General Computer Stuff

Digg Reader Beta Released

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Tech Crunch has an article about the Digg Reader. Google Reader shuts down next week. So, there will likely be a bunch of people surprised that their reader doesn’t work. They will be searching for a replacement. Digg is a candidate.

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See the article here: Digg Reader Is Now Open.

Digg Reader targets power users. It supposedly takes a bit of work to set up feed, or so I read. I have yet to try it.

Digg Reader rollout information. Seems it is by invite only at this point.

In the information they are promising SEARCH. I’ve been using Feedly and I really miss the search that was in Google Reader. So, I will be trying the Digg Reader.

Not all is rosy. Read: Promising, But Still Incomplete. This article gets into the changes coming to Digg since Betaworks bought them. It also gets into the actual working of the reader. Check it out.

Upgrading for Second Life

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With the coming of Server Side Appearance (SSA – baking) those using older viewers are going to have to update or suffer never seeing an avatar render again. For many the challenge will be their computer not being able to run recent viewers. The hardware is just too old. But, there are inexpensive ways to upgrade to a computer so it will handle the newest viewers.

ASUS Z87
ASUS Z87 Motherboard

Minimum Hardware

Minimum is this case is a very nebulous term. If you read  Gwyneth Llewelyn’s blog you’ll know she gets by with some really minimal hardware. I think that would drive me nuts. But, I also use the computer for graphics intense work. So, in most ways it is a matter of personal choice and priorities.

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Adobe Creative Cloud 2013-25

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Some news is coming in on Adobe’s change to a monthly release plan. It seems it is being well accepted. Adobe’s published earning is beating the street’s estimates. See Tech Crunch for details: Adobe’s Q2 Earnings Beat Street With $1.011B In Revenue, $0.36 EPS, 700K Paying Creative Cloud Subscribers or 92% of their users.

New features are rolling out in the CC version of the software. Below is a Photoshop change in how it works with 3D painting.

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A longer and more detailed Q&A about the new CC is here: Adobe MAX: What’s New in Photoshop CC. This is mostly and audio with slides. And while it uses Photoshop in the title, this is more about how CC works.

I plan to sign up this month.

Oculus Rift Update 2013-25

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Jo Yardley has written up her firs hands on experience with the Oculus Rift (Rift). This is an excellent article that puts the state of the art in perspective. The current Rift’s are low resolution, but still impressive. See: Oculus Rift and Second Life.

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The day she saw the Rift the company was releasing a high resolution version, still beta. There is an even higher resolution version coming for retail sales.

Jo portrays the possibilities for this technology very well. The article is worth the read.

Hamlet recently published: Oculus VR Gets $15M in VC Funding – Virtual Reality Much More Likely to Go Mass Market.

Every indication is this tech will create sweeping changes to computer games and virtual worlds. Jo is portraying ways VR headsets could change RL activities. It will certainly change how we experience and build in Second Life.

Euclideon Geoverse

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Every so often I see an update on voxel technology. Jo Yardley caught a new update from Euclideon. I first saw a demo of Euclieon tech a year or two ago. At the time it was very impressive. Today the recent announcement of Geoverse is even more impressive.

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About a month ago I mentioned this tech in relation to Philip Rosedale’s High-Fidelity project. It is supposed to be using the voxel tech Euclideon is developing. (See: High Fidelity News) The comments in this new video about lag may be the reason that Philip’s people think they can build a no lag virtual world.

Geoverse would seem to suggest it is possible.