Tools and Technology

[#1]

Today we launched Viewer 2.5, now out of Beta. The most significant update is a new, web-based profile system, which allows profiles to be viewed and edited both on the web and in the Viewer. For example, here's mine. Please note this is just a starting point for the web-based profiles; we’ll be doing a lot of work to refine the usability and make them richer over time.

In response to your feedback from the early beta versions of Viewer 2.5, we've added some privacy settings that will allow you to control just how public your profile is. Once you’ve logged in, click on “Privacy Settings” in the upper right corner of your profile. Group settings set in the Viewer will be overridden by these group privacy settings.

• "Everyone" means that the information is available to the whole Internet and can be picked up by search engines.
• "Second Life" means that the information is available to all Second Life Residents who are logged into the website or inworld. This is the default for all existing Residents using Viewer 2.5.
• "Friends" means that only your Second Life friends can see the information on the web and inworld.

This is why we have a beta process--to address concerns and improve your user experience. We will continue to iterate as we get more feedback. Thank you for all your help and comments. Please attend the Viewer 2 User Group meetings if you would like to share your thoughts and feedback directly with me and the Snowstorm team.

Viewer 2.5 also has some other new features. The one I like best is that you can now have your Favorite landmarks also appear on the login screen, so that you can log directly into your favorite locations. Torley made a video about this, so check it out! We've also improved some texturing performance and fixed another batch of bugs. Watching the internal data, we've already seen a noticeable improvement in stability and performance--on par with Viewer 1.23.

Download Viewer 2.5, try it out, and keep the feedback coming! And, if you Twitter, please use the hashtag #slviewer2.

Helpful Links

• Download Viewer 2.5:
  • Windows | Mac | Linux
• Viewer 2.5 Release Notes
• SL Forum on Viewer 2
• SL Answers on Viewer 2

[#2]

Other than nomenclature, are there any differences between this release and the latest beta version? (Second Life 2.5.0 (220251) Feb  2 2011 15:18:59)

[#3]

meh

[#4]

/me wonders why this webprofile thingy isn't linked from/to the Dashboard pages? If one would follow normal website menu setup rules you'd expect to edit your stuff from your Dashboard page.

[#5]

I hope this one has the fix of:

The ubber annoying bug

[#6]

It just keeps getting better.

Keep up the good work.

[#7]

I don't see the point of the web profile. It seems completely useless

[#8]

Would now be a bad time to mention that the in SL web browser engine is dead dog slow, or should I have mentioned that when you guys switched to a browser engine based search interface (you know .. the one thats soooo popular and a key reason why we're all not using V2).

You have hobbled my ability to use profiles in favor of something that makes for pretty screenshots.

TLR - It's to slow and clunky, make FASTER.

[#9]

I don't see the point of the web profile. It seems completely useless

The point is, you can be searched on the web, not just inside SL. For networking, it's a huge plus.

[#10]

You can also have more than one open at a time.

[#11]

Also not really happy with the web based profiles. Load too slow.

Oh? 4 seconds isn't bad at all considering....

[#12]

You can also have more than one open at a time.

I also like that no profile is hidden.

Now where's that broom...

[#13]

Favourite LMs on login do NOT work for me.

I even deleted my favourites and add them new... nothing. Pity.. would be a great feature, but not working.

Also not really happy with the web based profiles. Load too slow.

Too much inconsitency with the sidebar!!!! You need someone, who really think about the GUI. You have a side bar with a tab to your profile. Great. And what is now...? Some examples:

This tab is only there for opening ANOTHER window??? So you cluttered all again, you try to organize with the sidebar.

Managing your picks. What happended.. it leads you from the profile window again to your sidebar. What!!! O_o

I have to say it is messed up again. PLEASE think about consistency when doing the interface of the viewer.

Not to mention search window still closes after TP. And "go to last query" doesn't work right.

I am really one of the "early adopters" of viewer 2. But this things really make me angry. A bit.. at least.

ADDITION:
everytime when I want to see someone's profile it switches to mine. Have to click again, then it works.

No, I am not happy at all.

[#14]

Accessing Favorite LM's on the login screen requires you to enable it on the Privacy tab in preferences (since it would let someone at your computer see your favorite LM's before they enter your user name/pw).

[#15]

Of course I did check all needed checkboxes. In General tab also as in Privacy tab.

Still does not work.

[#16]

ECK! Thats what I mean!

Former profiles you saw immediately. Web based profiles are SLOW.

[#17]

What a great un-feature. I know everyone in SL has been begging for this. LL, instead of improving your lines of communication, would you please just work on making your game more reliable please? When the odds of an avatar loading correctly are somewhere around 50% it gets a little stupid. How come WoW is so polished and enjoyable? Why can't you do that? I love SL, but I just want it to work, not more un-features like these profiles.

Also how come Activision Blizzard can remake the entire world of Azeroth in a year, and you guys started working on stability 2 years ago and items from the marketplace still don't deliver all the time; people walk around without knowing their skin hasn't loaded; inventories fail to load. This is all backend stuff.

I have no huge issue with the profiles, but if you insist on them, three ideas for changes:

1) Load in 0.1 seconds. If Google can do it, so can you. I have faith.
2) Integrated better in world like old profiles were, 'webpage hovering in middle of nowhere' is tacky.
3) Able to upload profile picture from in world photos like with OLD profile.

Note: I use SL for hours everyday, I see these bugs a lot.

[#18]

Wonderful. now how do I turn these stupid, worthless web profiles off?

It's amazing how I'm losing half of my attachments when i teleport and half the time everybody's name is still ??? but the GENIUSES we have in LL are worried about freaking WEB PROFILES.

[#19]

User-generated content makes for a completely different set of challenges, Guinevere.  Warcraft and other game titles have a much more limited palette of textures and objects to worry about loading and rendering.  In SL, the variations are limitless and the content is delivered on-demand.

Q glossed over a number of the features in this particular Viewer version, but one of the most important ones was an upgrade to the libraries used for texture rendering.  Significant boost in performance, meaning textures load much more quickly.  The performance gains are even bigger for Linux and Mac users (since the old versions of those libraries were slower on those platforms) - kudos to Merov Linden and everyone else involved, who have been working hard on that upgrade since sometime last summer.

[#20]

I can haz web-baseage for teh inventory also, plz?

[#21]

I don't see the point of the web profile. It seems completely useless
The point is, you can be searched on the web, not just inside SL. For networking, it's a huge plus.

I'm sure that's why the majority of people joined Second Life, so that they can be searched on the web.

It's too bad people can't just find a site on the internet that's made for networking.  They could call it like, Facebook or something.  Oh wait.....

[#22]

True, and there are no bug-free games.

Or game companies that don't have difficulty with improving their clients, servers and communications.

[#23]

I can't see the profiles inworld, i must be missing something. Does anyone know what i need to have downloaded so i can see it? Thanks

[#24]

1)  Default setting is Javascript and Cookies enabled, leaving users wide open to the Facebook and Twitter snoopware on the web based profiles.

2)  Media, Music and Voice default to on, leaving you wide open to having your IP address snagged by the IP snoopers out there.

3)  I hoped to use this long enough to change my profile privacy settings, but am getting some sort of Web Kit fail error and my Profile won't open.   How do I change those settings outside this viewer, please?

I'm getting really tired of having to fight so hard to maintain a shred of privacy and am losing interest.   If that's the desired effect, I guess you win.

[#25]

Also not really happy with the web based profiles. Load too slow.
Oh? 4 seconds isn't bad at all considering...

Concidering that is pushing 8 times slower that V1 (sim depending), V1 loads profiles pretty much bam, instant. no waiting at all. Web based are slower under the very best conditions, when your client is on a go slow because you're in the middle of a crowd at some IN-WORLD shindig .. result .. I wont read profiles, net result, I just lost profiles

When it's faster to look up a profile by keeping a brower open and alt tabbing, it's not fit for purpose.

[#26]

I can haz web-baseage for teh inventory also, plz?

Please don't tempt them, because it wont be in addition to in world inventory, it will be in place of, and that will suck the royal wazzoo.