Linden Lab

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "ride" by Alon Alphaville. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

They say we eat first with our eyes - so true in Second Life. Goizane took a tasty shot of these treats. Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Untitled" by Goizane. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Back in March, we blogged about a British documentary company that was looking for couples who first met in online communities, like Second Life, for a TV piece with a working title of “Happily Ever Avatar.” The production company says that in response to our first blog post, they found some great stories to tell, but they’re still interested in a few more from Second Life users. Here’s their updated casting call with more information on the angle they’re pursuing and what they’re looking for: British documentary company Back2back are currently making a documentary for Sky Living about relationships that start in online communities such as Second Life, with a working title of “Happily Ever Avatar”. The programme is a completely positive documentation of these relationships, where we look at relationships that have blossomed through online gaming, with players falling in love through their avatars and going on to have meaningful, committed relationships in the real world. It will look at unconventional relationships in a counterintuitive way, overturning many of our prejudices and misconceptions with honest storytelling. It will challenge us to realise that committed, successful relationships can embrace the unusual. It’s set to be a heart-warming series celebrating dating and relationships in the 21st Century. The theme is very much about 'love conquering all', and showing the incredible lengths couples that meet online go to in order to become a real life couple. I am currently seeking couples of all sexualities and backgrounds to take part in the programme. These can be new or established relationships – even those where the partners haven’t met. The only prerequisite is that one person in the relationship must be based in the UK. If you’d be interested in taking part, or would like to find out more, email toni.tyldesley [at] back2back.tv. All emails will be treated with the strictest confidence.

When I came to Linden Lab over five years ago, Second Life had gone through a period of the coveted hockey-stick growth, and we had just not kept up with the technical demands such growth creates. One or more major outages a week were common. In my first few months at the Lab, we removed more than a hundred major single points of failure in our service, but several major ones still loomed large, the granddaddy of them all being the core MySQL database server. By late Winter 2009 we were suffering from a core database outage a few times each week. With a lot of hard work and countless long nights we stabilized the service and started making major improvements to the overall stability and performance of Second Life. However, despite our continued improvements, and the relative tranquility they have created, the spectres of technical debt and single points of failure still loom over our operations. In recent weeks some of them have struck and disrupted Second Life. So much so that I want to explain the outages that have occurred, how we addressed them, and what we are doing going forward. First, that core MySQL database cluster still exists. It is still the core of many of our central functions. When the write server fails it takes a minimum of thirty minutes to promote a new server into position. The promotion itself is actually relatively quick, but its numerous dependent services must all be taken down and brought back up carefully to ensure that they are all functioning properly. In the last two months the core MySQL write database has hit two different fatal hardware faults, driving us to temporarily halt most Second Life operations. In some sense, two major write database failures close together is bad luck, but we cannot depend on luck to ensure the reliability of Second Life. In the very near future, we are moving the core MySQL write server to a new hardware class, on which production read servers are already running. Moving the write server will further improve overall database performance and make failures less frequent. It does not of course solve the root single point of failure problem so in the coming days, weeks, and months we will be reducing the impact of database failures even more. This includes continued improvement to the rotation process, extracting more functions out of the core database cluster, and further reducing the number of features that depend on the single write server. The core MySQL database, however, has not been our only problem recently. A few weeks ago there was a massive distributed denial of service attack on one of our upstream service providers that affected most of their customers, including us, and inhibited the ability of some to use our services. We have since mitigated future potential impact from such an attack by adding an additional provider. There have also been hardware failures in the Marketplace search infrastructure that have impacted that site, a problem that we are continuing to work through. Most seriously though was this week’s four and a half hour long login outage. On Tuesday morning, users stopped being able to get into Second Life. The root cause was created over ten years ago in a system designed to assign a unique identifier to the hand-off of sessions from login to users’ initial regions. At 7:40AM Pacific Time, that system quietly ran out of possible numbers to assign. It took us four hours to isolate the problem, test a fix, and deploy the change. Users could immediately log in at that point, but it took an additional two hours for systems to settle out. When tens of thousands of users rush back into Second Life following an outage, we have to deliberately throttle some services to prevent further breakage. Having such a hidden fault in a core service is unacceptable, so we are doing a thorough review of the login process to determine if there are any more problems like this lurking. Our intent at this point also is to remove the identifier assignment service altogether. It not only was the ultimate source of this outage, but is also one more single point of failure that should have been dispatched long ago. We want to apologize for all of the recent problems and the frustration they have caused. We too are frustrated and are intent on making our service better. Few things give me more pleasure than every day helping to make Second Life a happy and fun place. Thank you for your patience and support. We simply could not have a more devoted user base and for that we owe you better. Most sincerely, Landon (Linden)

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "My Old Timey Baby" by Tamarind Silverfall. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

10.13.2014: UPDATE: Oculus Rift DK2 Project Viewer Now Available. At Linden Lab, we’ve been very happy to see all the recent activity and interest in the virtual reality space - it's a sign of progress and innovation in the industry and helps validate the space Second Life has led for more than 10 years. Developments like the Oculus Rift hold great potential for Second Life, and we're very excited to bring the virtual world into the future with new technologies and partners. A few weeks ago, we began a limited beta test of a version of the Second Life Viewer that makes it easy to use an Oculus Rift headset with Second Life for a fully immersive, VR experience. From the outset, we’ve seen strong interest in the integration, not only from existing Second Life users seeking a new way to experience the virtual world, but also from virtual reality enthusiasts eager to explore the enormous quantity and variety of user-created 3D content and social experiences inworld. The early beta testers of our integration have provided some valuable feedback, identifying bugs as well as providing suggestions for additional features and options that would improve the experience of using the Oculus Rift with Second Life. Today we’re pleased to announce that our Oculus Rift integration is now available as a Project Viewer, the first step toward becoming a part of the default Second Life Viewer. The Project Viewer features: Full Oculus Rift Hardware Support - includes automatic hardware detection and display calibration for quick and easy setup. Full UI Support - users can access the entire Second Life UI and HUDs while in Oculus Rift mode, so there are no limitations on what a user can do inworld while using the headset. Customizable UI - users can tailor the settings for Oculus Rift mode that work best for their needs. Avatar Head Motion - Oculus Rift head-tracking data is mapped to the avatar, so users’ avatars look where they do. New First-Person View - allows users to enjoy the immersion previously available with mouselook mode, but thanks to the Oculus Rift, the mouse is free again to control the cursor, allowing for interaction with the UI and objects inworld. “Align to Look” - allows users to quickly start moving the direction they are looking. “Action Key” - interact with objects by pressing a key, works great in mouselook mode. Like our initial beta release, this Project Viewer is more about making it easy to get started using the Oculus Rift to view Second Life than it is about optimizing the UI for headset users. We’ve made some minor adjustments to the regular Second Life UI in order to present it in head-mounted display (HMD) mode, but the UI headset users will experience with this project Viewer is still essentially the same as you’d see without an Oculus Rift. If you have an Oculus Rift headset and would like to use it with Second Life, get the Project Viewer here. Getting started is easy - the Viewer includes automatic hardware detection and display calibration, and we’ve created this brief to help: You can use the Oculus Rift for an immersive 3D experience anywhere and everywhere in Second Life, and we’re also creating a new category in our Destination Guide to make it easy to find places that are particularly compelling with the Oculus Rift. It’s still early days for the Oculus Rift (the hardware isn’t yet available to consumers), and we have more planned for our integration with the Second Life Viewer as well. We’ll keep you posted as development progresses, and we look forward to hearing more about your experiences using the Oculus Rift with Second Life!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Where the wind blows" by angels.adventures. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Happy life ..." by Sofiya Algoma. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Happy Birthday to …. Second Life! While it’s only the middle of May, June is fastly approaching and the time is now to start planning your Second Life Birthday celebrations! As in past years, we’ll wrangle the best of the best in Second Life Birthday events and corral them into a special SL11B category on our Destination Guide during the month of June. If you are planning an event that commemorates the occasion - submit your event or party information to the Second Life Destination Guide Submission Form (use the misc category) or via editor@lindenlab.com, using “SL11B” in subject line on the form or email. There’s also the Second Life 11th Birthday Community Celebration - a resident-driven event that promises tons of amazing fun and excitement for everyone. If you’re interested in being part of SL11BCC and applying as an exhibitor, performer, or volunteer, be sure to submit before the deadline - Tuesday, May 20th at noon Pacific. As the birthday approaches, watch this space for more information - we have a surprise or two planned as well! Are you ready to party?

Today, we’re updating Second Life’s default avatar options with 24 brand new mesh avatars. You may have spotted a sneak peek at a few of these as Lindens tried them out recently, and starting today, you can start using them yourself! These avatars are designed to give new users a more appealing set of choices as they start their time in Second Life. Based on the most popular avatars picked at registration, these new options are much better-looking and take advantage of technology incorporated into Second Life over the past year (like fitted mesh and materials) for a more modern feel. If you want to check out the new default avatars, just open up the Avatar Selector in the Viewer. Under the People tab, you’ll see a great variety of male and female mesh avatars to pick from. Under the Vampire tab, you’ll see those infamous creatures of the night along with some other monsters like zombies, werewolves, and winged beasts. (Tip: Make sure you’re running the latest Second Life Official Viewer for the optimal experience with these avatars.) Under the classic tab of the Avatar Selector, you will find many of the most popular classic default avatars. Although not all of the old options will be available in the Avatar Selector, you can still access them all in your inventory library under Library/Clothing/Older Outfits - so if you were partial to one of them, don’t worry. Login to your Second Life account and meet the new mesh avatars, today! Note: These are just a few of the new avatars you'll find in the Avatar Selector. Login to see them all.

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "230314" by Anais Terpellie. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "...Liddle Lamzy Divey..." by Cate Storymoon. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "sun bike summer" by Marcinha Tomsen. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "We have an appointment?" by Eze Ditko. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Now that April’s showers made way for May’s flowers, come see what new and exciting places and events sprouted in the Destination Guide. Much like last time, we’ve scoured submissions to bring you dark urban roleplay, steampunk art galleries and walks, futuristic sci-fi, and a whole lot more. So what are you waiting for, come visit! Don’t forget to share your creations. We love seeing what you come up with next! Hollow Woods Hollow Woods is a modern supernatural-horror experience that caters towards creative, paragraph-style roleplay. The game is based within the small island town of Hollow Woods, where unexplained events and a shady government-funded corporation are at the forefront of all those bumps in the night. Explore Hollow Woods and the rest of the island as it unfolds with real time events. Visit in Second Life Extension Centennial Celebration Cooperative Extension represents universities in all 50 states improving lives by bringing applied research to help farms, homes, and communities. Cooperative Extension observes its 100th birthday this month with celebrations around the USA and also in Second Life, where it began creating virtual learning environments in 2007. Come and wish Extension a happy birthday! Visit in Second Life The Steampunk Gallery Opening Party Come see the Steampunk exhibit in the Skywalk Gallery opening party in the Station. The Station is a highly detailed, fun-filled sim featuring ten well-known bloggers and artists. DJ Kate will spin the tunes while everyone dances and strolls the gallery halls enjoying steampunk sites, sounds, and activities. Visit in Second Life Botany Bay Botany Bay is a unique multi-genere Sci-Fi roleplaying sim. With a unique, inclusive backstory and lore, this sim is friendly to many different types of Sci-Fi roleplayers. With no meter requirement and flexible play styles, the staff work to make everyone feel welcome, new or seasoned. Rental and space available. Visit in Second Life Raglan Shire Art Walk 2014 The Raglan Shire's 2014 ArtWalk opens Sunday May 4th, and displays the works of over 100 artists on four enormous outdoor sims. Artists grid-wide converge to exhibit their photography, art and sculpture in this annual arts festival, hosted by the Raglan Shire through May 25th. Visit in Second Life Punto de Encuentro Punto de Encuentro es un lugar de reunion, para hablar, jugar a juegos de mesa, escuchar musica y todo lo que se nos ocurra, !bienvenido a nuestra familia!. Visit in Second Life

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Let Them Eat Cake!" by Gia Nikai Juliesse. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "when you wish ..." by angels.adventures. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Today we’re promoting a much-anticipated Viewer update called Project Interesting. Previously, available only in limited release, Project Interesting is now available gridwide as part of the default Second Life Viewer! This update reduces the load and time it takes to draw objects in regions, meaning scenes appear more quickly and smoothly as you move throughout Second Life. To learn more, check out the below: W7AC1RojXOk A Viewer update that includes Project Interesting is now available. To start taking advantage of these performance improvements today, just download the latest Second Life Viewer (or allow your Viewer to update). Project Interesting is one part of the ongoing and much larger Project Shining initiative, which brings a number of performance improvements to the Second Life experience. Today’s promotion of Project Interesting to the default Viewer means that two of the three bundled initiatives under Project Shining are now complete. The third and final project in this initiative (Sunshine) is in the home stretch, and we hope to promote it to the default Viewer soon - keep an eye on this blog for updates

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Shaman's Dream satu" by Citta Wiskee. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "Picnic" by Xantheanne. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "cause i remembered" by Zivaah. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

The magic of the Fantasy Faire, 2014 has enchanted the Second Life Community. This event benefits Relay for Life which supports the American Cancer Society. For more information about the event, sponsor, organizations, and creators you can visit the Fantasy Faire website. There is sure to be plenty of wondrous things to peruse and delight the senses, but be sure to marvel in the painstakingly crafted details of each unique area. All of them were clearly made with a love for emersion, beauty and atmosphere. On the website, you can read about each region. Here is a small quote from DRD designer and Dwarfins contributor, Jaimy Hancroft about her design. “Hope’s Horizon was born in Tolkien’s mind. The sim is inspired by the great city of Minas Tirith and I am dedicating this build to my dad, who passed away a couple years ago of cancer. He was a major Lord of the Rings fan and this was my chance to do something great to make him proud." It's only here until May 11th, so don't miss out on your chance to enjoy the beautiful scenery and shop for a great cause. The portals are open - teleport there now! Fantasy Faire 2014 Celebrating its sixth year, the Fantasy Faire is the largest gathering of fantasy designers, enthusiasts, roleplayers and performers in the virtual world. From May 1st through the 11th, treat yourself to eleven days of shopping, live music concerts, auctions, hunts and roleplaying. Come join thousands of Second Life residents and creators as they bring their visions together in support of the American Cancer Society. Visit in Second Life Draxtor Despres put together which shows off some of the amazing region builds.j_fXK0XvJ3U

Check out the Second Life Pic of the Day, "My zen garden experience" by Aye. Don't forget to check out Second Life on Tumblr, Facebook and Google Plus!

Join Draxtor Despres and Julia Tiraxibar for an inside look at another type of virtual chemistry - in the Chemistry Lab! Tiraxibar teaches Chemistry at Texas A&M University. She teaches with students who use Second Life in the Lab to conduct experiments and study the properties of matter in a 3D environment. Find out more about how a National Science Foundation educational grant is helping students learn in Second Life by watching the latest episode of the Drax Files here<link>, or below in the embedded .twAi73JCXOM Looking to scratch that Drax Files itch? Find all the previous episodes at Draxtor’s Website or below. The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 1: Kriss Lehmann The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 2: Jo Yardley The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 3: Eshi Otawara The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 4: Fantasy Faire / RFL The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 5: Engrama The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 7: Rod Humble The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 8: MadPea Games The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 9: Elie Spot The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 10: Robin Sojourner The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode11: Dwarfins The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 12: Ole Etzel The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 13: Creations for Parkinson's The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 14: Rose Borchovski The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 15: Scottius Polke The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 16: Feed a Smile The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 17: Zachh Barkley The Drax Files: World Makers - Episode 18: Paradise Lost

UPDATE: 04.24.2015 - For an update on how the Tool Viewer Release affects these systems, visit this blog. We have made some changes to the Second Life System Requirements to bring them more up to date, and are making some related changes to the Viewer: We have removed Windows XP and Mac OSX 10.6 from the list of supported operating systems. Microsoft has announced the end of support for XP, and it has been some time since Apple has released updates for 10.6. For some time now, the Viewer has been significantly less stable on these older systems, and the lack of security updates to them make them more hazardous to use. We have no plans to actually block those systems, but problems reported on them that cannot be reproduced on supported systems will not likely be fixed. The Windows installer has been modified to verify that the system has been updated with the most recent Service Packs from Microsoft. While we will not block installation on Windows 8 at this time, we strongly recommend upgrading to 8.1 for greater stability. Our data shows that the Viewer is significantly less stable on systems that have not been kept up to date, so the installer will now block installation until the updates have been applied. This change will be effective in a Viewer version to be released in the next few weeks, so it would be a good idea to get your system up to date before then. You can find information on how to install the latest updates at the Microsoft Windows Update page.