Josef Munster

Its a 2 step process, There's several reasons reasons for this even though SketchUp is Collada compliant and can produce Collada files. First, you need to export the file to upload as an obj file from SketchUp. If you use the SketchUp free version, get and install the SketchUp obj export plugin that adds obj export to SketchUp. Second, use MeshLab a free file converter to convert the obj file to to Collada. At this point you can upload the dae file using the viewer. SketchUp's collada and google earth export has some conflicts with what the Second Life upload expects. SketchUp after the first release of v 7 exports Collada v 1.4.1 and Second Life uses 1.4.0. If you do get a SketchUp collada to upload, curved surfaces appear distorted. If you export to obj then use MeshLab to convert to collada, you don't get the distortion, and most important - the file uploads, and it's more efficient in terms of prims, prim equivalent, physical weight, and render cost. In one test I uploaded two mesh files. The first one was a Sketchup v 8 exported collada (7 prims, 5 prim equivalent, 5.2 physical weight, 324 render cost). The second one was the same model exported as obj then converted using MeshLab to collada (1 prim, 3 prim equivalent, 3.0 physical weight, 55 render cost). There's no curved surface distortion and connecting surfaces align. In other words what you uploaded in Second Life looks like what you have in SketchUp. Also note it saves you 6 prims, 2 prim equivalent, 1.8 physical weight, and 269 render cost.

You can use Sketchup v 8, it's collada will upload this morning, but for the reasons below I would export to obj, then use MeshLab to convert the obj file to collada. Both mesh below were uploaded this morning. The one on the left was a Sketchup v 8 exported collada (7 prims, 5 prim equivalent, 5.2 physical weight, 324 render cost). The one on the right was the same model exported as obj then converted using MeshLab to collada (1 prim, 3 prim equivalent, 3.0 physical weight, 55 render cost). There's no curved surface distortion and the cylinder and the connecting surface align on the right. Also note it saves you 6 prims, 2 prim equivalent, 1.8 physical weight, and 269 render cost.

Export the file to upload as obj. If you use the free version, get and install the SketchUp obj export plugin. Use MeshLab, a free file converter, to import the obj file and convert to collada. There's several reasons reasons for this. SketchUp's collada and google earth export has some conflicts with what the Second Life upload expects. SketchUp after the first release of v 7 exports Collada v 1.4.1 and Second Life uses 1.4.0. If you do get a SketchUp collada to upload, curved surfaces appear distorted. If you export to obj then use MeshLab to convert to collada, you don't get the distortion, and most important - the file uploads, and it's more efficient in terms of prims, prim equivalent, physical weight, and render cost. Both mesh below were uploaded this morning. The one on the left was a Sketchup v 8 exported collada (7 prims, 5 prim equivalent, 5.2 physical weight, 324 render cost). The one on the right was the same model exported as obj then converted using MeshLab to collada (1 prim, 3 prim equivalent, 3.0 physical weight, 55 render cost). There's no curved surface distortion and the cylinder and the connecting surface align on the right. Also note it saves you 6 prims, 2 prim equivalent, 1.8 physical weight, and 269 render cost.

@Acheron, is there a guide to show how the texture in either of the 2 videos were made?

Related to this,had you gone to or googled any of the SLrelated blogs? Some let therir domain registration expire. For others, the last blog was anywhere from 2008 to 6 or 9 months ago. I think it had a lot to do with the 2006-7 resident boom, slight decline of residents the following year with the exodus of corporate sims, a new area called Zindra, the LL "soon to be released" mesh announcement in 2009, the end of teen grid, and school sims prone to leaving . Too much growth too fast then coasting. The IE 3D/VR (immersive education nonprofit) started pushing reusable content with mesh, along with realextend, open sim, cobalt, open wonderland, and SL, about the time SL mesh beta went public. I think within 2 months of mesh hitting the main grid, SL will be back in 2005 and start to experience growth. It would help if what LL was working on to increase resident capacity per server was a plan to announce intent to become hypergrid-enabled within a year.

If it was a email, there's several things that would eliminate doubt of it being genuine or a 419 mail. If your email reader has the option to view the full headers instead of the to, from and subject, then set it to view all of the headers. Some readers add comments something like the domain (of the from address) has not authorized mail being sent from another domain server. Then read the header from bottom up. You're looking for the mail server domain that the mail first started at., which should be the same as the from address domain. Then look at the to address, if it wasn't sent through a bulk mailer, it should have your address, otherwise it may say something like undesignated receipent. Finally if your headers have a field called something like Originating IP, run the IP through a free reverse IP domain check. Bulk mailers have an internal email server, but they have to be sent through an internet provider. Some of the scammers are getting better educated, and use a bulk mailer that does the equivalent of caller ID spoofing. It appears valid, except for: the from domain not authorizing where mail sent, the IP location and company registered to the domain are suspicious, and if you are listed as an undesignated receipient in the to address. If you see the first 2 of these, chances are you got a scam mail. Lastly, hover your mouse over the area that you're supposed to click on and look at the status bar that shows the actual url address, this is a giveaway on most of the bank or paypal scam mails that said you need to verify your account or login, you can see the actual url coded in is bogus. If you got a scam mail and after contacting both linden's billing and fraud divisions, if you have some free time and want to have some fun, google for something like 419 eaters, 419 baiters, or scam baiters and read them for some ideas. Personally I would't bother because it could be addictive. One thing to think about is contacting the IP provider that you found if you ran the reverse IP domain check, they know whose account was used to mail from the originating IP part of the header.

It's official, InfoWorld just emailed Resistance is futile: Facebook assimilates MySpace, for their newsletter. Which begs the question, was the teen grid closing a hairbrain scheme, or is LL positioning itself like FaceBook did prior?

SL could always rename itself Cougarland. I know that I'm going to regret asking, I never heard of cartoon BDSM before. Is it role playing Popeye or Olive Oyle?

Only way this would work would be to require mandatory age verification. Too many of the "little darlings" found out or were smart enough to figure out that they could lie about their age when opening an account. Besides, given the ingenuity, I wouldn't put it pass one of them to figure a hack to bypass it, identify the adult avatars using an age block, and then panther or cougar grief them.

I ran the search and he's right. One thing that he didn't mentioned was sims in the teen grid being shut down, including some Linden ones. When I ran the search I found a blog that addressed this, The Voice of TSL. Note the following: August 2010 notice of grid merge, April 2010 and February 2009 sims disappear or disappear then reappear later. Which begs the question given the August 2010 notice, was the closure being orchestrated well in advance, so there was a reason to make the August announcement. Also if you sift through the blog, other things come up. Such as laying off the Lindens that were supposed to be monitoring the grid for adults pretending to be teens. Sorry we really didn't know, this was kept from us too.

I just saw Man v. Second Life 2 and if there's Man v Second Life 3 this got to be part of it. Adam Steele is in his compound when a gang of teens wanders on his land. Steele hears an alarm, goes out to look with binoculars and the scene reverts back to the teens. A large sign materializes in front of them, "Warning you have entered into a prohibited area. You have 10 seconds to leave." Immediately after 1 teen says to the rest "What can they do to us?" orange glowing targets materialize on their foreheads. The scene reverts back to Steele, who puts down the binoculars, smiles and says "Thank you Lindens. I got to remember to tell the pilot I won't need him today. Steele faces the camera then goes into a monologue. "In the past two episodes you came along on a hunt for a valuable food source, Noobs. Today we're going to hunt veal Noobs." The scene breaks off to Steele doing a Second Life remake of "The Most Dangerous Game."

Add another vote here in favor of making a T, G continent. Add age verification that would restrict access to the T areas. If they're allowed in the preexisting areas, there's only three ways to prevent them from seeing what's occurring on an adjacent area: either a buffer of enough G rated areas need to be between them (like what a flood zone does to prevent building), or make their browser so that it can't render anything in an area rated above G. The third would have some type of barriers, like a forest, wall, or mountain. But if a barrier is errected to block the view, don't count that against the owners prim limits (because we're grandfathered). One thing I didn't see mentioned was some merchant may decide to tone an adult business down to get their business. There's a lot of other problems, but making a T, G continent would be a start.

I just realized they could also make an announcement and say they just added the code for mesh support in the batch to do sim updates early next am, but provide the browser link today if they had a twisted sense of humor like the sadist saying no when the masochist asks the sadist to punish them. hehe

It could also be 6:00 pm-11:59 pm pst, after they close. I've seen companies intentionally do this to keep their promise yet defer headaches until the next business day.

Will there be an update on the 3D software guide on the wiki to reflect mesh import in Second Life. Understandably most of the posts deal with mesh. Info on rigging/workarounds and other 3D modeler features/workarounds were limited other than a few 3D Max and Blender posts. It would be helpful to know the limitations and whether there are workarounds for them before learning the software and spending the time to get proficient with it. I've see some posts mentioning the cost of some commercial software, but that's small compared to training, whether by course or diy with a book/videos.

I have several questions for those already in the private beta for mesh. I've seen posts in this thread about a variety of 3D modeling software that can be used in Second Life, but hardly any addressed rigging and bones. Is rigging/bones restricted to only a few 3D modelers, such as Blender or 3D Max that use it? If SketchUp or another program is used that doesn't use rigging, is there a rigging program that can import the mesh to add rigging to the mesh before uploading to second life, and if there's none, can the rigging be done in Second Life after the mesh is uploaded?