Monthly Archives: March 2011

KirstenLee’s S21(6) Released Review

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Kirsten S21(6)

Odd Things Happen

Today Kirsten released a new version of the S21 viewer. This is not a release candidate. I suppose we can call it a production version. Whatever we call it, it is out and we can use it. Kirsten S21 Download The Mac and Linux versions will be up soon, if not already.

Download and Install

The download size is 29 mb. The install is typical of the S21 viewers. There are no special instructions from Kirsten about installing. The previous version must be uninstalled before the install will proceed. The uninstall process is built into the install program. That keeps things simple and easy. The cache is removed. The settings are retained.

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Network Performance Tip

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As residents of SL we get lots of information about tweaking our systems for better performance. Mostly we get information about the viewer and its settings. We are often referred to various network speed testing sites, like www.speedtest.net, to test network performance. But, seldom are residents told about tweaking their DNS resolvers. So, here is some information on tweaking your DNS settings.

Windows Network DNS Benchmark Tool

DNS Benchmark Tool

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SL Viewer Ranking Update

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Today I see the Wiki page on Third Party Viewers (TPV) was updated last night. We now have more information on how the Lab ranks the viewers. Plus they make a good point about variables I did not consider.

Crash Report? - Image by: ♥ellie♥ @ Flickr

Oz Linden added that a viewer’s crash rate is the percent of that viewer’s sessions that end in a crash. So, whether there are a thousand people using the viewer or ten thousand, the rate is representative of that viewer. This means there is no popularity factor in the number. More users of a given viewer will make the viewer’s rate more accurate and representative.

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New Mesh and Render Complexity Tool

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Nyx Linden has created a new tool that allows one to examine render complexity. When the tool is activated it colors objects in the area Blue, Green, or Red for low, moderate, and high complexity. The lower the complexity the faster things render.

Second Life

New Render Complexity Tool

This tool is based on the newest render complexity algorithm. According to Nyx the algorithm is not yet built into the Mesh Project Viewer. So, we may see differences in the values given in the mesh upload dialog and the Render Complexity Tool.

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Second Life Viewer Rankings

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Viewer Ranking

Second Life Viewer Ranking

If you have not looked at the Third Party Viewer (TPV) list in some time, you might be surprised to know the viewers are now listed in the order of Crash Rate. The viewer with the lowest crashes first. Of course to be rated, the viewer must report crashes.

You can find the list here: Third Party Viewer Directory

Surprisingly the viewer that crashes the least is the SLV 1.23, which is the oldest usable Linden Lab viewer available. This is probably predictable as the viewer uses all the old and well tested technology. Few, if any, of the new features are included in the 1.23 viewer.

Also the ranking does not take into account performance. That is performance in the sense of rez speed or inventory load time both things the new series 2 viewers do better. Nor are the number of features considered. Things like built in AO and Speed Rez that reduce server lag are not considered.

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Burn2 – What are we doing?

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In July 2010 Phillip Linden (Phillip Rosedale – CEO Linden Lab) announced that the Burning Man celebration in SL would be handled by a resident run group rather than Linden Lab. Ok. Now 6 months later I get news that I can visit Burn 2. A friends LM sent to Deep Hole and I didn’t believe that was the main Burn 2 location. So, I chase down a Landmark to get me there, which is not the easiest of tasks, thanks to the broken search in series 2 viewers. You can find it in Destinations… grumble gumble… But, my friend’s link was the right one.

The Burn 2: Burnal Equinox ends at 10 PM March 27, 2011.

 

Burn 2: Burnal Equinox

Burn 2: Burnal Equinox

This is not the SL Burn event you are used to. It was a frustrating trip for me. Part of that frustration was caused by me. Using the Firestorm Preview #2 (a pre-alpha version viewer) was probably not a good idea… taking pictures was a nightmare. That takes 15 to 60 seconds and drives the viewer into ‘Not Responding.’ Also I cannot fly in the region (not a viewer issue, fly is off in the region). Grrrr. But it isn’t that bad because the area is small and doesn’t take that long to walk through. The FS Preview #2 gave me lots of problems.

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Adding a Facebook Like Button

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Adding Like Buttons to Your Blog

Adding Like Buttons

For those of us that blog, something to help bring more readers is a bit of the Holy Grail. Today Hamlet posted an article on New World Notes about the Facebook LIKE button we see on his site that brings in more readers. Checking it out, I found the links leading to the rather geeky version of the button. So, if you are a casual or super geek, here is how to get the button working… not that you need my help if you’re a supper geek…

There are 3 basic ways to install a new function in a blog; add a widget by uploading the thing, add a widget via the Plugins Panel, or add some code to the blogs programming.

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Second Life Viewer Evolution – Week 12

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Some new things are moving forward in the viewer. Here are a few I think interesting.

Windlight Settings for Estates – We sort of have this in OpenSim where it is called Lightshare. The idea is that an estate owner can set the Windlight settings for their estate. When a resident comes to the region, the viewer’s Windlight settings change to the estate’s settings. This means no more note cards about how to change your Windlight settings for best effect.

I noticed the other day a special note card in a purchase I made (demo skin). In Kirstens S21 viewer it had a new icon. The card was a set of Windlight settings. When I clicked on it my Windlight setting were changed. Pretty nifty.

The change coming to the SLV is the addition of controls for the estate manager to use to set the region’s default Windlight settings.

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