Windows 8.1 Upgrade

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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. 

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Second Life News 2013-44 #2

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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. 

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Oculus Rift & Cyan Worlds

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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. Looking at the near twenty-year old graphics the game looks a bit dated.

Claire Humme Concept Art for Obduction
Claire Humme Concept Art for Obduction

Even Uru (Myst Online: Uru Live) is looking dated. But, it is great fun to play.

Cyan Worlds has their Kickstarter for a their new game: Obduction. They have just added a new incentive for people to support the project. If they go over the target by $200,000, they will add Oculus Rift support.

Considering they are using the Unreal Engine for the game, the Oculus should provide an awesome immersive experience.

I think supporting Obduction will indirectly provide support for the Oculus. If you feel this would be a fun thing, join in here: Obduction.

Quoting from the project regarding the image above:

So this fellow looks like he’s taken the long way around. He seems fairly at home in some vaguely familiar clothing, but also appears to have picked up a few trinkets along the way. Many of which were probably not standard-Earth-issue. (Like those boots… source unknown!)

Second Life News 2013-44

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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.

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Virus Warning

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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.

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Cyan Worlds Obduction 2014-44

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Every so often Cyan is giving us an update on their new game. In less than two weeks the Kickstarter project has funded $628k of the targeted $1,100k. During that time we’ve now got eight updates on the project. The eighth update tells us we are already playing the Obduction game… or can be.

A previous hint...
A previous hint…

An email I received says:

Obduction has already begun! We’re not talking about the Kickstarter campaign, or even the game production – the actual gameplay has started.

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