

Usage and Concurrency

[7:48-11:09]

  • The last several weeks has seen a resurgence in the number of returning users (those who have not logged-in to SL for some time) as well as a rise in new users accessing the service.
  • New registrations are up by some 60%, with a rise in concurrency of around 10% overall.
  • These rises particularly correspond with cities, regions and countries where a lock-down is ordered.
  • Established users are encouraged to be kind and support incoming new and returning users, given they are likely trying to deal with the anxieties of the current situation.

Absolutely. We’re seeing quite [an] interesting resurgence of returning users, as well as new users coming in to explore Second Life. We see registrations up over 60% and concurrency’s up north of 10%, and we’re just a week or so into people being locked up. We can actually see countries and states that imposed strict stay-home policies, we see a corresponding jump in people in those markets jumping into Second Life.

– Ebbe Altberg, Lab Gab, March 27th

  • LL is not focusing any new features / activities specifically for those coming into SL as an alternative to watching television, playing games, etc. They are constantly working to increase registrations and user retention outside of any crisis.
  • The company is heavily committed to the the cloud uplift to AWS  / Google through until the end of the year, so there is not a lot of available resource to take on major new initiatives. This work will likely take the majority of the Lab’s technical resources through until the end of the year (see below as well).

Region Owners Impacted by the Virus & Assistance from the Lab

[17:10-18:54]

  • Contact support – see also: Region owners impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged to contact LL.
  • LL has no wish to see regions go under because holders are experiencing hardship as a result of result income at this time. however, the company also cannot afford to just give across-the-board reductions in tier.
  • Where cases can be explained  / discussed / explored, Linden Lab will try to do what they can and is taking a “human, compassionate” approach to people’s needs”.

Supporting Businesses and Education

[18:59-27:50]

  • Linden Lab has been “inundated” with requests from educators, businesses, etc., on whether Second Life can provide support for them.
  • The volume has been such that LL has had to re-assign resources to help deal with the incoming requests. There has also bee a certain amount of media attention on what Second Life can offer – the UK’s Daily Telegraph ran a paywalled article on SL and remote working on March 26th, for example)
  • It takes time to bring organisations in: understanding their requirements, getting them into SL, ensuring they have the required in-world facilities, etc.
  • In addition, LL have been carefully crafting a media campaign to raise awareness of SL as a place for socialisation and discovery. These have been garnering high rates of click-through that may be contributing to the upswing in registrations.
  • For the business side  – remote working, conferences, meetings, etc.,  – the Lab launched a micro-website and an accompanying updated FAQ promoting Second life as a working environment (see also: Second Life: support for remote working & reduced education / non-profit fees – updated, March 16th). This provides access to a series of seven turnkey region solutions for business use, comprising single and multi-region settings, capable of handling up to 350 avatars, with individual regions intentionally optimised such that they can comfortably and consistently handle 75 avatars apiece without becoming stressed.
4- region Town Hall
The Lodge
Horizons Community Centre
Futuristic
The Dino
Conference Room
Auditorium

The seven new turnkey business/ meeting environments provided by Linden Lab.

  • Education is still very much a factor in Second Life as well, with the platform again seeing an uptick in interest from educational organisations.
    • Various schools and universities can be found in the Destination Guide, and some have been active in SL for over a decade.
    • More are not publicly visible as they operate gated access for staff and students only.
  • Organisations such as CNDG are using Second Life for teaching / simulations in what is referred to as an “ambitious long-lasting run in SL”, with up to 10,000 students involved with Second Life experiential teaching modules.
  • Training also forms a part of learning in SL. For example, many nurses and medial staff have received simulation training within Second Life.
  • LL is committed to continuing to support educational use cases and make it easier for educational organisations and students to take advantage of what SL can offer.
  • Second life is also the focal point for the annual Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education (VWBPE) conference.

Other Topics

Book Club and Showcase Streams

[11:10-14:43]

  • Despite the cloud uplift work, Linden Lab did announce two new two new initiatives on the marketing side:
    • The Second Life Book Club will launch on April 8th and a monthly event. A spin-off from the Draxtor Book Club hosted on Sansar, the Second Life Book Club will feature Draxtor Despres in conversation with authors from around the world, with the first instalment featuring Matt Ruff, Ken Liu, SL Huang, CB Lee, and a possible additional guest.
    • Showcase Streams will be a series of spontaneous “drop in” video streams that will aim to spotlight the many music, art and cultural events in Second Life.
  • Outside of the current pandemic, a reason for implementing initiatives like these is that the Lab has seen an uptick in interest in second Life as a result of the their social media engagement and the success of formats like Lab Gab in capturing non-SL users’ interest.

Name Changes

[29:41-30:52]

  • Most recently subjected to an internal pile-on test (stress test with mass use of a capability, in this case by LL staff) to uncover any previously missed bugs or issues.
  • Could now be just “a very few weeks” away from launching.

iOS Mobile Companion

[30:58-33:11]

  • Lots of activity.
  • Must be understood this will primarily be a communications tool (e.g. IMs, group messaging, etc., but not local chat or in-world presence / 3D view initially).
  • Now very close to Alpha status, which may only be for internal testing, and the path from that to initial release isn’t currently clear (iOS apps are subject to Apple strictures, among other things).
  • Work has now started on the Android version of this companion app as well, and the hope is this will quickly catch-up with the iOS version.

Future Plans / Updates

[36:10-39:27]

  • For 2020, the cloud uplift. This is occurring on a service-by-service basis on the back end (e.g. log-in service, web services, group services, etc.).
  • Transitioning the simulators will be a huge undertaking.
  • Some services have seen significant performance improvements following their transition, just because services a moving to more up-to-date hardware and newer infrastructure.
  • Because of this, 2020 will not be a major SL feature release year beyond what is already stated as being in the works (e.g. EEP, Name Changes, Premium Plus, mobile companion). Anything else will be subject to resources being available.
  • Note that more on SL tech and the uplift will be featured in the April 3rd Lab Gab which will feature Oz Linden, VP of engineering and members of his teams.