Tuesday, January 22, 2013

SecondLife : Alternative Virtual Worlds : Is It Time To Move On ?

By Avatar JayR Cela

    I'm not really sure what to say here at this point. LL is sending out mixed messages, and as far as I can tell, some of the TPV's are as well, or just being downright, taking a *Screw You LL* attitude.

    Where this will eventually get the residents of SL ?  I have no idea :_)

     However I do think it is time to start talking to your Virtual Friends here in SL, and the people within your favorite groups, and prepare for the future.

    I have numerous friends experimenting with other VR Worlds based on the Open Sim Platform. So have I in the past, with mixed result's. SL is still the best.

    But for how long ?

JayR Cela

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

SecondLife : 3RG : An Interview With Tommy Parrott : Space Junky Returns To SL

By Avatar JayR Cela

    If you have been following this blog for a while you all ready know I am a huge fan of RL & SL musical group Space Junky.

    This is a really super hot and kick ass band, based in Australia, but they are right here from time to time in SecondLife too.

    Over the years I have become good friends with the band members, and Tommy Parrott, he is the wizard behind the fabulous light show the band put's on display.

    And we can not forget June Dion the owner of Bare Rose of Tokyo, a very cool SL fashion shop here in SL. She will be providing the venue

    So anyways this Friday I will be interviewing Tommy.

    I am kinda sad to inform you that this may be the band's last appearance here in SL, I think everyone is pretty much fed up with LL and the way to highly priced tier for something you do not even actually own. And very lame policies, coupled with screwball fit's of outrage at the fact that the official client software is not being used by the majority of long time residents, and ya got a perfect breeding spot for people to seek out various other Open Sim based grid's.

    So I guess a number of us will be going over to 3rd Rock Grid.

JayR Cela

Sunday, January 13, 2013

SecondLife : Confusion : Transition From UDP to HTTP Texture Fetching and Bake Fails

By Avatar JayR Cela

    I'm not sure if you have noticed it much lately, texture baking is tripping out,

 it really seem's to depend on the Sim Server, and what viewer you are using, or a combination of both. Come on, nothing is perfect, especially major back-end server and front end client code updates.

    Recently I have been reading about a lot of bitchy users, complaining about the Phoenix / Fitrstorm team's recent decision to no longer support the aged Phoenix Viewer.

     Look Phoenix is long in the tooth, and at this time it is absolute spaghetti code, full of more hack's and tossed together patches than most folk's can even comprehend.

     V1.x " Crap" It's A Dead Issue !!!!!

    At least in SL !  Give it up, if you want a V1.x  UI the solution is easy ( as long as you are not a complete idiot ) the Cool Viewer, and surprise surprise Cool VL is actually V3 based, it just looks like V1.x, So is the Singularity viewer ( although that project has not seen any relatively recent development since late last year )

    The thing that really piss's me off are the whiner's. will ya all please just move on, and stop pissing and moaning ! There are a number of excellent TPV SL viewers available for you to try.

    I do my best to keep a current, and easily available list of link's here.

    Stop your bitching -and - get with the program !

JayR Cela :_)

Friday, January 11, 2013

Second Life : Open Sim : An Interesting Post from Henri Beauchamp Creator of the Cool Viewer : Regarding Server Side Baking

By Avatar JayR Cela

    I got an interesting ping from Herni today about his back-porting Server Side Baking into his V1.x based Cool Viewer. I don't know how this guy does it, but he seem's to be continually Upping LL at its own game, and telling them I Told Ya So ! / LOL :_)

    Ya gotta read this for yourself in order to get the full just of what he is talking about. And also be sure to check out the link on the Dev. Channel E-mails.

http://sldev.free.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&p=4917#p4917

https://lists.secondlife.com/pipermail/opensource-dev/2012-December/009425.html

JayR Cela :_)

SecondLife : A Talk With Hitomi Tiponi About The StarLight Skin

By Avatar JayR Cela

    I have taken a look several times at the StarLight skin for the stock LL SL viewer, over the past year or so it has gradually been refined with more customization capabilities for your choice of color schemes. And it is now built right into the current version of the FireStorm Viewer as well, thereby eliminating the need of installing it yourself.

    I took a few screenshots yesterday, and had a conversation with Hitomi Tiponi, creator of the StarLight skin. She has graciously allowed me to print that here for you today.













      The first 4 pics. are from the current SL beta viewer, stock versus modified. Which is OK, but I am not a fan of the official LL viewer at all, and it requires installation. I am a huge FireStorm fan, so the fact that it's a built in feature is very cool.











    Anyways, here is our conversation.


[2013/01/07 17:56]  JayR Cela: :_)
[2013/01/10 18:17]  Hitomi Tiponi: Hi there Jay
[2013/01/10 18:17]  JayR Cela: hi there Hitomi :_)
[2013/01/10 18:17]  Hitomi Tiponi: now was the time for the interview?
[2013/01/10 18:17]  JayR Cela: i'm running a lil bit behind schedule right now :(.........
[2013/01/10 18:18]  Hitomi Tiponi: np
[2013/01/10 18:18]  Hitomi Tiponi: have a very slow broadband connection - about 300kps
[2013/01/10 18:18]  JayR Cela: it should not be long
[2013/01/10 18:18]  Hitomi Tiponi: so may crash at any time
[2013/01/10 18:18]  JayR Cela: ouch !!! 300
[2013/01/10 18:19]  Hitomi Tiponi: yes - the local mobile broadband mast is running over capacity
[2013/01/10 18:20]  JayR Cela: are you on a note book or a tablet ?
[2013/01/10 18:20]  Hitomi Tiponi: on a desktop
[2013/01/10 18:20]  Hitomi Tiponi: but only have mobile connection here
[2013/01/10 18:20]  JayR Cela: ahhhh :(
[2013/01/10 18:21]  Hitomi Tiponi: it's a hot day here today so everyone is either at the beach or hiding indoors on the internet it seems
[2013/01/10 18:23]  JayR Cela: we had a snow storm here last week / haa-haaa :_)
[2013/01/10 18:23]  Hitomi Tiponi: a bit of a contrast
[2013/01/10 18:25]  JayR Cela: yeah / that's how i broke my wrist / slipped on some ice
[2013/01/10 18:25]  Hitomi Tiponi: ahh yes - is that recovering well?
[2013/01/10 18:28]  JayR Cela: well I had surgery yesterday, it went well, stainless stele plate and 12 screws / LOL / Wow did it HURT Last Night /once the drugs wore off / LOL :_)))))
[2013/01/10 18:28]  Hitomi Tiponi: can imagine that would hurt - 12 screws is a lot
[2013/01/10 18:29]  Hitomi Tiponi: will set off all the metal detectors now
[2013/01/10 18:30]  JayR Cela: haaa-haaa-ha / yeah i was just saying that to my brother, he dropped by for a visit
[2013/01/10 18:31]  JayR Cela: so any way's I tried the Dec. 8 version of Starlight today......
[2013/01/10 18:32]  Hitomi Tiponi: the one for 3.4.3?
[2013/01/10 18:32]  JayR Cela: the blue and silver is easy on the eyes and look's very nice
[2013/01/10 18:32]  JayR Cela: for the SL Beta download
[2013/01/10 18:32]  Hitomi Tiponi: I tend to rotate through them myself - I am using Orb Red at the moment - is simple and striking
[2013/01/10 18:33]  Hitomi Tiponi: ahh yes - the 3.4.4 Beta
[2013/01/10 18:33]  JayR Cela: i have to admit as to never trying your skins in FireStorm yet :(
[2013/01/10 18:34]  Hitomi Tiponi: They are similar to the normal ones for the LL viewer but in some cases the features are from FS instead - and of course all the usual FS goodies are there
[2013/01/10 18:36]  JayR Cela: yeah / it took me about 7 or 8 months to switch over from Phoenix to FireStorm on a full time basis
[2013/01/10 18:37]  Hitomi Tiponi: It does take time to become familiar with where stuff has gone
[2013/01/10 18:37]  JayR Cela: so....
[2013/01/10 18:39]  JayR Cela: I'm just looking at the preferences skin settings now. Is there a blue and silver skin available ?
[2013/01/10 18:39]  JayR Cela: ?
[2013/01/10 18:39]  Hitomi Tiponi: yes - called silver blue
[2013/01/10 18:39]  JayR Cela: awwww / LOL ok let me give this a try
[2013/01/10 18:40]  Hitomi Tiponi: there are eight in total:
[2013/01/10 18:41]  JayR Cela: ok kool / i'm looking
[2013/01/10 18:41]  Hitomi Tiponi: silver blue and pink, nostalgia blue, original orange and teal, mono teal and orb blue and red
[2013/01/10 18:42]  Hitomi Tiponi: and of course the two Custom themes Custom Light and Custom Dark
[2013/01/10 18:42]  Hitomi Tiponi: have you tried those?
[2013/01/10 18:43]  JayR Cela: no i have not / i looking for silver
[2013/01/10 18:43]  Hitomi Tiponi: you will have to relog to run it
[2013/01/10 18:43]  JayR Cela: found it :_)
[2013/01/10 18:43]  JayR Cela: ok I'll BRB
[2013/01/10 18:46]  Hitomi Tiponi: (Saved Thu Jan 10 21:44:01 2013)the custom skins are the fanciest
[2013/01/10 18:47]  Hitomi Tiponi: wb Jay
[2013/01/10 18:47]  JayR Cela: i'm back / i must of done something wrong / it didn't take .....
[2013/01/10 18:48]  Hitomi Tiponi: you have to relog after changing - it says requires restart underneath
[2013/01/10 18:48]  Hitomi Tiponi: try again
[2013/01/10 18:50]  JayR Cela: yeah / i'm pretty sure I did it correctly / mabye I missed a step / I'll try again
[2013/01/10 18:50]  JayR Cela: :_)
[2013/01/10 18:51]  JayR Cela: ahhhh / /LOL I forgot to click the Apply button / :_))))
[2013/01/10 18:54]  Hitomi Tiponi: better?
[2013/01/10 18:54]  JayR Cela: oh yeah this looks really kool
[2013/01/10 18:55]  Hitomi Tiponi: kool blue :)
[2013/01/10 18:56]  JayR Cela: Matthew Linden use to have meetings here when this basic color scheme first came out / I like it
[2013/01/10 18:57]  JayR Cela: yeah this works really good / is extremely easy to change skins
[2013/01/10 18:57]  Hitomi Tiponi: you should try the custom ones - then you can have any color you want
[2013/01/10 18:58]  JayR Cela: so you like the kool or cool blue the best ?
[2013/01/10 18:58]  Hitomi Tiponi: i like them all - tend to rotate around them
[2013/01/10 18:59]  Hitomi Tiponi: I think silver pink is the most popular but am only guessing
[2013/01/10 18:59]  JayR Cela: lol / kool :_))))
[2013/01/10 19:02]  JayR Cela: yeah / I recall a message I sent to you about the Silver Pink / LOL a long time ago / it defiantly  has the younger girly look / kool :_)
[2013/01/10 19:04]  Hitomi Tiponi: it seems popular - the blogger for fashion blog JuicyBomb uses it
[2013/01/10 19:04]  JayR Cela: wow !!! that's great
[2013/01/10 19:05]  JayR Cela: ya know I just do not like the standard LL Viewer or the Beta.....
[2013/01/10 19:06]  JayR Cela: I feel like I am crippled trying to do things ...
[2013/01/10 19:06]  JayR Cela: it is a horribley designed UI
[2013/01/10 19:07]  Hitomi Tiponi: It's not too bad - just has some rough edges
[2013/01/10 19:07]  Hitomi Tiponi: the work that the CHUI project is doing should help a lot
[2013/01/10 19:07]  Hitomi Tiponi: makes chat so much better
[2013/01/10 19:09]  JayR Cela: yeah / it's in FireStorm's nightly builds / but I did not see it on the LL SL Beta
[2013/01/10 19:09]  Hitomi Tiponi: it is a seperate project viewer
[2013/01/10 19:09]  JayR Cela: i like it too
[2013/01/10 19:09]  Hitomi Tiponi: and the project welcomes feedback - and actually seems to take some notice
[2013/01/10 19:10]  JayR Cela: oh is that OZ ?
[2013/01/10 19:10]  Hitomi Tiponi: ohh - didn't know it was in FS nightly - need to get back uptodate with that
[2013/01/10 19:10]  Hitomi Tiponi: no - it is a seperate team - Grumpity is on it and she always seems sensible
[2013/01/10 19:11]  Hitomi Tiponi: Oz isn't a designer - don't let himn design anything!
[2013/01/10 19:11]  JayR Cela: oh wow / i was wondering what happened to her...
[2013/01/10 19:11]  JayR Cela: is WolfPup back too ?
[2013/01/10 19:12]  Hitomi Tiponi: not seen Woolfpup
[2013/01/10 19:12]  JayR Cela: yeah me either :(
[2013/01/10 19:14]  Hitomi Tiponi: just checking the CHUI - can't remember the Linden doing the work - Grumpity seems to handle the JIRA stuff
[2013/01/10 19:16]  JayR Cela: ya know that the official LL User Groups have been cut back to only 4 Lindens and 5 meetings a week recently ?
[2013/01/10 19:17]  Hitomi Tiponi: know they have been shrinking for a while
[2013/01/10 19:17]  Hitomi Tiponi: so that will be Oz, Maestro, Content Creation and another
[2013/01/10 19:17]  JayR Cela: yep :(
[2013/01/10 19:18]  JayR Cela: say I just noticed something with the Camera Controls ....
[2013/01/10 19:18]  Hitomi Tiponi: ahh yes Servr/Scripting is the other one
[2013/01/10 19:19]  JayR Cela: not displaying the FireStorm buttons
[2013/01/10 19:19]  Hitomi Tiponi: which do you mean?
[2013/01/10 19:19]  JayR Cela: firestorm specific buttons
[2013/01/10 19:19]  Hitomi Tiponi: well that is because that has specific code behind it
[2013/01/10 19:19]  Hitomi Tiponi: cannot do that with just skinning
[2013/01/10 19:20]  JayR Cela: ahhhh
[2013/01/10 19:20]  JayR Cela: is there a work a round to that ? ......
[2013/01/10 19:21]  Hitomi Tiponi: what do the firestorm buttons do - can't remember
[2013/01/10 19:21]  JayR Cela: being partially dissabled those are very useful for me
[2013/01/10 19:21]  Hitomi Tiponi: what do they do?
[2013/01/10 19:23]  JayR Cela: they offer the standard / and 3 different views / front / rear / side ~ and then a camera focus button for tracking
[2013/01/10 19:25]  Hitomi Tiponi: if you press the left hand button on  the top you can select from the three different views as in the LL viewer normally
[2013/01/10 19:26]  JayR Cela: ahhh / I cant stand using that viewer / FS has spoiled me / LOL :_)
[2013/01/10 19:27]  Hitomi Tiponi: is only an extra click - and generally most people don't use them much
[2013/01/10 19:27]  JayR Cela: oh well / I do :_)
[2013/01/10 19:28]  Hitomi Tiponi: will have to get back to doing stuff in rl soon Jay
[2013/01/10 19:28]  Hitomi Tiponi: is early afternoon here
[2013/01/10 19:28]  JayR Cela: ok / thanks for taking the time for this interview ...
[2013/01/10 19:28]  Hitomi Tiponi: np
[2013/01/10 19:29]  JayR Cela: i got a few picture and our chat / i'll put it together this weekend *bigg huggs* / byeeee :_)
[2013/01/10 19:30]  Hitomi Tiponi: ok - give the custom skin a try.  Am sure you will like it
[2013/01/10 19:30]  Hitomi Tiponi: bye for now Jay
[2013/01/10 19:30]  Hitomi Tiponi: and no more slipping on ice
[2013/01/10 19:30]  JayR Cela: ok kool / i will :_)


    So there ya have it, I can defiantly recommend the StarLight Skin to anyone looking to add a little pizzazz to either the official LL SL viewer or FireStorm. Have fun.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Viewer_Skins/Starlight

JayR Cela :_)

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

SecondLife : 24/7 Avatars : Useless Former Friends

By Avatar JayR Cela

    Have you ever noticed certain people on your friends list that just never seem to go away, or answer your IM's ? I refer to them as the 24/7 crowd of idiot's too stupid to turn off their computers.

    Is it an evil LL plot, or are these folk's just dumb-ass's ?

JayR Cela :_)

Monday, January 7, 2013

Virtual Worlds : Coming Up : A One To One Talk With Hitomi Tiponi : Creator Of The StarLight Skin

By Avatar JayR Cela

    Well later on this week I will be sitting down with someone that has been rather behind the scenes helping the TPV community in SL to bring Viewer 3 technology to the average user.

     Lets face it the Stock LL~SL Viewer really is a mess, it is beyond me how the lab can ever attempt or hope to attract new users with it. But that is another story.

    If you are unfamiliar with Hitomi, she seems to sit quietly behind the scenes contributing many of the new features available in the SL Third Party Viewers, and the official LL version as well.

     This should prove to be an interesting conversation, I have so many question's for her.

     For those of you following this blog, as you know my RL health is failing, I'm doing what I can to keep things going. I just want to say, * Thank You*

     I'll be back / LOL

JayR Cela :_)

*Bigg Huggs* :_)