Second Life and Virtual Worlds
The Linden made series of viewers
The new SL 2.3 Beta version viewer is out. You can read the official release information here.
The big change is the addition of Display Names. There is a Torley video at the link above showing how to use Display Names.
While the viewer has the feature not all the regions have it turned on. The Lab is being cautious rolling it out. They made changes from user input. Griefing and impersonation being the leading concerns.
The newer SLV2’s, since the Display name versions, use a new chat/IM log format. The previous logs have been plan text files. The LLSD type files are basically a type of XML file. There are advantages and disadvantages to changing the format. Whether or not it is a good thing for you, the change is here.
OSGrid is supporting mesh now. All one has to do is figure out how to get a mesh uploaded. Most of the viewers do not have the feature. Only the SLV2 Mesh Project viewer has the feature. So, one needs to point that viewer to the OSGrid and give it a try.
Updated 2010-11-24
First thing we need is a copy of the Mesh Project Viewer. You can down load it from the Second Life Support Download page*. You’ll find it under Project viewers. Get it installed and try it out. You may see some pretty kewl meshes in ADITI (the preview or beta grid).
The previous Beta Release was Second Life 2.2.0 (210127). The current download is 211499. It is available here: Second Life Beta Viewer Download = direct to download. For the paranoid, this is the download page: Download Second Life Viewer 2. The main download remains Second Life 2.1.1 (208043). The changes, release notes, for the new beta version … Read more
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.
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.