Today Patch Linden posted a small update about a new and improved version of the Linden Homes Security system which rolls out now. It’s packaged inside the Content Pack via the home rezzer Life Buoy or Mailox. Check it out 🙂
This new version now includes the following features…
1 Land Impact – You asked for it and here it is!
Menus – Now uses a dialog menu system to create and manage an access whitelist. NO MORE NOTECARD!
More Admins – You can name one or more people who will have permission to administer the security system.
Sky Alert  – If you are using the security system in a skybox, it can notify you when someone is hovering within 1000m for more than 15 seconds, even if they are not close enough to be ejected by the system.
On Thursday 18th July the Linden Endowment for the Arts Committee announced that the LEA regions in Second Life will be officially closing down at the end of August 2019. The LEA Land Grant was closed by Linden Lab back in January 2019. Just a small number of the committee stayed on to administer the LEA Core regions for the remaining grant commitments apparently. Those grants are now coming to an end and the decision has been made to shut down at the end of next month.
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The Committee of the Linden Endowment for the Arts regrets to inform residents of Second Life that the LEA regions will be closing at the end of August 2019.
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In November 2018, the Committee decided that the best way forward was for the members to step down, and allow Linden Lab to revamp or re-organise the program, with new members if they wished.
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At that time, the bi-annual Land Grant (the AIR regions) were shuttered. A small number of the Committee stayed on to administer the Core Regions until the remaining grant commitments ran their course. Those grants are now coming to an end, and therefore the LEA will be closed at the end of August 2019
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It will be sad to see the LEA program be closed down and it will be missed by the Second Life community. LEA was founded back in 2010 then had it’s first events in 2011. The arts community and Linden Lab have shared a successful venture (exhibitions, programs & events) over the years showcasing the very best arts on the grid. LEA inspired a huge number of people to participate over the years in promoting arts in Second Life.
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I think Linden Lab should start a brand new program after LEA closes next month to support the arts community showcase their amazing work. If the lab decide not to continue support then it would be very sad and a huge mistake. Today there are so many talented artists that would love the opportunity to showcase their work in Second Life.
Today the Firestorm team announced a brand new version (6.2.4.57588) of the well known Firestorm Viewer. This latest version is fully merged up to the 6.2.3 Linden code-base. See the full release notes here.
There are many new features including the EAM (Estate Access Management) tools, LMR (Love Me Render) containing rendering bug fixes, improvements to communications, inventory, appearance and much more. This new update means that version 5.0.11.53634 will be blocked from logging in to the Second Life grid in 3 weeks time.Â
New Change For SL & OpenSim UsersÂ
Second Life and OpenSim versions of the Firestorm viewer are no longer going to be joined together going forward starting in Firestorm 6.2.4.57588 which is now for Second Life only.
The Firestorm team will now issue updates for Second Life and OpenSim independently, There will be no need to worry about backwards compatibility in future versions.
We have reached a milestone in how we handle Open Simulator and Second Life binaries. In the past we have provided SL-only builds AND OpenSim-and-SL builds. This has always caused much confusion to our users, and for that reason—among many others—we have forked our code into two repositories. This means we can now issue updates for Second Life and updates for OpenSim independently of each other. It also makes it a lot easier for us to develop for Second Life without worrying about backwards compatibility with OpenSim, and to develop for OpenSim without concern about SL compatibility. Everyone wins!
No longer will the two be tied by release date or version numbers. Firestorm developer Beq Janus has been communicating with OpenSim developers and grid owners and has been working hard on OpenSim-specific issues for a future OpenSim Firestorm viewer update.
After the future OpenSim update:
There will be TWO install directories if you wish to install both binaries and log into both SL and OpenSim.
These will install independently from one another, will not share settings or cache, and therefore will not conflict with each other.
The Second Life dedicated viewer’s grid manager will only offer Agni and Aditi (SL main and beta grids).
The OpenSim dedicated viewer’s grid manager will NOT offer Second Life grids.
This is great news for both Second Life users and OpenSim users, and we are excited about the way we are moving forward.
Some of the things I like…
Advanced Region Info on World Map
IMPROVEMENT Advanced region info on the world map has been moved to a new row below the region name To enable/disable showing of the advanced map information: Preferences → Move & View → Map & Minimap → Show additional region information on World Map. When enabled, this option displays avatar count and maturity level for the region. Ansarirl Hiller
EAM – Estate Access Management Project
EAM improves the state of Estate Access Management! New features include:
New “Access” tab in the Region/Estate floater with sub-tabs for “Estate Managers”, “Allowed”, “Allowed Groups”, and “Banned”.
Search & Sort within each of the sub-tabs.
Recording banned date, banned by, and last login for each banned account. This feature is only available going forward.
Copy Banlist & Allowed-list.
Added a confirmation for adding or removing from a list.
More Estate Managers! We’ve upped the number from 10 to 15. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.
This update from Linden Lab adds retina display support on Mac, and has a variety of graphics-related fixes.
Note:Â For Mac displays with HiDPI support, retina display mode is disabled by default on Firestorm. Enabling HiDPI support will generally give you a sharper display but a lower frame rate.
If you want to enable HiDPI display, go to the preference settings page: Avatar → Preferences → Graphics → Hardware Settings, and tick the box Enable support for HiDPI displays (Mac OSX only, requires restart), then restart the viewer.
Graham Linden, Ruslan ProductEngine Tonya Souther – Firestorm implementation of HiDPI support for Mac
New Texture Refresh FunctionÂ
NEWÂ Added a Texture Refresh function to the inventory context menu for worn attachments. Added the ability to texture refresh via right click menu in inventory. This option is only available if the object is currently being worn and refreshes the texture of the worn object. Zi Ree
New Avatar Stop Animations button to ToolbarÂ
NEW Added Avatar Stop Animations button to Toolbar This feature was requested in FIRE-16256 Avatar → Toolbar Buttons → Stop Animations Patch contributed by Angeldark Raymaker
On Monday 8th July the new theme was officially announced for the 2020 Relay For Life of Second Life season. With 70% of the vote (166 votes) here it is…
GAME ON, CANCER! The Cure Starts Here!
The 2019 Relay For Life of Second Life season was amazing with $238,900 being raised. Well done for all those that participated and supported the 2019 season.
