Liza Veliz reports on Emerald mess, read about it here!

Sun August 22nd 2010

Cliff's notes of the whole situation, an old sl friend of sl reporter Liza Veliz

Details:

Companion Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/TOBSDA

== Datamine Incident ==

Fractured collected avatar / ip combinations using scripted objects in the Emerald Point sim and the Modular Systems / Emerald RegAPI site in a central "Datamine". This was used to determine who was whose alt account and they he had created a web application that allowed him to locate any of said users on the globe with a margin of error of about 200 miles. Various emerald devs had access to this system, and they used it regularly.

Phox and Fractured stalked and hacked the third party who discovered the Datamine (a developer of a non-TOS compliant viewer like them.) They hacked his voice account so he would not be able to use SL Voice, and stalked him to a randomly sim when nobody had map rights. The sim was chosen and the user logged on when the third party found out Fractured had a "surprise" waiting for him. Phox and Fractured confronted the third party, saying they knew who he was and they'd called his house. He was apparently a student on financial aid and was living with his mother. Phox stated in private that he intended to steal the third party's computer so he couldn't mess with them again.

Fractured sends around the chatlog to people, laughing about how they had trolled the third party.

It turned out not to be the third party, and they had been harassing a random person.

The third party called Fractured at his house, to let him know that he knew all about the "datamine", and the information regarding it would be publicly released. Eventually an agreement was reached with Fractured that only information regarding who used the "Datamine" and who was in it, not any identifying information, would be released to the public so long as the datamine was removed from his servers.

Fractured apparently removes the datamine and associated code, the list of users who were in the datamine is posted on the Alphaville Herald.

== EmKDU Incident ==

Phox and Fractured attempted to get the third party's internet disconnected (again, a common tactic of their also used on Neil,) but were unsuccessful. Phox still believes he was successful and has gloated about it to numerous people.

Fractured and several other Emerald devs also worked on the Onyx project, a malicious viewer under the guise of a project to find security holes in SL. It was based on a client of Fractured's that had been banned in the past, along with Emerald. This client was used to harass and stalk others when they saw fit. They claimed it wasn't malicious, and was used for research only. The old source code was leaked. They claimed that it didn't have any of those features anymore and the viewer was just for research. Much more recent source code was leaked, and they didn't say much of anything, but the Onyx site was taken offline. They started hiding that they were using Onyx by spoofing their tag and channel name to be the same as Emerald's, but there were still a few pieces they forgot that identified it.

Someone found out a library the ModSys team had made was being used to leak information about Emerald users. It could be viewed by anyone who knew how to decrypt the message, and the source code to the library was not open to public scrutiny. The message was decrypted by others, using custom software, and it turned out that one was able to determine what version of Emerald they were using, and in some cases, what their username on their computer was. This is dangerous, because the information can be used to pinpoint who a user is in real life if their username on their computer is the same as their real name. It also enabled people to determine who was and was not using Onyx, along with several other unwitting Emerald derivatives.

They claimed they removed this info after several Emerald devs questioned them about it, and they promptly changed the encryption used on the message that was sent out. The message was decrypted again, and it turned out that the majority of the contents were the same, despite their claims. It was changed a third time, and hasn't been decrypted yet.

A core emerald dev decided to leave

One ex-Linden, Qarl decided to join.

== DDoS incident ==

This was all documented by the third party. Fractured thought it would be funny (apparently while he was drunk?) to add hidden frames to the emerald login screen that would load content from said third party's website (which they had stated numerous times was a website hosting malicious software,) and overload the third-party's server with requests every time someone logged into Emerald. The third party found out about it, saying he didn't really care if they wanted to attack him, but to not use their own users as tools to do it. The way the website was loaded, the third party's website could have launched exploits infecting the computers of anyone logging into Emerald, change their login location, or crash their computer.

Soft Linden, head of Security for LL, railed on the Emerald team in the opensource-dev mailing list.

Two core devs left.

Arabella then made an official post about the incident, whitewashing it by saying it was only one developer, who was disciplined, and that they were merely boasting about their traffic to the third party.

Another ex-linden, Data, joined.

In an audio recording, it was determined that they had known that Fractured may be adding the code to the login page before he had even done it, and nothing was done about it until someone complained. Arabella knew it was a lot more than just boasting about traffic, but didn't want to say so, as not to "scare the users". All mention of it on their forums of blog comments was deleted until they made the official response. Arabella thinks very carefully about whether or not to censor a comment from YET ANOTHER ex-linden, Pathfinder, that was less than complimentary of what they were doing to their own users. She and others censored the majority of other comments and posts that did not agree with what they had said in the original post.

== Aftermath ==

Emerald is removed from the Third Party Viewer List.

Fractured steps down from the leader of Emerald, and leaves Arabella in his place. Phox remains.


Ty for reading the article,
Liza Veliz,press pass reporter, Senior Writer

Also Check out Arabella's blog (Emerald viewer executive) for her view on the events that happened http://arabellasteadham.wordpress.com/

Shanghai World Expo 2010; Liza Veliz interviews Bryn Oh

Fri 05/21/10


Second Life™ has made a contribution of machinimas from our world to the EXPO 2010™; the world fair of art, taking place in Shanghai in China May till October. In Real Life you find Second Life contribution in The Air Tree™ at Madrid Pavilion where the Expo for the first time ever shows machinimas.



Bryn Oh - portrait


Bryn Oh is the curator of this contribution in world and one of the artists.

She built three of the five Sims that are shown in the machinimas, together with ColeMarie Soleil and Soror Nishi. Glyph Graves and Marcus Inkpen built the remaining two, one Sim each. The avatar Aino Baar (in RL Spanish art director Cristina García-Lasuén owner of Open This End – a SL group that works for combining virtual reality with RL) is the person who came up with this idea and managed to get Second Life into the art fair and she gave Bryn Oh the responsibility of being curator of the event in world.


I wanted to know more about Bryn Oh so we meet at “No Colour Island” at Utopia3, one of the five Sims Linden Lab™ donated to Bryn for the exhibition.



Bryn Oh - Rabbits


Bryn Oh is a living artwork; a walking, talking, creating, machinima, pixel to soul poetry.


She is created from the mind of a Canadian Oil Painter. This painter went on to study Softimage™ and Zbrush™ to learn more. As the painter discovered 3D and Second Life, Bryn Oh™ was born.



“This is a great medium for me. In my first life I am an oil painter but I had some ideas that I couldn't do in oil paint, so when I found Second Life I found a place where I could make these stories.”


“Some of my themes are of robots that are in love with humans. They are all mostly about just things in my life, but I switch them to be about robots and people. Underneath I guess they are about me, but I hide that a bit. Everything I make is somewhat a diary. See, for me, I am the robot sometimes in my first life. I have a hard time to tell things to people if I am in love or angry. Some are about wanting unconditional love. Love you read about in stories. Only my robots look for it. They seek it out and the humans take it for granted.”


Bryn Oh has her own Sim called Immersiva, donated by Dusan Writer, where she exposes her beautiful self.


So far she has had success as a real life artist, as well as virtual, in many exhibitions out world; Nuit Blanche™ in Paris last year, Through the Virtual Looking Glass™ in April all around the world, and now at Expo 2010 Shanghai in China in The Pavilion of Madrid.


Even if she tells me she wont exists anymore if the first life of her would shadow her as Bryn Oh she herself the avatar has an impact and is affecting the First Life of her.



Daughter of Gears and Rabbicorn


“I do make encaustic music box insects; some were shown in a Boston Gallery last month. They are influenced by second life. I can show you a short video of them.”


She hands me the link with the words


“This is the music box works Liza. The movie shows how they work”.

http://brynoh.blogspot.com/2010/04/through-virtual-looking-glass.html


“My creations within Bryn Oh are very melancholic and sad. They are about being disposed of or becoming obsolete. They are robots who look for love while humans take this for granted.”


She smiles a bit and adds



“She is a “coffee filter” for my mind.”


“One reason I don’t involve my First Life identity with Bryn Oh is that perhaps my family would become worried if they read into my narratives. The other reason is that Bryn Oh lives her own life and she develops her own ways and I don’t want to ruin this by letting people focus on my Real Life. You can believe in Bryn Oh as a character if I am not connected. You can believe in the marionette as long as you don’t see someone controlling it. Once you see that person the suspension of disbelief is gone.”


So far she succeeds in this. Not even the Press Centre of Shanghai Expo 2010 is revealing the true identity of the creator of Bryn Oh.


What is this Sim “No Colour” about to you?


"For me it has its own meaning. I place different narratives around. One is of the Owl and Mouse™, another is of some rabbits whose story I am still writing. The third and final is a build called Vessels Dream™ which is about fading memories and the desire to recede from society to find solitude.


The overall theme of the five World Expo islands is based off of a narrative written by Aino Baar. Each island is missing something. This island is missing colour. When you whisper a wish to the tree the idea is that colour returns. This is shown by my shopping carts turning into the trees of Soror Nishi by a script created by Desdemona Enfield."


"The shopping carts are a symbol to me of a disappeared society. In my work they often are left strewn about like bones of animals. The people are gone who shopped with them, yet there is almost an echo of families talking, children laughing and bustle."


Bryn Oh spreads before me on the ground some of her poems.


“This will help you get an idea of my work”


It’s the Rabbicorn™ Story, The story of the Daughter of Gears™, Angler Girl™ and poems about pixel life and love inside Second Life.



Liza in the lap of Steel Moon Heart


Bryn Oh creates her story from poems into exhibitions, machinima´s and books.



The Rabbicorn and the Daughter of Gears characters are beneath one of the streetlights of this world where the soil is of metal and shopping carts are everywhere. It is an abandoned world, like a big metal churchyard.


There is a book on the second part of the story, but the first one is only in poems, machinimas at YouTube™ and blip.tv™ and in world. Bryn Oh tells me the third part of this story will be made on a Sim for IBM™ in October 2010.


The story is very sad. The Rabbicorn is made by a scientist who then gives her to a man for his boy’s birthday. All the other robots made at this time are soldiers meant for war, but the Rabbicorn is made with the ability to think and feel emotions. At the end of this boy’s life Scientists arrive to capture the fabled Rabbicorn and the old boy tells her to flee. He realizes that the scientists only wish to take her apart to see what’s within. Later on her trip she meets the Daughter of Gears. In Bryn's words "A mother has a sick daughter. Her daughter is slowly dying and the mother can not bear to lose her. As her daughter's life begins to depart she transfers her daughter’s soul into the body of a machine so that she will remain. The people from around hear of her rebirth into a machine and believe the daughter to be an abomination. A mob comes to the tower where they live to take the daughter away from her. The mother will never let them do this and brings her daughter to the top. The mob eventually arrives and she fights them like a mother would. In her fury and fear she defeats them, but is mortally wounded. As she lay dying she realizes that when she is gone her Daughter will live alone and lonely for eternity. As an outcast. Upon her mothers death the daughter of gears goes into stand-by mode much like a computer does. In her stand-by she forever relives the memories of her mother."


At the landing point at the beach of this island the first thing you see is an owl and a mouse dragging a steel moon after them. The big moon carries a gramophone within her heart that plays an old song about love and romance. You can sit in the lap of her heart and listen to this tune. I Liza love this. It is my favourite place in my world of pixels right now.



Bryn Oh (by Liza Veliz)


"That sculpture is called Mouse drawn Owl and they are characters with a narrative. Many of my sculptures have stories hidden inside them and this one does as well. If you click inside the owl’s chest it will play this poem.


They escaped the test lab without a sound

Over dead leaves and past the Robo Hounds

Fleeing nothing felt

And conveyor belts

A mouse on rusted wheels

An Owl programmed to feel

Knowing of a concept called free

And attaching it to the Sea


They both are robots created in a laboratory. Each was programmed to feel emotion. They flee that cold place and search for freedom. But for them the meaning of freedom is only from an overheard conversation about a vacation by the sea."


First thing to do when you visit this exhibition is to click the big sign at the landing point. You will then get a note card with directions on how to change your sky settings so you can see the worlds as Bryn Oh intended you to do. Next thing is to watch carefully the surroundings. And search for things. Bryn Oh loves to hide stuff from you. In the black structure behind the hill on opposite side of this island you will find Vessel’s Dream™. Here you must use your camera to get it all. Same trick goes for most of Bryn Oh´s art. Check the YouTube and her own website. She is instructive in showing how to get into the goodies to explore in her machinimas.


Did I mention the Whisper Tree? That’s what is common in each Sim and it is based upon an old legend with the same name. I assume you know that machinima is video created in 3D with avatars in virtual world.



No Colour Island

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Utopia03/27/98/23


Video from the Sim No Colour;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TShnuZ8UwCU Stay with me


Poems mentioned in the text;

http://blip.tv/file/2334264 Daughter of Gears story

http://blip.tv/file/3106327 Rabbicorn


Some of the poetry Bryn Oh lay out on the ground;

http://blip.tv/file/2435685 Willow™

http://blip.tv/file/2117132/ Angler Girl

http://blip.tv/file/2715180 irrevocably™

http://blip.tv/file/2701783 Vessels Dream

http://blip.tv/file/2792708 Condo’s in Heaven™


A poem I Liza love;

http://blip.tv/file/3200914 26 tines™


The machinima shown at World Expo 2010;

http://brynoh.blip.tv/ Bryn Oh – World Expo Shanghai Shown in the Madrid Pavilion


Bryn Oh blog

http://brynoh.blogspot.com/




Reporting for PressPass,my name is Liza Veliz
Ty for reading and feel free to comment!

A Look Into The Cool Viewer

Mon 05/17/10


Are you hesitant of downloading the latest SL Viewer from Linden Labs 2.0?
Hearing the negative comments spoken by current users?
Are you a current user of the latest SL Viewer 2.0?
Tired of the learning curve and new layout of it? Well, have I got news for you. I received a notice from the Starwalkers Group written by Ellendir Khandr on the latest viewer called Cool Viewer.

Now, I have been one of those resistant to upgrading from my version 1.20.
Call me crazy, but hearing all those talk about loosing items made me hug my inventory so tight you would have to tie me down kicking to upgrade.
The reason for my upgrading, honestly, was the new feature allowing your shoes to be worn without an invisprim.



Inventory


Now, with the Cool Viewer you need to have the Linden Labs Second Life (LLSL) Viewer 1.23 installed on your computer already. Do not remove this. If you don't have this version, but an older one (like I did), you do need to upgrade to it.
Once you have, or if you have, 1.23, you download the Cool Viewer and install it.
This executable file will install into your Second Life program file and basically lie on top of the LLSL Viewer.
To download and install the LLSL Viewer 1.23 use this link -http://secondlife.com/support/downloads/.
To read about and install Cool Viewer use this link - http://sldev.free.fr/.
Now this link has all the information you need to read about and install versions for Windows and Linux.
If you want to install for Mac OS use this link - http://hyangreflections.blogspot.com/.



Area Search


Now you are wondering why you should do this. Well, to put it simply, the Cool Viewer will turn the LLSL Viewer 1.23 into the LLSL Viewer 2.0 and best part is....it will be the same viewer layout as 1.23.
So, no big learning curve to find where everything is.
The layout of your search, inventory, communication, preferences is the same.
Now, there are a few new layout features.
For instance, at the bottom menu bar your groups, friends, snapshot and build options now have a spot there. Also, the inventory search is more expansive and there is a built in radar. Also, in the inventory tab, not only do you have your standard inventory list and recent items tab, but you also have a worn items tab - this makes it easier to see what you're wearing without having to type worn in the inventory tab search.
Now, this is just a short preview of all the information and I highly recommend you visiting http://sldev.free.fr/ to learn more.



Animated Radar


Another feature is the implementation of RestrainedLove features which are disabled by default so you won't notice any difference with a "normal" viewer till you enable them manually.
RestrainedLove is aimed at BDSM fans in SL who wish to enhance their experience by letting other people (such as their owners) take control of some of their abilities.
In order to use its features, the Dom/me has to operate items (typically restraints) that the sub wears, but only the sub needs to use this viewer in that situation.
To learn more about this feature, please use the following link - http://sldev.free.fr/RestrainedLoveReadme.txt



Animated Preferences


Hope this helps in providing another option to using the latest features of the LLSL Viewer 2.0 without actually using it.

*Note: All pictures provided from the Cool Viewer website at http://sldev.free.fr/ *


Ty for reading, my name is Jen Tafler, reporting for Press Pass Media