Windows 8.1 Upgrade

by

Windows 8.1 came out recently. For Windows 8 users the upgrade is free. Some of you will see it pop up as a standard Windows update without your doing anything.

Be warned! There are a certain number of computers that cannot handle the upgrade to Win8.1.

So Sad - Image by: Jason Lander - Flickr
So Sad – Image by: Jason Lander – Flickr

About 10/18 Microsoft started receiving reports of the Windows Update pushed out to users was failing. Some of the problems have been tracked to driver issues. The update installs Windows basic divers that are simply not compatible with the hardware.

But, the problem extends beyond just driver compatibility. In some cases systems do not have the hardware to support the new software.

Additionally there is a problem that Microsoft has yet to figure out. 

Read more

Second Life News 2013-44 #2

by

Simon Linden  has put together a server maintenance release. This package is mostly bug fixes. There is a fix for BUG-4142 which has to do with a ‘parcel full’ error associated with vehicle region crossings. We are also told that some teams have some other ‘shinnies’ included in the package. But, for now those are secret.

Server Beta Meeting 2013-44
Server Beta Meeting 2013-44

There are some hits that something is going on with “Fitted Mesh”… that is what the Mesh Deformer does. So, is there something going on? Probably. But, we have no clues. In any case this is what we would call preparatory work. Nothing to see folks.

At this time they doubt the package will make it through QA in time for next week’s RC roll out. They expect it to make for the week after.

This means there is nothing to roll to the RC channel next week (45).

The current RC maintenance package will likely roll to the main grid next week. So, we will likely have a week with the same server software running on all channels of the grid in week 45. 

Read more

Oculus Rift & Cyan Worlds

by

If you have never played a Cyan Worlds made game you have missed out. They do highly immersive games with incredible graphics. When they made the hit game Myst, it pushed people to buy CD drives, which I understand were a ‘new thing’ at the time. People were blown away by the high quality graphics. … Read more

Second Life News 2013-44

by

There is stuff going on. But, there is not much in the way of news, at least that I find interesting. Also, I am distracted by RL work.

CtrlAltStudio Adds Interface for Oculus
CtrlAltStudio Adds Interface for Oculus

CtrlAltStudio has released a new Oculus viewer version that adds in some basic user interface controls. See: Alpha 4: Some Preliminary Rift UI in the CtrlAltStudio Viewer.

It looks like CtrlAltStudio is doing some good work. I will be interested to see what Linden Lab™ comes up with for a User Interface (UI) for Oculus Rift.

SL Server Update

The main channel is not being updated. Calab Linden provided the Deploys update this week. He did not make cler if there would be a wave of restarts are not. By the time you read this you’ll know if your region restarted or not. As yet (9:45AM PDT) I haven’t received a restart notice from my in-world home.

Read more

Virus Warning

by

I’m not big into virus warnings unless something radically changes. Well, it has. So, read up and rethink your backup strategies.

New Ransom Ware

There is a new style of ransom ware that has come to America. Europe has apparently been dealing with it for weeks. It is called Ransom Ware 2.0 or CryptoLocker.

To understand what Ransom Ware 2.0 is doing read: Destructive malware “CryptoLocker” on the loose – here’s what to do. It’s a bit techie.

As best I can tell, the program leaves your readable copies of files in place while it makes encrypted copies using strong encryption. When it finishes encrypting your files, it then erases your readable copies and displays an extortion notice. If things go as they planned, you will probably not notice a problem until you see the notice.

Read more