Day: October 25, 2022

2022 SUG meetings week #43 summary

Posted on by Inara Pey
Green Acres, August 2022 – blog post

The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, October 25th, 2022 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed and is not intended to be a full transcript. A video of the entire meeting is embedded at the end of the article for those wishing to review the meeting in full – my thanks to Pantera for recording it.

Server Deployments

Please see the forum deployment thread for the latest updates.

  • On Tuesday, October 25th, the Main SLS and Events channels were restarted without any simulator update being deployed.
  • On Wednesday, October 26th, the simhosts on the RC channels were to be updated with the new Linkset Data capability.
    • This feature works similarly to Experience Key-Value store, but the data lives with the object that sends and receives the data. Only scripts in the same linkset will be able to read the data written with this feature.
      • Further information can be found in the SL Wiki.
      • The capability can also be discussed in the SL forums.
    • However, a late-breaking issue revealed by the Lab’s QA team means that the deployment mat not take place until week #44 (commencing, Monday, October 31st).
    • If delayed, this potentially allows a further week for additional updates to the capability.
    • I will have a special Guest Article by Neobokrug Elytis explaining this new capability and its significance after the deployment has been made.

Available Official Viewers

On Tuesday, October 25th, Linden Lab release the Maintenance N RC viewer, version 6.6.6.575990. This is an urgent fix for transparency “alpha” blending issues. In cases of many layers of textures that included transparencies, this would cause some of the lower layers to not render at all.

The remaining official viewer pipelines stay as follows:

  • Release viewer: version 6.6.5.575749 – formerly the Maintenance M RC viewer –  promoted October 20.
  • Release channel cohorts :
    • Maintenance P (Preferences, Position and Paste) RC viewer version 6.6.5.575055 September 19.
  • Project viewers:
    • Puppetry project viewer, version 6.6.3.575529,  issued on October 12.
    • Performance Floater / Auto-FPS project viewer, version 6.6.5.575378, October 4.
    • Love Me Render (LMR) 6 graphics improvements project viewer 6.6.2.573263, July 21.

Script Compilers

  • Rider Linden raised the question about removing the LSO bytecode compiler (non-Mono), or forcing all compilers to use Mono.
  • This would not prevent compiled LSO scripts from running using the LSO VM, it would just prevent further scripts being compiled outside of the IL → Mono compiler.
  • The main reason for considering this approach would make it much easier for LL to expand LSL without having to drag the old version along.
  • Currently, this is an idea the Lab is considering – not something being actively pursued; but based n the feedback from the meeting, it may become an active project – if so, the Lab will make clear what is being done in advance through the forums and seek broader feedback from creators / scripters., and proving the LSO runtime remains in place, as noted above.

In Brief

  • BUG-232792 “llLinksetData batch notifications” has been raised and is awaiting formal review by the Lab at the time of writing. This would only be implemented once the upcoming LSD capability has been deployed.
  • There was a general question on the DMCA process, which actually falls outside the scope of the SUG meeting.
    • A  problem here is that with the suspension of the Governance User Group meetings, there is no public forum where issues relating to content theft / the DMCA process can be directly discussed with members of the Governance Team.
  • BUG-232037 “Avatar Online / Offline Status Not Correctly Updating” – LL believe that have a “handle” on the where the issue is originating, but there has been no time to take a deep dive into the actual cause as yet

Linden Lab updates Second Life Terms and Conditions

Posted on by Inara Pey
via Linden Lab

On Tuesday, October 25th, Linden Lab announced changes to the Second Life Terms and Conditions, which will formally come into effect from November 1st, when users will have to accept them in order to access Second Life.

These updates appear to be in the light of the changes to Tilia LCC’s status following Linden Lab’s partnering with JP Morgan Payments (see the official Tillia notice on this here, and my own blog post here).

As noted within the official SL blog post on the update, the changes are specifically related to:

  • A  clarification of certain functions associated with the LindeX as well as the terms applicable to orders placed on the LindeX.
    • These changes can be found in section 3.2 Second Life may offer a Linden Dollar exchange (the “LindeX exchange” or “LindeX”)
  • The addition of a new section to the Terms and Conditions, describing the terms applicable to your use of Stored Value Accounts, including your relationship with Tilia LLC.
    • These  changes can be found in section 4. Stored Value Account, comprising four sub-sections:
      • Section 4.1 – outlining the general relationship between Second Life and Tillia LLC, and the definition of a “Stored Value Account”.
      • Section 4.2 – covering the specific relationship between Tilia LLC and your ability to purchase and hold Linden Dollars on account, as noted in section 3 of the Terms and Conditions.
      • Section 4.3 – which will be of particular note to those who (regularly or otherwise) process credit out of Second Life (aka “cashing out”) Linden Dollar values to fiat money values.
      • Section 4.4 – the overall status of funds held within a Stored Value Account and their relationship with Tilia LLC.

These changes do not appear to make significant changes to how people use Second Life or obtain Linden Dollars. They do, however, better outline the process credit operation, including general time frames involved, although reference should also obviously be made to any documentation offered in respected of the actual process credit operation and within the Tilia Terms of Service relating to same.

Questions on the changes should be addressed to SL Billing Support directly; I cannot respond to questions through these pages, and is unlikely that specific questions posted in the comments below will be seen by members of the SL billing team.

Related Links

 

 

A gallery of dreams in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Dreamd Gallery, October 2022

In a recent Exploring Second Life travel article, I wrote about Elephant Island, the 3-region location designed by Syx Toshi and his SL partner Bryn Toshi (Bryn Bulloch) – see Roaming Elephant Island in Second Life. During that visit, I mentioned Dreamd, the sky gallery home of Bryn’s hybrid art, and promised I offer a piece on the gallery itself- so here it is!

Hybrid art, for those who may not be familiar with the term, is a contemporary art movement which might be defined as, “embracing the convergence of science, technology, and the arts. The term was likely first coined in 2010, although as a movement, hybrid art predates the term by a number of years. Within it, artists work on a trans-disciplinary basis, initially integrating photography, film, radio, television, computers, and the internet into their artistic endeavours.

Dreamd Gallery, October 2022

Over the past decade +, the movement has grown to embrace the natural and physical sciences biology, genetics, particle physics, astronomy, geology, etc.), established and emerging technologies (computer sciences, data processing, robotics, AI, data visualisation, facial recognition, biometrics, etc.), to combine them with traditional art forms – painting, photography, sculpture – to develop art which may contribute to or even critique the fields of research on which it draws, as well as providing unique means for artistic expression. As an art form, it covers both 2D and 3D art. In addition to being regarded as expressive and experimental, it is an internationally recognised genre of art celebrated through festivals and competitions the world over.

For Bryn, Hybrid art is a means of self-expression utilising traditional photography and combining it with AI tools and “traditional” digital processing software such as Photoshop and Procreate to produce digit images that are unique in form and captivating in style. These may not be as bleeding-edge as the more modern forms of hybrid art, but they nevertheless allow Bryn to produce art that moves beyond just digital manipulation to present insight into her imagination.

Dreamd Gallery, October 2022

In all, the gallery comprises four halls. In the first is what might be regarded as the most “hybrid” of Bryn’s work in terms of their imaginative spread, combining nature shots with those of space exploration. In the second hall is a series of pieces celebrating the natural world, again produced through digital means – including the use of algorithms (at least, going by some of the fractal-like patterns evidenced in some of them. While the third hall is currently noted as “WIP”, the forth contains a series of stunning portrait images, with a depth of realism that is genuinely astounding to the eye.

Taken as a whole, each and every image offered within the gallery has a depth and beauty that is genuinely captivating, while the gallery itself occupies a sky platform that sits as a natural extension to the region below. Whether visited in its own right, or as a part of a visit to all three regions. Dreamd gallery makes for a more than worthwhile visit and I do look forward to seeing how Bryn’s work develops and the themes she embraces.

Dreamd Gallery, October 2022

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