Check out the screenshots for The Cool VL Viewer

[Guku Aabye]

The viewer i use for Second Life is called The Cool VL Viewer

Check out the Screenshots for The Cool VL Viewer:

http://sldev.free.fr/

It's almost looks like the old looking viewer when

I first started playing Second Life.

Download it if you all want to.

 

[Freya Mokusei]

Okay? Is this... news? Cool VL Viewer's been out since before the TPVP and ever since.

There aren't really oldbies/midbies with a crisis of usability anymore, which to my eyes was what the use-case of Cool VL was. Capable users have adapted, incapable ones have either logged out for good or figured out a solution by now.

If I wanted to use a viewer from 2006 - 2008 it's more feasible to go back in time. UI improvements happen for a reason.

If you're attempting to do "marketing" on Cool VL's behalf I'd ask you to reconsider. They don't need bad publicity.

 

[Alwin Alcott]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

The viewer i use for Second Life is called The Cool VL Viewer

nice...hope it works ok for you

Check out the Screenshots for The Cool VL Viewer:

ehm no thanks i have a good working one

It's almost looks like the old looking viewer when

I first started playing Second Life.

That time is long gone, SL developed, and so did the viewer

Download it if you all want to.

no thank you, i prefer a fully accepted viewer, even when it states itself it is, it's not in the 3rd party viewer list of LL so there's something missing to be accepted and be listed.

I don't say it's a bad viewer, but just prefer one that's listed by LL

 

---

 

[Guku Aabye]

No i'm not doing any marketing on The Cool VL Viewer

I just would like people to know more about it thats all

Like for example everyone knows about Firestorm

and hardly anyone knows about The Cool VL Viewer

Sorry for talking or asking about it here

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

hardly anyone knows about The Cool VL Viewer

---

Because they're not listed on the Third Party Viewer Directory, as mentioned by Alwin above. It won't get many new fans, as I said before - the main use-case for it is long gone. It's a product of its time, nothing more.

Cool VL Viewer is probably either non-compliant or old and outdated - or both. It will almost certainly give a very different and worse impression of Second Life than a modern or compliant viewer. Some (or many) things won't work as they should.

You're welcome to use it at your own risk, my feeling is that it would be a mistake to point new users in its direction (and so I don't).

[Guku Aabye]

Yeah i been using it for awhile now The Cool VL Viewer

I forget  how many years i been using it

The only thing i have to do is

go to the website to get the updates.

It's not automatic updates.

But i like The Cool VL Viewer a lot

[Jean Horten]

Cool VL, worst supported viewer of them all .

Singularity uses the old style V1 UI too and has much more features than Cool.

J.

[Callum Meriman]

The nice thing about SL is people can choose a viewer that (mostly) suits them.

Some people even use Niran's viewer.

[Nalates Urriah]

Freya, you are wrong on so many points...

Cool VL Viewer is made by Henri Beauchamp, a crusty French character. He has never liked the V2, 3, 4, and soon 5 user interface made by the Lindens. So, he built a viewer he likes that uses the old V1 user interface. He has kept the viewer up to date and it has all the latest Linden Viewer features.

Henri likes to poke at the Firestorm and Linden developers. He fixes things and removes bugs from his Cool VL that still remain in FS and LL viewers. He also often adds new features before others can get them added in and working. I could probably make a good case for it being the cutting edge viewer... but, that V1 UI hurts the surface of that argument.

I don't use his viewer as my main viewer because I don't like the V1 User Interface. I currently don't have a copy installed. But, for a time it was one of my alternate viewers.

You'll find from talking with Henri that the viewer is not in the Third Party Viewer listing because he doesn't want to do all the paper work. It is complient. But, we do have to take his word for it, which is the case with all the other viewers listed. The Lab doesn't test them for compliance.

Even the programmers he pokes at I have never heard speak of him commiting any dishonesty or abuse via his viewer.

Some feel that it better supports older hardware than even Singularity. I used to test viewers, but have never tested that claim.

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Nalates Urriah wrote:

 

Even the programmers he pokes at I have never heard speak of him commiting any dishonesty or abuse via his viewer.

---

This thought never crossed my mind, sorry if you read it in my posts. I've met Henri, I was once fairly familiar with the Cool VL project. He's a good kid.

The compliance aspects I was referring to were more "Shared Experience" stuff.

Thanks for the update that it's at least still kicking, but I still don't believe there's any modern value in a V1 arcitecture. Anyone who adored V1 to the point of intransigence is long-gone or probably facing bigger incompatibility issues than just SL (e.g. Win XP).

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

The viewer i use for Second Life is called The Cool VL Viewer

Check out the Screenshots for The Cool VL Viewer:

http://sldev.free.fr/

It's almost looks like the old looking viewer when

I first started playing Second Life.

Download it if you all want to.

 

---

So, essentially it looks like Firestorm in V1 mode... Without all the bells and whistles and being on the compliant list. Sorry, I don't care how much a dev says he is compliant, after the Emerald fiasco if they aren't on the list, i wont use it.

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

So, essentially it looks like Firestorm in V1 mode...

---

Eh, no. FS fakes it with fancy styles. Cool VL was forked from v1.23.5 (or was it 1.25.3? Goshdamn it's been a long time).

It's the OG V1.

Also Nalates is right about the list. It's not 'managed', the Third Party Viewer Directory (nor TPVP) does not offer any implicit security or protection. You're statistically just as likely to find sneaky junk from a viewer on the list as one off of it. What the Emerald nonsense proved was the lack of oversight - and that's not changed.

Security risks isn't the reason I'd personally advocate against using a non-listed (or even non-compliant) viewer - that's why I was surprised to hear Nalates interpretation of my post. Providing help to new users who accidentally wander into the v1.x ecosystem is a mess, and pretending SL can support old hardware has been (IMO) the hardest and least-supported part of user retention.

I mean, you can trust in whatever metric you like. But illusions of security are worse than no security at all. So, careful there.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

Freya Mokusei wrote:

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

So, essentially it looks like Firestorm in V1 mode...

---

Eh, no. FS fakes it with fancy styles. Cool VL was forked from v1.23.5 (or was it 1.25.3? Goshdamn it's been a long time).

It's the OG V1.

Also Nalates is right about the list. It's not 'managed', the Third Party Viewer Directory (nor TPVP) does not offer any implicit security or protection. You're statistically

just as likely

to find sneaky junk from a viewer on the list as one off of it. What the Emerald nonsense proved was the lack of oversight -

and that's not changed

.

Security risks isn't the reason I'd personally advocate against using a non-listed (or even non-compliant) viewer - that's why I was surprised to hear Nalates interpretation of my post. Providing help to new users who accidentally wander into the v1.x ecosystem is a mess, and pretending SL can support old hardware has been (IMO) the hardest and least-supported part of user retention.

I mean, you can trust in whatever metric you like. But

illusions of security

are worse than no security at all. So, careful there.

---

Well, it states:

Beware of third-party viewers that are not in the Viewer Directory: they have either declined to self-certify their compliance with Linden Lab policies or been refused for noncompliance with the policies.

That says to me that LL is telling users not to use something that isn't on the TPV list.

Personally, I wont use a viewer that wont become compiant to the TPV list.. Is it really that much effort?

If you read through the Policy on Third-Party Viewers they have a laundry list of things they allow and do not allow TPVs to do. Sounds like some actual security to me, not an illusionary version.

[Bitsy Buccaneer]

---

Freya Mokusei wrote:

There aren't really oldbies/midbies with a crisis of usability anymore, which to my eyes was what the use-case of Cool VL was. Capable users have adapted, incapable ones have either logged out for good or figured out a solution by now.

 

---

Meh. I might be RL disabled, but when it comes to computers and SL I am generally pretty capable. I prefer Singularity and the V1 interface. It's also the most stable and lowest lag viewer for me by far. Unfortunately the Mac branch is no longer supported, but the only things I need that I'm missing are local textures and avatar complexity. It's easy enough to relog when I want to test textures and for avatar complexity I just ask a friend to check my numbers.

I have spent enough time in the official viewer and Firestorm to know that Singularity works better for me. Heck, it even has that nice Windlight preset menu which never made it into the official viewer.

So yeah, Cool Viewer and Singularity users aren't as backwards as you're making out.

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

If you read through the

Policy on Third-Party Viewers

they have a laundry list of things they allow and do not allow TPVs to do. Sounds like some actual security to me, not an illusionary version.

---

Nah. It's legalese, protects people from liability. It provides no safety for end users.

Actual security would be checking that viewers on the list don't do the disallowed things. There are no checks - it's self-certify. If self-reporting counts as security to you then I have a bridge to sell that - I promise - would survive a nuclear strike, perhaps you'd care to place an offer?

Emerald only got spotted because of the obviousness of what they were doing (users 'on the ground' noticed the lag) and it was confirmed by multiple devs inside the walls. Claims of "security" provided by the TPVP - if true - would have caught this prior to users being exposed to it.

Personally, select viewers based on criteria of your own devising. But be careful when accepting implications of security - it's harder to react to security threats that you believe you're already being protected against.

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Bitsy Buccaneer wrote:

 the only things I need that I'm missing are local textures and avatar complexity.

---

Those are some of the shared experience issues I was concerned about. I haven't used Cool VL in years, I don't know its featureset - but I can imagine it's not up to date. *shrug*

---

Bitsy Buccaneer wrote:

So yeah, Cool Viewer and Singularity users aren't as backwards as you're making out.

---

That's fine, but you're part of the latter set of folks in my generalisation. You've figured out a solution (hence, you don't need awareness of Cool VL raising). No-one's still looking around wishing they could get back the old V1 UI. There is no-one left who is still "undecided", still in need of a solution like Cool VL, people either moved with the times or chose to get left behind for their own reasons.

In my opinion, suggesting any presently undecided (e.g. new users) users pick up Cool VL is a mistake.

I wasn't criticising your decision, you're free to use whichever viewer you like. I'm skeptical of claims like "most stable", but it's of no value to me to prove stability for you. If you feel like it works better, that's all you need.

I was criticising the usefulness of the OP's content being posted here, in 2016, as though it was new information. My personal opinion on whether people are "backwards" or not depends on significantly more than their choice in viewer.

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

Freya Mokusei wrote:

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

If you read through the

Policy on Third-Party Viewers

they have a laundry list of things they allow and do not allow TPVs to do. Sounds like some actual security to me, not an illusionary version.

---

Nah. It's legalese, protects people from liability. It provides no safety for end users.

Actual security would be

checking

that viewers on the list don't do the disallowed things. There

are no checks - it's self-certify

. If self-reporting counts as security to you then I have a bridge to sell that - I promise - would survive a nuclear strike, perhaps you'd care to place an offer?

Emerald only got spotted because of the obviousness of what they were doing (users 'on the ground' noticed the lag) and it was confirmed by multiple devs inside the walls. Claims of "security" provided by the TPVP - if true - would have caught this prior to users being exposed to it.

Personally, do entirely as you please. 

---

"We may analyze any Third-Party Viewer and its code, content, and data for any reason, including to ensure that the application complies with our policies and is safe for users. Although we do not guarantee that we will conduct such an analysis, we may do so in our sole discretion."

I would be willing to bet they do check them. If only so they don't get sued.

All of the "checking and security" stuff was added to the TPV list after Emerald.

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

I would be willing to bet they do check them.

---

That's exactly what you are doing. You're betting several things on this process, which the official verbiage says only that they "may" do. Imagine any rationale for carrying these checks you like, it doesn't count as proof. If they wanted to provide any increased security to end users, they would make guarantees.

As before, that's fine if you're okay with that risk. I don't see it being useful to minimise that risk or pretending that it doesn't exist. In line with Security Theater, imagining safety where none is provided opens you up to more risk, never less.

My position remains. There are legitimate reasons for using the TPVD, but security is not one of them.

[Guku Aabye]

Yes i agree with you. TY

Why hasn't a lot of people in Second Life  heard of  The Cool VL Viewer?

A lot of people ask me what viewer i use and i tell them

And there like i never even heard of that viewer

To me The Cool VL Viewer is the best viewer

Like in Second Life everyone heard or uses Firestorm

But hardly anyone uses or heard of The Cool VL Viewer

I was wondering why?

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

Yes i agree with you. TY

Why hasn't a lot of people in Second Life  heard of  The Cool VL Viewer?

Because it isn't listed on the TPV page..

A lot of people ask me what viewer i use and i tell them

And there like i never even heard of that viewer

To me The Cool VL Viewer is the best viewer

Like in Second Life everyone heard or uses Firestorm

But hardly anyone uses or heard of The Cool VL Viewer

I was wondering why?

Because it's old as heck, isn't popular and there isn't an inworld group dedicated to it. Maybe if he promoted himself at the SLB or any number of events...

---

 

[Guku Aabye]

I have it listed in my profile on my avatar

If you go to my profile you will see i put the link

on my profile for  The Cool VL Viewer

[Drake1 Nightfire]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

I have it listed in my profile on my avatar

If you go to my profile you will see i put the link

on my profile for  The Cool VL Viewer

---

I didnt mean you.. i meant the dev of cool viewer... Still no official group. and his profile has nothing about the viewer, tons of vore and dolcett stuff, but nothing about his viewer.

[Alwin Alcott]

---

Guku Aabye wrote:

I h............viewer

---

you start to sound like a recording by now... keeping repeating the same as your first post isn't adding a lot to this discussion.

It start to look like your only purpose is promoting. You'll have to come with something better to get people convinced.

 

[Freya Mokusei]

---

Alwin Alcott wrote:

you start to sound like a recording by now... keeping repeating the same as your first post isn't adding a lot to this discussion.

It start to look like your only purpose is promoting. You'll have to come with something better to get people convinced.

---

Agree. Was my starting suspicion. Oh well.

I'm probably done posting to this thread too, I disliked bumping it with continued posts but I did prefer to at least justify my opinions. Between the weird promotion and the shade thrown at folks' choice of leisure activity I think the fun's over.

Enjoy yo' weekend.

[Pamela Galli]

CV was the first non LL Viewer I used, loved it but for some reason I had to stop using it and move to Emerald I think. I have since  used Simgularity alternating w FS depending on which has become unusable on my iMacs. They each have important functionality the other lacks.

What they all have in common is they look like v1.