Second Life and Virtual Worlds
General Viewer Information
The change log for 1.5.1.373 is up. I have not yet seen the actual download. So, it is not like I can download the viewer and run it. The download page is still showing release 225. But, we can see what is coming.
Phoenix Viewer 1.5.1.373 Release Notes – Update: 2010-10-05 – 1.5.1.373 released today. Phoenix Viewer Download
Additions to the viewer:
With the new 2.x viewers in Second Life lots has changed. Editing one’s appearance is one of the big changes. I have yet to decide of it is better or worse. Whichever, it certainly is different. This is my attempt to sort out how appearance works. I expect the viewer to change quite a bit over the next few weeks.
In the 1.x viewers (SLV1) it was easy to find the editor, just right-click the avatar and select Edit Appearance. Everything is there. I guess it could be intimidating.
In the Second Life 2.x viewers (SLV2) the logic for getting into Appearance Edit changes. The process is more goals oriented. For techie types familiar with computers the idea that one wants to change a dress or their shape means look for an avatar editor. Less geeky types probably don’t think of looking for an avatar editor, they just want to change the dress. The Lab did usability testing and supposedly this was a significant problem. I just don’t know.
KirstenLee has released viewer S20(39). It has taken longer than usual to get to this release. KirstenLee explains it is the number of changes made to this viewer that have taken time. Kirsten lists 39 of the changes. If you read the review on the latest SL Beta Viewer, you know Linden Lab made literally hundreds of changes in that viewer and a number of those were to the user interface.
Up to version 38 multiple core CPU’s were optional. With this release at least a dual core CPU is required. Older computers, as in older than 3 years, are just not going to run this version of the KirstenLee S20 viewer, often referred to as KL20.
Tofu and Aimee Linden in the UK are leaving the last day of the month. This is part of the previous layoff that was announced. Still it is sad to see people that have done such good work leaving. But, the UK office is closing… closed.
The team is now made up of Esbee, Oz, Merov, and 3 contract engineers. Plus there are various open source contributors.
SL Viewer Beta 2.2 is out. The Release Notes are here: Release Notes/Second Life Beta Viewer/2.2.0. The thing with release notes is they are really boring. I’ve added tips on how to find and use the new features to make this worth reading.
If you don’t already know, Linden Lab makes several versions of their viewer; the main stable viewer, a beta viewer, development viewer, and a number of project viewers. The main viewer is for everyone and is the most tested. The beta viewers are Release Candidates used to test changes on their way to general release in the main viewer. The development viewer is a frequently updated viewer Lab staff uses and works with. Project viewers are open beta viewers specific to a project, like Display Names.
Information is leaking that bouncing boobies are coming to the SLV2. Now wouldn’t that be fun. Apparently the implementation would be different than in Phoenix and Imprudence, way different.