EOTB: Linden Lab Enters Paid Members in Computer Giveaway

 

Several days ago, Linden Lab announced as part of their "Membership Mania," they were entering members with paid accounts, Plus, Premium, and Premium Plus, in their "Membership Mania Computer Giveaway."  

 

We’re giving back to our loyal Plus, Premium, and Premium Plus members with an automatic entry into the Membership Mania PC Giveaway! Members have a shot at being awarded one of three ultimate gaming PCs (or cash equivalent)

There are three prizes. Premium Plus members are entered to win a HP OMEN 45L Intel i9 RTX 4090 Premium Gaming Desktop worth about $4,679 USD. Premium Residents are in the contest for a Skytech Gaming PC Desktop, which is worth about $1,999 USD. And those with Plus accounts can get a Thermaltake LCGS Quartz i460 R4 Gaming Desktop, worth about $899 USD.

 

In place of the computers, winners can take the value in cash. Eligibility is "based on membership tier status as of 11:59 PM PT on February 28, 2025."

 

As mentioned, those with paid accounts are automatically entered. Free residents can still enter, but need to send a handwritten postcard with their name, address, email, and phone number, along with which contest they want to be in, to the following address:

 

Linden Research, Inc.
548 Market St., PMB 59201, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401, USA

 

The drawing is on March 10, with the odds depending on how many entries there are.  The winners will be notified within five days, and have 48 hours to respond or may forfeit their prize. "Winners are solely responsible for any applicable taxes, duties, or import fees." and "U.S. winners ... must submit a Form W-9 and will receive a Form 1099-MISC. Non-U.S. winners must submit a W-8BEN and will receive a Form 1098."

 

Residents from several countries are not eligible due to local regulations or restrictions, Belgium, Italy, Brazil, Poland, Russia, India, China, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. "and any country under U.S. embargoes or trade sanctions."

 

For more information, check the blog entry Here. 

 

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Gemma's Computer In The Shop

 

Gemma Cleanslate, one of the Newser reporters,  regretfully has had a computer breakdown, with her machine now in the shop for repairs, and she will not be able to write articles about Second Life until it's repaired.

 

Hopefully her hiatus will be a short one. 

 

 

 

"General Protection Fault" Online Comic Ends After 26 Years

 

On Friday November 1, the online comic strip "General Protection Fault" officially concluded with it's final strip going up. This brings to an end one of the longest-running online comic strips that was updated regularly. Cartoonist Jeff Darlington would say a few words.

And that's a wrap, folks. As of last Friday's update (November 1, 2024), the main GPF Archive is finally complete. I hope you enjoyed the strip's "big finale" ... First and foremost, I'd like to thank all of you who have taken this journey with me over the past quarter century. Whether you started reading from the beginning or you only just recently discovered it, it has been an immense and indescribable joy to have you read my little story and look at my random scribbles. I've heard from a great many of you over the past few months about how much GPF has meant to you, and your kind words have warmed this old cartoonist's heart. While it's obvious GPF wouldn't exist without me creating, writing, and drawing it, it's no stretch of the imagination to say that it wouldn't exist without you reading it. It's been your encouragement and engagement over the years that kept me going, and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

I would do a review of the comic a few years ago as part of a larger story on longtime running online comics. It started of as the misadventures of several computer geeks,two sapient slime molds, and their employer at the small business that bears the comic's name, with stories about life at the workplace and on computers doing things like coding and other things such as science-fiction conventions, enduring alien abductions, taking a ride on a time machine, and more. There are also occasional dream sequences such as "Harry Barker and the Napier's Bones" that parody popular stories. Over time, the skills of one go beyond programing and he starts building things that over time help set the stage for some adventures for the characters. However, over time they also attract the attention of secret agents, James Bondish villains, aliens, and a few characters not of this universe. 

 

Four times in the course of the story are major plotlines that take months to resolve, "Surreptitious Machinations," "To Thyne Own Self," "Scylla and Charybdis," and "The Enthropy War." Following the end of each, the characters have to deal with some big changes in their lives. The story ends with the main characters, save one, returning to normal lives following their big adventures, looking forward to "just another quiet day at the office."

 

Darlington stated that now that the comic was done, he planned to take some time off, and then finish a side-comic, "Surreptitious Machinations 2," which describes what happened to some secondary characters after the comic's first major plotline story. Then the comic itself will go into reruns. Darlington also stated plans to write some novels. But this may not be all. There were a few hints in the last strips that there may be further adventures of some of the characters.

And so ends one of the longest-running online comics, coming to an end some thought odd but was satisfying.

 

To read the comic, Click Here. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of The Day: Mobile SL Before Mobile Viewers

 

 

 Of the new mobile viewer, there is one thing seldom mentioned. Some laptops can run Second Life, and have for years. 

By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Techinical Difficulties

I had some computer trouble this weekend. While it appears to be more or less fixed, it took some time. So some things I was working on may be a little delayed.

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "Computer Vision"

   

"Computer Vision"

Saturday May 8

10AM to 11 AM SL time

Computer vision is impressively prevalent in today’s world, enabling a wide array of advancements like self-driving cars, snapchat filters and automated medical image analysis. This lecture hopes to demystify the techniques used by machines to comprehend the visual world. The basic tasks of feature extraction to perform procedures like object detection or image classification, and the use of powerful AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools like Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) will be introduced. The potential and existing applications of these tools in a vast array of fields, and the increasing availability of computational resources and online material to learn about and utilize them will be discussed.

By Karthik Prathaban
  
Read more here. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/67/129/32  
   

Jasmine Dawn on The Halloween Haunt And Her New Computer

 

Halloween is here, and it's time for clubs across Second Life to do something for spooky fun. Some just put up a few small decorations. But the Happy Vixen goes all out with a special Halloween area. For these builds, Jasmine Dawn has graciously donated her time so others can have a little spooky fun. This year, she had planned a challenging maze and a spooky house. But trouble came when unexpected computer trouble broke her machine. Fortunately, help would soon be on the way, and she was able to complete her creation. Yours truly would have a few words with her about the maze, and the effort to get her a new computer.

Read more in People.

 

Gofundme For Jasmine Dawn's New Computer

Jasamine Dawn has helped a lot of folks with things asked of her and she has always been selfless in what she does.  Her computer went down and is in desperate need of funds for said new computer to help her stay connected with her friends and still offer up the same amount of help she has always done for those she calls friends.  If possible would like to get this done as soon as possible for she has upcoming projects to help folks which she will need her computer for.  I would love if you are able to help support Jazz so she can get back on her feet to show her how much we appreciate her in all that she does.  I would love to say thank you for any and all support you can spare to help Jazz.

To donate to the Gofundme, Click Here. 

Announcement: This Saturday at The Science Circle - "Fugaku, the next SuperComputer"

"Fugaku, the next SuperComputer"

Saturday January 11
6 AM to 7 AM SL time

Outline of the next supercomputer in Japan
by Arianne Chavasse, Science Circle Student, Abyss Observatory Group Member

"The name of post K supercomputer in Japan is 'FUGAKU'. I would like to talk about the origin of the name and review the brief history of development around K and FUGAKU.

"In addition, I would like to talk about what Japan is aiming for in the supercomputer field."

For more information, Click Here. 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Science%20Circle/67/129/32

A New Computer

It's probably as inevitable as death and taxes to any Second Life user. Eventually your computer is no longer able to handle going about the Grid as well as it used to, or it breaks beyond repair. So this means getting a new machine. Yours truly just had to make this decision for the third time recently. So what happened and what computer is now being used to update the Newser?

Read the story in Extra.

Computer Update

Just a short note that shortly after the last update, the new computer finally arrived. And last night got it set up and working.

Unfortunately, not all the news is good. Also last night, I heard about some real-life developments that will likely affect updates in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for details.

Computer Down

There's a saying known as Murphy's Law, "If it can go wrong, it probably will." And this week, Murphy was in full force for the Newser.

A week ago, the computer of yours truly would not start. Taking it too the shop, a couple days later I was told the machine was busted, save for the hard drive. For the first time since 2007, I was without a machine, at all. The old Mac I used to have as backup had also given up the ghost years ago.

So I went about the process of getting a new computer. Second Life can't use just any machine as it prefers certain graphics cards. I recall one friend who got a new machine, only to find the virtual world's viewer actually ran slower than on her old computer that was several years old. And on some computers, the viewers just won't work at all.

As of now, the computer still has yet to arrive. I'm still able to get on Second Life itself through the computer of someone I know. But for some reason I can't update the Newser on it. So that meant I had to wait to get access to a machine that's harder to get to.

So until the new machine finally arrives and is all ready and set up, that means the updates will be a bit sporadic. But as you can see, updating we are. Hopefully by Monday things will be more or less back to normal

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: Pony on the Internet

Taken at Cape Heron. So what would a pony browse online for? A few things come to mind, as do what might result from "autocorrect" blunders.

By Bixyl Shuftan (and Deaflegacy)

Back After Technical Difficulties

I once stated the Newser updates 364 days a year. Why not 365 days? Because of the possibility of storms knocking down power lines, or just plain old-fashion computer breakdown. Over the weekend, that's what happened, and my computer just got back.

I'll be back on my feet soon. In the meantime, checking up with friends and events inworld.

Newser's Gemma Cleanslate Temporarily Offlined From Windows Trouble

Gemma Cleanslate messaged the Newser that her computer has been disabled and not able to connect to Second Life, at least for now. The trouble seems to be related to the Windows updates for recent computer chip flaws that we wrote about on Friday January 12. Hopefully, she will be back on soon.

Recent Windows Updates May Slow Down Your Computer

If you think your computer isn't running as fast as it was, you may be right. But it may not be hackers slowing it down, but measures to stop them.

On January 3, Intel and other makers of computer chips announced that two flaws had been discovered. Nicknamed "Spectre" and "Meltdown," they exposed the users of the computers with the chips to potential hacking attacks. The result has been both companies and individual computer users having to update their computer software. Unfortunately in the case of Windows updates, there are problems. The company "confirmed that some Windows 10, 8 and 7 adopters will face slower computers once the patch is installed."

While brand new machines with Windows 10 shouldn't see much of a slowdown, users of older computers with Windows 10, 8 and 7 would likely see a noticeable slowdown. One article stated the slowdowns would be from 5% to 30%. For computers with AMD chips, there was an unforeseen problem. The Windows updates were making these computers unable to reboot and making them "bricks."

There's also a report that the CEO of Intel sold the maximum amount of stock he could, about $24 million dollars worth, upon finding out about the flaws.

It is unclear when there will be further updates that allow computers back to their previous speeds.

Sources: Express, Tweaktown, BGR, Telegraph, CNN, Forbes 

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: "Third Life"

From Spring 2007. Somehow I found this computer and desk, with a familiar-looking picture on the screen.

By Bisyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: My Psychotic Little Friend

Kain Scalia, also known as Maus Merryjest, recently send the SL Newser a reader submission about a tale from his early days in Second Life ten years ago. It was one of those stories in which at the time he was terrified, but now he can look back at it and laugh. In his first experiment with scripting, he tried to make a virtual pet that would follow him, and anyone else, around. What could possibly go wrong, he felt. As it turned out, the answer was "plenty."

Read Kain's reader submission in Design.

Computer Update

Some good news concerning my computer. The folder of many months of screenshots which was seemingly lost in March is now opening again. Exactly why it opened just now is as unclear as to why it closed to begin with. But in any event, thousands of screenshots (yours truly can take over a hundred in events like the Relay Weekend) and notes, a fraction of which have ended up in the newsletter, are now back, and this time backed up in a working external drive.

Bixyl Shuftan

Grendel's Owner's Computer Lost in Fire

Almost a year after being suspended by Linden Lab for technicalities, Flea Bussy, the owner of the noted Grendles' Children store, has found himself in trouble again. This time, the problem was a real-life one when the apartment complex he lived in caught fire. Thankfully no one was killed, and the damage to Flea's apartment was from smoke and not heat. But the smoke was enough to render his computer damaged beyond repair.

"The old one is toast," Toady Nakamura, Flea's partner and co-owner of Grendle's told the Newser. "He has an off-the-shelf one at the moment, which isn't truly his. But it's not enough to run well or fast in SL, and we're hoping to change that as soon as possible." Today thought that Flea could get a new computer in about a week, maybe less, if people bought more at the store, "we have some really great new avis, all mesh ... The Wing Chairs, which let you ride your friends along sitting in them. Really neat." Unlike the crisis last year, there is no real danger to the store this time, "We're fine on business. We have so much fun stuff that people keep coming to get it. The only request was to bring friends, buy stuff, take freebies, find the secret passage in the library which leads to the sleeping dragon, have fun."

Flea had been absent for four days before he had a chance to explain what happened through a phone call. His apartment complex is not a small one, but a "U-shaped" structure three stories high on one side and more on the other, with more than two hundred people. "He went upstairs to get someone out," Toady informed, "Way beyond what he needed to do to save himself. And got himself and the other down all the stairs and outside, then tried to persuade a pile of people who were plugging up the entry, because it was minus 20 degrees outside and snow, to exit before the smoke flared up into full flame. I think people who don't just save themselves are special. Especially how he described it, and of course everyone was sick with worry for not hearing from him for the four days he was in the Red Cross shelter before being let back in. Some people were rescued by the fire department off the balconies by the long ladders. It was one of those freezing cold fire events. ... Many of the building residents are elderly and so there was more than the usual pressure for rehousing and saving things."

Toady went on to say about half the apartments are occupied again. The other half will need repairs first, "everyone else is going to need to wait or move to a different apartment. ... I think they're moving as fast as they can given all the circumstances. Up where I live, that would be a huge disaster and people would be sleeping in RVs and barns because we couldn't rehouse 100 people overnight. But perhaps in a metro area, that is not much; it's all perspective."

Before going about her way, Toady reminded that she has been giving out building lessons at Grendle's, the times of which can be found in the store's blog: https://grendelschildren.wordpress.com/.

Grendle's is at Avaria Tor (133/135/302)

Bixyl Shuftan