Feldspar Millgrove

I predict that it will be all-mesh and optimized for VR immersion devices such as Oculus Rift. Certainly there will be Voice. There will be LSL (although only for mesh objects). There will (eventually) be better support for more lifelike avatars (real-world faces). Content that can be transported: Mesh, Avatars, some Clothes, some scripts. There will no longer be in-world Building at all. Rezzing will be a slightly different concept. Not clear if there will be "land", not clear if it will have the same Sim-server-as-place architecture. http://betaboston.com/news/2014/07/24/the-virtual-reality-revolution-arrives-in-boston/

When the gambling rules first came in (about 8 years ago), people started putting out Sploders that were "skill games" -- the last person to click on the sploder was always the winner, not someone random. (You can argue about the randomness of touch_start events getting queued I suppose...)

What makes you think SL 2.0 will have "Land"?

Perhaps that will teach you to avoid the cannibus HUD in the future... :manlol:

I can log in to some regions, but other regions are totally broken. TP anywhere usually crashes, also.

williaminc000 wrote: why would i get a account for 80 dollars just to have rude people and get swears at by others. i can get that for free just by going outside my house? Because it's cheaper for you to enjoy than this? videoplayback

Pussycat Catnap wrote: Looks like Tiny Empires bots. Not to be confused with the 'Tiny' community. Tiny Empires is some kind of game in SL where you score apparantly by having lots of people in your team in some way or form. Bots are not allowed to play Tiny Empires, and if someone was using one, they would certainly not follow people or anything like that. Tiny Empires is a game where you score points by answering questions on a HUD. It certainly doesn't involve non-players in any way, and for the most part, does not even involve avatars interacting with each other. It's just collecting points on a HUD. (Pretty much the same as the kinds of games that people play on their smartphones, but instead of the phone's screen, it's a HUD.) Just looks like griefer bots to me. Maybe griefers are going around saying they are playing Tiny Empires, or something, to deflect attention from themselves?

ImaTest wrote: Linden lab does not collect phone numbers, though. They don't ask you for phone numbers when you create an account, they never have, and they don't want them. They do collect other information including your first name and surname, country of residence, gender, date of birth, e-mail address, username and password. Phone number is not one of the things they ask for. They have your name and mailing address (and date of birth) from your account info; with that, anyone can simply Google to get your phone number (unless you are paying each month to have it unlisted).

I tried out the phising URL from the IM quoted in this thread. It brings up a site that is designed to look just like the Second Life web site, where you are to type in your SL name and password. When you do this, it silently steals your password. Then it brings up the real SL Marketplace web site, as if nothing is wrong. So while you go on about your business on the Marketplace, the evil site, working at the speed of light behind your back, no longer using your computer in any way, breaks into your account. Since this is not happening on your computer, you won't have any idea it's happening. Everything it does is automated or semi-automated; it will happen quick. What exactly it does is speculation, but based on the reports, we can surmise. It is probably logging into the SL account page, changing your password, and then paying whatever is in your L$ balance to the bad guy's account (their avatar). Then it buys more L$ using your card on file, and repeats, until some limit eventually cuts it off. (If they are clever and don't do it all at once in a hurry, there might not be any limit and they can entirely drain your bank account this way.) Meanwhile, they have access to any info that's on your SL account: email, phone number, RL name and address, and anything else you can see on your account web page. (They can also send emails to people claiming to be you.) Of course, they can also actually log into SL and take over your avatar there, too (either turning you into a bot, or otherwise using automation to make their attack.) Buying L$, sending IMs and Group messages, harvesting your Friends list, and so on. See, once you give your SL login credentials to someone like this, they have full control of your account and can do anything in-world that you can do, and anything on the account or Marketplace web sites that you can do. Because they *are* you, now. And the first order of business is to lock you out, so you can't interfere. Then have at. Always be careful of what links you click on. And never type your password into anything unless you are very carefully looking at the URL and the security padlock icon. Make sure the URL matches what you expected before entering any information. Malicious web pages like this may be able to steal your password out of your browser (without you typing it in), or even take over your entire computer. This has historically been possible using the Microsoft browser (Internet Explorer). Many people use browsers with a better security reputation, such as Firefox with NoScript. Or Google Chrome. (I use a Mac, which has the Safari browser, and when I try to go to the page it stops me with a warning that the site has been reported as a malicious phising site, and am I sure I want to continue?) But at the moment, I don't know of any such obscene vulnerabilities in any of the browsers (assuming you have the very latest up-to-date versions). So that's probably not how this attack is working. What most likely happened is that the fake page came up, and the person entered their password -- just handed it to the theives! Linden Lab's Security ought to have figured out where this phishing attack is coming from (either from Marketplace activity or from in-world logins by avatars). And some account is the recipient of the money. (Or maybe they are changing your accounts details so they can PayPal themselves in a L$ cashout; I don't know which method they are using to extract the money from your account and then from your bank.) But it still seems to be in operation, and people are falling for it. Can't say it often enough: be careful on the web! Peronally, I maintain a seperate RL bank account for SL activities: it has 1$US in it. When I want to buy L$, I transfer the funds into it IRL before doing the SL transaction.

An option that has been mentioned in passing by several people is Linux. I don't know how well the various Viewers work on Linux, whether Voice works, if they are difficult to set up or trivial like on Windows and Mac. And I don't know about what hardware you would want, and how much hassle (if any) getting the right drivers installed and all. But it is very possible that you could get a high-performing Linux machine for SL for relatively cheap. You could run Windows programs in a virtual machine under Linux, so you can have Microsoft Office and all. If that's something you want. (The idea with Linux is that you don't need MS programs, because there are free replacement programs on Linux. Whether it all meets your needs depends; for many people it is okay or better than MS.) The real and pertinent questions about Linux are about the SL software performance and the hardware costs for suitable hardware. Although I have a lot of experience with Linux, none of it regards SL.

Madelaine McMasters wrote: Emma Krokus wrote: 75 fps? Wow - I'd be in heaven... (and a better internet connection....) And it's interesting to read of yours and Madeline's experiences of running other os's on a mac without too much hassle... Oooh that's thrown a spanner in the works! Hmmmm... Emma But if you've no need or desire to run Mac OS, you can do the same on a Windows PC, which can run the same virtualization software. People run Linux in a window on Windows all the time. Yes, I've run Linux on VMWARE on PCs plenty. But since she's asking about Mac versus PC, I assume the attraction is the Mac software (which can only run on a Mac). Hardware-wise, the Apple computers are competitively priced high-end machines. But you could save some money by getting a slightly lower-end PC. Maybe you could save a lot. But that would be a different discussion entitled, "What's a nice PC for SL and how much does it cost?" Btw, the Mac I use for SL with the great performance is the highest-end Mac laptop, fully maxed out (16 GB, SSD, 2.7 i7, GT 650M 1024, etc.) It is a Retina. Hardwired ethernet to high speed FIOS. As I write this, I have three instances of FS running, each getting > 70 FPS. CPU usage is 18% and the fans have not come on. YMMV.

If you're trying to decide on a Mac v PC, please be informed that "less software choices" is not a true statement. The Mac can run both the Apple operating system ("OS X") and Microsoft Windows at the same time, using virtual machines. You can run all the Mac software, as well as any Windows software, at the same time. You can also run Linux programs at the same time. I routinely run all the Mac applications at the same time as Windows programs (such as Visual Studio, Visio, Office, and various programs you've never heard of) and all of Linux (again, programs you never heard of)...all at the same time. You get a Windows START menu in the Mac's normal dock (launch bar). Click click click it just all works. You can't do that on a PC.

High end Macbook Pro works great for SL. (Better than any of the PCs I have, and better than running the Windows version of SL on the Mac hardware.) Ancient 2009 Mac Mini runs SL more or less OK, but it seems to get hot. I get 75 FPS on three simultaneous instances of Firestorm on the Macbook Pro. If I run a lot of them (say, nine instances) then the fans come on and the FPS goes down but it's still usable.

Suspiria Finucane wrote: My personal recommendation would be; “if” you did not receive said *coughs* legal notice from an authorized LL representative, to flush it down the same toilet as the majority of so called legal advice (because it holds no authority in this case) you have received on this thread. I’ll point you to one of my favorite sub-sections of the TOS. Yes, I’ve been threatened before in a similar manner, on this very forum in fact, to no avail. (Bold emphasis by me for your case) Full section can be read here. 7.3 You grant certain Content licenses to users of Second Life by submitting your Content to publicly accessible areas of the Service. ……. "Your interactions with the Service" may include use of the Second Life permissions system and the copy, modify, and transfer settings for indicating how other users may use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, or perform your Content In-World subject to these Terms of Service. Any agreement you make with other users relating to use or access to your Content must be consistent with these Terms of Service, and no such agreement can abrogate, nullify, void or modify these Terms of Service. ………. For your case the key words are “prepare derivative works of”. If, the image was indeed given to your friend as full perm (hence the word “may” in the section), the original creator has waived their license of exclusive use, with the Service, via the sub-section afore highlighted. You are misunderstanding the wording there, and you are also ignoring the remainder of the TOS, and your understanding of Copyright law is defective. Use of the Second Life permission system does not constitute any waiver of copyrights nor does is it represent parole evidence of a contract to transfer copyrights. Let's not even get into the "binding a third party" tangent. Where did you go to law school?

Philosophical comments about rape aside... The legal definition of "rape" or "sexual assault" requires that the offender physically touch you in certain ways (e.g. "penetration of the labia majora" and such). Second Life has nothing to do with physically touching, nobody touched anyone, and it is all make believe. It should be obvious that you cannot "prosecute someone in real life" for "raping" you in Second Life, regardless of what they did. You might be able to get a prosecutor to go after them for some other crime. Where I live, there is a law on the books (don't know if it has been tested, even for Constitutionality) which is "Harassment by Computer". "If any person, with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass any person, shall use a computer or computer network to communicate obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious, or indecent language, or make any suggestion or proposal of an obscene nature, or threaten any illegal or immoral act, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor." By the way, this idea of "rape" in cyberspace is not new ground. It already happened about 20 years ago on an earlier virtual world system called "LambdaMOO". (I was there.) You can read lots about it on the web. For starters, http://www.juliandibbell.com/articles/a-rape-in-cyberspace/. Or the Wikipedia article about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Rape_in_Cyberspace Just last week I learned that there is now a stage play about it, so I guess it's topical: http://citypaper.com/arts/stage/what-a-tangled-web-1.1492872

Is anybody working on interfacing the Oculus Rift with Second Life? http://www.oculusvr.com

Pussycat Catnap wrote: So you can have vehicles driving around, or boxes on a conveyor belt - but forget about doing a herd of bison or a village of santa's elves... What about an underwear gnomes factory?

I have seen beggers you are referring to. They are BOTS, not humans. You should report them, because maybe LL will block their IP addresses and we'll be rid of them.

Here are typical rules; check with your particular school. http://research.unc.edu/ccm/groups/public/@research/@hre/documents/content/ccm3_021320.pdf

For those who are unfamiliar with Oculus Rift: http://games.slashdot.org/story/12/08/01/2031232/oculus-rift-virtual-reality-headset-blows-past-kickstarter-goal

Vegro Solari wrote: If somebody took the cookies from you, you'd have less cookies than before. But. if someone sings or uses your song in SL, you know what? You have one more fan in the world, and many more listeners Each of whom was supposed to pay for a copy of the song - the uploader has deprived you of your income, taken money right out of your pocket. How is this different than the stolen cookies? Or do you think that artists should not be paid for their work?

Gadget Portal wrote: The venue that hires the DJ (and makes the profits) is required to have a license. That's how it works for RL venues (mostly). I myself have such a license IRL. But the situation is slightly different on the Internet. It is a different license to stream music on the Internet. But I'm not sure how it's being done for Second Life. I think I heard that a lot of "Internet Radio Stations" (outside of SL) had to go out of business about two years ago, because the fees went up so high. I am wondering: How do DJs in Second Life get the proper licensing for the music they stream? Are they obtaining their licenses personally? Is the streaming accomplished through some service that already has a license? Or is it all entirely illegal and people just hope they won't get caught? Or what?

What is the legality of DJing in Second Life these days? I suppose you must have a license from ASCAP and BMI to play music on a stream for people? Wasn't there some big change in the license pricing a while back that caused most Internet "radio stations" to close down? Where does this stand?

SL was running fine for me on Ubuntu, but I haven't tried it in about 6 weeks. During that time I upgraded to the new LTS from April, and I think new SL versions may have been installed. Now SL crashes the X server and I get immediately logged out if I try to run it. Just sayin: Could be that SL will run fine on this guy's Ubuntu, if he gets all the right stars lined up. I haven't bothered to try and fix mine yet; mostly use OS X on another computer or Windows (on the Linux machine) for SL.

Many of my friends, all using different Viewers (such as old LL V1, Phoenix, and current LL V3) have been experiencing overheating problems in the last three weeks. They're coming from different places in the USA and also from abroad (Oz). Nothing seems to be common, except the sim, and the overheating. The region is running 12.06.04.258754. (The problem is not the V3 bug of CPU 100%, because these people are all on different Viewers some of which I know do not have that bug.) Is anyone else experiencing recent mysterious overheating? Could it be some bug in the server (perhaps overtaxing the Viewer in some new way)? Something appears to be going on. The overheating is to the point of shutting down their computers.