Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, January 12th
This summary is generally 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.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version 6.3.5.533275, formerly the Wassail RC viewer, dated November 5th, 2019 – No change.
Release channel cohorts:
Love Me Render RC viewer updated to version 6.3.6.534234 on January 9th.
EEP RC viewer updated to version 6.4.0.534193 on January 9th.
Linden Lab has issued a call to merchants interested in participating in their 2020 Valentine’s 2020 in-world shopping event, scheduled to run from Monday, February 3rd through to and will run through Friday, February 17th, 2020 inclusive.
Merchants interested in participating are asked to offer at least a 20% discount on the normal price of their goods, and to indicate whether or not they would be willing to offer a gift to shoppers.
Those wishing to participate in the event should do so via the official application form, and do so no later than Monday, January 20th, 2020. Note that this is only an application – depending on the number of respondents, it is possible that not all those who apply may receive a place at the event. Successful applicants will be contacted by the Lab after January 20th.
Monique “Moni” Beebe makes a further return to Dido Haas’ Nitroglobus Roof Gallery to mark the start of the year, with her latest exhibition Forbidden Fruit.
Moni is one of the most sensuous, evocative artist and – given she is generally the subject of her own work – models in Second Life, somthing I’ve noted in the past, as such I’ve been looking forward to seeing her latest exhibition since Dido tipped me the wink that Moni would be making a further return to Nitroglobus. She has the ability to present studies that are rich in mood, sensuality, nuance, story and sexuality – the latter without relying on being blatant provocation. Rather, they are genuine works of art that would be fully at home in any physical world gallery as they would in a virtual setting.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Forbidden Fruit
This latter point is very much proven with the selection of work forming Forbidden Fruit, which marks something of a departure from Moni’s previous exhibitions at Nitroglobus – Hidden Faces , Sensuality, and Changing Moods – in that for some of the pieces here, Moni has found inspiration in the work of a another artist, as Dido explains:
Moni got inspired by a RL exhibition of famous Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf, which she visited last Spring in the Gemeente Museum The Hague. Especially the mood of the early series Squares and Chessmen by Mr Olaf you will notice are reflected in some of the images of this present exhibition.
Such is Moni’s compositional eye that she presents a unique perspective on Olaf’s work (take Stone as an example) which is far from derivative – but which would nevertheless be completely at home in an exhibition such as Chessmen.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Forbidden Fruit
For me, the power of Moni’s work is her ability to offer a tale of sensuality through pose and / or focus on bodily curve without necessarily utilising exposing nudity or full facial expression (which is not to say nudity is not present in some of the pieces here). Take the titular Forbidden Fruit, for example. It carries a rich sensuality that evokes feelings of desire bordering on lust, heightened by the use of clothing and the hiding of Moni’s eyes under the wrap. This particular piece also highlights another maturing aspect of Moni’s work: her ability to layer narrative and images; in this case the pairing of a woman with prominently placed apples offers a suggestiveness of story that reaches all the way back to Eve, the apple and a certain serpent – and what form the knowledge may have taken.
There is also a richness of self about Moni’s work that I again find attractive perhaps more than other artists who produce images using their avatars as models; Moni offers subtle insights into her personality and nature – with the emphasis on subtle. This heightens the response to her work that can reach beyond examining any single image or selection of images, to tickle the desire to know her personally.
Nitroglobus Roof Gallery: Forbidden Fruit
Rounded-out with lounge, a sculpture by Kaiju Kohime that sits perfectly with Moni’s images, this is again a marvellous exhibition by an exceptionally talented artist and visualist.
The Cold Rose, January 2020 – click any image for full size
Designed by artist and blogger Oema and her SL partner Van Lopen, The Cold Rose is a public / residential homestead region that opened its doors at the start of 2020, and which we dropped into over the weekend whilst out exploring.
Nestled amongst a group of off-sim islands, and itself split into a number of rocky and low-lying isles, the region has the feel of being a small group of islands perhaps seated in the more northern latitudes, and a place caught between the passing cold of winter and the warmer times of spring. The About Land description states the region is “perfect for photographers and bloggers”, and there is certainly much that is photogenic about the setting. However, I’d suggest this is tempered somewhat by the five private properties also to be found within it.
The Cold Rose, January 2020
These five properties – a private residence for Oema and Van Lopen, occupying the top of the large island to the north-east, and four rental properties occupying the western islands of the group – take up the majority of the space within the region, being located in large parcels that once occupied, might be considered “off limits” to visitors to ensure the privacy of those occupying them. Indeed, the private residence is denoted by ban lines should visitors stray too close, while the rentals are equipped with security orbs that, when active, will presumably cover the entire parcel occupied by each house.
This tends to limit exploration to the islands to the south-east and east of the region, and the tracks skirting around those occupied by private houses. Even so, this still gives people a fair amount to do, and numerous opportunities for photography, with several nice little touches await discovery.
The Cold Rose, January 2020
The landing point sits on the low-lying south-eastern island that is almost a shale bar that has been built up over the passage of time such that it can keep itself above the coming and going of the tide – or perhaps it is all that remains of the low-lying land that once connected the islands one to another. It is here that details of the rental properties can be found, with one of them visible just across the water on what amounts to the “middle” island of the group.
A simple plank bridge links the landing point with another low-lying island to the north, a place home to horses, a couple of them Animesh and suitable for sitting (if not, at the time of our visit, riding). Beyond this, things get a little more physical for explorers – the route to the northern island is via rope slide, with a second connecting it with the western islands. As noted, the north island is topped by a private residence, so on crossing to it via the rope slide, it is best to turn right and follow the track around the base of the hill and the island’s north side to reach the second rope slide and the western islands.
The Cold Rose, January 2020
Of the rental properties, three are clearly marked by gates / gateways that lie to one side or across the paths that run through and around the islands, making them easy to identify. At the time of our visit none were occupied, so wandering their parcels wasn’t an issue. However, this might not always be the case, so please check ahead and be respectful of privacy. The remaining rental sits at the southern end of the “middle” island, and rather than being reached by track, it has a bridge reaching out to it from the western isle, the end of which might best be considered denoting the start of private property.
Set under a moody sky by default, and rounded-out by a gentle soundscape, The Cold Rose includes several places for visitors to sit and could present those seeking a private home in SL with a picturesque, quite environment they might enjoy.
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.
Sunday, January 12 18:30: The Secret Garden
Caledonia Skytower reads this classic of children’s literature by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published in 1911, at the Golden Horseshoe in Magicland Park.
Orphaned after losing her parents in a cholera epidemic, young Mary Lennox returns to England from India, entering the care of her uncle Archibald Craven, whom she has never met.
Up until this point, Mary’s childhood had not been happy; her parents were selfish and self-seeking, regarding her as a burden over which they were not obliged to hold much responsibility. Not overly healthy herself, she is as a result a temperamental, stubborn and unmistakably rude child – and her arrival at Misselthwaite Manor and the relative gloom of Yorkshire’s weather does little to improve her mein.
Her disposition also isn’t helped by her uncle, who is strict and uncompromising, leading to Mary despising him. But her uncle’s story is itself filled with tragedy, particularly the loss of his wife. As she learns more about her uncle’s past, so Mary learns about a walled garden Mrs. Craven once kept, separated from the rest of the grounds and which, since her passing has been kept locked by Mary’s uncle, the door leading to it kept locked, the key to it buried somewhere.
Finding the missing key and the now hidden door, Mary enters the garden, and her passage into it starts her on a journey of friendship and discovery, one that leads her to the thing she never really knew: family.
Monday, January 13th 19:00: The Integral Trees
Dispatched on a mission of exploration, the Earth ship Discipline, operated by the the all-powerful State, encountered a strange phenomenon: a torus-like ring of gas and dust surrounding a neutron star. Within the torus, the crew discover a thriving ecosystem of plant and animal lifeforms that have evolved to living continually in a state of free-fall.
Despite being overseen by the ship’s AI system, Sharls Davis Kendy, from which they received advice and information, the crew abandoned the Discipline in favour of living among the plants and trees of the torus, which they call the Smoke Ring.
Now, 500 years later, the descends of the original crew have formed a tribal society focused around some of the trees of the system. Adapted to free-fall life, their societal structures are sharply divided, with “wars” common among them, as well as stronger tribes raiding or enslaving weaker tribes, whilst in all of them, artefacts from the original mission are sought-after and venerated.
In the midst of a round of aggression between various tribal factions, one group find themselves aboard an original craft from the Discipline and caught in space beyond the Smoke Ring, where the Discipline and Kendy are still waiting – and Kendy is willing to provide assistance.
Join Gyro Muggins for more.
Tuesday, January 14th 19:00 Cutting Corners
Ktadhn Vesuvino reads a short story by Sharon lee and Steve Miller, set in their Liaden Universe®.
Therny Chirs, cargo master and – certification allowing – a Third Class pilot – does not have a particularly happy lot. Signed aboard the cargo hauler Fringe Runner, operated by the skinflint Captain Jad, Chirs finds himself becoming a jack of all trades – cargo master, engineer and general fixer, with or without certification, on a ship that is so far past recognised periods of refit / overhaul, its name might well be “cutting corners” – an act generally frowned upon when it comes to operating in the cold and impersonal realm of space.
However, the current issue on the Fringe Runner isn’t one to be solved easily. It really requires a certified engineer – or at least time spent shunting stuff around from outside, which itself would require a dock pilot. Neither option is liable to by something Jad will pay for. Fortunately, Chirs has his Third Class pilot’s rating; only it’s dated, and the local Guild require he take a re-certification test. But is it really just a test, or is something else going on?
Wednesday, January 15th, 19:00:The Starless Sea
Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Erin Morgenstern’s novel.
Deep beneath the surface of the Earth and upon the shores of the Starless Sea, lies a network of tunnels and rooms filled with stories and tales. The ways into this secret place are many, but hidden, and perhaps set for just one individual to find. They exist where least expected: on the floors of forests, behind doors inside private homes or around alleyway corners or within mountain caves – almost anywhere in which they cannot be anticipated.
Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place.
When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is…
Thursday, January 16th
19:00 Vivian
Shandon Loring reads Midori Snyder’s short story. Also in Kitely – grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).
21:00 Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary science fiction and fantasy with Finn Zeddmore.
The following notes are taken from the TPV Developer meeting held on January 10th, 2020. A video of the meeting is embedded below, my thanks to Pantera for recording and providing it. As always:
Time stamps are given with links that will open the video at the appropriate point in a separate browser tab for reference.
Core points of the meeting are listed below. Other subjects of lesser import may have been discussed, please refer to the video.
The rest of the viewer release pipelines remain unchanged:
Current Release version 6.3.5.533275, formerly the Wassail RC viewer, dated December 4, promoted December 12 – No change.
Release channel cohorts:
Xanté Maintenance RC viewer, version 6.3.6.533748, December 19.
Project viewers:
Copy / Paste viewer, version 6.3.5.533365, December 9.
Project Muscadine (Animesh follow-on) project viewer, version 6.4.0.532999, November 22.
Legacy Profiles viewer, version 6.3.2.530836, September 17. Covers the re-integration of Viewer Profiles.
360 Snapshot project viewer, version 6.2.4.529111, July 16.
General Viewer Notes
Both the Xanté Maintenance RC and the Legacy Profiles Viewer have updates that are “close” to appearing in the current viewers list, with Xanté possibly being close to promotion as the de facto viewer as well.
As per my week #2 CCUG summary, EEP is still pending the fixing of around a dozen graphics-related issues.
The Camera Presets Viewer, designed to allow users to set and save their own preferred camera presets in their viewer without having to use debug settings, is now closing on being “feature complete” and ready for release either as a Project or RC viewer.
This capability is being developed as a viewer code contribution by Jonathan Yap (who was responsible for developing the Graphics Presets options).
More information on the work can be found in STORM-2145.
Bitbucket, used to manage viewer repositories) will be sunsetting support for Mercurial in early 2020. Because of this, Linden Lab has been migrating their viewer repositories from Mercurial to Git on Bitbucket.
Most of the Lab’s viewer development is now processed via Git.
There is some work remaining on converting all of the third-party package repositories, and this is being done as part of the Visual Studio 2017 / Xcode upgrade, rather than being part of the Git migration per se, as these are relatively stable and not seen as a major problem in terms of migrating them.
A document outlining the steps in migration has been provided specifically for TPVs to allow them to keep in sync with how LL main the viewer code and its branches. See: Viewer Repository Migration (Google Docs).
This is not the only way for TPVs to manage their own repositories, but it is the one that LL recommend for those wishing to reflect how LL manages things.
The VS 2017 / Xcode upgrade has been caught with a couple of issues:
The Boost library used to implement coroutines in the build process would not build using VS 2017 & required conversion to Boost Fibre, which it turn had a number of impacts that also needed to be resolved.
Currently, the project is caught on a GIT-related issue, with validating the integration scripts used in the build process, and which is still being worked on.
It’s hoped that the additional work involved in moving the build process to support VS 2017 should make a future move to using VS 2019 easier.
Windows 7 officially reaches its end of life on January 14th, 2020. After this date, patches and security updates, etc., will no longer be provided, and the company is unlikely to provide any support.
[7:55-8:30] There has been no work on the Linux front for official viewer over that last few months, and while still on the road map, is seen as a fairly low priority item, sitting well behind the Git migration, build tools updates, general viewer development and – particularly – the work in transitioning Second life to the AWS cloud.
[9:32-10:55] Week #2 restarts. While not generally a part of TPVD meetings, the issues with the Tuesday, January 7th server restarts was mentioned, with Grumpity noting:
It was a rocky day on Tuesday. It came out of our desire to do things in a less disruptive manner and … once again, the road to downtime was once again paved with good intentions, because that way proved to be in no way less disruptive than if we had done things the regular way.
Essentially, the issue was with some restart code that hadn’t been used in a while, and which LL had thought had been fully tested, but when put to use proved to have issues.
[15:33-20:23] A reminder was given that – particularly after a viewer crash – it is better to wait for a short period, rather than immediately trying to re-log (particularly if the warning about logging back in is displayed). This is because each failed attempt refreshes your avatar presence, interfering with the post-crash clean-up (the “you are currently being logged out” part of the message).
Note: this part of the meeting included an extensive chat discussion on auto-relogging, as can be present in mobile and other clients, such as Lumiya and Radegast that continues through until the end of the meeting. Please refer to the video for more on this.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 