Bright Canopy launches

Bright Canopy launched Saturday 29th August 2015 and the new service offers Second Life streaming services for $17 per month with a 14 day trail period. You can use either the official Second Life Viewer of the Firestorm Viewer to access Second Life via web browser.

Since April 2015 it’s been invitation only and now its ready for everyone to use it after months of testing. To find out your account type, your account plan, billing information and system specs click on your name top right for options.

Lets spread the word about new service, Bright Canopy. It’s time to run Second Life in your web browser today! 🙂

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SS Galaxy is back and open to the public

SS Galaxy as of 29th August 2015

Great news to hear is that the SS Galaxy is back and open to the public according to Inara Pey’s blog. However it’s still a work in progress if you visit today and it may look rather empty at the moment. Hopefully there will be an official event soon when the ship is completed. I can’t wait! 🙂

In the months ahead more details will be added to the ship and the staterooms are set to be decorated. There will be a hot air balloon tour, swan boats, tables, new art, cinema and food in the dining areas with much more planned soon.

There was an agreement made recently for Linden Lab to take over the running of the ship and to keep it remaining in Second Life. If this didn’t happen then the ship would be no longer be around.

• Teleport Here 

I’ll be blogging more when I hear more about the SS Galaxy. This is a good start in the right direction after months of silence in terms of updates. If you are interested, then teleport over to the ship and explore around.

Linden Lab reduces cost of monthly Premium subscriptions and ends VAT for Premium subscriptions

Linden Lab have announced today on the Second Life Official Blog with immediate effect that they are reducing the standard cost of a monthly Premium subscription down to $9.50 a month and ending the VAT charge for Premium subscriptions.

This sounds like a good way forward to me and i’m sure many will be happy to see their annual subscriptions reduced. I would imagine there will be more upgrades in the weeks ahead from having a basic account to a premium subscription.

Premium Membership Benefits

• Own your private Linden Home
• Access to Premium only sandboxes / adult only areas
• Linden dollar rewards
• Live chat support
• Exclusive virtual goods
• And more!

Here is the blog announcement announcing the new changes…

Being Premium comes with many perks, including a weekly L$ stipend, more privacy with a Linden Home, exclusive gifts and experiences, and now, live chat with the Concierge Support team at Linden Lab.

If you missed your chance to take advantage of our recent 50% off monthly Premium Membership offer – there’s no reason to worry! Now, we’re reducing the standard cost of a monthly Premium subscription to just $9.50 a month.Enjoy all the benefits of Premium Membership for less!

We will also no longer charge VAT for Premium subscriptions. If you live in a region where VAT applies, this means an effective savings in some countries of more than 20% below what you would have previously paid!

Find out more about the benefits of going Premium and upgrade your account here.

What do you think of this announcement ?

Share your views in comments! 🙂 

BURN2 DMV Event 2015 featuring racing, dance party and fireworks

View of the racing track at BURN2 2015 

On Saturday 29th August 2015 starting at 10am SLT there will be a fun day of racing, a dance party and fireworks happening at the Burning Man – Deep Hole region in Second Life. The DMV has built a 8 track on the Playa and the team have set up rezzers around the region with 25 different vehicles to choose from.

Lets go crazy and race! 😀

Here is the schedule (SLT/PDT)

• 10:00am – OPEN RACING
• 11:15am – Mother Clucker -12 Laps
• 11:30am – OPEN RACING
• 12:45pm – Chariot Challenge -12 Laps
• 1:00pm – OPEN RACING
• 2:15pm – Licker’d Up Limited -12 Laps
• 2:30pm – OPEN RACING
• 3:45pm – Costume Feature -12 Laps (Race in a favorite costume!)
• 4:00pm – OPEN RACING
• 5:15pm – Barnyard Bonanza -12 Laps
• 5:30pm – BurnerBus Blitzkrieg -12 Laps
• 5:45pm – OPEN RACING
• 6:30pm – Costume Feature -12 Laps
• 6:45pm – Dance Party & Fireworks

Stay updated on the latest BURN2 – Second Life updates here.

 

Press Release: Team Diabetes of Second Life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Formation of Team Diabetes of Second Life

Website: www.teamdiabetesofsl.org

In World Location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Plush%20Non%20Profit%20Commons/221/30/26/

We are pleased to announce the formation of Team Diabetes of Second Life! Team Diabetes of Second Life is an official and authorized team of The American Diabetes Association. The mission of Team Diabetes of Second Life is to raise awareness, tolerance, and funds for diabetes in the virtual world of Second Life.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2014, diabetes was estimated to be among 9% of all adults (18 and up) worldwide and by 2030, diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death.

Team Diabetes of Second Life was founded by Jessii2009 Warrhol and Johannes1977 Resident. The organization will function in the form of an advisory board, with a coordinator leading the Team Diabetes of Second Life effort. The 2015 Team Diabetes of Second Life Coordinator is Jessii2009 Warrhol and the 2015 Team Diabetes of Second Life Advisory Board Members are: Johannes1977 Resident, Emma Portilo, Veruca Tammas, Sandie Loxingly, Rob Fenwitch, and Earth Nirvana. Saiyge Lotus is a special advisor to the advisory board.

The official Team Diabetes of Second Life season will take place from November 2015 to February 2016, with the following events planned:

• Off Season Event – October 1 to October 15, 2015 – Fall Second Life Showcase
• Official Season – November 1 2015 to February 15, 2015
• November 1 – Team Diabetes of Second Life Season Begins
• Entire Month of November – National Diabetes Month
• Entire Month of November – Team Diabetes Red Hunt
• November 4 to 14 – Art in Hats
• December 1 to 15 – Winter Second Life Showcase
• December 1 to 30 – Windlight Magazine’s Art Showcase
• January 2016 – TBD – Tour de SL Bike Race
• February 2016 – Team Diabetes Heart Ball

In addition to the events mentioned above, individuals, businesses, and organizations are encouraged to hold fundraising events in support of Team Diabetes of Second Life! An official fundraising toolkit will be available to the Second Life Public on September 1, 2015 at the organization’s office in Nonprofit Commons.

About The American Diabetes Association:
The American Diabetes Association’s mission is to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of all people affected by diabetes. The American Diabetes Association leads the fight against the deadly consequences of diabetes and fights for those affected by diabetes by funding research to prevent, cure, and manage diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association delivers services to hundreds of communities and provides objective and credible information and resources about diabetes.

Free resources are available in English and Spanish at http://www.diabetes.org and 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383).

The American Diabetes Association is currently celebrating its 75th year in existence! For the 75th anniversary, the American Diabetes Association is honoring decades of progress in diabetes treatment, management and quality of life, and our role in these advancements.

– See more at: http://www.diabetes.org/about-us/75th-anniversary

For More Information:

• www.teamdiabetesofsl.org
• http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?px=11304578&pg=personal&fr_id=10000 (Official Team Diabetes of SL American Diabetes Association Online Page)
• www.diabetes.org
• www.artinhats.com
• http://www.idf.org/membership/meet-our-members (website to find international assistance with diabetes research, prevention, and general information)

Upcoming RFL of SL events for 2015 and 2016

Recently the Relay For Life of Second Life website was revamped and improved. The 2015 Relay season wrapped up on Sunday 16th August 2015 and again the season was a huge success from start to end.

I really enjoyed attending RFL events during the season and well done to everyone that made it a great season. I’m looking forward to the events left in 2015 and the 2016 RFL of SL season.

Here are the latest updates as of 21st August 2015…

RFL of SL Events still left in 2015

• Making Strides Against Breast Cancer: October 2015 – for more details IM Leala Spire
• Xmas Expo: December 2015 – for more details IM Nuala Maracas
• 2015 Events List – New calendar of upcoming events for RFL

2016 RFL of SL Events (TBC)

• No set dates have been announced for the RFL mega events and special events happening during 2016.

RFL of SL 2016 Season

• Kickoff Date: Sunday 6th March 2016
• Relay Weekend: Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th July 2016
• Wrap Up: Sunday 14th August 2016
• Theme: Once Upon A Cure

Keep checking the RFL of SL website for new updates and events. Here are some of my favourite snapshots from the 2015 RFL of SL season.

RFL of SL 2015 season starts

RFL Halfway Event

RFL of SL 2015 – Relay Weekend

More RFL of SL snapshots can be found here.

Bright Canopy launches 29th August 2015 at $17 per month

Bright Canopy will be launching on Saturday 29th August 2015 at a single monthly subscription of $17 per month for the first 90 days at least, The beta test and pre release phrases are done. There will be a launch party to celebrate this special milestone soon after the 29th August.

Bright Canopy will be the successor to the SL Go from Onlive and hopefully the service will last for years to come. During the alpha and beta phrase Google Chrome was apparently the preferred browser to access Bright Canopy. The new streaming service will allow users from around the world on low-end computers to access the Second Life platform and OpenSim grids.

If you are interested in Bright Canopy then sign up here today.

Here is the official announcement about the launch of Bright Canopy….

After much work and preparation and tremendous help from the community testing our offering, we are proud to announce the launch of the full Bright Canopy service.

LAUNCH DATE: August 29th

EARLY BIRD PRICE: $17 per month*

BRING A FRIEND: Sign-up a friend and both you, and your friend, earn free time.

EAST COAST CLOUD: We will also be adding a brand-new, US. East Coast cloud, for faster ping times!

We want to focus on service during launch, but we will be having a launch party to celebrate once the dust settles. You can look forward to music fun and special give-aways.

* Our early bird price is going to be an experiment for 90 days. If you’ve been following the blog, you know we’ve seen price fluctuations on the back-end, and we still need to watch actual usage of the service. $17 is a sustainable price if the instance costs return to their typical, historical values. It is not a sustainable price with the current spike in instance price. We may need to get creative with how we split instances, or we may need to raise prices. We intend to remain transparent as always and will keep you posted. Our goal is to continue to maintain a sustainable, affordable service.

Will you be signing up to Bright Canopy and trying it out ? 

Firestorm Viewer 4.7.3.47323 Released

On 18th August 2015 the Firestorm team announced a new version of the Firestorm Viewer 4.7.3.47323. This is a major release including Experience Tools, Project Layer Limits, the return of the Linux 64-bit build, Attachment Fixes, Viewer Managed Marketplace, Bug Fixes and much more.

I would imagine soon Firestorm Viewer versions 4.6.1 and 4.6.5 will be blocked, stay tuned for an announcement in the weeks ahead. It’s worth doing a clean install for this latest Firestorm Viewer release for the best results.

• For a complete list please visit the Firestorm Viewer Release Notes page.
• Download Firestorm Viewer 4.7.3.47323 Here

Here are some snapshots of the new changes in 4.7.3.47323, see below.

Updated Experience floaters – you can check Experiences that have been either allowed, blocked or owned. Also land owners can display info on Experiences running on the region.

Click the << / >> button to switch between the large and small previews when taking a snapshot

 

Click the << / >> button to switch between the large and small previews when taking a snapshot

Marketplace Listings added to the Avatar drop down menu

A new Hover Height option has added to the Quick Preference panel

Text Mode – disables the 3D rendering and allows Firestorm to be used as a text viewer for low-end pcs

Top Bar – now has new options and renames

What do you think of the Firestorm Viewer 4.7.3.47323 release ?

 

 

 

Linden Lab announces Project Sansar closed alpha

On Tuesday 18th August 2015 Linden Lab officially announced a press release saying that a “small number of creators have been exclusively invited to be the first to help test its new platform for virtual experiences”.  It’s good to know that the ball is starting to roll on Project Sansar now and it’s going to be exciting when Project Sansar goes into the Beta/Public phrase.

There is a small group of initial creators helping test Project Sansar that will be creating 3D content using Autodesk’s Maya® software and will then export their creations to the new platform. Project Sansar will support third-party creation tools and building options so that creators can work with their favourite software.

Ebbe Altberg says in the press release that “We want to lower the barrier of entry for VR experience creation” and this sounds like a good start to me. 🙂

“Project Sansar will allow creators at all levels to focus on realizing their creative visions, without having to worry about issues such as hosting and distribution, multi-user access and communication systems, virtual currency and regulatory compliance, and other challenges associated with creating, sharing, and monetizing virtual experiences today.”

In the months ahead Linden Lab will invite more creators and content partners to Project Sansar as the testing continues. Linden Lab will be recruiting engineers to join the team for Project Sansar. Project Sansar will be become more available to the general public in 2016 and that’s going to be most interesting when that happens.

Here is the full press release on Project Sansar closed alpha,,,

SAN FRANCISCO – August 18, 2015 –Linden Lab®, the creators of Second Life®, today announced that a small number of creators have been exclusively invited to be the first to help test its new platform for virtual experiences, codenamed Project Sansar.

Slated for general availability in 2016, Project Sansar will democratize virtual reality as a creative medium. It will empower people to easily create, share, and monetize their own multi-user, interactive virtual experiences, without requiring engineering resources. The platform will enable professional-level quality and performance with exceptional visual fidelity, 3D audio, and physics simulation. Experiences created with Project Sansar will be optimized for VR headsets like the Oculus Rift, but also accessible via PCs and (at consumer launch) mobile devices. Users can explore and socialize within Project Sansar experiences through advanced expressive avatars, using text and voice chat.

Drawing on more than 12 years of unique experience running Second Life, the largest-ever user-created virtual world, Linden Lab will make it fun and easy for Project Sansar users to create social VR experiences, eliminating the complicated challenges that today limit the medium to professional developers with significant resources. Project Sansar will allow creators at all levels to focus on realizing their creative visions, without having to worry about issues such as hosting and distribution, multi-user access and communication systems, virtual currency and regulatory compliance, and other challenges associated with creating, sharing, and monetizing virtual experiences today.

“We want to lower the barrier of entry for VR experience creation,” said Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab. “Project Sansar will do for virtual experiences what WordPress has done for the Web: empower a broad range of people to create with professional quality and reach global audiences. By greatly expanding who can create virtual experiences, Project Sansar will also extend the value of VR to a wide variety of use-cases — from gaming and entertainment to education, architecture, art, community-building, business meetings, healthcare, conferences, training, and more.”

The small group of initial creators invited to help test Project Sansar will create 3D content using Autodesk’s Maya® software and will export their creations to the new platform. At consumer launch, Project Sansar will support a variety of third-party creation tools as well as native building options, so that creators can work with their preferred software.

In the coming months, Linden Lab will welcome additional creators and content partners to Project Sansar as new features are added to the platform and testing expands.

Linden Lab is also currently recruiting talented engineers to join the team developing Project Sansar. More information about working for Linden Lab, current positions, and applications can be found at lindenlab.com/careers.

About Linden Lab

Founded in 1999, Linden Lab is best known as the creator of Second Life, the largest-ever 3D virtual world filled entirely by the creations of its users. In 2013, the company expanded its product portfolio with Blocksworld®, a lighthearted build-and-play system on the iPad for kids and grownups alike. The company is currently developing a new platform for virtual experiences, code-namedProject Sansar, which will democratize VR as a creative medium.

For more about Linden Lab, its products, and career opportunities please visit LindenLab.com.

Reached 25, 000 snapshots milestone on Flickr

 

On Sunday 16th August 2015 I reached the 25, 000 snapshots milestone on Flickr and it’s amazing to think what I’ve captured over the years in Second Life.

I started to upload snapshots to Flickr way back in June 2007 and since then it’s been a great journey. I hope that my Flickr stream will serve as an amazing historical record to look back on in the years ahead.

In total my Flickr stream has been viewed 1, 734, 418 times since 2007 which is amazing and I plan to continue sharing for many more years to come.

View my SL Flickr stream here