Category: Second Life

Waifs and Lala in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Lalalala Gallery: CybeleMoon: Waifs

I received an invitation from CybeleMoon (Hana Hoobinoo) to drop in to a boutique exhibition of her work at the Lalalala Gallery complex owned and curated by Lala Lightfoot. An invitation that allowed me to both visit CybeleMoon’s work – which is something I’m always only too happy to do, being a confirmed fan of her work – and pop in to see Lala’s current exhibition and see preparations in hand for a new exhibition.

Waifs, located in the North Gallery provides a gathering of Cybele’s art focusing on children, and carries with it a definite Parisian theme. It mixes physical world and virtual world images in another captivating display of art with a story, helped among by Edit Piaf via the easel-mounted media board.

Lalalala Gallery: CybeleMoon: Waifs

Those familiar with Cybele’s work will likely recognise a fair few of the images on offer. However, this doesn’t lessen the impact on seeing them here, particularly when framed by their groupings: Place de la Sorbonne, Boulevard Montmartre, Rue Poissonnière. These provide a uniquely Parisian feel to the set of images on each of the walls, and are centred on at least one of Cybele’s pieces in-world art, which perhaps binds images and place names together.

Take Rue Poissonnière (“Fishmonger’s Road”), for example, or Boulevard Montmartre. Both offer images of young children – the waifs of the exhibition’s title. The former brings to mind the route fish would take to the market of Les Halles from Boulogne and other ports, with Cybele painting The Siren’s Call offers and image of a little girl dreaming, perhaps of taking flight like the gulls overhead, or of diving into the waters and becoming a mermaid, free to escape the troubles of land life. With Gigi sitting among the images of Boulevard Montmartre, there is an echo of the Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur (admittedly, there are no domes on the house to assist in the suggestion – but the echo is there). This, together with the image of the Eiffel Tower roots the surrounding images in thoughts of the artists who once painted the street life of the district, and he views it offers across Paris, maintaining the Parisian thread through the exhibition.

Lalalala Gallery: LaLa Lightfoot

The rest of the gallery complex comprises two exhibition spaces, one of which was being prepared for a further exhibition by Lala, and other of which features a collection of her paintings, and Lala’s studio space, a cosy social space.

A physical world artist, Lala offers a number of her painting through the exhibition space, all of which  – again at the time of my visit – were on a floral theme. Most (all?) appear to be pastel images, rich in colour and presented in an uncluttered style. The new exhibition appears to be focused on digital art, and I look forward to returning to Thistle in the future to visit it.

SLurl Details

SL Marketplace: store managers introduced

Posted on by Inara Pey

On Thursday, May 2nd, 2019, Linden Lab deployed the latest updates to the SL Marketplace, chief among which is the introduction of the store manager.

A store manager is another user a merchant with a Marketplace store can designate to manage some operations of their MP store. This is a capability that merchants have long requested, both through the forums and the Web User Group meetings, and the response to the deployment has already been positive.

Key points with store managers:

  • Merchants can nominate up to five store managers.
  • By default store managers can:
    • Edit store details.
    • Edit product details.
    • List an unlisted item.
    • View store and product details.
  • In addition, merchants can optionally allow store managers to:
    • Unlist an item.
    • Redeliver items (including changing automatic redelivery status).
    • Add/remove revenue distributions.
    • Add/remove listing enhancements.
    • Change prices.
    • However,these additional permissions can only be added once for a store manager: if they are to be changed at all, the store manager must be removed, and then re-added with the changed permissions.
  • If a store manager does not have any of the additional permissions, those fields appear as inactive in the edit and bulk edit pages. Similarly, the associated controls do not appear for store managers that do not have permission to unlist items, add/remove revenue distributions, or add/remove listing enhancements.
  • Store managers can access the store using their own log-in credentials – not the merchant’s.
  • All store manager action (creation, settings permissions, removal) are set through the merchant’s My Marketplace > Merchant home options.
  • Instructions for adding / removing Store Managers can be found in the official Second Life Marketplace store managers Knowledge Base article.
Store Managers are added via the My Marketplace > Marketplace Home page (1), then clicking Edit Store Information (2) and scrolling to the bottom of the Store Information Page to click Add Manager (3). Add the name of the Store manager and setting the additional permissions for term via the pop-up (4), then clicking the ADD button when all is set (5). Remember that if permissions are to be changed, the Manager must be removed and re-added with the required permissions

In addition, and to provide merchants with oversight of the actions taken on their store:

  • All actions taken by (a) store manager(s) are logged and can be reviewed by the merchant (My Marketplace >  Merchant Home > View audit logs in the left menu.
  • E-mail alerts can also be set to be sent whenever a store manager performs an action on the merchant’s store.
  • Additionally, no store manager will be able to:
    • Archive products.
    • Add/remove other managers.

Again, full details on managing Store Managers can be found in the Knowledge Base article, and any specific issues with the system should be reported via the Jira.

Lumiya client: availability (updated May 3rd)

Posted on by Inara Pey

Update, May 3rd: it appears Lumiya may have been caught by recent changes to changing Google Play policies and Google’s updated developer terms (which apparently require the agreement of all app developers).

The changes to the Google Play policies actually caused some companies  – such as HTC – to temporarily remove their apps from Google Play until they could issue updates in compliance with the new policies, with HTC commenting:

In order to comply with the latest Google Play policy, we have temporarily removed a number of HTC applications from the Google Play Store. Applications will be republished over the coming weeks as we deploy new updates.

Sources have suggested that, subject to compliance with the the new policies, smaller developers have either removed their apps or may have had their apps suspended by Google Play pending their formal agreement to the new policies.

I’ve not heard back from Alina on the subject, but Lumiya Support Manager, Kaleaon, indicated that the above may well be reason for Lumiya’s (hopefully temporary) disappearance from Google Play, saying:

I know Alina’s been busy, so she may not yet have had the time to provide her approval.

I’ll provide further updates should I obtain more news.

====

I was going to hold-off blogging on this until I’d heard back from Alina Lyvette, but as there is already some discussion on the matter, as well as some blog posts, I thought I’d add some notes.

Lumiya is currently unavailable from the Google Play website.

However, and at the time of writing (these may change over time):

  • The viewer is still available via SlideMe, which is listed on the Lumiya website as the “official” alternative means of obtaining the client – see http://slideme.org/application/lumiya.
  • Similarly, the Lumiya plug-ins, the cloud storage option and the voice option are still available via Google Play.
  • At the time of writing, the client still works on suitable Android devices, and log-ins work just fine.

It is not at all clear why Lumiya has vanished from Google Play at this point in time. It might be a problem at Google Play’s end, or it might be something else.

I have been attempting to contact Alina (the client’s creator) on the matter (her time in-world appears limited nowadays, so hoping e-mail works), and have also pinged the support folk as well.

I’ll update this piece when / if I get any feedback from Alina and / or Kaleaon about the matter.

Additional Links

Aptoide link removed as a result of questions concerning lack of payment option.

Finding rez zones in Bellisseria – Yasmin’s free HUD

Posted on by Inara Pey
Out and about in Bellisseria on my Piaggio SG33E Roadrunner scooter (reviewed here), thanks to the rez zones and Yasmin’s HUD

On April 24th, I blogged about the arrival of the Coral Waters airstrip off the west coast of Bellisseria, the Linden Homes continent (see Bellisseria gains a coastal airstrip in Second Life), which was also marked by the arrival of official rezzing zones both on land and around the coast of the continent.

Yasmin’s Bellisseria rez zone HUD

However, with reference to the offical rez points, being aware they are around is one thing, trying to find the nearest to you can be another – a list of regions is great, if you happen to know where each region is in the overall map. Of course, if you bookmark the list (or maintain your own list of rez point URLs on a web page), you can always use your browser to find one and hop to it.  However, Having them available on a HUD would make things so much easier.

Well, that’s exactly what friend and fellow aviator  / sailor Yasmin (YouAintSeenMe) has done: created a map HUD of clickable rez points across Bellisseria, including those at the Coral Waters airstrip.

Displayed on the Centre HUD attach point by default (obviously, it can be repositioned), the HUD displays a map of Bellisseria with all of the current rez zones (as of April 29th, 2019) displayed as blue dots on it. Clicking on any of the dots will open the World map focused on the coordinates of the rez zone, allowing you to easily teleport to it.

Its simple but effective, I’m looking forward to having to update it with new map 🙂 . Wear as a HUD, or can be rezzed in-world for use on a signpost (or whatever).

– Yasmin, discussing her Bellisseria rez zone HUD

Available free of charge through Yasmin’s Marketplace store, I can vouch for the HUD, which is now a part of my inventory – although I have made one small change.

In order to be legible, the HUD does take up a fair amount of screen real estate – which isn’t a problem, if you’re using it as a quick on / off reference (as intended by Yasmin). But, me being awkward, decided having it always available while wandering Bellisseria would be easier.

So, as the HUD is modify, it was simple enough to add a scripted root tab prim to it, then drop in a script. When the tab is clicked, the HUD now slides “on” and “off” my screen from the right side. It’s not a vital requirement, but it makes for a quick way to pull out the map (when attached) whilst exploring Bellisseria should I need a rez point 🙂 .

While the HUD can be easily attached / detached when needed, I opted to mod it to have it slide on / off-screen from the right when needed

The map is simple and elegant. Whether worn as a HUD or placed on your land as a signpost for people to use, it is a definite boon to those who like exploring new locations – or who may lose a vehicle whilst motoring / sailing / flying around the new continent – so a big thank you to Yasmin for producing it.

Marketplace Link

Vallys and Moki at DiXmiX in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
DiXmiX Gallery: Moki Yuitza

Recently opened at DiXmiX Gallery, curated by Dixmix Source, are two new exhibitions by Vallys Baxter and Moki Yuitza, which are contrasting in both style and content.

With La Rumeur de Paris (Rumour of Paris), Vallys presents around 15 images in series – although what the underlying theme might be is hard to judge. All avatar studies, most are presented as avatar studies on a white background, although some are conversely set against a dark backdrop, and one – in difference to the rest  – is a landscape image.

DiXmiX Gallery: Vallys Baxter

Are these simply memories of past events? Are they designed to imbue a feeling? are they representative of a memory or idea? Or are they images that simply exist in and of themselves, sans wider thematic narrative wither within themselves or as a collection? You, as the observer are left to decide this.

When viewing some of the more intimate images, I did find my thoughts drifting towards Bernardo Bertolucci’s 1972 erotic drama Last Tango In Paris. Why this should be, baffles me, if I’m honest. Perhaps it simply the fact I’m not operating at 100% at this point in time and my brain is tending to wander hither and thither. There is certainly little in the individual images to suggest a link between them and the film, so perhaps its just a subconscious linking of naked male and female bodies with the use of Paris in the exhibition’s title, spurred by the (intentional?) anonymity of the figures in those images that sent my thoughts in that direction.

DiXmiX Gallery: Vallys Baxter

None of which should be taken as any kind of critique of Vallys’ work; her artistry is clear from the outset, and she is a gifted purveyor of emotions through her avatar studies; so much so that one might say that it is the emotional reaction to these images that is more important than any wider context of theme or ideas.

Meanwhile, down in The Womb, the basement exhibition space of the gallery, Moki Yuitza presents The Net, which is perhaps best described as a living piece of art: a gridwork of lines and shapes, some of which are zooming to and fro, a single 3D sculpture at its heart.

DiXmiX Gallery: Moki Yuitza

Complicated, carrying (perhaps) echoes of The Matrix or maybe Tron, Moki’s piece really should be seen rather than described, so I’ll leave it to you to drop in and see it for yourself.

SLurl Details

2019 SL User Groups 18/1: Simulator User Group

Posted on by Inara Pey

Toshi Farms; Inara Pey, March 2019, on FlickrToshi Farms – blog post

Server Deployments

As always, please refer to the server deployment thread for the latest news.

  • There was no deployment of the SLS (Main) channel on Tuesday, April 20th, leaving all regions on that channel on server update 19#19.04.22.526534 comprising performance improvements (possible fixes for teleport / region crossing issues) and additional internal logging.
  • On Wednesday, May 1st, all three main RC channels should be updated to server maintenance package 19#19.04.25.526669, primarily intended to correct the simulator-side EEP regressions that resulted of the roll-back of Thursday, April 18th. This update also includes a number of other internal fixes.

SL Viewer

There have been no viewer updates at the time of writing this update, leaving the viewer pipelines as follows:

  • Current Release version 6.2.0.526190, formerly the Estate Access Management RC viewer, dated April 12, promoted April 17 NEW. – see my EAM overview for more information
  • Release channel cohorts:
  • Project viewers:
  • Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
  • Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7. This viewer will remain available for as long as reasonable, but will not be updated with new features or bug fixes.

My.secondlife.com

My second Life has been down since the weekend of April 27/28th, 2019. This has affected all access to the site, the upload of snapshots and in-world web-based profiles.

Linden Lab is aware of the issue, and working to resolve the outage.

Teleport Disconnects

The teleport disconnect issue is now being seen as a race condition,with Simon Linden commenting:

The TP issue looks like a race condition … we “fixed” 3 other bugs and made that worse.

To which Oz Linden added:

And we’ve already put in place a bunch of improvements to our RC monitors to help prevent a similar recurrence (with more coming soon) … Doubtless Murphy will find new ways to avoid our monitors from time to time, but one tries.

The Lab now feel they have investigated the issue and gathered sufficient data around it to be able to perform a post-mortem on the situation to (hopefully) reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence in the future.

Script Processing Issues

This was raised at the April 26th TPVD meeting as well. There have been numerous reports of script run time issues, with some reporting that problems only started occurring following the roll-back on April 18th, 2019. BUG-226851 outlines some of the problems.

As per the TPVD meeting, the Lab are not aware of anything that may have changed to impact script run time (particularly on Full regions); but the problem has been somewhat exacerbated by the issue being bounced between the JIRA and support (note how the above report has been closed, referencing the matter back to support).