Ubuntu 9.10 Feature Tour

The feature tour website for Ubuntu 9.10 is up: http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/910features/

The White House switches to Open Source

The White House website has now moved over to an Open Source platform to make the system more robust and more secure - and more open. The President's website is now using Red Hat Linux as operating system and the classic combination of Apache web server and MySQL database. The system also uses the Apache Solr search engine and the JavaScript library jQuery. The PHP-based Drupal has been chosen as the CMS.

The White House website has not changed its appearance - all the changes has happened below the surface. The switch to Open Source is not just about technology. In an interview with the Huffington Post it is implied that the administration also wants to send a message of openness and transparency by switching to Open Source.

Source: http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/whitehousegov-goes-drupal

...getubuntu/download

Matthew Nuzum from Canonical posted this message titled "If you could change the download tabs..." on the Ubuntu-website mailinglist.

So, I did some thinking and created a mockup of the download site. I really think the current site is very messy, so I made some changes to make it look more inviting (Like making the mirror selection automatic).

The current site looks like this:
click the image to view in full size!

Here's my version:
click the image to view in full size!

Follow the discussion on: lists.canonical.com/archives/ubuntu-website/2009-April/date.html

Fridge Website Needs a Theme, Can You Help?

The Fridge has been neglected for a while and is coming nowhere close to achieving it's full potential. Tons of people visit this site regularly to get Ubuntu related news. It needs a theme, can you help?

MockUp - DUE Thursday April 2nd
The Ubuntu News team will select a mockup and provide feedback needed for final polish. You do NOT need to create a full-blown design here, just enough to sell your idea.

This is purely a *graphic design* job, submit your mockups and post them as attachments in the Phase 1 section of https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Website/FridgeTheme

Following phases will create HTML/CSS and a Drupal theme. I realize that some people who are great at making designs may not know how to make drupal themes and those who can do drupal stuff may not be great at design. Lets make this a team effort (because I know we've got talent in all the necessary areas).

The goal is to GO LIVE in time for Jaunty release.

Here are the requirements:
== Design ==
- A new visual appearance, harmonious with the ubuntu website but not *just another ubuntu knock off*

- My suggestions would be to stick with the colours and fonts of the ubuntu site but not feel constrained to using the rounded borders with the top right drop down nav

- Attractive, people will feel the site is credible

- A layout that looks like a news website

- Possibly include a special layout for Ubuntu Weekly News, since it is a regular item and has a different format than the other news stories

== Content Types ==
This is the types of content people will view on the site:

News stories
UWN
Events

== Blocks ==
These side-bar items will be shown on the site, this may change over time

Popular content
Syndication/rss
Events
Search
Video podcast

Discussion will take place on the Web Presence Team mailing list but I'll subscribe to this thread so you can ask questions here and I'll reply.

Source: http://ubuntuforums.org/

Ubuntu Wanted website

As mentioned earlier, I've been working on a new proposal for the Ubuntu Wanted site. I've already created the theme that is currently used on the test site. However the design seems to lack a professionel touch, which I'm hoping this new design will bring.
You can follow the discussion on the Ubuntu-website mailinglist.

This is the most recent mockup of the website:

New Design For The Ubuntu Wanted Site

Yesterday I visited the Ubuntu Wanted test site and noticed that the design (although it fit's with the other Ubuntu pages) does not look as professional as I might have hoped and wanted. So today I did a redesign of the site (mockup only, no HTML) to a more "lightweight" version. I've added Nicolas Deschildre idea of a inter website navigation bar.

Here is my latest design suggestion: (click to open in a new window)

Ubuntu Wanted update

I've added the new orange banner to the Wanted site (only HTML so far) and made a little Wanted icon for the site. Not everything is possible when you move from a mockup to actual code - especially not with my skills. Here is what the site looks like at the moment:

In case you are wondering why this screenshot is from Windows XP, the explanation is that I need Adobe Photoshop CS3 running. My old Photoshop 7 runs fine with Wine on Ubuntu, but that's another story.
When the code is converted to Durpal it should be uploaded to http://ubuntu-wanted-devel.ideatorrent.org/

The volunteer pool needs some more discussion (more developers are also needed) so that part of the project is for now postponed.

If you want to know more about the progress of the site, check the Ubuntu website mailinglist. Ironically, this project needs help it self. Anything you can contribute is welcome, basic PHP and SQL skills are necessary for coding. Contact Sense either on #ubuntu-website on the IRC, or email the Ubuntu Website mailing list.