New Version of Radegast Viewer Available

 

It was announced in the Blind Users Support Group (and Virtual Ability) yesterday that there was a new version of the Radegast Viewer, version 2.40, available for download and use.

I am proud to release Radegast 2.40 the first major update in quite some time. Containing up-to-date LibreMetaverse, the HTTP client has been fundamentally rewritten for speed and better resource management. You may notice things like Inventory and Map Tiles downloading much faster than they have in the past. Radgast now is built against .NET Framework 4.8, the final version of .NET Framework which is the best I can do for now to keep Linux and Mac support, such as it is, until a complete UI rewrite.

 It was also announced that the website had been down for a while, partially due to the datacenter being in the Ukraine and not having power for months. But they were back.

 Radegast is a text-base viewer that has gotten a following among blind and visually-impared users of Second Life. One can read Mermaid Celine Highwater's article from 2014 about it (here). 

Bixyl Shuftan

The Blind Users Support Group

When it comes to using computers, it's pretty difficult for most of us to imagine using one's computer without their eyes. But that's what some residents do, either being legally blind or having total blindness. The Newser recently interviewed the head of the Blind Users Support Group, Mermaid Celene (CeleneHighwater Resident). So how would a blind person get about Second Life and how has the group been doing?

Read the interview in People.

Mermaid Celene About The Radegast Viewer

Second Life can allow the disabled to do things they couldn't normally do in real life. But what if the disability is visual impairment to the point of legal blindness or full blindness? Deaflegacy recently interviewed Mermaid Celene (celenehighwater), the head of the Blind Users Viewer Support group, and a member of the Radegast group. Mermaid talked about what the Radegast viewer is, and how it allows the blind to use Second Life.

Read Deaflegacy's story in People.

Radegast Has Recieved an Update!

by Celene Highwater

I know this might not mean a whole lot to those using regular SL viewers, but Radegast has just received an update by its developer.

In November 2014, Latif Khalifa announced that he was ill and could no longer continue work on the project. However, we have received the news that the viewer has been updated to version 2.18.
The viewer is a text-based viewer that works well for the blind and visually impaired. This  viewer has allowed people like me to not only enter Second Life, but participate in events and activities as if we were using a 3d viewer. So if you like, please take a look. The project is open-source so if you like what you see and no how to code, please consider helping us keep it alive so those who can't see can continue to enjoy SL.

Source: Modem World

Radegast Text-Based Viewer Opens SL to a New Community

Second Life has opened a virtual world of possibilities to the public. But what about those whom are visually impaired or blind? Celene Highwater (Mermaid Celene) writes about Ragegast, a text-based viewer designed by Latif Khalifa. For those with problems with sight, the viewer can make all the difference in accessing the Grid.

Read Celene's article in Design.

Addition: Earlier the link was broken, it's fixed now.