No Deploys post this morning, 9 AM. There is/was an in-world notice the main channel was being restarted. My home in the main channel regions saw a restart.
Viewers
The main viewer was still 5.0.9.329906 this morning. We saw this version appear in week #49. Later in the day Alex Ivy was promoted to the main viewer. So, Second Life Alex Ivy Viewer version 5.1.0.511732 which appeared in week #2 became the main viewer today.
Second Life Maintenance Viewer version 5.0.10.330173 – This is an update replacing last week’s 5.0.10.330148. So, this one is getting a fast series of updates.
Second Life Voice Viewer version 5.0.10.330039 – Last updated in week #50. This version is working well and is the second most likely to promote to the main viewer. So, we should see this one get the 64-bit update and come out as a new version later this week.
Second Life Project 360 Snapshot Viewer version 5.1.0.506743 – no update since week #27. This viewer is supposed to move from a project viewer to an RC version soon.
Second Life Project Animesh Viewer version 5.0.10.330058 – Last updated in week #49. We are not likely to see any changes here. Work is on the server side and fixing animesh behaviors. Animesh is pretty much feature locked for the remainder of this phase.
Second Life Project Render Viewer version 5.1.0.511604 – Last updated in week #2.
Third-Party Viewers
Black Dragon did NOT update this week. But, NiranV has an article on optimizing an avatar, My Adventures In Optimizing My Avatar.
Firestorm has not yet released an update. The last new version, 5.0.7, was released in the last half of June 2017. The release before was 6-months previous. So, the stated quarterly release plan is shot. I am still hopeful we will see a release this month. But, I wouldn’t put money on it.
I have seen FS users posting in Firestorm Support with a version 5.0.11. So, there is a beta version running around being tested. It is just a matter of when the general user will see it.
Catznip – I’ve tried this viewer several times now. I wrote about just after the latest update in January, Catznip Viewer R12 – Awesome or Not?
I love the viewer except for it not rendering textures until I run my cursor over them and then they don’t stay rendered. Over a three-week period, I’ve seen this as a consistent problem. As it only happens with Catznip and not 3 other viewers (LL, FS, BD), I’ll say it is a viewer issue with Catznip.
Other News
Penny Patton has an article up, The No-Mod Rebuttal. Her point is in our oh so poorly optimized world of amateur-made content we need to be able to optimize what we buy. So, avoid No-Mod items whenever possible.
I think Penny oversimplifies. But, I agree with her basic idea. Most things do NOT benefit from being No-Mod. A few things do need to be no-mod. Those things that depend on scripts to work use No-Mod to prevent spy scripts being added. If griefers could easily gain information on the communications channels, HUD to item, then they could easily mess with us. That would force designers to add encryption and other complications that would drive up the script load.
In the ever-escalating war with griefers, No-Mod is often the outer fence. Yes, it can be scaled and penetrated. But, it is something.
Justice & Underground – I am not sure why I haven’t come across the Justice and Underground brands before. I stumbled across them today. Justice is clothes to buy and wear. Underground is about buying the designer kits to make your own stuff. The stores are here.