Category Archives: NEWS

Linden Lab Email Verification

by

Credits to Original Article: Modem World

Linden Lab and Second Life use e-mail in a wide variety of ways, from direct e-mail campaigns informing users of promotions, etc., through the users having a means to obtain IMs sent to them while they are not logged-in (and even reply to them within a certain time constraint).

However, many people sign-up to Second Life, either with new accounts or additional accounts, and offer e-mail addresses which are either made up, or unused. The former is a particular problem for the Lab, as it creates additional traffic passing through ISPs, which can mark the Lab as a purveyor of “spam”.

To try to reduce this problem, the Lab recently introduced e-mail verification. When you sign-up to Second Life, the e-mail account provided will receive a request to verify it (the usual click-on-the-link approach); if you change the e-mail address, you will receive a similar verification request.

In addition, there is also an option within the Change Email Settings of your Second Life dashboard where you can have your e-mail verified without having to change your e-mail address.

This is important because, starting in the very near future, the Lab will be making changes to their e-mail service which will eventually mean that outgoing e-mails will not be sent to any unverified e-mail addresses.

So, if you want to be sure you continue to receive SL-related e-mails – such as IMs to e-mail or Marketplace information sent to your e-mail as a Merchant, etc., – it is important you ensure the e-mail you use with Second Life is verified.

Here’s how:

  • Go to your dashboard at secondlife.com.
  • Click on Account at the top left of your dashboard to open the Account sub-menu.
  • Click on Change Email Address to open the Change Email Settings page (below).
  • Locate the Verify link next to your e-mail address and click on it.
The Verify link will allow you to have your current e-mail address verified

The Verify link will allow you to have the e-mail address associated with your SL account verified

  • A verification e-mail will be sent to your current e-mail address associated with Second Life, containing a link. Click the link to verify your e-mail address.
  • Wait a minute or so, then refresh the Change Email Settings page on your dashboard. It should be updated to show your e-mail address is verified (below).
A verified e-mail address

A verified e-mail address

There will be an official notification from the Lab when the work updating the e-mail service commences. However , this article can be treated as something as an advanced warning, courtesy of Oz Linden speaking at the January 27th TPV Developer meeting.

It’s not clear how long the changes will take to implement / propagate out, but it is important that if you rely on any e-mails sent to you by the Lab in relations to Second Life, you ensure your recorded e-mail address is verified, otherwise you will at some point no longer receive any e-mail notifications from the Lab until such time as you are using a verified address.

New Monthly Credit Process Limits Announced By Linden Labs

by

In case you missed it, Linden Labs announced that they were changing the LindeX billing & trading limits to help alleviate the potential for fraud back in December of 2016. Well, that time has now arrived!

The ability to purchase and “cash out” Lindens has been a big benefit to many of our fellow Second Lifers, especially those who have been able to establish thriving businesses in world. In a sense, having these regulations helps keep that benefit secured and streamlined for those of us who use it often.

The new limits are:

LindeX L$ Buy Limit (24 hr):                US $1999.00

LindeX L$ Buy Limit (30 days):            US $1999.00

LindeX L$ Sell Limit (24 hr):                 US $1999.00

LindeX L$ Sell Limit (30 days):            US $1999.00

US$ Process Credit (24 hr):                   US $999.00

US$ Process Credit (30 days):               US $999.00

 

You are able to see where you stand within those new limits at any time by logging into your account and going here.

While this may not affect many folks, this can especially impact those who generally work with a lot of L’s each month with Process Credits and may exceed those thresholds. You are able to request a case-by-case review of an increase if these limits don’t suit your needs by going here. So, it’s certainly not the end of the world for high-volume Linden earners and consumers, but just another way Linden Labs is making sure that they’re enforcing financially responsible measures!

 

Bria Oceanside

ZoHa Blogger/Social Media

Not sold on Sansar? 10 Reasons to Keep an Open Heart

by

This week some very lucky creators from Second Life were given exclusive beta access to the new Sansar Platform. Due to some hefty NDAs, we won’t be able to see yet whats in store.

Its important to understand that Sansar is not out to replace Second Life, it will be entirely different and mainly targeted toward creators and people who want to experience their creations. Second Life will remain alive and active, and its expected that Sansar users may be a demographic that were never a user of Second Life at all, not switching from Second Life. So try not to be too mad at this ‘younger sibling’ of just yet. In fact, while we believe it will serve entirely different purposes than SL – we do hope it will learn quite a bit from what SL has managed to achieve.

If you’re still not excited about the future that is fast upon us, here are some reasons why we think you may want to at least keep an open heart:

*We have not been in Sansar nor do we have definitive indication that these ‘theories’ are true.

1. Better Graphics Capabilities : Simple as that, Sansar will have more powerful graphics with less load on your system. You’ll still want to make sure your computer is up to speed, but we’re expecting a lot less crashing!

2. Higher Sim Capacities : If you’re as frustrated as I am with retrying over and over again to get into new events, then this will be a sigh of relief. Sansar may be able to host significantly more avatars – potentially unlimited? – at any given time. No more waiting in line!

3. Your own website : If you own land with an experience or business that you’d like others to visit, Sansar will have the ability to easily set up a website for you. This is primarily so that people who aren’t already users of Sansar kind find what you’ve created and create an account to experience it. It will be great for advertising to your fans as well!

4. Better Connectivity : Its still ambiguous how this will be achieved, but Linden Labs has acknowledged that its difficult to find communities to become a part of in Second Life. Will we have better chances of making friends and connections in Sansar? Would be interesting!

5. Virtual Reality : While its not yet become mainstream technology, Sansar will be fully equipped to handle virtual reality headsets of all kinds. Have you ever wanted to really BE in the place your avatar is at? Feel closer to the people around you? As the price of headsets lower, this will become a reality. A virtual one.

6. Mobile Compatibility : Mobile Apps for Second Life communication are wonky and can be a bit difficult to use. Sansar will be built with mobile usage in mind, meaning you’ll be able to experience your world with much more immersion than just text while on the go.

7. Lower Land Prices : Linden Labs is well aware that its extremely difficult for the vast majority of users to pay hundreds of dollars for their own private place to rez. Speculation has it that ‘sims’ in Sansar could be as low as $10/month. The capabilities of these parcels is still unknown.

8. Easier Shopping & Inventory Management : While a speculation, many other platforms have paved the way in making this experience easy and slick. Imagine a marketplace like the one we know an love, but in world. Imagine trying on clothing with one click – or already seeing an image of your avatar wearing it before you buy it. Imagine – stay with me – an inventory that is automatically organized for you, and images of your clothing so you know exactly what you’re about to put on. Speculation, but possible with this new platform.

9. Code Compatibility : You may not know that Second Life scripts are made up of their very own coding language – Linden Scripting Language. Its pretty amazing for a platform to work off of its very own syntax! However this does close a lot of doors and makes some of the great coders of the world very uninterested in creating for Second Life. Sansar will be scripted in C#, a well known and loved language that top scripters are well versed in – meaning we’ll see a lot more great stuff with a much higher capability popping up.

10. Physics : Imagine your avatar reaching down and picking up a box. Using their fingers to grab it and lift it into the air. Now imagine dropping that box onto another box. It falls through the air and lands on top of the box with a wiggle. Not falling through, but sitting right where you put it. Now imagine swinging your arm and hitting the boxes, watching them tumble over one another onto the ground. This type of physics engine just may be possible in Sansar.

I’ve loved Second Life for 8+ years and plan on keeping it that way, but I can’t help but being excited about the possibilities of new technology in virtual worlds. Keep an open mind, and don’t be afraid of losing the strong community that we’ve built. Second Life will keep going strong!

Delilah Greyson (Amoralie Triellis)
ZoHa Islands Blogger

Prim Increases In Second Life?? Here’s The Scoop!

by

This week brought about a huge change that few saw coming: Linden Labs started to increase the prim limits across second life. They acknowledged this has been a wishlist item for many for a long time, and our collective wishes have been granted.

What does this mean? This means that we’ll be able to do more with the same space. And this isn’t just a little increase. This excerpt from the main site goes into a bit more detail:

“Land impact (object) capacity on Mainland Regions will go from 15,000 to 22,500 – that’s a lot more building capacity!

In addition to this, we will further carry the prim limit increases to the private estate regions shortly.  Keep your eye on our blogs for more information!”

Designing Worlds created this chart to better understand the new (or anticipated) limits we’ll see across SL:

While this huge improvement has already hit the mainlands, do note that this will also be rolled out in the near future to private regions as well (which will be a big deal for our ZoHa Islands customers).

Of course, this set SL afire with a flurry of questions. Here’s a couple common ones that have been asked:

“Won’t more prims just cause more lag?”

If you folks haven’t noticed recently, Linden Labs has invested in upgrading their servers. So the prim increase isn’t something out of vanity; they’ve been planning this for a while so the increases wouldn’t be detrimental to gameplay.

“Won’t that mean they will charge more?”

Nope! Linden Labs is doing this to improve our gameplay and flexibility, and will not be increasing costs. And nor should your landlords! ZoHa Islands is happy to announce that this will NOT result in any fee increase, as it’s not something that is causing anyone any additional expense. In short, this is a really awesome FREE upgrade for all to enjoy! So once it’s rolled out to private estates, the only thing you will need to worry about is how you’re going to use all these extra prims!

“I’m not seeing any prim increases yet. Is it just for mainland?”

It’s currently rolled out on mainlands, but eventually will be rolled out grid-wide. We’ll have to stay tuned for a formal announcement from Linden Labs, but they do acknowledge it is happening soon!

So, let’s all rejoice! Not only is this a huge development for Second Life, but also a big indication that Linden Labs isn’t forgetting about us anytime soon. Server upgrades are not a light expense and they did something spectacular to show us some love.

What are YOU going to do with your extra prims??

You can check out the Designing Worlds episode here to get more detail into this great development:

Bria Oceanside

ZoHa Blogger/Social Media

 

 

 

What happened in Orlando……

by

I’m not about to sit here and pick apart the political loopholes that people are beating to death about the tragedy at Pulse nightclub a couple of days ago. I’m not here to spurt out some meaningless rant about how this could have been avoided. But, I am going to talk about what happened.

What happened was an act of hate. Considering the circulating speculation that the shooter was actively involved in the LGBTQ scene locally, it also could have been a violent deflection stemming from self-loathing or rejection. We may never fully know, but we do know that it was a painful loss for the victims, their loved ones, and humanity.

We’ve become a society that is becoming increasingly numb to hatred, violence and violation of rights unless it happens on a large scale. It’s becoming harder and harder to see people as individuals because we’re getting more screen time than actual face time (and I don’t mean the iOS version). We’re at a point where acceptance and respect shouldn’t be as optional as people treat it. Social media enables us to be callous and continue the vicious cycle of ignorance and disinterest in fact-checking.

With that said, one thing I have learned to appreciate as someone who is very much part of the LGBTQ community is that Second Life does enable us to have a safe haven of sorts, even if just virtually. One of the biggest blessings that I have personally found is that there’s such a great pool of people in-world that can either relate or are totally respectful even if they can’t. Being able to meet so many people that don’t care what you look like, what you do or whom you love is such a lifesaver in many ways.

We need more of that offline, people. We need more support and learning to respect people for the human beings they are, not their differences. But, in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando, we need to rally and show support more than ever. Thankfully, someone is heading up just that in-world.

Casper Warden, owner/creator of CasperVend (which most of us are very familiar with) has not only started an in-world relief fund, but has also created a free donation kiosk that you can also rezz on your land to help the fundraising efforts. It is incredibly important to help rally together for these families, as they’re now struggling with unexpected funeral and medical costs, child costs, even pets that are now ownerless. Every little bit helps reach that goal, and I would love to see a push from the Second Life community to do just that. Links will be placed at the end of the post.

But, going forward, we need to make sure we’re taking steps to preserve the integrity of humanity. Life is too unpredictable to spend it mired in hate. Love a little more, learn to show a little more compassion and help shape our kids into people who think more than buy everything at face value. What happened in Orlando was a tragic explosion of hate, and society has long fueled it.

Let’s put this fire out and help heal the damage that’s been done.

With love,

Bria Oceanside

ZoHa Blogger/Social Media

Click HERE to grab your CasperVend donation kiosk

Click HERE to go to the in-world donation location to help out

Click HERE to donate directly to the GoFundMe account set up for the victims and their families

 

Bright Canopy — Replacement for Onlive!

by

BREAKING NEWS! SLers who were sad to see Onlive go, now have another option!!

Remember OnLive? The company that brought you the streaming service which gave you the ability to run SL on older computers? Well there is a new kid on the block named Bright Canopy and they’re aiming to fill the void left behind by OnLive!

Released in the last weekend of August, Bright Canopy is offering SL streaming services for $17 for 20 hours. Additional time costs $0.02/minute, and each session is charged for a minimum of 30 minutes. Their high performance spec servers will stream SL to you through your web browser with ultra high graphics and no visible lag!

According to the Bright Canopy blog, this is how the pricing system works:

“If you sign up for Bright Canopy, you will be charged $17. You will receive 20 hours of server time. Once you have used that time, if you continue to use the service, you will build-up overage time at $0.02 per minute with a minimum purchase of 30 minutes ($0.60). If you use less than 10 more hours, your card will be charged for those additional minutes (plus the $17 for the new month’s subscription) at the beginning of the next month. If you use 10 or more hours of additional minutes before the end of the month, those minutes will be charged immediately.

“So if you use 5 additional hours during the month, you would spend $6 more. This would mean your credit card would be charged $21 at the beginning of the next month. If you use 10 additional hours, you would be charged $12 now and $17 for your monthly subscription at the beginning of the next month.”

This is exciting news and good for those who have older machines, or who wish to stream into SL from a computer that just can’t quite handle the load SL requires. The burning question is: Does Bright Canopy run on mobile devices? The company has stated on their website that mobile is not available yet, but it is coming. Here’s a quote from the website:

“We understand how important mobile support is for many people, and we do have a plan to provide it. We already have clients which will run on mobile devices, but the Second Life Viewer and Firestorm will need modifications to support multitouch. Our plan is to create these features and donate them to the top level open source viewer project, making them available for all viewers.

Right now, we are focusing on the Chrome browser on non-mobile devices (eg. laptops and desktops) so that we can get that right. Then we are working on providing a monthly plan. Once we have those in place we will begin working on mobile.”

I decided to try it out. I’m at work right now in RL, and our computers at work don’t have the graphics capability to run the regular Second Life viewer. So I eagerly signed up for an account using my Second Life user name and email address to create an account. I then ponied up my money ($17 for 20 minutes).

I was so excited to check it out that I really didn’t read the fine print. As I was trying to connect to the Bright Canopy servers (a message pops up as you are waiting to log into the Frame launchpad that Bright Canopy uses, that basically tells you that you cannot “bank” time from one session to the next. Clearly this service isn’t nearly as user-friendly as Onlive, because if I log out prior to my 30 minute time, I lose any remaining time. Hmmmm. Also, after I logged into Bright Canopy and paid, the screen that came up said “waiting to connect to Frame” and said I had 3 minutes remaining. It ended up connecting me after less than 3 minutes but I probably waited about a minute and a half. I’m not sure if they were waiting for space on their Cloud-based server, but it was only slightly annoying to wait.

Then it offers you the choice of using the SL Official Viewer interface or the Firestorm. Since I’m a Firestorm junkie, I chose the Firestorm option. It logs you into SL and looks exactly like it does in your viewer window. However, since I went back to type some more in this blog about my observations, it logged me out since I’d been inactive for 10 minutes. I had to log out of Bright Canopy and log back in. So be careful of long AFKs.

I found when I logged into my home in SL, I was experiencing a great deal of lag. I turned my graphics down a notch (I usually operate on Ultra, so I went down to High) and that seemed to improve things. Our work computers really don’t have much in the way of resources, so that could be part of the problem. I tp’d around to different places and found lag to be better and worse depending on the location. It’s not perfect, but it is an awesome way to be able to access Second Life from a computer with limited resources.

It will be great when they get their mobile app going!

Check them out! Click here for the website: Bright Canopy

I remain respectfully yours,
~ Suzanne Piers, ZoHa Islands Blogger/Social Media