August 23, 2011
Mesh: the roll-out
Inara Pey
Living in the Modem World
[POSTED 8:22PM PDT Aug 22, 2011] Rolling restarts for regions on the main Second Life server channel will be performed on Tuesday, August 23rd at approximately 5:00am PDT. Please make sure to save all builds and refrain from making purchases during this time.
Mesh: transformative? (w/thanks for Claudia222 Jewell)
With this simple notice, mesh commenced its roll-out to the remaining portion of the Main gird that has yet to see it (approximately 70%), as per the server release notes.So, assuming all goes well, the entire Main grid will be mesh enabled from today.
This isn’t the end of the mesh project, but really the beginning; thing’s are going to suddenly change overnight – it’s going to take time for mesh to make its presence felt, and as Linden Lab themselves admit, there will be further updates, revisions and improvements ahead.
As a result of this, we can doubtless expect the Beta “Viewer 3″ to go to full release status shortly (if not today as well), which brings with it mesh support with some added features.
For those wishing to see mesh, issues still remain: the code for rendering mesh objects has yet to be incorporated into a number of third-party 2.x Viewers, and it unclear as to whether the code can be backported into the 1.x code.
Read the rest of this article (and see an awesome video of mesh objects) at Inara Pey’s blog: Click here.
August 22, 2011
Life 2.0 to Premiere on OWN
2010 Documentary will be on the Oprah Winfrey Network
Jason Spingarn-Koff’s documentary, Life 2.0, is called “an intimate, character-based drama about people who look to a virtual world in search of something they are missing in their real lives.” This description, given at the website of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), is met with a mixture of skepticism, harsh judgment, disparaging anecdotes, and a few uplifting personal narratives.
“I was a stay at home mom with little contact with the outside world and I used Second Life as an escape,” says commenter BeatriceCerise, “but it taught me skills I needed to get out in the real world by letting me see how others in the world really were. I gained confidence from ‘acting’ confident. I learned to appreciate life more and it gave me courage to live the Real Life I wanted.”
Most commenters, however, seem genuinely confused about the sometimes-addictive appeal of life in a virtual reality. Many suggest that to do so is to ignore or deny actual reality. “SL is a waste of time for those of us who actually are capable of having a life,” comments one shadowx.
But those who have taken part in fundraisers for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life would beg to differ with the likes of shadowx. Over $300,000 USD has been raised for Relay for Life by Second Life residents.
Whether a proponent, opponent, or completely ignorant of Second Life altogether, one can watch the premiere of Life 2.0 on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on Thursday, August 25th, at 9PM Eastern/8PM Central.
August 3, 2011
Abbotts Aerodrome to Close Sept. 1st
Terra: “All good things come to an end.”
A 737 departs from Abbotts Aerodrome (Photo: Petal Windlow)
ABBOTTS – A Second Life institution that’s been around since February of 2004 is scheduled to close on September 1st.
Cubey Terra announced today on Twitter and at the SLUniverse forums that he plans to retire from Second Life and is looking for a potential buyer for the land and build.
“I’m just a very old and tired avatar,” said Terra on the forum.
The Abbotts Aerodrome was founded by Cubey Terra and Apotheus Silverman seven and a half years ago, and has since grown to encompass almost the entire Mainland sim of Abbotts. It features vintage aircraft, skydiving, regular flights to various mainland points, balloons, and much more.
Cubey Terra, known outside of Second Life as Steve Cavers, says that he intends to continue to make his products available on the Marketplace even after September 1st, but otherwise plans to close up shop and retire the trademarked name “Abbotts Aerodrome”.
The future of Abbotts beyond September 1st is yet unknown, but the public is urged to visit this piece of genuine Second Life history while it can be seen; the Destination Guide entry and link are behind the cut.
