LL partnering with Speedlight & PremPlus gets Speedlight benefits

[Modulated]

3 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

He is probably talking about Katharine Berry. Former AjaxLife viewer developer who believe went on to work for the Lab. https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2010/01/katharine-berry-in-sl.html

I thought that person was a Catznip dev. My mistake.  😕

[Kristin Linden]

Hey folks!

I wanted to swing by and drop in a quick note after reading some comments on this thread.

As some of you may be aware, some posts have been hidden from this thread. Please keep in mind that while we welcome all feedback regarding this addition, whether it be positive or negative, we will not tolerate comments that are disruptive and combative in nature.

If you are unable to express your feedback in a constructive manner without resorting to making inappropriate comments directed towards Second Life personnel on the Second Life Forums, they will be removed. 

[Arielle Popstar]

54 minutes ago, Kristin Linden said:

Hey folks!

I wanted to swing by and drop in a quick note after reading some comments on this thread.

As some of you may be aware, some posts have been hidden from this thread. Please keep in mind that while we welcome all feedback regarding this addition, whether it be positive or negative, we will not tolerate comments that are disruptive and combative in nature.

If you are unable to express your feedback in a constructive manner without resorting to making inappropriate comments directed towards Second Life personnel on the Second Life Forums, they will be removed. 

 

If I may be so bold Kristin, I'd point out that the Lab is responsible for some of this simply for the fact that almost a year ago now @Grumpity Linden promised to update us on the new direction they were taking on a mobile viewer and we haven't heard anymore since. Is this Premium + Speedlight add-on the direction the lab has decided on or is there more to be expected? I do think we have a right to know and it certainly would go a long way to quell the debate that is surrounding this topic.

 

[Rowan Amore]

 🧦😂

[Jaylinbridges]

Speedlight is looking for an experienced 3D graphics engineer.  Maybe LL could loan them one.

[Love Zhaoying]

4 minutes ago, Jaylinbridges said:

Speedlight is looking for an experienced 3D graphics engineer.  Maybe LL could loan them one.

 

[Jaylinbridges]

Rude?  They are promising advancements in their mobile 3D program.  Patrons will get the first chance to test them.  Seems like they could use a little cash infusion to build up their development team - about 100 Million as starters.

 

Edited October 6, 2022 by Jaylinbridges

[Coffee Pancake]

38 minutes ago, Jaylinbridges said:

Rude?  They are promising advancements in their mobile 3D program.  Patrons will get the first chance to test them.  Seems like they could use a little cash infusion to build up their development team - about 100 Million as starters.

 

Right .. so a 3rd party company with a commercial product, and a partnership deal with LL, also wants patreon tips to hire a developer.

Do you have any idea how much progress could be made if a single desktop TPV viewer could raise the money to hire someone to work full time on the viewer (any viewer, even just a junior just to handle merges).

The mighty 'defacto standard viewer' firestorm, that has pretty much been carrying this mess for years, and providing constant user support, only manages to cover costs and is entirely volunteer based. There was even a time when Oz Linden joked that Firestorm had more developers working the viewer than LL did.

Rude? Rude doesn't even start to cover it.

 

[Love Zhaoying]

11 minutes ago, Coffee Pancake said:

There was even a time when Oz Linden joked that Firestorm had more developers working the viewer than LL did.

Rude? Rude doesn't even start to cover it.

 

Exactly!

The "comeback" I actually had for "maybe they could borrow a developer" was, "do you really think they have a developer to spare"?  I tried and tried to not say it but, there ya go!

[LittleMe Jewell]

13 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

Yeah, I tend to get Speedlight confused with vague memories of "SL Go" which was a server-side rendering streamer from On Live, back when that was a thing. Maybe it was my search terms—I couldn't remember the "SL Go" name—but it took a while to dredge up even one reference, from Jo Yardley.

The one I was talking about was Bright Canopy, which came after SL Go.  They started up in 2015/2016 or so.  I remember using it while on a trip with a laptop that wasn't very beefy.  They folded sometime in early 2020.  

It was actually a good service, but not cheap and thus I didn't use it much.  They probably found it really hard to make a profit.

https://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2015/04/bright-canopy-second-life-streaming-sl-go.html

https://modemworld.me/2020/04/15/bright-canopy-the-streaming-service-for-sl-discontinued/

Edited October 6, 2022 by LittleMe Jewell

[Qie Niangao]

4 hours ago, Arielle Popstar said:

If I may be so bold Kristin, I'd point out that the Lab is responsible for some of this simply for the fact that almost a year ago now @Grumpity Linden promised to update us on the new direction they were taking on a mobile viewer and we haven't heard anymore since. Is this Premium + Speedlight add-on the direction the lab has decided on or is there more to be expected? I do think we have a right to know and it certainly would go a long way to quell the debate that is surrounding this topic.

 

But then last December they said, as part of their 2022 roadmap, they were working on "A new mobile viewer to enhance and improve your Second Life experience" but if any news followed, it escaped me. At the time, Inara Pey pondered:

Quote

The reference to a new Mobile viewer (my emphasis) rather than “client” or “app” has me wondering if, given the suspension of work on the iOS app a couple of months back, LL are now looking towards a streaming option for the viewer, rather than a “companion app” (as their mobile work has thus far been called. As such, I’ll be attempting to keep an eye and ear out for more on this.

… and since then I haven't heard anything from the Lab about their plans for this crucial strategic direction.

Business must respond to changing conditions, and maybe the Lab is simply acting responsibly by playing this one close to the vest, but this Speedlight announcement brings it to the fore: What happens to this partnership when the Lab releases a proper mobile viewer instead?

Exactly as you say: "Is this Premium + Speedlight add-on the direction the lab has decided on or is there more to be expected?"

[TimKoul]

5 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

But then last December they said, as part of their 2022 roadmap, they were working on "A new mobile viewer to enhance and improve your Second Life experience" but if any news followed, it escaped me. At the time, Inara Pey pondered:

… and since then I haven't heard anything from the Lab about their plans for this crucial strategic direction.

Business must respond to changing conditions, and maybe the Lab is simply acting responsibly by playing this one close to the vest, but this Speedlight announcement brings it to the fore: What happens to this partnership when the Lab releases a proper mobile viewer instead?

Exactly as you say: "Is this Premium + Speedlight add-on the direction the lab has decided on or is there more to be expected?"

I don't really understand the Speedlight partnership if it doesn't reflect "future plans". Last I heard, they dropped the mobile thing completely. You shouldn't start a buzz and then go completely silent and then announce something like this. LL should really work on their communication skills because now it's just confusing. If they are wanting to keep their mobile plans a secret, they shouldn't have discussed it in the forums. 

 

[Sammy Huntsman]

22 minutes ago, Qie Niangao said:

But then last December they said, as part of their 2022 roadmap, they were working on "A new mobile viewer to enhance and improve your Second Life experience" but if any news followed, it escaped me. At the time, Inara Pey pondered:

But they also stated that it would most likely be a companion app that would be used to be able to chat with friends when you are offline. So I mean yeah they are partnering with Speed Light. That gives you a chat function and basic 3D view. That is more than what LL had promised. 

[diamond Marchant]

A few thoughts sort of related to this topic....

1. Lindens say all sorts of stuff that has no follow up. For example, at SL19B I requested a FAQ on what the current state-of-the-art is for reducing lag. The reply was "we will make a SL University video on that". Still waiting.

2. In the scheme of things, SL is very small in terms of active users compared to just about anything comparable. The percentage of active users that are Ploos is likely  small. Point is, I speculate that not many actual Ploosers exist. Much of Ploos perks are just better access to or more of stuff that already exists. The main work was web asset engineering to get the screens that grant you Ploos.

3. Anything Linden Research can do to increase revenue is prolly a good thing, as some of us are willing to fork it over and they likely need the cash. Who knows what the Waterfield Group timeline is for getting a return on their investment? The plug could be pulled at any moment. The current global financial sitch is a gonna be a major headwind.

4. Premium members HAVE seen an upgrade to what they pay for.... in particular, protected water connectivity and availability of the good theme (stilts). Thank you!

5. If @Abnor Mole posts in the forum, believe it. He is a straight shooter.

6. My mobile SL solution is a lightweight, cool, silent NVidia/Intel laptop. Runs great. It is actually my only solution. Don't need no stinkin Speedlight.

7. For value-oriented residents (and by value I mean real-estate), premium stacking or region-scale tier are the way to go. At entry level, you can get 3 Premium memberships (and Linden Homes) for less money than 1 Ploos (on annual basis).

btw, i did read this whole thread.

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by diamond Marchant

[Jennifer Boyle]

After I saw the news, I tried Speedlight for the first time in a long time. The 3D view was useless. In my hands, Metachat seems better for everything else.

Speedlight doesn't seem useful to me.

[belindacarson]

Let's not forget the key words boys and girls.

 

"Mobile "

"Viewer"

 

If you're on mobile data/cellular data connection do you really expect to be able to go fully 3d at a rave dance? It fits the description in letting you "chat".

 

If you're using WiFi you could possibly try the 3d mode.

 

I've used lumiya for years like this.  Mobile data - park yourself in an empty SIM and use it for chats only.  WiFi - pretty unstoppable.  It's own 3d mode is borked as the viewer hasn't been updated in years as the creator went MIA in RL

 

@Patch Linden

[Wulfie Reanimator]

14 hours ago, Istelathis said:

Ya know, after trying speedlight with an alt account on my computer it really is not that bad.  The main issue is speed, I think it is a streaming service rather than a viewer.  I thought I saw a message with Firestorm on it, but was so caught up in fiddling around with Speedlight that I closed out of it quickly rather than taking a screenshot.  If it is a streaming service, I understand why they charge for the service.

Speedlight is not a streaming service in the same sense as SL Go, for example.

What Speedlight does is host your connection to the world. And I think all the asset data travels through their service (which is probably why everything has been loading especially slow since the announcement), but all the actual rendering happens on your computer.

(In SL Go, the world was rendered by the man-in-the-middle and your device just gets the final picture.. like a video stream.)

Edited October 7, 2022 by Wulfie Reanimator

[Anna Nova]

Don't think I'll be upgrading to P+ for this.

[Love Zhaoying]

I finally got some things to display in 3D mode, like I recall from when it worked before. Reasonably faithful rendering compared to a real viewer. 

 

Edited October 7, 2022 by Love Zhaoying

[belindacarson]

Speed light also has a free mode so you don't need to go "ploos"

[Lucia Nightfire]

5 hours ago, belindacarson said:

I've used lumiya for years like this.  Mobile data - park yourself in an empty SIM and use it for chats only.  WiFi - pretty unstoppable.  It's own 3d mode is borked as the viewer hasn't been updated in years as the creator went MIA in RL

The creator died AFAIK.

[Blaise Glendevon]

12 hours ago, belindacarson said:

Speed light also has a free mode so you don't need to go "ploos"

What is this "ploos" thing the usual board suspects are banging on about? 

[belindacarson]

4 minutes ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

What is this "ploos" thing the usual board suspects are banging on about? 

premium plus

[Love Zhaoying]

7 minutes ago, Blaise Glendevon said:

What is this "ploos" thing the usual board suspects are banging on about? 

In one of the early discussions about Premium Plus, we (Forumites, users) were told that one or more Lindens had a habit of calling Premium Plus "Ploos", as in "Plus" with a different pronunciation.  

That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

Edited to add: Imagine, it's kind of like saying "Fook!" for the other word. I just figured that out!

Edited October 7, 2022 by Love Zhaoying

[belindacarson]

It would be nice to get a bit of clarity I guess.  Like have ll abandoned plans of their own etc.

 

Idea!!! Let's all ask SuperTom!!

 

@Tommy Linden