Not so much an article idea, but a suggestion related to the Screenshot Showcase pages. I would be surprised if this hasn't already been suggested. Providing a link to the showcased desktop wallpaper would be really cool to some PCLinuxOS users and magazine subscribers.
To the WALLPAPER? That's not going to be possible. First of all, we showcase SCREENSHOTS, not wallpaper. Even I don't know which randomly selected screenshots are going to be in the magazine until right before it is released. My suggestion would be to find the post where the user posted the screenshot (name and date are shown in the magazine with the image) and send that user a private message with your request.
To provide links to the wallpaper would mean 1) contacting all 10 people who's screenshots are going to appear in that month's magazine, 2) waiting for those 10 people to send me links to that wallpaper -- if they exist, 3) depend on those users to remember where they found that wallpaper -- and being able to find it again, and 4) in the case of original artwork, finding a place to host the image (not too big of a problem today, but it could be for some users). All of this adds up to an incredible amount of work and would result in an additional delay in releasing the magazine during the first week of the month, as is the current release schedule.
Just so it is clear, this is how Screenshot Showcase selections are made:
1) Only one screenshot per user per month will appear, so as to even the playing field between those who post prolifically and those who post sporadically.
2) The selected screenshot should include a fairly high quality, original or unique wallpaper and/or theme.
3) Feature as many of the available desktop environments/window managers as possible, since PCLinuxOS features so many to choose from.
4) The screenshots must be in good taste and appropriate for publication in the magazine. This means PG or G rated materials.
5) The desktop environment must be able to either be discerned by looking at the screenshot, or it must be denoted in the screenshot post.
6) The screenshot posted must be of sufficient size as to allow clean publication in the magazine. Screenshots that are too small will, unfortunately, be eliminated from consideration. Posted screenshots must be a minimum of 550 pixels wide for consideration. Of course, larger is better, since we will resize all images prior to publication in the magazine, using a resizing algorithm that preserves the quality of the screenshot for publication in the magazine.
7) Screenshots created with too great of a level of JPG compression will be eliminated from consideration, given the lossy nature of JPG compression and the resulting artifacts in the image, lowering image quality.
So, while random, the selection of screenshots must fit into the guidelines we've established for the magazine. Screenshot Showcase is an effort to showcase PCLinuxOS, its users, and the wide range of desktop environments available to PCLinuxOS users. Trust me -- I am fully aware that The PCLinuxOS Magazine is read by many who are NOT PCLinuxOS users.
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