Today I imported a two of the better patches from Bleeding Edge to Old School. They both had huge impact on usability with the new viewer so they might also improve the experience with the vintage viewer. One of the patches should reduce memory consumption if you stay longer in busy areas without teleporting between sims, the other avoids possible stalls when the viewer cleans up the disk cache. They are both tried and trusted now so I do not expect problems. See the change log for all the details.
Generally I'd like to repeat that in my opinion my Bleeding Edge builds should run as good as Old School now, so that's what I am focusing at the moment. Working on the OS series is for rainy Sundays of if I find really important bugs or improvements.
If you want to keep using Old School, here is the usual release blurp:
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running this Old School version.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have1.18.0.6 installed (otherwise get it here). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-OS-n.zip from there.
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Mac Builds: Version BE-q (Updated)
Tillie Ariantho just IM'd and says: "MacOSX/INTEL (binary + xmls only, read the install.txt): http://tilly-server.de/files/nicholaz-be-q-macos-bin.zip. Can someone tell me if that works for him/her? For me it works on my MacBook Pro. :)"
Barney Boomslang also has his version for BE-q ready and says: "Ok, my patcher is updated to the BE-Q version now. It's a universal build with a little tool that patches the official client. Should be able to patch a BE-O version, too. Download again at http://radio-boomslang.shacknet.nu/~bb/articles/nicholaz-edition-mac/index.html"
Thanks Tillie and Barney! :-)
PS: The Linden Mac versions which can serve as the basis for the above Nicholaz-Edition builds are available for download here (Linden 1.18.3.5-RC) or here (Linden 1.18.3.5).
Barney Boomslang also has his version for BE-q ready and says: "Ok, my patcher is updated to the BE-Q version now. It's a universal build with a little tool that patches the official client. Should be able to patch a BE-O version, too. Download again at http://radio-boomslang.shacknet.nu/~bb/articles/nicholaz-edition-mac/index.html"
Thanks Tillie and Barney! :-)
PS: The Linden Mac versions which can serve as the basis for the above Nicholaz-Edition builds are available for download here (Linden 1.18.3.5-RC) or here (Linden 1.18.3.5).
Release: Bleeding Edge BE-q
A new version is available on the server. I did a bit of work under the hood to make source more manageable, especially with the possible prospect of merging and mixing with other homebrews (there are no plans yet, but I expect that eventually).
There are four probably crashes fixed (all of minor impact though) and a focus nuisance (keyboard focus stolen by blue notifications) taken care of. Also a change that stores the settings in it's own file (settings_nicholaz.xml) so that the Nicholaz-settings (ctrl+alt+s) won't get reset when the official viewer is used.
As always, the change log has all the details and it should especially be helpful for users who are new to my viewers (see the bottom of the file).
Source code is also on the server, so keep those Linux and Mac builds coming. I hope I didn't break your compiles by my changes, but if I did, please let me know and I'll merge your fixes back into the viewer. Same goes if you have something useful that affects those platforms and my viewer.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-q.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
There are four probably crashes fixed (all of minor impact though) and a focus nuisance (keyboard focus stolen by blue notifications) taken care of. Also a change that stores the settings in it's own file (settings_nicholaz.xml) so that the Nicholaz-settings (ctrl+alt+s) won't get reset when the official viewer is used.
As always, the change log has all the details and it should especially be helpful for users who are new to my viewers (see the bottom of the file).
Source code is also on the server, so keep those Linux and Mac builds coming. I hope I didn't break your compiles by my changes, but if I did, please let me know and I'll merge your fixes back into the viewer. Same goes if you have something useful that affects those platforms and my viewer.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-q.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
SecondLife Authentication
Together with the Havok4 announcment, another Linden mail hit the sldev mailing list (ahh those Fridays).
There seem to be plans to change the Login process on the viewer to make it more secure with regard to 3rd party viewers (like mine or anybody else who makes an open source build), basically finding a way to not give the password to a viewer to log in.
Details are here (wiki) and the sldev thread can be followed in the mailing list achive (scroll down until you find Website Viewer Authentication).
In a nutshell, I agree with most comments that the proposed change is useless in that whatever kind of authentication, once the viewer is logged in it, a malicious viewer still can do what it wants and that the proposed change is also a nuisance from a usability perspective and will probably break many ways people are using SL (Ajax-Life, libsl, etc.)
It is not yet clear, how far it is implemented and what the time frame for this change is. The initial mail said "pretty soon", but I would at least expect a release candidate cycle for something as far reaching as that.
I made a proposal for a different approach (search for Improving Authentication Security on the mailing list achive page) with less usability impact.
I may be wrong (and I really hope I am), but the announcement and the way Donovan Linden talks about the first iteration sounds a lot like this is more in final stages than in early discussion.
Given the fresh memories of how the communication window for voice was implemented, I'd like to raise public awareness of the issue and suggest that join discussion on the mailing list or via the wiki talk page or in office hours.
I don't mean to stage a protest, but I think now that the questions are asked, feedback should be early, constructive and clear.
There seem to be plans to change the Login process on the viewer to make it more secure with regard to 3rd party viewers (like mine or anybody else who makes an open source build), basically finding a way to not give the password to a viewer to log in.
Details are here (wiki) and the sldev thread can be followed in the mailing list achive (scroll down until you find Website Viewer Authentication).
In a nutshell, I agree with most comments that the proposed change is useless in that whatever kind of authentication, once the viewer is logged in it, a malicious viewer still can do what it wants and that the proposed change is also a nuisance from a usability perspective and will probably break many ways people are using SL (Ajax-Life, libsl, etc.)
It is not yet clear, how far it is implemented and what the time frame for this change is. The initial mail said "pretty soon", but I would at least expect a release candidate cycle for something as far reaching as that.
I made a proposal for a different approach (search for Improving Authentication Security on the mailing list achive page) with less usability impact.
I may be wrong (and I really hope I am), but the announcement and the way Donovan Linden talks about the first iteration sounds a lot like this is more in final stages than in early discussion.
Given the fresh memories of how the communication window for voice was implemented, I'd like to raise public awareness of the issue and suggest that join discussion on the mailing list or via the wiki talk page or in office hours.
I don't mean to stage a protest, but I think now that the questions are asked, feedback should be early, constructive and clear.
Havok4 on the beta grid
Lindens announced on the developer mailing list that the Havok4 physics engine is implemented on the beta grid. If you are interested in testing, see the Havok4 Beta page on the wiki.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Bleeding Edge: Two Mac Builds (Yay!)
It seems like nobody has an excuse anymore to not use a Nicholaz Edition :-)
Yesterday Barney Boomslang and Tillie Ariantho both posted links to Mac builds in the comments for BleedingEdge BE-p. (I almost missed these because this time I didn't receive notifications about new comment, otherwise I would have posted them asap.)
Barney has a version BE-o with a patch application for download. My knowledge about MacOS is close to zero, but I'm sure Mac users can make sense of what he says there.
Tillie has version BE-p as ZIP file with just my viewer binary and the associated xml files (see the Install.txt inside the ZIP file) and another one with "random bits" (again see the comments on my BE-p release notes for the random bits).
Thanks folks, you rock!
Woot! :-)
Yesterday Barney Boomslang and Tillie Ariantho both posted links to Mac builds in the comments for BleedingEdge BE-p. (I almost missed these because this time I didn't receive notifications about new comment, otherwise I would have posted them asap.)
Barney has a version BE-o with a patch application for download. My knowledge about MacOS is close to zero, but I'm sure Mac users can make sense of what he says there.
Tillie has version BE-p as ZIP file with just my viewer binary and the associated xml files (see the Install.txt inside the ZIP file) and another one with "random bits" (again see the comments on my BE-p release notes for the random bits).
Thanks folks, you rock!
Woot! :-)
Land Sales Issues
The problem of accidental land sales came up on the developer mailing list recently and I remember having been asked about it.
I have no idea about estate management and much less about sales. Is anyone aware of combinations where land can be set to sale accidentally (accidentally meaning without clear confirmation dialogs)?
Please let me know as comments to this blog post.
I have no idea about estate management and much less about sales. Is anyone aware of combinations where land can be set to sale accidentally (accidentally meaning without clear confirmation dialogs)?
Please let me know as comments to this blog post.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Robin Cornelius' Linux AMD64 Build (Nicholaz BE-o)
Robin sez: "I am hosting my build at amd64/binary-packages.html
In fact I have a complete standalone (opensource) AMD64/linux install there and a debian.deb."
I have no idea what that means (being a Windoozer) but I'm sure Linuxers will understand it :-)
In fact I have a complete standalone (opensource) AMD64/linux install there and a debian.deb."
I have no idea what that means (being a Windoozer) but I'm sure Linuxers will understand it :-)
Lilly's Linux Build of BleedingEdge-p
Lilly Zenovka emailed me with a new i86/32bit Linxu build of Nicholaz BE-p.
Download from http://emak.free.fr/src/sl-nicholaz-linux/ and/or have a look at her README file.
Download from http://emak.free.fr/src/sl-nicholaz-linux/ and/or have a look at her README file.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Release: Bleeding Edge BE-p
I've been a bit of a busy beaver yesterday and eventually found a way to detect redmap situations (minimap going red when the viewer looses connection to the current sim). It was quite easy once I came up with the brilliant(!) idea, to actually look at the minimap source code instead of digging through the communication parts *duh*.
It will detect the situation in the same moment the minimap would detect it (which may be some after the loss of connection actually occurs). It seems to work quite well, the only risk is that it detects false positives, so I need a bit of feedback if you have situations where it reports the problem while it actually doesn't exist. In any case there is an option to turn the warning off (debug options, ctrl+alt+s).
There is also a bit of smaller stuff, like tweaking the last patch which deals with the viewer stalls and source changes which should help with Linux compiles (non portable code fixed and a Linux files.lst file updated).
As always, the change log has all the details and should especially be helpful for users who are new to my viewers (see the bottom of the file).
Source code is also on the server, so keep those Linux builds coming. And if someone wants to do a Mac build I'm all for it (my own Mac is still in the works and I guess it'll be a long time before I'll be able to make a distributable build).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-p.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
It will detect the situation in the same moment the minimap would detect it (which may be some after the loss of connection actually occurs). It seems to work quite well, the only risk is that it detects false positives, so I need a bit of feedback if you have situations where it reports the problem while it actually doesn't exist. In any case there is an option to turn the warning off (debug options, ctrl+alt+s).
There is also a bit of smaller stuff, like tweaking the last patch which deals with the viewer stalls and source changes which should help with Linux compiles (non portable code fixed and a Linux files.lst file updated).
As always, the change log has all the details and should especially be helpful for users who are new to my viewers (see the bottom of the file).
Source code is also on the server, so keep those Linux builds coming. And if someone wants to do a Mac build I'm all for it (my own Mac is still in the works and I guess it'll be a long time before I'll be able to make a distributable build).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-p.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Another "Bleeding Edge" for Linux
Lilly Zenovka also provided a Linxu build (version BE-o).
Download from http://emak.free.fr/src/sl-nicholaz-linux/ and/or have a look at her README file.
Thanks Lilly!
PS: Where are you Mac guys?? :-D
Download from http://emak.free.fr/src/sl-nicholaz-linux/ and/or have a look at her README file.
Thanks Lilly!
PS: Where are you Mac guys?? :-D
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Bleeding Edge for Linux
Barp (Anders Arnholm) made a Linux version out of the BE-o (1.18.3.5) viewer, and sent me the link, so you can download it here:
http://anders.arnholm.se/balps-asikter/SecondLife-BalpBuild-i686-1-18-3-5.tar.bz2.
Also, for all of you working on other platform builds, I'll try to make the source as portable as possible, so I'll fix a few things right away and if you have stuff which breaks your builds, please let me know what and where (I have a few points already, so give me feedback with the next release).
And of course, if you have builds for download, just send me URLs and I'll post them here.
http://anders.arnholm.se/balps-asikter/SecondLife-BalpBuild-i686-1-18-3-5.tar.bz2.
Also, for all of you working on other platform builds, I'll try to make the source as portable as possible, so I'll fix a few things right away and if you have stuff which breaks your builds, please let me know what and where (I have a few points already, so give me feedback with the next release).
And of course, if you have builds for download, just send me URLs and I'll post them here.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Release: Bleeding Edge BE-o
Here is a new version which complements Friday's required(?) update 1.18.3.5 for the release candidate.
My viewer now contains a sweet little patch which should cure some of the 15-30sec. hiccups and for good measure I also activated the compiler optimizations (first time for the bleeding edge series). It probably won't cure all pauses/stalls, but one was clearly identifyable as happening when the viewer flushed files from the disk cache.
As always, the change log has all the details and should be most helpful for users who are new to my viewers.
Source code is also on the server, with an additional patch for Linux/Mac. If someone makes a Linux or Mac build and has a download link, please let me know.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-o.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
My viewer now contains a sweet little patch which should cure some of the 15-30sec. hiccups and for good measure I also activated the compiler optimizations (first time for the bleeding edge series). It probably won't cure all pauses/stalls, but one was clearly identifyable as happening when the viewer flushed files from the disk cache.
As always, the change log has all the details and should be most helpful for users who are new to my viewers.
Source code is also on the server, with an additional patch for Linux/Mac. If someone makes a Linux or Mac build and has a download link, please let me know.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.5 (download link) installed.
Then download nicholaz-BE-o.zip from my server and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Friday, September 21, 2007
Alternate Viewer: Dale Glass Edition
I would like to draw your attention to another homebrew edition.
Dale Glass is one of the respected contributors on the sldev mailing list and a nice guy. He has spent some time and effort to create extra features which help dealing with security and anti griefing, so if you have needs or interests in those areas, check the alternate viewers page on the SL Wiki or go to Dale's website or blog directly.
The viewer is currently based on the release candidate, comes with full installer, installs independent of my edition and is available for Linux or Windows.
Dale Glass is one of the respected contributors on the sldev mailing list and a nice guy. He has spent some time and effort to create extra features which help dealing with security and anti griefing, so if you have needs or interests in those areas, check the alternate viewers page on the SL Wiki or go to Dale's website or blog directly.
The viewer is currently based on the release candidate, comes with full installer, installs independent of my edition and is available for Linux or Windows.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
30 Sec. Freezes (Redux)
I'd like to make another attempt to shed some light onto those 30. sec freezes. From your comments to the last post it seems there are various versions of them, so for a start I'd like to clarify what I'm looking for.
There seem to be freezes which stall the viewer, mostly when walking or using the camera. They seem to be new since the voice viewer, and there is a JIRA issue for it.
So, what I am looking for are details about "random" freezes which occur in the official Linden viewer (and possibly my derivates). I know there are issues related to inventory, but these are not what I am looking for.
For those of you who encounter these freezes, I'd like to hear details here in the comments.
When they happen ...
There seem to be freezes which stall the viewer, mostly when walking or using the camera. They seem to be new since the voice viewer, and there is a JIRA issue for it.
So, what I am looking for are details about "random" freezes which occur in the official Linden viewer (and possibly my derivates). I know there are issues related to inventory, but these are not what I am looking for.
For those of you who encounter these freezes, I'd like to hear details here in the comments.
When they happen ...
- ... does switching windows (e.g. putting the viewer behind another window), give the viewer a "not responding" title or is the viewer still usable?
- ... does the viewer use extreme CPU load (ctrl+alt+del to the task manager, check the process tab there)?
- ... does the viewer (in the task manager) increase or decrease memory usage (VM size or RAM) during the freeze?
- ... is there heavy disk activity during those times?
- ... when you look at the logfile (for the latest viewer this would be nicholaz-BE-n.log) are there suspicious entries around that time (just note the clock time and look at the time in the log)?
- ... are you using XP or Vista and with how much system RAM?
- ... are the freezes more prominent in the official version (compared to Nicholaz Bleeding Edge)?
- ... will the freezes go away for some time (not happening for hours/days) after doing a cache clear or are they possibly less prominent if you use smaller SL cache size?
Release: Nicholaz Edition BleedingEdge-n (18xn)
After the change of version numbering with Old School, this new Bleeding Edge release now also follows the new version scheme. Therefore this viewer is now called BleedingEdge-n (BE-n) and would be more or less equivalent to 18xn in the previous version counting.
It is now based on the latest Linden 1.18.3.4-ReleaseCandidate and besides the usual Nicholaz changes (memory, gui, etc.) comes with a few minor improvements. See the change log for the version specific and general details/features/fixes. I also changed the folders on the download server and the documentation a bit.
This version is currently my preferred viewer. The recommended setup now is: Latest official Linden 1.18.2.1 (download) viewer plus Linden 1.18.3.4-RC (download) plus Nicholaz BleedingEdge-n (see download instructions below).
Those of you who still prefer the pre-voice viewer for performance reasons, can of course still use my Old School release together with the latest RC and this version. Old School still seems to have performance benefits for some people, but most people should be quite happy with this new Bleeding Edge viewer and that includes the user interface.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.4 (download link) installed. Then download nicholaz-BE-n.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log on my server!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
It is now based on the latest Linden 1.18.3.4-ReleaseCandidate and besides the usual Nicholaz changes (memory, gui, etc.) comes with a few minor improvements. See the change log for the version specific and general details/features/fixes. I also changed the folders on the download server and the documentation a bit.
This version is currently my preferred viewer. The recommended setup now is: Latest official Linden 1.18.2.1 (download) viewer plus Linden 1.18.3.4-RC (download) plus Nicholaz BleedingEdge-n (see download instructions below).
Those of you who still prefer the pre-voice viewer for performance reasons, can of course still use my Old School release together with the latest RC and this version. Old School still seems to have performance benefits for some people, but most people should be quite happy with this new Bleeding Edge viewer and that includes the user interface.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.4 (download link) installed. Then download nicholaz-BE-n.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions and the change log on my server!
After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Confused?
If you're new to my viewers or confused by the recent flood of versions, here is a quick overview:
1.18.0.6: This (non voice) viewer is called old school here on this blog. The Linden viewer with that version does not work anymore, the same goes for my earlier versions which were based on that (18a-18l). Today's OldSchool-m (techically 18m) uses a hack get past the mandatory update.
1.18.2.x: The current official Linden viewer (voice, new chatterbox GUI). 1.18.2.1 today is the latest one, and there is no working Nicholaz Edition based on it.
1.18.3.(2/3/4): This voice viewer is a Linden release candidate and can be installed parallel to the official viewer. It is more solid than 1.18.2.x and will soon become the next official viewer. It has the chatterbox GUI. For this version there is a Nicholaz Edition with additional bugs fixed, and with the GUI partially reverted to the old style (friends and groups as separate windows). This edition is currently named Bleeding Edge 18xm and is what I am using myself most of the time.
1.18.0.6: This (non voice) viewer is called old school here on this blog. The Linden viewer with that version does not work anymore, the same goes for my earlier versions which were based on that (18a-18l). Today's OldSchool-m (techically 18m) uses a hack get past the mandatory update.
1.18.2.x: The current official Linden viewer (voice, new chatterbox GUI). 1.18.2.1 today is the latest one, and there is no working Nicholaz Edition based on it.
1.18.3.(2/3/4): This voice viewer is a Linden release candidate and can be installed parallel to the official viewer. It is more solid than 1.18.2.x and will soon become the next official viewer. It has the chatterbox GUI. For this version there is a Nicholaz Edition with additional bugs fixed, and with the GUI partially reverted to the old style (friends and groups as separate windows). This edition is currently named Bleeding Edge 18xm and is what I am using myself most of the time.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Release: Nicholaz Edition OldSchool-m
We have a new Old School viewer, but it's truly going vintage now because the underlying Linden Viewer 1.18.0.6 was rendered void by a mandatory update today. For the moment (unless the Lindens decide to bring their 1.18.0 series back from the dead), the only way to run old school is by doing creative version numbering upon login, which is what this version does.
Speaking of version numbers, besides a few minor changes (see the change log) I decided to change the naming scheme for my editions to avoid confusions. In old terms, this would be Nicholaz Edition 18m, but it is named OldSchool-m now.
Before you download this version, I'd like to encourage everyone to give the 18xm viewer a try. It is based on the Linden 1.18.3.3 release candidate, runs very well now and most people should not notice much difference.
Unless you have strong reasons to stick with my Old School viewer, here is my recommended setup: Upgrade the official/main viewer to Linden 1.18.2.1 (the one patched for security today). Next, install the Linden 1.18.3.3 release candidate and then to put my version 18xm on top.
If you do however want to keep using Old School, here is the usual release blurp:
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running this Old School version.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have1.18.0.6 installed (otherwise get it here). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-OS-m.zip from there.
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Speaking of version numbers, besides a few minor changes (see the change log) I decided to change the naming scheme for my editions to avoid confusions. In old terms, this would be Nicholaz Edition 18m, but it is named OldSchool-m now.
Before you download this version, I'd like to encourage everyone to give the 18xm viewer a try. It is based on the Linden 1.18.3.3 release candidate, runs very well now and most people should not notice much difference.
Unless you have strong reasons to stick with my Old School viewer, here is my recommended setup: Upgrade the official/main viewer to Linden 1.18.2.1 (the one patched for security today). Next, install the Linden 1.18.3.3 release candidate and then to put my version 18xm on top.
If you do however want to keep using Old School, here is the usual release blurp:
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running this Old School version.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have1.18.0.6 installed (otherwise get it here). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-OS-m.zip from there.
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
New mandatory Linden update 1.18.2.1
Lindens have released 1.18.2.1 a moment ago and made that the mandatory viewer because of a security exploit.
This breaks the old non-voice viewer. The release candidate remains unaffected (probably because it has a higher version number anyway and because the exploit does always start the official viewer).
For the moment I suggest you use my latest Bleeding Edge edition (which is voice with old style user interface based on the Linden release candidate). Download links (Linden release candidate, my viewer) and instructions are here.
Meanwhile I will see what I can do to keep the Old School viewer alive, so don't delete your old installations yet.
PS: If you do want to upgrade your Linden voice viewer, here is the correct download link for Linden 1.18.2.1.
This breaks the old non-voice viewer. The release candidate remains unaffected (probably because it has a higher version number anyway and because the exploit does always start the official viewer).
For the moment I suggest you use my latest Bleeding Edge edition (which is voice with old style user interface based on the Linden release candidate). Download links (Linden release candidate, my viewer) and instructions are here.
Meanwhile I will see what I can do to keep the Old School viewer alive, so don't delete your old installations yet.
PS: If you do want to upgrade your Linden voice viewer, here is the correct download link for Linden 1.18.2.1.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Exploit of Security Vulnerability
There is currently a pretty clever exploit of a few web browser and SL-viewer features, which allows websites to launch SL and pass an encoded version of your password to a third party server. I'll spare you the technical details, as they are already described in the link above, but want to provide a summary which the average user can understand.
To run into the problem you need to surf across a malicious website, which will then launch the viewer from within the web browser. Through a custom coded viewer the attacker could then theoretically log in with your avatar, but he will not aquire the actual password, so he can't log in to your account on www.secondlife.com. There are several factors involved, one is that you have the store password option in the viewer's login page, the other is that you are using IE or allowing Firefox to launch the program.
Unfortunately this can not be fixed through the nicholaz viewer, because the web browser will launch the original viewer.
I think the risk is relatively low that anyone will be hit by this. If you want to be sure, uncheck the "Remember password" option on the viewers start screen. In the unlikely case that you surf a website and you are without knowing why are asked if you want to launch SecondLife, simply decline. If the viewer comes up unexpectedly and automatically and then shows a login error, immediately go to www.secondlife.com, log in and change your password there.
There's no reason to panic. Knowledge beats fear (there'll probably be rumors and angst pretty quickly going through the blogs). I guess LL will probably come up with a solution sooner or later (hopefully one which does not break the older viewers), but at the moment it should be sufficient to be aware of the problem and knowing the symptoms.
To run into the problem you need to surf across a malicious website, which will then launch the viewer from within the web browser. Through a custom coded viewer the attacker could then theoretically log in with your avatar, but he will not aquire the actual password, so he can't log in to your account on www.secondlife.com. There are several factors involved, one is that you have the store password option in the viewer's login page, the other is that you are using IE or allowing Firefox to launch the program.
Unfortunately this can not be fixed through the nicholaz viewer, because the web browser will launch the original viewer.
I think the risk is relatively low that anyone will be hit by this. If you want to be sure, uncheck the "Remember password" option on the viewers start screen. In the unlikely case that you surf a website and you are without knowing why are asked if you want to launch SecondLife, simply decline. If the viewer comes up unexpectedly and automatically and then shows a login error, immediately go to www.secondlife.com, log in and change your password there.
There's no reason to panic. Knowledge beats fear (there'll probably be rumors and angst pretty quickly going through the blogs). I guess LL will probably come up with a solution sooner or later (hopefully one which does not break the older viewers), but at the moment it should be sufficient to be aware of the problem and knowing the symptoms.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Linden RC Updated (1.18.3.4)
1.18.3.3 was a short lived version.
If you want to download and run that new version put my 18xm on top, it will complain about a version conflict. Y ou can simply fix that by faking the version number in the releasenotes.txt file (just set the first line to 1.18.3.3).
Besides, I think you won't need 1.18.3.4 anyway because the double-code problem which they mention in the updated release notes is already fixed in 18xm.
If you want to download and run that new version put my 18xm on top, it will complain about a version conflict. Y ou can simply fix that by faking the version number in the releasenotes.txt file (just set the first line to 1.18.3.3).
Besides, I think you won't need 1.18.3.4 anyway because the double-code problem which they mention in the updated release notes is already fixed in 18xm.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Bleeding Edge: Edition 18xm
Today I had a look at the latest Linden viewer 1.18.3.3-RC. The changes since the last release candidate were fairly small, which is good and also to be expected for a 2nd RC version. My patches went in easily, so I decided to make a new version.
Most of it is just like 18xj, except one change, which is a complete overhaul of the particle system by Blakar Ogre. This should result in better performance in regards to particles and also fixes a lot of smaller bugs in that area, especially with moving particle sources.
The previous combination (18xj and Linden 1.18.3.2-RC) still runs fine, there is no real reason to upgrade.
If you do upgrade, please take a look at the change log for the newest additions and check the bottom of the file for all details differing from the official 1.18.3.3-RC. Also make sure you have a look at the Debug Settings window (now Ctrl+Alt+S) to see the new ways to adjust the viewer via _Nicholaz-Options.
If you find issues with this version, including issues which the Linden version has, please post them here and I'll try to see what I can do.
Oh, and if you wonder about the version skip (18xj to 18xm) I had messed up version counting before (there was an 18xk before 18xj ... the alphabet is a tricky thing, LOL) and I also wanted to avoid confusion with the old school viewer 18l. So this is 18xm, the next viewer after 18xj.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xm.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Most of it is just like 18xj, except one change, which is a complete overhaul of the particle system by Blakar Ogre. This should result in better performance in regards to particles and also fixes a lot of smaller bugs in that area, especially with moving particle sources.
The previous combination (18xj and Linden 1.18.3.2-RC) still runs fine, there is no real reason to upgrade.
If you do upgrade, please take a look at the change log for the newest additions and check the bottom of the file for all details differing from the official 1.18.3.3-RC. Also make sure you have a look at the Debug Settings window (now Ctrl+Alt+S) to see the new ways to adjust the viewer via _Nicholaz-Options.
If you find issues with this version, including issues which the Linden version has, please post them here and I'll try to see what I can do.
Oh, and if you wonder about the version skip (18xj to 18xm) I had messed up version counting before (there was an 18xk before 18xj ... the alphabet is a tricky thing, LOL) and I also wanted to avoid confusion with the old school viewer 18l. So this is 18xm, the next viewer after 18xj.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xm.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure they go into the SecondLifeReleaseCandidate folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Sunday, September 9, 2007
30 Sec. Freezes
I just had a very interesting feedback from a user. Basically what he said was that 18xj did not have those 30 sec. total freezes anymore. Well they're reported from a few seconds to a minute and I never had them, but those who had, probably know what I mean.
Now the question is, did these get fixed for anyone else too? There is some weird code removed in 18xj which could theoretically account for them, although I removed it for another reason.
Anybody who used to have them with previous voice versions (official or mine), do you still encounter them with 18xj?
Now the question is, did these get fixed for anyone else too? There is some weird code removed in 18xj which could theoretically account for them, although I removed it for another reason.
Anybody who used to have them with previous voice versions (official or mine), do you still encounter them with 18xj?
Friday, September 7, 2007
Old School: Release Version 18l
We have a new Old School viewer. The most notable change is that the Recent Items tab should be fixed, the rest are minor details (see the change log).
Also, I'd like to encourage everyone to give the 18xj viewer a try. It should run fine for everyone as far as I can tell, voice or non-voice and I'll probably focus on that one from now on. You can install it besides your existing viewer (the Linden release candidate goes into it's own program folder and 18xj goes into that too) and then swap as you see fit. I really would like to get some broader feedback on it.
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running my Old School versions (18a - 18l). If you have a more recent Linden viewer with voice (1.18.1.2 or 1.18.2.0), you will instead need to install my Bleeding Edge Editions.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have installed (otherwise get it here or use my latest Bleeding Edge release). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-18l.zip from there. (Previous versions are still on the server and should continue to work fine in case you want or need to go back, 18g seems to be pretty solid.)
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Also, I'd like to encourage everyone to give the 18xj viewer a try. It should run fine for everyone as far as I can tell, voice or non-voice and I'll probably focus on that one from now on. You can install it besides your existing viewer (the Linden release candidate goes into it's own program folder and 18xj goes into that too) and then swap as you see fit. I really would like to get some broader feedback on it.
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running my Old School versions (18a - 18l). If you have a more recent Linden viewer with voice (1.18.1.2 or 1.18.2.0), you will instead need to install my Bleeding Edge Editions.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have installed (otherwise get it here or use my latest Bleeding Edge release). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-18l.zip from there. (Previous versions are still on the server and should continue to work fine in case you want or need to go back, 18g seems to be pretty solid.)
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Recent Items (Updated)
I've been asked a few times about the Recent Items tab not working. I just dug into it today, and came out a bit confused.
As far as I can tell, there is a filter for the recent items, which is supposed to be stored across sessions. If you activate the Recent Items tabs, then select File, Show Filters, you can set the Since Logoff option there. Maybe it got accidentally cleared in a release or maybe there is a way to lose it (it should be stored in filters.xml), but so far it seems to work with the current viewers, once it was set.
If you have problems with Recent Items after setting the option, please try to find a way to reproduce it and I'll look into it.
Update: Ok, found it. Appears to have been a bug in Old School. Between 17 and 18 the Lindens changed the format how the filter was saved to XML. While doing that, they forgot to save/load back the since_logoff setting. It appears to be working correctly in Bleeding Edge. I'll fix it for the next Old School release.
As far as I can tell, there is a filter for the recent items, which is supposed to be stored across sessions. If you activate the Recent Items tabs, then select File, Show Filters, you can set the Since Logoff option there. Maybe it got accidentally cleared in a release or maybe there is a way to lose it (it should be stored in filters.xml), but so far it seems to work with the current viewers, once it was set.
If you have problems with Recent Items after setting the option, please try to find a way to reproduce it and I'll look into it.
Update: Ok, found it. Appears to have been a bug in Old School. Between 17 and 18 the Lindens changed the format how the filter was saved to XML. While doing that, they forgot to save/load back the since_logoff setting. It appears to be working correctly in Bleeding Edge. I'll fix it for the next Old School release.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Bleeding Edge: Edition 18xj
After introducing a fairly far reaching change and massive testing (thanks to all those who were banging on the last two interim releases) I'm happy to announce a new version from the bleeding edge.
In fact, on my computer at least, the bleeding edge isn't so much bleeding anymore. I've spent some time testing today and now this version runs very nicely over here. I'm not sure if it's just the grid being in a better state, to be honest it's running so much better than it used to, that I have a bit of a hard time claiming that it's all my doing.
For those who want to play safe, I still recommend to use the old school viewer, but nonetheless I think this version is definitely worth trying. The Lindens did their fair share with everything they put into their release candidate, which was a lot. My addition are GUI changes, the internal tweaking and reversal of two not so great Linden parts. The combination now make a really nice viewer.
Please take a look at the change log for the newest additions and check down the file for all details differing from the official 1.18.3.2-RC. Also make sure you have a look at the Debug Settings window (now Ctrl+Alt+S) to see the new ways to adjust the viewer via _Nicholaz-Options.
If you find issues with this version, including issues which the Linden version has, please post them here and I'll try to see what I can do.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xj.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure the go into the SecondLifeRC folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
In fact, on my computer at least, the bleeding edge isn't so much bleeding anymore. I've spent some time testing today and now this version runs very nicely over here. I'm not sure if it's just the grid being in a better state, to be honest it's running so much better than it used to, that I have a bit of a hard time claiming that it's all my doing.
For those who want to play safe, I still recommend to use the old school viewer, but nonetheless I think this version is definitely worth trying. The Lindens did their fair share with everything they put into their release candidate, which was a lot. My addition are GUI changes, the internal tweaking and reversal of two not so great Linden parts. The combination now make a really nice viewer.
Please take a look at the change log for the newest additions and check down the file for all details differing from the official 1.18.3.2-RC. Also make sure you have a look at the Debug Settings window (now Ctrl+Alt+S) to see the new ways to adjust the viewer via _Nicholaz-Options.
If you find issues with this version, including issues which the Linden version has, please post them here and I'll try to see what I can do.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xj.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! After the download completes, follow the instructions and make sure the go into the SecondLifeRC folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Quickie Release: Old School 18k2
The Old School 18k from yesterday had a little bug: The new option to turn of the "Release Keys" button didn't work. I fixed this and am uploading an 18k2 to replace it ... see here for the full release blurp.
For voicers the button is also fixed in yesterdays Will It Break? release.
For voicers the button is also fixed in yesterdays Will It Break? release.
Will it break?
Thanks everyone who did bang on the 18xi2. Results look promising so I pushed it a bit further today. There is now an interim 18xi3 which prunes memory a bit more aggressively. It looks promising so far, but could also need some banging on the TP/HUD side.
If this works out, we'll have a voice viewer (Old School will also benefit from that) which will use less memory if you stay longer in busy areas (e.g. staying in a dance place like Phat Cats or Bad Girls for more than a few minutes).
Background is that currently (besides 18xi2) the voice viewer does not free memory from animations and will carry these around until you log off. 18xi2 deletes them when you teleport (like my Old School viewer does) and 18xi3 will delete them even while staying on a sim when they grow stale.
So please put it through the paces a bit.
If this works out, we'll have a voice viewer (Old School will also benefit from that) which will use less memory if you stay longer in busy areas (e.g. staying in a dance place like Phat Cats or Bad Girls for more than a few minutes).
Background is that currently (besides 18xi2) the voice viewer does not free memory from animations and will carry these around until you log off. 18xi2 deletes them when you teleport (like my Old School viewer does) and 18xi3 will delete them even while staying on a sim when they grow stale.
So please put it through the paces a bit.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Need Testers
With the current versions being in pretty useful state, I want to address some of the problems which are harder to locate.
One of the issues which pesters me is that a patch which used to be quite helpful in the non-voice viewers, now (with voice) causes crash after teleporting (mostly related to HUDs or AOs attached).
I identified an area in the Linden voice source which could be responsible for that, so I reverted that change and applied my patch again. What I now need is testing/feedback of that version, to see if it still causes those after-teleport problems.
I uploaded this test-version as nicholaz-18xi2 to the nonpublic folder. Anyone who wants to give it a try, please download here, put it into your 1.18.3-RC folder, wear your favorite HUDs, hop around between sims a bit and see if it crashes when teleporting to busy sims.
What may also be interesting with this version is to check memory usage. There is a good chance that this combination (taking out the Linden change and bringing my patch back) will fix some leaking (especially in busy areas where people are using animations or facial emoters).
Generally, if you have problems with voice (performance, memory, whatever), please give it a try and let me know what is still there and what seems to have gotten better. (Note: The texture picker delay will most likely remain unchanged, I'll address that separately at another time).
Getting this to work would be a valuable step forward for the voice viewer. There weren't so many changes in voice source that could account for these new mysterious performance problems, so this may nail it ... please put it through the paces.
But especially with performance, it some time and do some cross testing (with my regular 18xi or regular 1.18.3.-RC) to eliminate the influence of sim or server-side conditions.
One of the issues which pesters me is that a patch which used to be quite helpful in the non-voice viewers, now (with voice) causes crash after teleporting (mostly related to HUDs or AOs attached).
I identified an area in the Linden voice source which could be responsible for that, so I reverted that change and applied my patch again. What I now need is testing/feedback of that version, to see if it still causes those after-teleport problems.
I uploaded this test-version as nicholaz-18xi2 to the nonpublic folder. Anyone who wants to give it a try, please download here, put it into your 1.18.3-RC folder, wear your favorite HUDs, hop around between sims a bit and see if it crashes when teleporting to busy sims.
What may also be interesting with this version is to check memory usage. There is a good chance that this combination (taking out the Linden change and bringing my patch back) will fix some leaking (especially in busy areas where people are using animations or facial emoters).
Generally, if you have problems with voice (performance, memory, whatever), please give it a try and let me know what is still there and what seems to have gotten better. (Note: The texture picker delay will most likely remain unchanged, I'll address that separately at another time).
Getting this to work would be a valuable step forward for the voice viewer. There weren't so many changes in voice source that could account for these new mysterious performance problems, so this may nail it ... please put it through the paces.
But especially with performance, it some time and do some cross testing (with my regular 18xi or regular 1.18.3.-RC) to eliminate the influence of sim or server-side conditions.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Recommended Setup: Mixing Voice and Non-Voice
One nice side effect of the new voice release candidate is that you can easily run voice and non-voice next to each other. Here's how it works:
Enjoy
- Download Linden version 1.18.0.6 (non-voice) and install it to c:\program files\secondlife (default).
- Download Nicholaz 18k and put it on top of 1.18.0.6
- Download Linden release candidate 1.18.3.2 (voice) and install to c:\program files\secondlifeRC (default).
- Download Nicholaz 18xi and put it on top of 1.18.3.2
- If you get confused by all the versions, download my colored icon set and assign icons of different colors to the various versions.
Enjoy
Old School: Release Version 18k2 (Updated)
I made a few more minor changes to the old school viewer to get things up to date and to clear my head for some more elusive problems. Please see the change log for details.
Update: Due to a little bug in the original release, there is a version 18k2 now instead of 18k.
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running my Old School versions (18a - 18j). If you have a more recent Linden viewer with voice (1.18.1.2 or 1.18.2.0), you will instead need to install my Bleeding Edge Editions.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have installed (otherwise get it here or use my latest Bleeding Edge release). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-18k2.zip from there. (Previous versions are still on the server and should continue to work fine in case you want or need to go back, 18g seems to be pretty solid.)
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Update: Due to a little bug in the original release, there is a version 18k2 now instead of 18k.
Important: You need to have Linden version 1.18.0.6 (download here) installed before running my Old School versions (18a - 18j). If you have a more recent Linden viewer with voice (1.18.1.2 or 1.18.2.0), you will instead need to install my Bleeding Edge Editions.
There is still the little goodie on the server, for those who want a more compact and appealing friends list (works with all my Old School Editions, see the readme.txt inside the file).
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
This version is for the Windows platform. It is optimized in processor independent ways. It offers all the optimizations which previously my P4 releases had, except for the processor dependent options. I'm not sure if the processor optimization made any actual difference anyway, but this should be a good balance which serves everybody.
If you choose to use this release, please first check that you have installed (otherwise get it here or use my latest Bleeding Edge release). Then have a look at the install instructions on my server and then download nicholaz-18k2.zip from there. (Previous versions are still on the server and should continue to work fine in case you want or need to go back, 18g seems to be pretty solid.)
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Bleeding Edge: Semi Stable Nicholaz Edition 18xi for 1.18.3-RC
Again a new release from the bleeding edge. If everything goes okay, this should be the choice for users who want a voice release. It is based on the latest release candidate, plus Nicholaz stuff. It runs fairly well with all of the new Linden patches, in any case better than the Linden 1.18.2 viewer. I did not yet address the more mysterious problems (memory, performance) from Voice, but this is as good as it gets for the moment. With all the versions floating around, it also now checks that it is used together with the correct Linden version (that is 1.18.3 RC).
Linden 1.18.2 (current official) is abandoned as far as I'm concerned. I'll make a new Old School viewer today and after that I'll address the more elusive issues.
Personally I still recommend to use the old school viewer. However, if you want or need to use a voice release, please use this one and look at the change log for all details before downloading.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xi.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! The files need to go into the SecondLifeRC folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
Linden 1.18.2 (current official) is abandoned as far as I'm concerned. I'll make a new Old School viewer today and after that I'll address the more elusive issues.
Personally I still recommend to use the old school viewer. However, if you want or need to use a voice release, please use this one and look at the change log for all details before downloading.
Disclaimer: This viewer is unofficial and although I am doing my best to make it better than the release viewer, it may contain extra bugs and you will have to trust me that there is no malicious code in it. Please also understand that it runs on the main grid with your real Second Life account and inventory. Also read the disclaimer/header in the Install.txt in my archive.
First make sure you have installed the Linden release candiate 1.18.3 (download link). Then download nicholaz-18xi.zip from here and while the download runs, have a look at the installation instructions on my server! The files need to go into the SecondLifeRC folder!
PS: There is an in-world group for announcements of my releases: Search, Groups, "Nicholaz"
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