Ciaran Laval

July 29, 2015

I Have Upgraded To Windows 10 And I Feel Fine

So I fired up my PC when I got home from work and checked my notifications, to find Windows 10 was on its way. This was all rather exciting, I could hear the voices in my head :

“Hurry up and get it installed“.

However the voices on Twitter were a different matter :

“No no no“.

“Insane in the membrane”

“You must be marbles and conkers“.

However I resisted the urge to stop the update, again my own voices speaking, although at times conflicting :

“One Windows to rule them all“.

“My precious, my precious“.

“Turn back Dick Whittngton“.

“Umm I think you’re confusing stories now and need to stop this!”

Eventually, files had been downloaded, updates had been run, apps had been configured, settings had been configured and I logged in.

Hurrah! Success. Now I should say at this point that this is not my suggested method of upgrading an operating system. I’m a big fan of the clean install. However I decided to let the Microsoft process do its work and I was rather impressed to discover that the apps I largely use seem to be working fine, without any need to reinstall them.

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July 28, 2015

Viewer Managed Marketplace Migration Seems To Be Going Smoothly

Hopefully many Second Life Marketplace merchants have received an email like this :

We have finished upgrading the listings in your store to work with the Viewer-Managed Marketplace feature. You must use a Viewer that supports VMM (http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Release_Notes/Second_Life_Release/3.8.2.303583), and will need to restart the viewer if you had it open during the migration. Your stores should now be fully functional.

If you would like more information on the upgrades and how to manage your Marketplace inventory items from here on, please see the Knowledge Base Article on the Viewer-Managed Marketplace https://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Viewer-managed-Marketplace-Beta/ta-p/2854226.

Thank you for using the Second Life Marketplace

That should indicate that everything has gone smoothly with your migration to the new Viewer Managed Marketplace, then you’ll just need to get your head around how everything works with the Viewer Managed Marketplace, but fear not, Linden Lab have provided plenty of helpful assistance there. A really good place to start is with the comprehensive knowledge-base article linked in the email.

I haven’t seen too many complaints about the migration, some people have reported that they’ve received an email stating there was a problem with the migration and that Linden Lab are investigating. In those circumstances you will still need to manage your Marketplace listings as you usually would.

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July 27, 2015

Dr. Sandra Winkler Talks Of The Benefits Of Second Life At Amputee Coalition National Conference

The Amputee Coalition National Conference took place between July 22nd – 25th in Tuscon Arizona and one of the presentations involved a discussion about support and education in Second Life, with Dr. Sandra Winkler of Nova Southeastern University in Florida leading the presentation :

Virtual Support and Education Through Second Life – Sandra Winkler, PhD, OTR/L; Jim Mercier;Eme Capalini

Tucson C

This presentation will:

(1) Demonstrate a virtual world environment that provides amputees with evidence based knowledge about amputation and prosthetics – including a virtual prosthetics museum.

(2) Launch the collaboration of this project with the Amputee Coalition. Participants will experience how daily activities, such as exercising and conditioning, can be learned as an avatar in a virtual world. Amputee presenters will discuss the potential of this virtual world for distant – even international – peer visitation, education, and socialization and support activities.

Unfortunately I do not have a full transcript of the presentation.

However a report on Healio by Shawn M Carter does have some quotes from Dr. Sandra Winkler :

This tool could strengthen awareness and self-management of a user’s specific disability, Sandra Winkler, PhD, OTR/L, lead researcher of the project, said during a presentation.

“The trend in health care is managing your own care, rather than relying on a provider to tell you what to do,” she said. “Managing your own care provides access to knowledge … then you can start problem-solving what is best for you.”

Recreational activities are easiest to understand when engaging in the activity, according to Winkler, who believes this program provides that opportunity.

Dr. Sandra Winkler’s work can be further investigated on the Virtual Health Adventures website, or, if you prefer, you can visit Virtual Health Adventures in Second Life.

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July 25, 2015

SOS! Kinderdorf Greece – SL Planetarium Event In Second Life

Unfortunately I don’t speak German, so details here are going to be a tad sketchy. However, the SL Planetarium are holding an event, you can read more about it here : http://buktomblog.blogspot.de/2015/07/sos-kinderdorf-griechenland-das-event.html.

The above link goes to a German site, you can try and use Google translate as I did, but that didn’t help me that much.

The event is described on The Destination Guide as :

Experience live music and contribute to a good cause in this multi-day German language charity event, held through Aug. 3. Unter diesem Motto veranstaltet das SL – Planetarium und die Freie Bibliothek PEGASUS ein Benefiz – Event. buktomblog.blogspot.de/2015/07/sos-kinderdorf-griechenland-das-event.html

So what we can work out is that there’s an event in Second Life that is raising money for a good cause. The event is being held on a German speaking region, hence why the information is in German. Second Life is a global virtual world, so it’s fair enough that there are regions who speak in languages other than English.

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July 25, 2015

Le Quartier Francais – A Very Photogenic Shopping Region

There are plenty of shopping locations in Second Life. Some of them are very well presented and Le Quartier Francais definitely falls into that category. The region is the home of the MoDANNA mainstore, which sells apparel for males and females.

There are also other stores with a presence here, including Ariksea, Serenity Style, Glamrus and Wolf Fram.

The region is very picturesque and is described on The Destination Guide as :

This beautiful French-inspired sim is decorated with taste and harmony for all the photography lovers, shoppers and fashionistas. Explore beyond all the little details and discover the hidden details in this magnificent shopping environment.

The region certainly has a European feel to it, I wanted to sit down outside a cafe and eat a baguette.

The owner of MoDANNA is Lisanna Lauria and she has done some fine work in creating a fun and interesting environment. I’m not sure exactly what the story of the creation of the region is but the theme is very well done. The streets are spacious and you can roam around without feeling like you’re treading in treacle.

I stopped outside Wolf Fram and considered getting a haircut and a beard trim, but time was against me.

However it seems that visitors in this region come in a variety of modes of transport. These Police Boxes turn up in a lot of regions in Second Life, maybe I should invest in one and see if that helps with my issues with not having enough time!

Le Quartier Francais is well worth a visit even if you’re not a fashionista or a shopaholic, it is a very photogenic and impressive region.

SLURL to Le Quartier Francais : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Le%20Quartier%20Francais/128/133/24/