Peggy Paperdoll

The power source only matters with the power adapter and charger. Once it gets to the laptop the power is provided by the batteries (which is probably 24 volt DC..........and that is the same in the US or Europe). I believe you can get power adapters easily in the US for European power. Maybe not at Wal-Mart but certainly at places like Newegg.com or TigerDirect.com. If you are okay with $750 USD then you can get a better computer (but the power adapter is going to be extra). What to be on the watch for is to stick with the more powerfull CPU's for a laptop. Those CPU's like the Atom (Intel) are "energy efficient" (code for low powered). To get a laptop that can run SL (even at low settings) requires a decent CPU and graphics accellerator...............and those two components are the biggest power comsumers in a laptop (the power source being the battery pack that means those laptops will have a shorter time between charges when the CPU and GPU are working hard........you can negate that if your wife runs SL with the power adaptor/charger plugged into the local power provider (the electric companies power). The porblem with the adapter being plugged in it ties you to a electrical outlet (sort of like a desk top). But for non-SL stuff it's still just as mobil as it always was. Editing.......... Yeah I'm a member of the Forum Cartel.....since a very, very long time ago. I wish I could get there more often. But RL sucks sometimes.........you can't ignore it for too long or the sh** hits the fan (and that's messy ).

I got to toss this disclaimer in every time I speak about laptops and SL in the same sentence........I'm not a laptop person (the design of laptops are just not suited or SL at settings greater than than low in the viever preferences (not at the price range most laptop people want to remain in........if you got a couple to three thousand dollars to spend then you can certainly get one that will fly in SL). I went to the Wal-Mart website since you mentioned that you saw an Asus there that piqued your interest. I search all the Asus laptops that were listed at $500 USD and below. There are several. But none of them will run SL well (in fact I would say none of them will run SL at all). They are light weight laptops that actually should be labeled as "tablets" instead of laptops............extremely weak Atom CPU's are not even as powerful as the CPU in most Smart Phones. Not at all capablle of running SL. I did expand my search to enclude other manufacturers in that same price range. I found this computer that should run SL on low settings reasonably well (it might run SL at medium settings with significant hits in the lag area and maybe a few unexpected crashes/connection issues). I only say that because I know the i3 CPU is a good one and the on CPU graphics HD3000 chipset is strong enough to run SL at low settings ( friend of mine who went to the dard side and switched to a laptop has the i3 with the HD3000 graphics and it works..........poorly, in my opinion, but it does work at low settings). The laptop's system memory is expandable to to 8 GB..............I would suggest you do that upgrade from the 4 GB it comes with (though the 4 GB will work but I think you will wind up wishing you had gone with the 8 GB instead once your wife gets on SL) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gateway-15.6-NV57H103U-Laptop-PC-with-Intel-Core-i3-2310M-Processor-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-with-Windows-8-Pro-Upgrade-Option/21842876

I don't think the user has access to that "inbox"..........it resides on a server and LL is not going to allow anyone access to anything on a server.

Let's say you suddenly get dumped in some strange country. That country has everything imaganable to do.........only your imagination is the limiting factor. What do you do? You can stand there looking around and never venture further than you can see from where you stand......always coming back to your little spot you arrived at. Here you are in a country where you know you can do so much.........and you're lost. Utterly and completely lost. You wonder what everyone does and where are they? Not at all unlike what everyone who enters SL experiences. Like real life there is no defined purpose......it's what you make of it. You do like you do in real life. You look for things that interest you, you go to places where those things happen (or people with similar interests congregate). People don't talk you in real life either (not normally anway). It's up to you to speak first. And in real life when you do that the vast majority of times people speak back. You learn. You make friends, you begin to do all those fantastic things you heard about. In real life you find most people are more than willing to share information about a common interest..........it's exactly the same in SL. Go out in the grid. Find your places. Talk to people. Search for communities and groups that interest you. You do not have to ll pass any levels to go anywhere in SL. And, just like real life, if you are polite people are polite back to (perhaps more so in SL since it's an anonymous world and the shy or introverted are more open and friendly). There's bunch of things to do in SL..........almost limitless. Just look for it.

Does the viewer(s) now store IM's in an INBOX? I always thought IM's (and chat) were stored in a file on your computer (things change all the time so I may be mistaken here.....but I don't think so). What I think (by the use of the word "indox") you are talking about Private Messages (PM's) you have received from other members of the Forums/Blogs/Answers. You delete those by opening your messages (that little envelope looking icon next to "Welcome Sukiss" at the top of any Forum (Answers or Blogs) page. You will see all the messages you've received since the last time you cleared them. The way you delete those messages is to click on the tab (for messages you've received "Inbox", for messages you've sent "Sent") is to check the messages you want to delete. Then go to "Message Options" and mouse over the little arrow.........that opens a dialog box that gives you options for the messages you have checked. Just select "Delete". That's it..........your done. If you also want to delete the messages you've received just just click the "Sent" tab and do the same thing.

The Intel GMA 965 is a chipset built into the computer's motherboard (not the CPU). It's one of the last on motherboard graphics accellerators that Intel produced. It will not handle any of the newer viewers that show mesh (or other features in SL). You can, however, run a viewer based on the very old and obsolete SL viewer 1.23..........at low settings. I want to say the chipset is junk but that's unfair. The graphics adapter does what it was designed to do very well.......basically just displaying on a monitor what your computer is showing (word documents, simple business graphics, simple 2D games, web surfing, email, and streaming media). Try to get a 3D graphic to display you start to run into issues........the card just is not made to handle that kind of graphic rendering (it's too weak to quickly and properly render that type of graphics). On a program like SL with the very intensive 3D graphics it just will not do it worth a flip. Run away from that computer......run fast. That is, of course, you intend to use it for SL. You will be very disappointed. I doubt it will let you log in before a complete viewer crash (and, if it does, you are very much at risk of an operating system crash). For SL a GMA 965 is junk.......don't waste your money on any computer with that chipset in it unless it has a better discrete card installed it too.

You're not doing "everything within your power" if you use convenience features such as "Remmber Me" options. That's all I'm saying.

The fact that no computer connected to the Internet is 100% protected (I doubt that's even 75% protected if you want my opinion) that you should never rely on software or hardware to do the hard stuff.........I used "paranoia" because that's exactly what it takes. The best protection for you computer and it's content is you.......and that requires you to be very vigilant about everything that is happening every second you are connected to the Internet. Some idiot will find a way around any security software or hardware you might have in use......and they will even get around you if you are not watching closely. The law of averages says you will be infected sooner or later.....the trick is to keep it always "later". It's good that you (evidently like me) don't have a bunch of treasures that are irreplacable on your computer.....a second hard drive helps for those "nearly irreplacable" things. But, let me tell you. I've unintalled and reinstalled operating systems numerous times (all the way back to Windows 98). When you plan for it, it's just time (sometimes tedious). But unplanned, it's really not fun at all. I had not saved all my contacts from my email, I had not saved all my favorites for my web browser, I did not have a list of all the programs I used and liked (some really necessary such as iTunes). I had to search for all those programs after the installation instead of having the setup programs already saved to the second drive ready for installing. Where such a task in the past took about a day this time it took 3 days (and, just today, I got around to reinstalling Quicktime that I needed for some streaming media in SL). I'm not trying to argue......but a statement about "being protected" just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe smug was the wrong word......but that's the way it read to me when I read it.

"... I'm not concerned **Only uploaded images may be used in postings**://secondlife.i.lithium.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-happy.gif" border="0" alt=":smileyhappy:" title="Smiley Happy" /> My pc is protected." --------------------------------------------- Ohh...those oh so famous last words. I'm pretty Internet savvy and my computers are all protected (anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-anything and firewalled to the hilt....both software and hardware firewalls are in place constantly). About a month ago I picked up a virus (I do have an idea of where I picked it up but that'snot exactly important where but it is important that I picked it up.....that's only the second virus I ever picked up in all the years I've been on the Internet). That virus really played heck with my registry........to the point that I wound up having to wipe my hard drive and completely re-install my Windows 7 to get everything working right again. Don't be smug about it.....that will jump up and bite you on the butt when you least expect it. Since I don't use my computers for business I didn't loose anything real important (I have a second drive with no operating system for those treasures everyone wants to save so they were not affected with the disk wipe and re-installation). Like I said before, a little paronoia is a good thing.........I just wasn't paranoid enough about a month ago.

"... Or you could sleep with someone for rez rights on their land. ...Dres (I only say this for thoroughness' sake.)" ---------------------------------- Well if you'd rather not sleep with some ugly land owner, you can go to almost any Linden Road on Mainland and find a Rez Zone.......I've seen people do that. ...Peggy (I only say this as an alternative to sleeping your way up the ladder of success ).

You're an exception. The remember me for these forums has never worked for me on IE, Firefox or Chrome. It has always worked for the Dashboard. However, I don't use the "Remember Me" for either anymore......for security reasons. I've found that, on the Internet, a little paranoia is a good thing. Of course you can do as you want.....it's your security, not mine.

But how does it work with IE, Firefox, Chrome? I think we are talking about the forums website....not any viewer. If we are talking about viewers the case then the SL Viewer 3 works quite well too.

I would guess that it depends on the viewer you are using, but for SL's official Viewer 3 go to "Preferences" and under the "Chat" tab, uncheck the box labeled "Email IM's when I'm offline".

It sounds like your computer is not quite enough for SL and the graphics required for SL to run well enough for mesh. A server doesn't need graphics capabilities so saying it's a "server" doesn't mean the computer is a strong one. A server requires a good CPU but a server doesn't even need a GPU (graphics card). You didn't really tell us what graphics you have.........most nVidia cards are GForce cards (that's sort of like Ford passenger vehicles are "sedans"). What nVidia graphics do you have specifically.........6600 GT, 8500 GTS, or maybe GTX 680 for example).

"The remember me option, is a major Security liability. The function should be removed. If it is not currently working; that's great news." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- All true. But having the option "available" at the sign screen should work. If LL wanted to dictate security for everyoner signing into the forums or their dashboard they should simply remove the "Remember Me" option......not just neglect to fix it because it's broken (evidently thinking that "it's a security issue so lets just leave it broke"). BTW, the "Remember My" option for the dashboard does work........kinda upside down on what's more of a security risk (your dashboard which contains personal information or a forum that contains no such information). Editing-------- I take that back.........in your settings there is some personal information such as your email address (but no financial information like your payment method). Still, which is more of a security risk....someone taking your money or someone flooding your email with spam?

"... usually all systems with i3, i5, i7 procis ship with Win 7. And if he built the compi himself then why should he install crappy Vista?" --------------------------------------------------------------- Perhaps because he likes Vista? I have 2 computers connected via a KVM switch (2 computers sharing a single keyboard, single mouse and a single monitor). Both computers have an Intel i5 CPU in them. What would be considered my "main" computer (this one) is the Windows 7 x64 computer.....only because I had this one first (not because I think Windows 7 is particularly better. My other computer has Vista x64 installed on it.. I put Vista on that machine on purpose (my Windows 7 license is licensed for 3 computers). I came about the second computer because a friend of mine decided that she wanted a laptop and did not want the desktop anymore..........I built that computer for her about a year before she moved to a laptop and she insisted that I take the desktop back because I had helped her so much in the past with computers. I wiped that hard (a Windows 7 x64 system just like this computer) and dug out my old Vista x64 installation disk to use on the computer. I happen to like Vista.........I've never had any problems with that OS. I wanted to compare the OS's side by side to see if there is any difference in performance........yeah there's minor differences but nothing like what people say. Vista is a good OS.........all you have to do is make sure you don't have all that memory hogging glitz and "glammor" runing (you know, that Windows Aeroglas junk.........which, by the way Windows 7 also has turned on by default). It's how you set your system up (what you choose to run to make it "look better"). Vista uses more memory than Windows 7 with similar setups..........about 200 MB). Both machines will run quite smoothly with adequate system RAM (this machine has 16 GB and the Vista machine has 4 GB......still not a spit's worth of difference in performance on that front). SL runs better on this machine due the graphics card installed in it (a GTX 550 Ti vs a GTS250). But I still can maintain 30 plus FPS in most places that are not loaded up with avatars and huge textures.......maybe 5 FPS frames difference. Neither machine handly shadows and DOF well in my opinion.......but I simply don't like the way shadows look and I don't like the blurriness of backgrounds with DOF (DOF does make SL photos look better if you want a artistic image....but for every day SL'ing and snapshots, it's more a distraction than anything else). You can't make an assumption about what OS someone runs simply because they have a newer series CPU installed. I made my mistake earlier in my first post because I failed to distinguish between 2 threads I was reading and wanted to answer.....honest (but silly) mistake. I don't think your mistake was the same..........you wanted to slam Vista (and Vista would not have entered the discussion had I not made my mistake). I never like XP (not from the very first and not even when I move away from it several years later). It's just not a good OS in my opinion..........I'm in a minority I know. But I never dissed the OS because I knew it was just a system I didn't care for. You don't like Vista and that's fine. But some people do.....and it's not a crappy OS (all you need to do is set it up to your liking.....which can be difficult if you don't understand your OS).

Rezzing rights, object entry are separate permissions from a locked house (as in a door scripted to only allow owners or group members access). If the group member has access to locked door and they have rezzing and object entry rights they would be able to rezz and bring objects in when with the house being locked or unlocked........it depends on the rights that the group owner has allowed. The locked house has nothing to do with the other permissions. It's like ban lines........if you have access and other rights you maintain those rights with or without the ban lines being put up. It would be interesting to know if a group member with rezz permissions and object entry permissions but not access to the locked house could cam in and rezz something or scoot some object through the walls........that I don't know (but logic says yes they would be able to do that). I, too, think the OP meant a locked door and not locking the house to preven movement or accidental deletion. Maybe the OP can come back and let us know which "locked" is the question about?

"Actually, the processor doesn't rule out an operating system." ------------------------------------------------------- Nope, the processor does not have a thing to do with an operating system. I have a second computer with an i5 CPU and Vista x64. That CPU could run XP (x32 or x64), ME or even Win 98 if I chose to install one of those OS's on it. It can run Linux (any distro). Now that doesn't go the other way though......I doubt a Pentium 3 could run Windows 7 for instance.

Ooops.........I had just read another thread and the system was Vista x32 (with on mention of SP 1 or 2). My brain was in overdrive because I needed to get back to RL. Sorry about that.....that's what you get from someone who just can't "multitask". I should stop even trying. LOL.

Your video card is 4 or 5 years old (at least). It's also a very low end card (it never was anything but a low end card even when it was brand new). Your card would struggle on SL 3 years ago.........and SL is much more demanding today than it was a year ago, let alone 3 years ago. You might get some improvement at low settings but not much. You're locked into low performance as long as you have that graphics card. You need a better card. Linden Lab does weekly upgrades to the server code on Tuesdays of each week........that coincides with your statement about when your issues started. If that card came with the computer I'm guessing your computer is about 2 to 3 years old for a manufacturer to use the card. Manufacturers usually don't install graphics cards more than a couple years old in new machines. If your computer is less than about 3 years old it probably has the PCI express interface so you probably can get a decent card for less than about $100 USD (if you want to stick with nVidia, I would look at the 200 series cards like a GT, GTS or GTS 250 PCI express x 16 with 1 GB video RAM) There are two possible issues though with that card. First your computer's motherboard has to have the PCI express x16 slot (I'm sure it has the PCI express x1 slot but I'm not sure you can get that card at less than x16.......you can shop Newegg or Tiger Direct to see). The other problem is your power supply is almost guaranteed to be too under powered for that card........it wants 450 watts and your system probably has a 280 or 320 watt PS in it. But power supplies and inexpensive (compared to other hardware devices in a computer........about inline with system memory). They are also very easy to install.

The first thing I noticed right away on the specs you posted (which, by the way, I want to thank you for including those.......so many people come here with some issue and don't post anything to help people help them), is that your Vista is service pack 1.......the current Vista is service pack 2.............you really should install that sericie pack for both security reasons and performance reasons. Window's Update is your best friend for any Windows system.........visit the update site regularly (better yet, set Windows Update to notify you when critical updates are available for to your system). That aside, I really don't think that's your immediate problem with low bandwidth and frame rates (FPS will suffer with low bandwidth so I would say your root problem is bandwidth). You said "I've run connection tests and visited other high bandwidth sites (streaming video etc.) so it's not my ISP". That's not the complete story....you can have decent conection speed and still not have a good connection (ping times create havoc in SL as does packet loss.....which will show up in a speed test but it will still appear to be "good" if all you look at is the download speed). Streaming video is not really high bandwidth.......only slightly greater than normal web surfing. SL's bandwidth requirement much higher than any video you can stream online. I think you need to reboot both your router (if one is present in your local network) and your modem. Unplug both from their electrical source for 3 to 5 minutes then plug them back in. Let the lights settle to their normal blinking routine and restart your computer to re-establish your Internet connection. That will clear out any residual memory built up in the devices that effect the throughput of the devices (all routers and modems have small memory leaks that need cleared from time to time). Back to the SP 1............you are living on borrowed time by not installing that security patch on your Vista machine. Do now......even though it's not the root problem with your download and frame rate problem.

If you want to have a discussion about SL or some issue you should use the "Forums" section of these boards.......you can reply there (though this software is still not as intuitive or natural as real forum software......this is blog software tweaked to resemble a forum). The intent of LL for "Answers" was to limit discussions so that you can recieve answers...........it doesn't work very well. But as has been mentioned, it's all we got. The only workarounds are Options > Edit or the Permalink (neither of which are great).

The best card is the card that you are comfortable with. Both nVidia and AMD/ATI have had issues with OpenGL in the past. And, to be honest, both have had issues with DirectX. The chipset manufacturers are competitors....they complete relentlessly for the gaming market share. Every new series each manufacturer places on the market is intended to be the "best of the best" and a death kill for the "other side". We, the comsumers, benefit emmensly with ever increasing performance. No chipset manufacturer is "better, than the other in the entire scope of the thing.....just who has the edge at the moment. The vast majority of games (which graphics cards are measured against) are DirectX. That means the manufacturers put most of their efforts into making sure that DirectX is supported to the highest level possible.......OpenGL takes a back seat (if push comes to shove either chipset manufacturer will sacrafice OpenGL over DirectX.........they would be foolish to ignore the huge market that exists for DirectX in favor or OpenGL. Every new series of graphics cards has the potential of dropping the ball on one of the two major graphics rendering engines. Each chipset has it's fans (I'm an nVidia fan myself) but no matter who you root for, you always have the chance of being disappointed (I know I've been disappointed by nVidia in the past). If you listen to the SL users you'll always hear a bias for nVidia. That reason is mostly ATI"s fault from the very long period of time when ATI almost ignored OpenGL when they built and designed their chips (it was almost 2 years when it seemed that ATI simply did not care for OpenGL..........they excelled at DirectX and had the "gamers market" nearly to themselves because of that). nVidia started seriously competing for that DirectX market and OpenGL suffered (that's when I was disappointed in nVidia about 2 years ago). AMD bought out ATI about that time and AMD has a very rich history of competing with Intel........they took that competition to nVidia and upped their efforts for both rendering engines. Both chipset manufacturers now are excellent with both DirectX and nVidia. I wouldn't hesitate to use either card now. I might get a dud with either chipset but I know it's a temporary issue since the competition is so great today when it wasn't a couple years ago.........don't hold that ancient OpenGL issue against AMD/ATI. You'll miss out on some very good graphics and a price that should make you smile. Either card will do you fine. Just don't forget that any series with eitther manufacturer can have issues. Progress never is without problems.

With only 512 MB of RAM about the only hope for a viewer that might work would be a viewer based on the very old viewer 1.23 code (and that list of TPV's is getting very short since the 1.23 code base is so old and outdated). You would not able to see mesh content (which is going to impact your enjoyment of SL tremendously as time goes on when mesh gains popularity for content in SL........Zoooby Babies are probably mesh or they will soon be mesh). You said 1 GB in your title but you said 512 MB (1.2 GB) in your thread text. I'm basing my answer on the text of your thread. A computer with only 512 MB is almost guaranteed to be a very old computer which says the computer cannot be upgraded to hardware capable of displaying the graphics that are necessary to SL. A 1 GB system might be upgradable..........but if the system was sold with only 512 MB when you bought it then I seriously doubt it. You need to replace that computer with a better one.

I would be interested to know if you paid the equivalant of about $1280 USD for that 321,000 lindens. My bet is that you did not pay anywhere near that much for those lindens..........and that, my friend, should have fired off so many alarms in your head that you would have run away in fear. That old adage "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is" applies. Scams are built for people just like you.