News

We've decided to start working on a new AGO version, Art.Gnome.org 3 (AGO3).
We are using the GNOME wiki to collect ideas, see http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Ago3 .

Main web features:
* more rss/atom exports (comments, theme versions, news...)
* theme collections support (all in one)
* users can create own collections online
* user tags
* ratings
* artwork history
* moderated by regular users
* all these unuseful features users love
* possibility to add support for sound or cursor themes in the future

Technical details:
* follow Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
* follow other accessibility recommendations
* strict XHTML
* template system
* locales support
* UTF-8
* site independent
* model view controller architecture
* friendly urls
* web 2.0

Documents
* http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Ago3/Ideas (Ideas board)
* http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/Ago3/Schema (Database schema)

What do we need
* your feature and other ideas
* an accessibility expert
* some helpers (documents review, design ideas etc.)
* moderators core

We can discuss details at #gnome-art @ irc.gnome.org and we are also going to do ago3 brainstorming session soon

The release notes are being prepared for GNOME 2.16, and we need screenshots to show the latest and greatest things in GNOME 2.16. If you have a screenshot you think might be interesting , submit it under the GNOME 2.15 category, and we will be chosing the best ones for the release notes.

Several long overdue features have been implemented at art.gnome.org recently. You will find you are now able to edit your own comments, and also update the details of any themes and background you have submitted. Look for the 'Edit Details' link on theme and background pages, and an 'Edit' link next to your comments.

To see what else is on the todo list, or to add something yourself see http://live.gnome.org/GnomeArt/ToDo

The GUADEC committee is launching a logo and web theme contest (see details).

We have recently adopted Drupal as the platform of the GUADEC website (currently in a fully funtional beta version). The deadline for submissions is 31/Jan/06 and the winner will 2 GUADEC vip passes, 2 return tickets to Vilanova (Catalonia, Spain) and one week accommodation for both participants.

The user pages have been updated, and now show a listing of the top items a user has rated. It shows the themes, backgrounds and screenshots that a user has submitted.

The new screenshots section of art.gnome.org is now in beta testing. You can view screenshots that have been submitted, and you can also submit your own screenshots. Please note, that the file limit is currently 500K. Files larger than this will not be uploaded.

Feedback and suggestions on the forum thread please!

Schamane has produced a nice button for linking to art.gnome.org for use on your own website:



We're currently looking for volounteers to help out behind the scenes at art.gnome.org. If you would like to get involved with the development or even just day-to-day running of art.gnome.org, then please pop by our irc channel (#gnome-art on irc.gnome.org) or sign up to the mailing list.
The source code for art.gnome.org is available in gnome cvs for developers, and there is a todo list available on the wiki.

Even if you are not a developer, you can still help by filing bugs or feature requests in bugzilla, or adding something to the wiki.

Following the suggestions on this thread in the forum, we've implemented some changes recently to art.gnome.org, including, side bar searching and comments indicator on listings.

We've also added support for filtering on screen resolution for backgrounds, and it's now possible to submit scalable (SVG) backgrounds!

It was also pointed out on the thread, that there are many themes with just a few votes, so please make sure you rate your favourite items!

The winner of the 2.12 splash screen competition is GNOME in Silk - evolving 2 by Xilef. The new splash screen will be used in the official GNOME 2.12 release in a few days.



As Garrett LeSage was on vacation for the end of the contest so he wasn't able to select a winner. However, Jakub "jimmac" Steiner (of gnome-icon-theme fame) stepped in and chose this splash screen as his favourite. His reasons for this choice were:

"While generally it's better to be conservative when dealing with a high profile logo such as GNOME, Felix Dietze managed to experiment with the gnome foot shape bringing a new, refreshing look onto the GNOME desktop."

"The splash is well executed even when using extravagant title cropping. As will any good artwork the interpretation is left to the viewer. A dissolving pill relieving of the configuration headaches was my first impression."

This wallpaper by the same artist also goes very well with the splash screen.

Jimmac also chose a list of runners up that needed special mention:



Garrett will be choosing a splash screen for the design of the developer 2.13 splash, so there is still a chance for any entries who didn't make it to the 2.12 shortlist!

With the imminent release of the GNOME 2.12, the time has come to find the ideal splash screen to go with it. Now is your chance to join the ranks of the precious few who have had their artwork associated with a major release of GNOME! This year, the contest will be judged by Garret LeSage of linuxart.com

Rules:

* The closing date for entries is the September 4th.
* All entries must be released under the GPL.
* No plagiarism - You must have permission if you create any derivative works
* Size should be: 450 width and 300 heigth
* No words other than GNOME and 2.12 (other text cannot be translated)

The contest has now closed. The winner will be announced shortly.

We're trying to gather some feedback so we can continue to improve art.gnome.org. I've started a thread on the forum for people to let us know what we're doing right, and what we can improve!

After a few glitches, there are some new features at art.gnome.org. So, straight from the ChangeLog, the main improvements are:

Revised login system (no need for the "login sucessful" message anymore)

Background resolution filter

Page numbers at top and bottom of listings

Listing preferences saved in session

Links in body text use underline (fixes bug 309136)

Option for "icons" style rss feed (for gnomedesktop.org)

Not to mention I have started on my campaign to try and clean up some of the code behind art.gnome.org. I've also had a look into uploading files via python scripts, so art.gnome.org may yet have an upload option for submissions.

As ever, if you want to get involved there's the mailing list and of course the irc channel

This year's Linux anniversary picnic and BBQ ("Picn*x14") needs a logo, so we're holding a contest!

The picnic coordinators will vote on the best artwork, and the winner's design will be used on the official Picn*x14 website, in banners advertising the picnic on user group websites, and on hundreds of official Picn*x14 t-shirts (to be donated by Google).

For more information and entry details, see the logo contest page.

Some of the recent improvements to art.gnome.org:

* Improved front page
* Clearer listings
* Nicer looking comments
* and pretty stars for ratings

If you would like to discuss issues about art.gnome.org, we now have a new mailing list.

Following comments from a number of authors, the voting system has been updated. You are now required to be logged in to vote, and you may only vote once. However, you can change your vote if you wish.

With the help of James M, the archive is now back online! If you have work in the archive, please create yourself an art.gnome.org account, and e-mail me to move the work over to your account.

Other recent updates include support for simple bb code in comments, more XHTML Strict compliance, and various other enhancements and fixes. Many thanks to those helping out. If you'd like to get involved with art.gnome.org, drop me an e-mail!

In other news, there is a new tool developed by Michael Gebhart (who helped with the new version of art.gnome.org), that allows your to download and install themes and backgrounds from art.gnome.org straight from your desktop! For more information see his website.

As you may have noticed, art.gnome.org as recently undergone a major reworking. Some of the new features you can now find here include:

• New website design
• New User system
• Comments system
• Rating system
• Variants, license and version options for themes and backgrounds
• Background resolution submission

I would like to thank all those involved in these improvements, with special mention to Michael Gebhart who helped with the coding, and to Eric Bobbitt and Marco Bonomo who helped with the new site design. And of course Ross Golder who validated the code for release onto the gnome.org servers, and to the all the people who helped test the site and provide the all important suggestions and comments!

With these new upgrades however, we have had to let go all our old content because the task of migration would have been near impossible to do properly. For the moment, the old content can still be found on the ftp at http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/gnome/teams/art.gnome.org/archive. If any artists wish to have their art included on art.gnome.org then please register an account and use the submit options available from the account page.

Any problems or suggestions for the site can be filed in the art component of the website product on GNOME bugzilla, as well as discussed on the forums.

To celebrate the new release, Radel has done some excellent backgrounds for art.gnome.org:

The contest has finished and a new splash screen chosen and can be seen in action in GNOME 2.10!

In other news, art.gnome.org is set for a major new version and is coming any day now! Watch this space.

With the imminent release of the GNOME 2.10, the time has come to find the ideal splash screen to go with it. Now is your chance to join the ranks of the precious few who have had their artwork associated with a major release of the GNOME!

Contest rules and details are at gimp.org.

You may have noticed that updates have been a little slow recently. This is because there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes at art.gnome.org.

I'm planning some major upgrades to art.gnome.org soon, including a new 'user' system amongst many other improvements. However, due to the changes required to the internal database, the current catalouge of themes will not be migrated over to the new system.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on what they would like to see from the new art.gnome.org, please post them here.

The current list of improvements include:

• New site design
• User accounts
• View status of every theme an author has submitted
• Personal page for each author, including themes/backgroundsreleased
• Theme submissions will support:
• The ability to mark a theme as a variation of another
• Version Numbers
• License indicator
• Background submissions will support:
• Multiple resolutions
• The ability to mark a theme as a variation of another
• Version Numbers
• License indicator

Here's a round up of recent updates to art.gnome.org:

• The author search is now working
• New "icon" view, similar to the original listing style here at art.gnome.org
• RSS feed items now have more information about each theme
• The date themes where last updated is shown on theme pages

Please discuss any suggestions for art.gnome.org on the forums, and file bug reports in bugzilla for things not working!