Second Life Viewer mandatory update notification?

[Syaoran Nyoki]

Is there an email list I can get on that will warn IT professionals like me that there will be a mandatory update coming so I can be ready to push one out? I get a heads-up from literally every software company and publisher installed on our systems except Linden Labs and I can't find any sort of information about it.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

Good Question.

Even as a Premium Member, a Beta Tester, a long time member of the SL Answers team as well as a contributor to the SL JIRA, I've / we rarely are informed of the next push of a mandatory SL viewer update  I can;t remember ever seeing that announced in the SL Blog Feeds either.

[Lindal Kidd]

Can you just have the viewer installed on one system, and allow other users to run it?  That way, the updates will be automatic.

I cannot imagine a large network that allows users to run SL, in any case.  Can I come and work at YOUR company?

[Rolig Loon]

It hasn't been announced, but I suspect that the next big update from Linden Lab may be one of those rare mandatory ones. At the very least, if you don't update, you will have a much less satisfying SL experience.  Server Side Avatar Baking has been in testing for several months and is nearly ready for rollout.  (See http://blog.nalates.net/2013/01/07/second-life-news-2013-2/).  Basically, all of the avatar files that currently sit on your hard drive will be moved to the servers instead.  That will mean an end to the frustrating and very common cloud of bake fail problems we have dealt with in SL for years.  It will also mean that anyone with a viewer that does not have the new code in it will see all avatars as grey, untextured mannequins.  The third party viewers, except for Phoenix, will roll out their own updates as LL rolls out theirs. 

As for how to stay abreast, I recommend Nalates' blog (link above) as probably the most informative source.