Wonderblog

We are pleased to announce that the Project Wonderland v0.5 Preview 3 release is now available.

This incremental release represents a major improvement in the overall stability of the Wonderland platform. We have fixed over 115 bugs in the system.  Some highlights include fixes to improve Collada loading, stabilize shared applications, better support Intel graphics cards, and reduce server load with multiple clients.

Wonderland 0.5 preview 3 also contains a new version of the Glassfish v3 embedded web server.  This released version of Glassfish should improve the stability and performance of the Wonderland web server, including the security systems and asset repository. This has also allowed us to remove several Wonderland-specific workarounds in the previous version of the web server.  Going forward, we will be able to use more of the web server features — including full support for Java EE 6 — to improve the web services associated with a Wonderland server.

The new features in this release are all utilities and debugging features. They include:

Audio Volume (Window > Audio Volume)

The Audio Volume window allows you to adjust your microphone and headset volumes.

In particular, you can use the microphone volume meter to determine if your audio input is loud enough for others to hear. If your volume is set to a good level, the indicator should register half-way up the bar while you are speaking. You can also mute and unmute your audio by clicking on the microphone  icon. The second image above illustrates how the display appears if your microphone is set to mute. You will also see square brackets appear around your name over your avatar’s head while on mute.

Navigation Reference (Help > Navigation Reference)

The navigation reference window provides a guide to Wonderland navigation keys.

You can also use all of the buttons except for Zoom and Look Up / Down to move your avatar.  This feature is handy for navigating when you have control of a shared application.

Error Log (Help > Error Log…)

When users encounter problems running Wonderland, the best way to troubleshoot the problem is to show the Java Console. Prior to this release, user’s had to manually configure their system to show this console. The Error Log command removes that requirement and allows users to open a Wonderland-specific version of the Java Console, called the Log Viewer.

When a problem occurs, the user may click on the “Error Report…” button to generate a report with valuable debugging information.

Using the “Select All” button, users can copy the Error Report text and paste it into an email message or forum post for the development team to analyze. If more information is required, the user may be asked to change some of the configuration settings, by clicking on the “Configure…” button in the main Log Viewer window.

Model Import Errors (Window > Model Import Errors…)

When Google Earth (.kmz) files are dropped into the Wonderland window, the user will now see a brief message at the top of their Wonderland window if any errors are generated during the import process.

If this warning appears, selecting “Model Import Errors…” from the Window menu will allow you to browse through all of the models that generated import errors and view the specific error or warning messages that were generated.

Test UDP Port (Tools > Audio > Test UDP Port)

If audio is not working on a Wonderland server, it is often the case that a firewall is blocking the audio traffic, which uses a “UDP Port.” This advanced feature, intended primarily for system administrators, is useful for testing if the UDP port you have configured for Wonderland use is accessible.

Localization

Thanks to our community members, Wonderland is now available in French, German, Swiss German, Spanish, and Chinese.

Take Preview 3 for a test drive

If you haven’t updated Wonderland in a while, download Preview 3 and take it for a test drive. We think you’ll enjoy the new features. Also, don’t forget to check out the new Wonderland Module Warehouse where you can find modules that enhance Wonderland in new and interesting ways.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 2:55 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.