Category Archives: NEWS

VWBPE Conference in Second Life – July 24 -27, 2013

by

VWBPE Conference in Second Life – July 24 -27, 2013

by Community Manager Linden Lab ‎07-18-2013 01:46 PM – edited ‎07-18-2013 01:46 PM

 

As mentioned in our previous blog post, summer is the season for exciting and uplifting events of all types in Second Life. With that in mind, we’d like to bring your attention to 2013’s Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education. The VWBPE conference runs from July 24th through the 27th and finishes with extended, four-week massive open online course to examine education in the virtual world.

VWBPE 2013 is a worldwide community event that focuses on education in immersive virtual environments. This open conference is organized by educators, for educators, and showcases the learning that takes place in virtual communities. Come see innovative educators share their achievements and challenges in enhanced learning technology and their visions of how future collaborative learning will grow through virtual worlds and games. For additional information, be sure to visit http://www.vwbpe.org/ and check the conference schedule here.

 

 

VWBPE 2013

The Virtual Worlds Best Practice in Education (VWBPE) is a community-based conference that provides opportunities to share current teaching, learning, and research practices in 3D virtual environments. The event runs from July 24th through the 27th, be sure to visie http://www.vwbpe.org for more information.

Visit in Second Life

Linden Lab Says – It’s Time to Update Your Viewer!

by

Hello ZoHa Islands 🙂  Happy 4th to those of you in the United States!

Today is the big day!  Time to upgrade those viewers!  Only a few days left.

Linden Lab announced on the official Second Life Blog today official start dates for the Project Sunshine rollouts….. which is supposed to significantly improve avatar rezzing during logins and avatar rebake requests in Second Life. These updated changes will make the user experience faster and more reliable than ever before. Linden Lab also notes in the blog also about better performance and less time in clouded avatar states which is good news!

The staff here greatly encourages the use of these updates – support inquiries directly related to customers NOT updating their viewers – will be encouraged to clean install their viewers and get one from this list of viewers.  We strongly encourage the use of Firestorm specially for its functionality, code, and user friendliness, not to mention they are always very up to date and on top of all changes.

Second Life Wiki on Project Sunshine and Server Side Appearance

Post direct from the Linden Lab blog this morning:

It’s Time to Update Your Viewer!

by Community ManagerLinden Lab ‎07-03-2013 01:52 PM – edited ‎07-03-2013 02:02 PM

 

As we’ve previously blogged about, the next step for Project Sunshine, which will improve avatar loading performance, is a server-side update. Early next week, we will be starting to roll out those changes, which are the “heavy lifting” portion of Sunshine. Once the updates have rolled out, all avatar data will be rendered on Second Life’s servers, rather than on your computer. Because your local machine won’t have to render that data, you should start to see better reliability and improved performance across the grid.

It’s important to remember that you need to be using an up-to-date Viewer to enjoy these improvements. If you’re still using an outdated Viewer, the server-side changes rolling out now will cause you to see some avatars as broken or incomplete. Soon all avatars will be using the new system and will appear broken to you if you don’t update.

What new features are coming with Sunshine? Watch this video to find out.

So don’t be left out in the cold, update your Viewer today, and let the Sunshine in!

LL Mandatory Viewer Upgrades!

by

 

Hello ZoHa Islands –

Today we would like to give special attention to a recent post from Jessica Lyon and the entire Firestorm Team.  This has very important information regarding the new Server Side Appearance Coding and how it will affect your Second Life.

This means everyone will need to UPGRADE! 🙂

We all know change can be difficult and we want to see the transition as quick and easy as possible, therefor Firestorm also hosts some wonderful classes that can be found by joining the in world group, where you can learn to navigate your viewer menus, upload your AO into your viewer – this reducing the clutter on your screen and the scripts you wear.

“According to the latest statistics from LL there are still some 67,000+ users on Phoenix and 77,000+ on Firestorm versions that are NOT compatible with Server Side Appearance (for Firestorm, that means any version older than 4.4.0). That is nearly 150,000 users who will have to update in this two-week period. I suspect most will wait until the very last minute or will wait until it’s too late. This means our support team, being the only live, dedicated viewer support team in Second Life (to my knowledge) is going to be absolutely inundated. Because of this I’m going to ask you, our users, for a few favors. Before you run to our inworld support groups…” – Jessica Lyon

 

Firestorm 4.4.1.34164 Release

Everyone has to upgrade!

Linden Lab has stated they intend to begin rolling out Server Side Appearance (formerly known as Server Side Baking) on July 9th or shortly thereafter. It is of paramount importance to your user experience that ALL our users upgrade to this 4.4.1 version before the 9th of July. Even our 4.4.0 users should upgrade because 4.4.1 contains some additional SSA code from LL.

Clean install!

Support will kill me if I don’t mention this near the top… most of the issues that get reported to support immediately after an upgrade could have been prevented by performing a clean install, which includes manually clearing the settings files from your hard drive, along with uninstalling the application and manually wiping the cache. If you are on 4.4.0 you can create a settings backup prior to doing a clean so that you can restore your settings quickly and easily afterwards. Video tutorial on that here.

The fixes and new shiny

We are aware that there are a percentage of users who could not use 4.4.0 for one reason or another, and so it was very important that we do our best to fix those issues and get it out to you before Server Side Appearance rolls out. This update resolves all the issues we are capable of resolving in such a timeframe, and we hope it will improve performance and stability for everyone. It also comes with some great new features and options that we encourage you to check out and hope you enjoy.

A full change log can be found here http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/firestorm_release_4.4.1.34164_change_log and downloads from our downloads page.

Phoenix users

The time is now folks! In less than two weeks’ time, avatars are going to begin looking horribly wrong to you and, likewise, you will look horribly wrong to everyone else on up-to-date viewers. We have gone to great lengths to offer you options, features, skins and customization in Firestorm to allow you the closest resemblance to Phoenix as is possible in a V3 code base. We have been doing this work since the beginning, and it even carries into this 4.4.1 with even more Phoe features such as an independent Radar floater, name auto complete, region script count notifications, ability to minimize floaters to bottom left instead of top left and more. We have gone to these efforts because we truly do care about your user experience and hope that you will stay with us as we continue development of Firestorm into the future.

However, if all these efforts are not good enough, please know that you also have other viewer alternatives you can choose, available from the LL Third Party Viewer Directory here. The bottom line, however, is that if you want to continue seeing other avatars and being seen normally, you will have to upgrade to something… now. We have video tutorials on our YouTube page here, including a video about migrating from Phoenix to Firestorm here. We will begin using all our resources to notify Phoenix users of the upcoming change and the need to upgrade. If you are a Phoenix user, you may find this to be annoying and nagging – sorry about that – but there are a great many users who do not pay attention to upcoming changes and have no idea their experience is about to become epic fail.

Our support nightmare…

According to the latest statistics from LL there are still some 67,000+ users on Phoenix and 77,000+ on Firestorm versions that are NOT compatible with Server Side Appearance (for Firestorm, that means any version older than 4.4.0). That is nearly 150,000 users who will have to update in this two-week period. I suspect most will wait until the very last minute or will wait until it’s too late. This means our support team, being the only live, dedicated viewer support team in Second Life (to my knowledge) is going to be absolutely inundated. Because of this I’m going to ask you, our users, for a few favors. Before you run to our inworld support groups…

WIKI, WIKI, WIKI! – Please search for your problem on our wiki first. The best way to search the wiki is to start typing a keyword into the search box, but don’t hit Enter! Just wait for a second and a drop down list of possible matches will appear. This is more effective than typing your search and hitting enter. Try it! Our main troubleshooting index can point you to tips for fixing the most common issues, as well!

JIRA. – Yes! Please file a support ticket! This is much easier for support and our development team to collaborate with you and each other on your specific issue. File a support ticket. 

Help us help! – If you see folks asking questions in our support groups and support isn’t around or is busy, and you know the answer… please feel free to try to help these folks yourself! Your help is hugely appreciated, but please don’t take offense if you are wrong in some way and support corrects you. We do still appreciate your enthusiasm and willingness to help. This is, after all, what we look for in new support people. We recruit based on attitude, willingness to help, persistence and resilience to negativity.

Patience grasshopper! – Please be patient with our support team, because…

  • They are 100% volunteers helping out because they want to help out.
  • There will be times when no one will be available. This is because we encourage support to take breaks rather than burning out.
  • They are human and make mistakes too.
  • Sometimes they don’t have all the answers and may not be able to help you with your problem.
  • They will be inundated with the 150,000 users who chose to wait until the last minute and then scream for support when they have problems that NEED to be fixed NOW… because they waited until the last minute.
  • Chat lag in the support group happens!

We truly hope 4.4.1 will be awesome for everyone! Also, you can expect a 4.4.2 in a few weeks which will contain “Polishing up code” from LL for Server Side Appearance.

 

Sincerely,

Jessica Lyon and the entire Firestorm Team

LL Repost – SLB10 FINAL Week!

by

SL10B Celebrations – The Final Week

by Community Manager Linden Lab ‎06-24-2013 04:49 PM – edited ‎06-24-2013 04:49 PM

 

We’ve hit the final stretch of this year’s Second Life Birthday celebrations! It has been a great month full of amazing events, plenty of swag, and good times, and there is still lots of fun to be had in honor of SL10B. Thank you to everyone who has participated in celebrating a decade of Second Life – we hope you’re having a great time!

 Don’t forget to share some of your SL10B snapshots for a chance to win a prize in the SL10B Snapshot Contest. Snapshot contest ends June 30th – so get your entry in before the 11:59pm PT deadline!

Premium members – you still have time to complete the exclusive grid hunt!

There is still some time to collect your limited edition inworld-exclusive items to commemorate the occasion. Visit the SL10B Community Celebration regions and look for the vending machines to collect your bears, jackets, furnished homes, and more. Regions will close to the public on June 29th.

Remember to grab your special edition items on the Marketplace before they are gone. Already more than 12,000 SL10B Bear Avatars, 5,000-plus SL10B Mesh T-shirts, nearly 3,000 SL10B Fireworks, 2,800 SL10B Old Style T-Shirts, and thousands of SL10B Resizable Baseball Caps and SL10B Party Packs have been claimed!

Our co-promotion with Alienware is still ongoing, and you have until July 17th to enter for a chance to win a new Alienware 14 laptop! See contest details for eligibility, rules, and legal information.

As the month comes to a close, there’s still a lot of SL10B fun to enjoy inworld, including more than 80 listings in the SL10B Destination Guide Category. Here are just a few of the entries to check out this week:

 

The Tightrope of Our Affection

Welcome to Blue Tsuki’s SLB10 art installation: The Tightrope of our Affection. This installation is an elegant immersive visual experience culminating in a self-referential meditation. Come see this celebration of virtual world installation art.

Visit in Second Life

Your Second Life Evolution

Over 50 avatars share their evolution from the beginning of their second lives to today. Enjoy Your Second Life Evolution, built by Harper Beresford of A Passion for Virtual Fashion at http://slfashionpassion.wordpress.com.

Visit in Second Life

Burn2-Conception

Burn2 celebrates 10 years of Second Life be looking at the unique role Burning Man had during its conception. See artist renderings of Burning Man’s 10 principles, live music and lots of fireside chats. The principles were crafted not to dictate of how people should be and act, but as a reflection of the community’s ethos and culture as its organically developed from inception.

Visit in Second Life

ZI Wants YOU! – Seeking Qualified Estate Managers!

by

Hello Zoha Islands.

Do you have what it takes to become a member of the ZoHa Islands Team?

We are currently seeking potential employees with previous estate manager experience.

Please NOTE:
Do not apply if you do not voice! (We do require a voice verified interview.)

Must also have a good working & RELIABLE computer/internet connection.

If you :

  • are available and online and able to do shift work
  • are minimum 6 months in SL
  • have the ability to speak multiple languages (it`s desired but not required)
  • have public relations & customer service skills
  • are pleasant and comfortable with potential clients
  • want to work in a dynamic team to sell the perfect land parcel to potential residents and provide the best customer service SL has to offer
  • have the ability to troubleshoot basic land issues and read sim stats – or the ability to learn and catch on quickly!
  • know how to navigate to different locations in SL, easy and fast
  • know how to promote our available lands & units for sale or rent

then maybe you want to give it a try and join our team.

Send your resume to Deuce Marjeta AND KittyKat Jules in a notecard with the following information (Please be as informative and thorough as possible):

  • Some info about yourself (Rez date, what you do at the moment, did in the past, …)
  • Where are you from in RL and What is your RL age?
  • Times you are usually in Second Life?
  • Languages you speak? (Please note you MUST be able to write/speak in English)
  • Past SL Estate Experience (List with length of employment, company names/owners)
  • A SL picture of yourself (please drag and drop this into the notecard)
  • Why do you want to work for ZoHa Islands?

LL Repost – Get the New Materials Viewer Today!

by

Hello ZoHa Islands – Linden Lab has released some exciting news today 🙂

This is especially wonderful news to the builds of Second Life!

Get the New Materials Viewer Today!

by Community ManagerLinden Lab ‎06-19-2013 10:12 AM – edited ‎06-19-2013 11:02 AM

Linden Lab is excited to announce the release of the Materials Viewer! This Viewer will allow content creators to build objects using normal and specular maps and will allow users to view the effects of this new feature set. The end result is photorealistic textured objects inworld, such as the SL10B Bear Avatar, which will look even better with this Viewer.

We’ve prepared a video to demonstrate the effect of Materials inworld and show builders how to add normal and specular maps to their creations.

In order to view Materials, you will need to have a Viewer that supports this feature and have Advanced Lighting Model checked under your graphics options. Not all systems will support this option; please see the Materials FAQ for more information on whether or not it is supported on your system. Additional documentation, including case studies, can be found on the Good Building Practices wiki and the Content Creators Guide.

original.png

We’d like to extend our thanks to developers from Exodus, Firestorm, and Catznip for their contributions to this feature. We are very excited about the result!