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NOV
18
2007
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Oxygen Team Unveils Wallpaper Collection for KDE 4.0The Oxygen team is happy to present the final selection of 15 wallpapers that will be released with KDE 4.0. It took longer than expected to manage the The Oxygen team are overjoyed at the response and want to thank everyone who took part. All of these wallpapers are being released under the LGPL version 3 license. For more insights by the jury, check Riccardo's blog.
Code Poet's Dream
Colorado Farm
Curls On Green
Fields Of Peace
Fresh Morning
Golden Ripples
Green Concentration
Ladybuggin'
Leaf's Labyrinth
Emotion
EOS
There's Rain On The Table
Red Leaf
Skeeter Hawk
Summer A big thanks for all the participants and congratulations to the winners by the Oxygen team. |
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Comments
I just hope distros use them
Since most distros apply their own branded wallpaper. Aesthetics in KDE4 get better every day, although I do wish it was an open poll.
Re: I just hope distros use them
compared to the results when we have done open polls, i think we got better and more consistent results from having a jury of artists. it's fun to participate in polls to pick things, granted, but i'd rather have high quality results for something like this ...
thanks to everyone who contributed wallpapers. they rock =)
Re: I just hope distros use them
Totally agree on both counts.
Re: I just hope distros use them
I don't, I hope distro's vote no confidence in these and keep their own. I find the wallpapers to be very boring, nothing there reaches out and say's KDE, actually they all remind me of Vista. and XP. I wonder how many people use any of the themes, wallpaper, etc that comes with KDE, I know I don't, and it appears a lot prefer to download their desktop look. Perhaps the KDE team should not focus on themes, wallpaper etc, and leave that up to those that contribute ate kde-look.org, always far better stuff from contributers, than what is released with KDE.
Re: I just hope distros use them
Sure, and those artists would then automagicly transform into coders who can be assigned to any other part of KDE, right?
*Sigh*
Re: I just hope distros use them
Since kde-look.org already are supportet through the GetNewStuff(?) functionality, that part of it arre already covered.
But IMHO it's better to also supply some high quality defaults like this, rather than base it on whats avalible on kde-look.org. And to be frank, there are lots of rubbish on kde-look.org. Specially when it comes to walpapers.
Re: I just hope distros use them
Sorry but where do you see a similarity with Windows Vista? It is a common but wrong conception to argue that KDE is too Windows-like (and by the way the most Windows like element - Kicker - is gone in KDE 4!).
Kubuntu did apply a theme that resembles a bit to Windows Vista (window controls and some brilliance highlights) but this very theme has nothing to do with the KDE project itself (and I personally stick to Plastik for KDE 3).
And furthermore did you compare KDE with Keramik theme to Windows Vista? There are some subtle interesting similarities (e.g. at brilliance highlights, whereas Plastik doesn't use them). And guess which theme is much much older than Vista? Right Keramik. And it is a known fact that Microsoft evaluated KDE the days it used Keramik as default theme.
And where do you see any similarity between Vista's and KDEs wallpapers? They both partially make use of HDR imaging, a careful adjusted dynamic range and a high color saturation (whereas KDE 3 wallpapers were much more "flat" and "dirty"). Shall KDE people avoid these common techniques of professional photo artwork in order to please you? Just have a look at professional art color photos and you will notice that this has nothing to do with Vista but with images looking good under any circumstances (ever wondered why your private images look good in very narrow screen configurations only?)
So quite the contrast: Even default KDE 3 doesn't look very much like Windows XP or Vista and KDE 4 will even look more different cause of different GUI elements (not only replaced Kicker) and cause Oxygen theme has absolutely nothing in common with Vistas theme (I bet after KDE 4 is out random people will complain that Oxygen icons and KDEs interface are too GNOME like which is much more likely :p).
Re: I just hope distros use them
I would agree if kde-look wasn't infested by kids that vote their
trashy entry and their friends , that vote them too.
This issue is particularly visible on linux game tome and freshmeat,
but it pests kde-look too....
Re: I just hope distros use them
Wallpapers are meant to be 'boring'.
And what's boring about nature? Are you sure you're human?
Re: I just hope distros use them
What is Nature? Everything?
Because you know, just showing some plants isnt "nature" per se. Its just a tiny fraction of what beauty you can find, yet these wallpapers almost exclusively focus on plants ...
Pot smokers among the jury?
Re: I just hope distros use them
I assume you send in better suggestions? Besides, nobody forces you to use any of these wallpapers, so what do you care?
Re: I just hope distros use them
Exactly why those themes remind you of Vista or XP? just because they are "photographies" of "things"?
Re: I just hope distros use them
I guess you feel if the KDE team didn't hold this contest KDE 4 would be all done and then you could then rant about how much you think the distros should mess with it because, well... you would never use the default look, you'd prefer to download your desktop look, etc... insert more unproductive negativity here... more bs vista comparisons... it's a photograph, certainly vista has the capability to display photographs as a wallpaper...give me a break.. jump in a lake.
im sure your response would have been different if they chose your kde wallpaper full of kde gears and the colour blue, whatelse? oh.. the dragon and oh.. tux because that would.... make no friggin sense... at least with all that BS it wouldnt be vista..
Re: I just hope distros use them
Ouhm, with 1900 Wallpapers?? That would be lucky ;-)
Thank you
They look great and the KDE4 is shaping up very nicely.
Thanks again
O_O
The 'Wow' Starts Now (c)
;)
Re: O_O
hahaha.. oh no, don't jinx us! ;)
Realy cool
Cool wallpappers! espatialy "Ladybuggin"
Re: Realy cool
It's my least favorite... probably has something to do with the fact that this part of Missouri is getting swarmed with ladybugs currently.
Wow!
The Wallpapers are simple breathtaking. I just can't wait to see a finished KDE4!
Great!
These are really looking great. Once the artistic design decisions are taken out of the hands of the coding geeks, Open Source can actually look beautiful ;-) If this really is too much for you - go here:
http://www.dotproject.net/
Re: Great!
We actually use dotproject at work...
I think its ugly.. but it works.. :p
Animating?
Love the wallpapers, top job!
I'm just wondering whether KDE4 will allow animating wallpapers like Vista Ultimate (it calls them Dreamscapes - but I believe it's just playing avi movies). I know some will complain and say it's a resource hog, but there is something both relaxing and beautiful about having swaying grass or running water on the desktop. So, how about it?
Re: Animating?
Fancy writing a plasmoid to do it?
The Plasma framework is designed so that you can really have any background you can code. It's just another applet. You may not get it by default in 4.0, but I have no doubt that such backgrounds will appear.
Re: Animating?
I was actually interested in taking it one step further - 3D backgrounds. We have the whole cube thing, so you can rotate etc. So why not have a 3D background that rotates with the cube? :)
Re: Animating?
Cool idea!
It could help you orient yourself while you are roting the cube. How about employing KStars to render a 3D starchart behind your cube that rotates behind the cube as if not the cube is rotating, but you are roting around the stationairy cube? Hmm... Sounds cool!
Re: Animating?
It is really very cool feature. I am not well aware of what plasma can do and I think that it is more kwin issue. But if it is possible to create 3D backgrounds it will rock :)
Re: Animating?
background have nothing to do with kwin (well, other than respecting the "this window is the desktop" flag) and everything to do with plasma. 3d background effects can be written in openGL even as plasma supports opengl plasmoids.
Re: Animating?
Wow. It sounds really great. I knew that plasma is very powerfull but this overpass my expectations what plasma is capable of. In this case maybe I will try to make a 3D background plasmoid in OpenGL when the KDE 4 is released.
Re: Animating?
While I like the idea, I also have a long-standing problem with the cube in that it feels rather limited to just four desktops. While it's fine that there are people that stick with that default and are perfectly capable of getting work done, I am not among their number.
Re: Animating?
i find using two or three monitors works best for me. The whole buggy cube thing is next to useless. I wish linux would go back to the people who it was meant for...
intelligent people
Re: Animating?
I use two monitors and four virtual desktops, so I see what you mean 50/50.
By your comment about the cube, I'll assume you've tried Compiz/Beryl. Have you tried the "Desktop Wall" plugin instead of "Desktop Cube"? Perhaps with the "Expose" plugin? I find that to be very comfortable.
(A quick Super+Arrow to switch desktops with the keyboard... or just mouse to the top-right corner to zoom out and then click to pick)
I'd be using a mix of KDE and Compiz Fusion parts right now if Compiz Fusion didn't have so many irritating rough edges and limitations.
Re: Animating?
Haven't had a look at plasma yet but I guess this could be done using a plasmoid.
Re: Animating?
This has been possible since the early days of KDE and even earlier.
There is an advanced option that lets you select a program for drawing the background. you can select a video player and have it play avi files.
Perhaps a plasmoid that is fully integrated into KDE, with easily downloadable animated backgrounds would be the more polished solution, though.
Re: Animating?
Enlightenment dr17 can do that
Re: Animating?
and so for more than a year...
Looks great
Just a little bit strange that 5 out of 15 wallpapers are from jury member.
But i can't realy complain, they all look great! :-D
Re: Looks great
There are some comments and replies on that in the blog entry (the jury members were not allowed to vote for their own contribution, voting was secret and the entries were anonyminiezd), but it's a bad habit at all to let jury members take part in a competition.
Anyway, as there haven't been any prices (except the winning itself) and the collection is OK (too much green for my taste and a bit too 'conservative') I don't care much about that.
Kenneth Wimer..
I love the wallpaers "Summer" and "Fields of Peace", both make me feel refreshed and relaxed. wonderful wallpapers.. you rock Kenneth! thanks :)
image ratio
And what about the differents screen ratio for the user ?
When you use a 1024x768 screen (ratio 4/3) or a 1440x900 screen (ratio 16/10) the result is very different !
The solution is to use a scalable wallpaper (SVG) and NOT a jpeg wallpaper.
Re: image ratio
You can also just use a different cut out for those. SVG wallpapers are quite a different catogory than photography, resulting in very different kinds of images. You may prefer the one or the other, but that does not mean that KDE should limit itself to only one category.
Re: image ratio
That's not true. SVG is designed for vector graphics, not photos. JPEG is the correct choice. I assume you weren't implying that people shouldn't use photos as backgrounds!
As for different aspect ratios, the only sensible solution is to crop the image.
Re: image ratio
>>> As for different aspect ratios, the only sensible solution is to crop the image.
So for using these 1280X800 KDE wallpapers on my 1600x1200 screen i have to :
1) Expand the wallpaper (distortion, big pixels =>ugly)
or
2) Leave the small wallpaper lost in the middle of my screen (ridiculous)
Re: image ratio
No, you should just use the 1600x1200 resolution image when it becomes available.
Re: image ratio
For photos I agree raster is king (until some fancy-pants raster->vector conversion techniques get devoloped, maybe) but wouldn't PNG or TGA beat out JPEG for this kind of thing? The desktop isn't the web, after all.
Re: image ratio
PNG results in pretty ridiculous file sizes for photographic content. A high-quality JPEG can get very close while still keeping a manageable file size.
Re: image ratio
Well frist we made versions for most comon screen ratios.
Secondly i work with svg all day long its a format i love. But its dead wrong for walpaper, sacaling an svg is not simple at all, it may seem simple but its not, example the floppy disk in devices has a svg version for every size.
normaly wen I do a svg wallpaper I end up rendering it in a big size and then croping its to each sub screen ration needed.
Another huge problem is that normaly my svg wallpapers take about 10 minutes to render, I gess a single gradient dosent work very well for me as an wallpaper :)
Gorgeous Pictures
In my humble opinion the artistic results of the contest are absolutly stunning. Thank you very much to the Oxygen team.
However, I still disagree with the decision to allow jury members to submit images to the contest. It's even worse that so many of them "won" the "contest". I strongly suggest that this practice is changed in the future.
You could have released the Oxygen Wallpaper Set and then have a contest to create the 'Oxygen Contributers Set 2007'.
Had I taken part in the contest, I would have felt cheated...
Mind you, this is purely a criticism of the process, not of the result.
Re: Gorgeous Pictures
You should read Riccardo's blog before complaining...
Re: Gorgeous Pictures
what makes you think that i hadn't read it?
great if that solves your concerns. i still think the process is flawed and dishonest...
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