2007-10-06T12:18:25Z

Dizzy Banjo: /* Use cases */

='''Media On A Parcel'''=
==Overview==
This document has been rewritten to focus on higher level design details. More specific implementation details are available upon request.

The purpose of this project is to shore up and expand support for Media within Second Life. Currently we support a single Quicktime URL per parcel, which is used in place of a given texture. We plan to rewrite the underlying Media Library and expand it to support a wide variety of Internet Media types, such as HTML and Flash. Also we will support Media display in other areas of Second Life, such as the HUD and on individual Prims.

The Project will deploy in several milestones. The first of these will deliver the underlying re-architecture of the Media Library and support for HTML on a parcel. Subsequent milestones will provide for Media in the HUD, multiple URLs per parcel, and implement new Media Type support.

* [[MediaForum |Transcript of SLDev Forum, 2 Oct 07]]

==Project Justification==
===Problems We Are Solving===
* The current system will scale poorly given our long-term goal of a media-rich environment.
* The media type to media decoder associations are hard coded.
* The system is dependent on the Viewer, which contributes to viewer complexity and hampers viewer abstraction initiatives.
* It's currently only possible to have one media URL per parcel even if your system can support more.
* Current location of embedded browser (hosted in client UI code via LLWebBrowserCtrl) cannot be used as a media source. A better approach is to move the implementation to the media library and replace the "Web Browser Control" widget with a more generalized "Media Widget".
* Current implementation is strongly coupled to parcel concept. Long term goals require more flexible support so that media can be used anywhere in client - for example, the HUD.

===Pros===
* Rewriting and documenting the Media Library API will allow for easier integration of new media types, which hopefully will involve our open source community.
* Extricating the media library from the Viewer as much as possible will decrease Viewer complexity and hopefully contribute to greater Viewer stability long term. Debugging the Media Library will be easier as well.
* Creating a data-driven media association path will remove the compile requirements for changing media type to impl associations.

===Cons===
* Any change to this code has the potential to introduce bugs and break functionality.
* This project does conceive of new features, and therefore is not purely a refactoring of existing code.
* While media support on a parcel does address long-term goals, it is less relevant to near-term stability and new-user experience initiatives.

== Requirements ==
The new system will:

* Support a wider variety of media types.
* Provide a plug-in like architecture for adding new media type support.
* Allow residents to specify more than one URL per parcel.
* Allow the viewer to display URLs in HUD and on prims
* Support a shared interaction experience

== Design ==
* The Media Library will use common MIME types to map URLs to specific decoders in the Library.
* These will all be part of the SL Viewer Open Source project.

===Media Setup===
* The parcel owner will initially set the URL in the About Land dialog, and will add information such as Type and Media Size if applicable.
* They also specify the ID of the Texture to replace with this URL.
* This information is stored on the server side with the rest of the Parcel information.
* If the parcel owner is unsure of the media type a lookup can be done of the URL header.
[[Image:AboutLandMedia.png|thumb]]

===Playing Media===
* When a resident enters a parcel which has a media URL defined, an appropriate UI control pops up allowing the resident to load the media.
* When the resident invokes the media control the Media Library begins decoding the media based on the MIME type for the media.
* Frames will appear on any face displaying the texture ID specified in the Media Setup.
* Milestone 2 will also add support for displaying media in the HUD, so rather than being drawn in world, the media would appear on a UI widget displayed in the HUD.

===Supported Media Types===
* Implemented in Milestone 1
** QuickTime (refactor existing one and make sure we're using the latest version of the QuickTime SDK)
** Mozilla (Will use existing version that's in the client - updating that is another project)

* Implemented in Milestone 2
** Opera (Alternative impl for handling Web based content - based on Opera browser 9.5)
** Flash

* Implemented sometime in the future by us or ideally, by residents:
** PDF (perhaps via this cross platform SDK http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/sdk/dll/)
** Ultra lightweight text renderer (perhaps via AntiGrain http://www.antigrain.com/demo/index.html)
** Ultra lightweight SVG renderer (perhaps via AntiGrain http://www.antigrain.com/svg/index.html)
** Flickr -e.g. flickr://keyword/dog/rand or flickr://interestiness/date/20070410/rand
** VNC

==Use cases==
Please feel free to add any use cases which are not already covered. We want to make this system address Resident needs as much as possible.

* Parcel owner wants to use a number of web hosted sounds to form a parcel wide soundtrack which doesnt rely on inworld uploaded sounds

* Parcel owner wants to display some static signage on his parcel
** This can be done but the visitor will have to hit 'start' before they see it.

* Parcel owner wants to display dynamic content on his parcel - e.g. Twitter stream
** (once visitor presses 'start', this will work as expected

* Parcel owner puts a Web page containing a slide show that has transport controls built into the Web page
** This works but each parcel visitor will see the slide show independently. If one user presses 'NEXT SLIDE' control, no one else will see it.

* Parcel owner puts a Web page containing a slide show that has transport controls via a scripted object on the parcel
** Each parcel visitor will see the same URL

* Parcel owner puts a Web page containing a slide show that has transport controls via a scripted object on the parcel and wants to disallow visitors changing the URL
** [My lack of knowledge of LSL here means I can't answer this but I think it should be possible to only allow the transport control object (and therefore the URL) to be used by the parcel owner]

* Parcel owner puts a Web page containing a Flash game on his parcel
** The current version of LLMozLib doesn't support Flash interaction so this won't work.

* Parcel owner puts a Web page containing a Javascript game on his parcel
** This milestone doesn't support interaction with parcel media so this won't work

* Parcel owner wants to hide content behind a username/password set via .htaccess
** Won't work since we don't support username/password dialog - will have to implement using Web content

* Parcel owner wants a movie screen and a Web page with movie details on the same parcel.
** Works - raises some interesting questions about transport controls that appear at the bottom of the screen
* Parcel owner wants to hand out personal, attachable media viewers for visitors to interact with their own chosen media streams: museum guide, lecture, mall
* User has a personal device which they want permission to set their own media texture for even when on a parcel which they do not have permission for - aka personalized radio, video viewer that works globally

* Parcel owner wants to leave a Web browser on their parcel so that visitors can browser
** Works as expected

* Parcel owner wants to create a controlled shared experience - viewing a sequence of images with next/previous links in the page itself
** Works as expected

* Parcel owner wants to join his fellow 'parcelees' and browse the Internet together
** Will work depending on the content but any page that is generated dynamically based on time, cookies etc. will most likely not work as expected.

* Parcel owner runs a class discussing literature/essays/work. Wants to distribute notecard with content AND discuss from a screen, possibly with editing and notes done pseudo live.
** Will need to be able to read more than 255 characters per line from dataserver/llGetNotecardLine. Formatting instructions

* Parcel owner wishes to run a class where students complete a standard form and have their material visibly displayed.

* Parcel owner runs scripting class and would like to be able to display, share and edit scripts live! (not currently even on the map), save possibly by cutting and pasting to a notecard.

Also: some ideas here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/User:Zero_Linden/Office_Hours/HTML_on_a_Prim_Use_Cases

HTML on a Prim Use Cases

2007-10-06T12:13:21Z

Dizzy Banjo: /* Use Cases for HTML on a prim */

This page is for listing actual use cases for HTML on a Prim. Write up a section for what you would use HTML on a Prim for. Please only add a section for what an actual use you have, not something you could imagine using. A good metric is if you have a project that would be substantially improved, or that you could actually do now if you had the feature. Please don't add seconds for uses that you might imagine someone building. We want to know what '''you''' would do. If you have several different things, add several sections.

'''Note:''' There have been many interesting use cases discussed in [[User:Zero_Linden | Zero's office hours]]. If talked about one there, please extract your use case and summarize it here.

It is okay, even preferable, for you to add your use case, even if there is another similar one here. By see all the particular details of each use case, we can begin to extract the common needed features.

See also: [[User:Zero Linden/Office Hours/HTML on a Prim Taxonomy | HTML on a Prim Taxonomy]]

----

== Tree Kyomoon ==

''I received this in world on a notecard from Tree. Hope he doesn't mind me posting it here. -- Zero''

1. get content hosted externally into SL , just images so we dont have to pay L$10 for each mistake

2. get text into SL via http, not linked text just plain text

3. an interactive browser on a 3d surface is nerdy and cool, but unnecessary, as is flash for a while

4. fix HTTPRequest so it is more transparent and compliant with web systems, I have 200,000 users I could bring into SL via our learning management system if I could properly authenticate them and grab the course XML. I can render it with objects, I just need to get the data in and out :)

==Use Cases for HTML on a prim==
# Presently, to make a presentation within SL I have to create the 'slides' or 'flipcharts' as a matrix on a single image which I can then put on a prim (usually 4x4) and upload. The cost is negligible, clearly, but the ease of use is lacking. I can't easily take different paths through the slides, nor jump to a different presentation easily if required. Direct use of HTML would greatly ease this. I did try using Flash but found through testing that it was not possible to co-ordinate which state was displayed to each user so that they all say the same 'side' together. --[[User:Alison Wheels|Alison Wheels]]
# To bring in live news updates from outside in an easier manner than a headline and an off-SL browser link. Being able to display the latest SL Blog entry on a prim in the Infohub I operate would also be nicer than sending someone off to an external browser as it would keep the resident within SL rather than probably hiding the SL window (where they might miss someone talking to them, etc) --[[User:Alison Wheels|Alison Wheels]]
# Additionally, many items are scripted to do texture changes - which causes an element of sim lag - whereas moving that script+image off-SL to an externally hosted image (animated gif, whatever) will help all residents. --[[User:Alison Wheels|Alison Wheels]] 06:36, 21 March 2007 (PDT)
# Display current score for an interactive game where the game is controlled entirely by LSL scripts --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Display a list of high scores - user names plus scores for a game written entirely in LSL --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Display a list of high scores for a game whose score tracking is performed outside of SL/LSL --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Display information about the world in a HUD, or about a game written in LSL (nearby avatars, augmented reality, game stats) --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Display information about a game run on servers outside SL/LSL in a HUD, with multiple HUD components --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Implement advanced user addons in the HUD - a HUD that is your AIM/YAHOO/MSN contact list and IM interface --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# An in world console to display information about a game and allow interaction with the game --[[User:Kelly Linden|Kelly Linden]]
# Interactive Movies/Stories. [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# Puzzle Games [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# In world "cameras". By using a scripted client, we could have "camera screens" into other parts of the world. [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# Morphed Text Displays/Captcha [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# 2D Action Games. If the client caches the textures, flipping between them might happen a lot more quickly. [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# Ads. Some people might serve web based ads. [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# Web cams without relying on quicktime. [[User:Gigs Taggart|Gigs Taggart]] 13:26, 27 March 2007 (PDT)
# http textures: get product images into Second Life, such as books, CDs etc. and make them exchangable automatically. Dynamic search results from Amazon with images are another usecase --[[User:Tao Takashi|Tao Takashi]]
# text on a prim: for any device like RSS readers, search results again and so on. --[[User:Tao Takashi|Tao Takashi]]
# creating better HUD userinterfaces with HTML-on-a-prim. UI scripting could happen server side and buttons are more easily exchangable etc. --[[User:Tao Takashi|Tao Takashi]]
# For basic whiteboarding, use HTML-on-a-prim as the backdrop (in our case we were doing a design review of concept sketches) then meeting participants can move small prims around on the surface of the presentation prim to highlight areas of interest (while discussing in voice chat). Maybe we could add a "web projector screen" object to the library? [[User:Benjamin Linden|Benjamin Linden]] 10:31, 30 March 2007 (PDT)
# Collaborative text document editing [[User:Ryan Linden|Ryan Linden]]
# Collaborative spreadsheet editing [[User:Ryan Linden|Ryan Linden]]
# Gallery2 to SL photo sharing; for example, for an in-world picture gallery of RL photos, complete with RL ordering and delivery [[User:Dr Scofield|Dr Scofield]]
# displaying and entering data into ANY kind of form without having a browser window over the "worldview" [[User:Pham Neutra|Pham Neutra]]
# having a usable way to input TEXT into an application (doing this by chat is a joke) [[User:Pham Neutra|Pham Neutra]]
# a usable collaborative whiteboard for inworld meetings (in discussion with one of our clients) [[User:Pham Neutra|Pham Neutra]]
# creating interactive UIs for many RL/SL applications [[User:Pham Neutra|Pham Neutra]]
## coupling web based shops and inworld shops more effectively and with better usability
## selling land and managing land (in discussion with one of our clients)
## creating a reputation system with an inworld interface (in discussion with one of our clients)
## creating a better/alternative inworld search engine or many different specialized ones
## creating a better/alternative inworld classifieds system or (in discussion with one of our clients)
## creating an information/management system for inworld groups (in discussion with one of our clients)
# creating a custom soundtrack / long streams of sound effects for an area by enabling numerous media streams from objects across a parcel [[User:Dizzy Banjo|Dizzy Banjo]]

for many of these applications a set of APIs, which can interface the server based app or a javascript app with inworld information, would be extremely useful (getting information about the avatar interacting, the inworld location of the prim etc. etc.)
# Currently for the Historical Museum I'm using notecards to give information out to people, while this is great for spreading information it's a disaster to update each card to provide new information when the same article is updated on the History Wiki. So I'd love to use HTML on a prim to replace the current notecard based system with just HTML prims that show the wiki page. I could also maybe create a HUD that makes use of the wiki, providing more information with less inventory filling content. [[User:Oz Spade|Oz Spade]] 17:55, 22 June 2007 (PDT)

==TrustNet==
I run an in-world reputation system. The current capabilities of SL limit what can be done. Here's what I'd add:
* Screens (near doors for example), that display information on why exactly somebody wasn't allowed in. Moderated areas could contain a small area with a screen that could be used to display the reason why somebody isn't welcome.
* Use it as a part of an avatar scanner HUD, to represent information like graphs and tables that are difficult to represent well in LSL.
* System status display, with information about system load, service availability, etc.
* Make it possible to access the website directly from SL, which has functionality that is currently very impractical to implement in-world, such as tables with hundreds of rows.
* It would make it possible to create an in-world demonstration of how the system works. Currently assembling such a thing from prims seems to be fairly complicated.
[[User:Dale Glass|Dale Glass]] 11:02, 25 March 2007 (PDT)