| --- Posted by Linden Lab on Linden Lab Blog --- This month marks ten years since Second Life first opened to the public in June of 2003! We’re incredibly proud of Second Life’s success and longevity and we hope that all of you are too - it’s thanks to everyone who has made Second Life part of their lives over the past decade that we’ve reached this major milestone.
We’ve planned some special things to celebrate SL10B that we’ll be rolling out throughout the month - be sure to keep an eye on this blog to be kept up-to-date with the latest!
Commemorative SL10B Avatar
Starting today, you can get a free, special-edition SL10B avatar on the Marketplace. This avatar is made with some of the new Materials features and will look even better once that Materials Viewer launches (you can also check it out with the Materials Beta Viewer). Visit the SL10B Marketplace and get your commemorative avatar today - they’ll only be available until the end of June!
Snapshot Contest
We’re also kicking off an SL10B Snapshot Contest! Start snapping your celebratory images and get ready to share. Top prize is free use of a homestead for four months, and second and third prizes are free use of a homestead for two months. Check out the rules and submit your entries here.
Watch Rodvik Linden on The Drax Files
On the occasion of Second Life’s tenth birthday, machinimist extraordinaire Draxtor Despres interviewed Linden Lab CEO Rod Humble (aka Rodvik Linden), for a special episode of the great video series The Drax Files: World Makers. Check out the episode here.
Join the Parties Inworld
Throughout June, there will be celebrations for Second Life’s tenth birthday (SL10B) all over the grid - thrown by DJs and event planners inworld. So that you can keep track of where the parties are at, we've launched an SL10B Category in the Destination Guide. If you have an SL10B event planned - there is still plenty of time to submit your entry; and check back frequently - we’ll be continually updating the Destination Guide as always.
From June 16 - 29, there will be a large community-organized celebration inworld as well. As with past Second Life birthday celebrations, you can expect great exhibits, music, and events. For more info, check out the SL10B Community Celebration website.
More to Come
Later this month, we’ll be kicking off a special grid-wide hunt with unique prizes, exclusively for Premium members. We’ll blog with more details soon, but if you want to get in on the fun, be sure that your Premium membership is up-to-date.
We’ll also be releasing some limited-edition gifts on the Marketplace and inworld. Some will be limited quantity - so stay tuned to find out when and where to get them!
There’s more coming to celebrate Second Life’s tenth birthday, so be sure to keep an eye on this blog for the latest.
Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of the last ten years in Second Life - we look forward to what is still to come!
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Showcase: Enrico Genosse of the VKC
Posted 6/2/2013 11:58:00 AM by rosanna - [Show All My Posts] 
Joonie Jatho of the Home and Garden Expo interviews Enrico Genosse. See what he reveals.
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Materials Beta Viewer Launches
Posted 5/31/2013 4:40:00 PM by LL Blog - [Show All My Posts] | --- Posted by Linden Lab on Linden Lab Blog --- Linden Lab is excited to announce the launch of the Materials Beta Viewer! This Viewer will allow content creators to build objects using normal and specular maps and will allow users to view the effects of this new feature set. The end result is photorealistic textured objects inworld.
Credit: Katana by June Dion
Technical Details
Normal maps provide modelling of fine scale surface textures at far lower cost (to performance and Land Impact) than the equivalent geometry, while Specular maps, along with advanced specularity controls, provide much richer control over how the surfaces of an object interact with all the light sources in a scene. Together, these new features provide creators in Second Life much greater ability to make detailed and responsive content appearance.
Setting any material property on an object will change the accounting method to the current accounting from the old count-the-prims accounting; in most cases, this will mean that you can get lower object cost for detailed or varied surfaces that would otherwise require more prims to create. It also means that Materials objects will have improved simulator performance and mesh object upload cost by decreasing the complexity of object geometry.
 Credit: Jacket by Geenz Spad
A Collaborative Effort
This new set of features has been developed in collaboration with open source Viewer developers and content creators. New pages on how to best leverage these features and optimize the Land Impact of your creations are being published on the Good Building Practices wiki and the Content Creators Guide, and more will be added in the coming days by Second Life content creators and builders from Linden Lab.
Next Steps
Download the Beta Viewer from the official downloads page.
To see the new effects in this Beta Viewer, you must enable 'Advanced Lighting Model' in Preferences > Graphics > Advanced (this preference used to be called 'Lighting and Shadows', but actually controlled a wider range of rendering behavior, so the name has been changed).
Once we have squashed all the beta bugs (which you can file in the MATBUG JIRA project), we will be pushing the Materials Beta Viewer to Release. Check back here for updates!
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Faster Avatar Loading on the Horizon
Posted 5/29/2013 10:10:02 AM by LL Blog - [Show All My Posts] | --- Posted by Linden Lab on Linden Lab Blog --- We’ve been working hard on some major changes to Second Life’s Viewer and back-end infrastructure to improve the Second Life experience for all users. Today, we’re pleased to share an update on Project Shining - an initiative that will make avatars load and rez more quickly and reliably.
We’ve tested changing of outfits, avatar swapping, and initial avatar loading into worlds, and our tests showed performance gains across the board. Bottom line, Second Life users will experience less time in “clouded” or untextured avatar states and/or completely failed bakes that require relogs. Check out this video for more about the project.
Project Sunshine is rolling out in three steps:
1) A required Viewer update, out now! The official Second Life Viewer (version 3.5.1 and later) includes important updates you’ll need to enjoy the benefits of Project Sunshine, so update today if you haven’t yet. Actively updated Third Party Viewers also already have Sunshine-enabled versions available.
2) A server-side update, rolling out soon. It’s at this point that you’ll begin to notice significant improvements in avatar and object load times and reliability. But if you haven’t updated your Viewer, avatars won’t look right to you when we roll out the server update, so seriously, update now!
3) A second Viewer update, released after the server-side improvements are rolled out. As long as you have the Viewer 3.5.1 or later (available now), avatars won’t look wrong for you, but this second Viewer update will be needed to get the full benefits of Project Sunshine.
Get on your way to a better, faster, and more reliable Second Life experience and update to the latest Viewer today!
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how r u?
Posted 5/27/2013 3:13:44 PM by GarboSzondi - [Show All My Posts] Does this piss you off too, when someone can't manage to type a few extra letters to form a simple sentence: "how r u?" instead of "How are you?" Seriously, it's just four extra letters, which would have taken the person maybe an extra second to type.
Here's how I read the sentence: "how r u?" = "you are not worth the time or bother to type 4 additional letters". Also, I like to maintain some semblance of reality even in a world as unreal as SL, and people in RL don't talk in shorthand.
It is a total turnoff for me when someone uses text speak with me. I can understand if someone is using a phone and wants to save a few keystrokes, but here in SL, it really is no bother to type a few extra characters and not come off like a total dork.
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Something Fishy at the Expo
Posted 5/27/2013 2:01:01 PM by Sita Writer - [Show All My Posts] 
Mr. X and I love our time down under… under the water that is… he always tells me I am his beloved siren of the sea….
As we swam to our temple… he told me he had a surprise for me… something that he found at the Home and Garden Expo. http://sitawriter.blogspot.com/
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Home and Garden Expo Tips
Posted 5/26/2013 6:08:21 PM by Sita Writer - [Show All My Posts] 
Exploring the Home and Garden Expo, I came across Heart Homes and a fabulous villa –most importantly one that is brilliantly textured and low in prims. sitawriter.blogspot.com/
There are so many things I like about the Vicino al Mare Tuscan Home created by Marina Ramer and Jaylin Whitewood of Heart Homes. This mostly mesh house is only 211 prims including all the lockable doors, an optional waterfall in the bathroom and three beautifully scripted fireplaces.
The large living room has a beautifully textured floor and a fireplace with a control menu perfect for setting a romantic mood. The skylights add light and atmosphere.
The cozy library with a romantic window seat facing a fireplace comes with single and couple ao’s and makes for a relaxing place to wile away the hours.
This built in love seat with artfully arranged pillows features 10 animations for singles and couples. The skylights let sunlight and moonlight in and the gentle leaves of the sweet memory tree by Forest Feast.
The bedroom has a fireplace and is cozy and romantic with an adjoining bathroom replete with a waterfall.
The kitchen area features a tiled floor that blends perfectly with the beautifully textured wooden floors and stucco walls.
The bedroom set called Tuscan Country is perfect for this house. It comes with low prim and finely detailed chairs, rugs, accents, photos, side tables, a bed, lamps, and even a fireplace and ceiling light.
The four poster steel/gold colored bed has a quilted duvet cover in creams, off whites, tans and browns and is accented with the softest pillows in all of SL. It comes with a series of animations and has amazing detail for only 7 prims.
Two off white side tables with lamps, picture frames and a crisp white cotton doily with a small-embroidered butterfly flanks each side of the bed. A tasteful assembly of photos over the bed adds the perfect touch to this vintage chic bedroom.
A cream- colored accent rug and bedroom seats in deep chocolate brown draped with a plush mushroom colored coverlet are perfect accents. The seats come with 6 ao’s including: relaxed, meditate, think, slouched, wait, read, slung over and my personal favorite… cellphone! The bench is amazing quality at only 3 prims.
One of my favorite places of this build is the grapevine terrace in the back of the house perfect for romantic interludes at sunset. I put up the Lovers Lane Patio set with shadows by Inspired as an accent to this lovely terrace.
The landscape was filled out by the most amazing trees in SL by Forest Feast called Sweet Memory at 3 prims each they are incredible.
Heart Homes – Vicino al Mare Tuscan Home and Tuscan Country Bedroom Set
Inspired- Lovers Lane Patio Set
Trees – Forest Feast – Sweet Memory
Home Expo 1: Sponsored By: Roawenwood Exploring the Home and Garden Expo, I came across Heart Homes and a fabulous villa –most importantly one that is brilliantly textured and low in prims.
There are so many things I like about the Vicino al Mare Tuscan Home created by Marina Ramer and Jaylin Whitewood of Heart Homes. This mostly mesh house is only 211 prims including all the lockable doors, an optional waterfall in the bathroom and three beautifully scripted fireplaces.
The large living room has a beautifully textured floor and a fireplace with a control menu perfect for setting a romantic mood. The skylights add light and atmosphere.
The cozy library with a romantic window seat facing a fireplace comes with single and couple ao’s and makes for a relaxing place to wile away the hours.
This built in love seat with artfully arranged pillows features 10 animations for singles and couples. The skylights let sunlight and moonlight in and the gentle leaves of the sweet memory tree by Forest Feast.
The bedroom has a fireplace and is cozy and romantic with an adjoining bathroom replete with a waterfall.
The kitchen area features a tiled floor that blends perfectly with the beautifully textured wooden floors and stucco walls.
The bedroom set called Tuscan Country is perfect for this house. It comes with low prim and finely detailed chairs, rugs, accents, photos, side tables, a bed, lamps, and even a fireplace and ceiling light.
The four poster steel/gold colored bed has a quilted duvet cover in creams, off whites, tans and browns and is accented with the softest pillows in all of SL. It comes with a series of animations and has amazing detail for only 7 prims.
Two off white side tables with lamps, picture frames and a crisp white cotton doily with a small-embroidered butterfly flanks each side of the bed. A tasteful assembly of photos over the bed adds the perfect touch to this vintage chic bedroom.
A cream- colored accent rug and bedroom seats in deep chocolate brown draped with a plush mushroom colored coverlet are perfect accents. The seats come with 6 ao’s including: relaxed, meditate, think, slouched, wait, read, slung over and my personal favorite… cellphone! The bench is amazing quality at only 3 prims.
One of my favorite places of this build is the grapevine terrace in the back of the house perfect for romantic interludes at sunset. I put up the Lovers Lane Patio set with shadows by Inspired as an accent to this lovely terrace.
The landscape was filled out by the most amazing trees in SL by Forest Feast called Sweet Memory at 3 prims each they are incredible.
Heart Homes – Vicino al Mare Tuscan Home and Tuscan Country Bedroom Set
Inspired- Lovers Lane Patio Set
Trees – Forest Feast – Sweet Memory
Home Expo 1: Sponsored By: Roawenwood http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%201/134/116/23 Home Expo 2: Sponsored By: Cheeky Pea http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%202/78/145/23 Home Expo 3: Sponsored By: Park Place Home Décor http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%203/38/119/23 Home Expo 4: Sponsored By: Stonewood Homes http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%204/163/93/23 Home Expo 5: Sponsored By: Galland Homes http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%205/68/186/23 inspired Home Expo 6: Sponsored By: Prim Perfect Magazine http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%206/173/151/35 Home Expo 7: Sponsored By: PRIME http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%207/75/155/23 Home Expo 8: Sponsored By: Home & Garden Market http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%208/77/173/23 Home Expo 8: Sponsored By: Wonderful World of Meeroos http://slurl.com/secondlife/Entertainment%20and%20Activities/164/187/23
For full information and all the latest updates, please visit the Home and Garden Expo website:
http://slhomeandgardenexpo.wordpress.com
Outfit: Iris Brown by Resun
Necklace & Earrings: Desert Wind Finesmith
Boots: Gabriel
Hair: Emo-tions - Tender
Home Expo 2: Sponsored By: Cheeky Pea http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%202/78/145/23 Home Expo 3: Sponsored By: Park Place Home Décor http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%203/38/119/23 Home Expo 4: Sponsored By: Stonewood Homes http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%204/163/93/23 Home Expo 5: Sponsored By: Galland Homes http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%205/68/186/23 inspired Home Expo 6: Sponsored By: Prim Perfect Magazine http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%206/173/151/35 Home Expo 7: Sponsored By: PRIME http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%207/75/155/23 Home Expo 8: Sponsored By: Home & Garden Market http://slurl.com/secondlife/HOME%20EXPO%208/77/173/23 Home Expo 8: Sponsored By: Wonderful World of Meeroos http://slurl.com/secondlife/Entertainment%20and%20Activities/164/187/23
For full information and all the latest updates, please visit the Home and Garden Expo website:
http://slhomeandgardenexpo.wordpress.com
Outfit: Iris Brown by Resun
Necklace & Earrings: Desert Wind Finesmith
Boots: Gabriel
Hair: Emo-tions - Tender
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VKC at the Home and Garden Expo
Posted 5/25/2013 4:40:52 AM by rosanna - [Show All My Posts]
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