I thought this was/is pretty neat.
[youtube 6ukMId5fIi0]
Firestorm Releases 4.4.1
About 21 hours ago the Firestorm blog announced the release of Firestorm Viewer version 4.4.1-34164. From the teams point of view this is a MUST UPDATE TO release. If you are running the newest version of Firestorm 4.4.0, you STILL need to update to the new viewer.
A number of users have reported problems with the 4.4.0 viewer that have kept them from using it. The team has made every effort they could in the time frame available to fix problem discovered in 4.4.0. They believe they have fixed the majority of problems blocking use of 4.4.0. So, 4.4.1 should work for you.
Digg Reader Beta Released
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.
[youtube 1dMxuPfd49w]
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.
CtrlAltStudio Viewer
I am always cautious when testing new viewers. I’ve taken time to ask around to see who knows Strachan Ofarrel or has heard of CtrlAltStudio Viewer. Basically: no one in my circle of friends.
You can find the support blog for the viewer here: CtrlAltStudio. There it shows the developer as David Rowe. I suppose that is a RL name.
The CtrlAltStudio blog has been around since March 2013. The rez-day for Strachan Ofarrel is in 2006.
None of this means the viewer is safe. We have had enough rip-off viewers that one has to be careful. I can’t say it is or is not safe.
The Next Ten in Second Life
Some bloggers have become frustrated with Second Life™. I hear them talking out the frustration by writing about how bad SL is, how dumb the Lab is, how SL is dying, it is all over… yadda, yadda, yaddda… Then there are the bloggers that write as if they know what the Lab should do. Of course none of those writers are making US$45+ million per year. So, lets take a look at some possibilities.
Hamlet has written several articles, I take as mostly objective, about what is wrong and right with SL. So, lets start with those.
- SL Insider: 70% of SLers Don’t Regularly Explore SL, But Mostly Stay in Their Last Logged-In Location.
- Second Life turns 10: what it did wrong, and why it may have its own second life.
Many feel SL is losing users, land, and popularity. I tend to agree with that thinking about losing users. But, that is sort of like saying a 600 mph (965 kph) car has been nerfed to death when it only runs 500 mph. It is still way faster than most people’s car.
Second Life Materials Bugs
I’m enjoying the new Materials enabled SL Viewer. But, some people are running into problems. Here is what’s coming up:
MATBUG-171 – Shiny objects or objects with reflections look shiny white. Description: When I activate the Advanced Lighting model in the viewer for the materials features, all shiny objects and objects appear shiny white as if glow was very high. — ATI Radeon HD 4870 OpenGL Engine 2.1 ATI-1.6.36