Frogboy Frogboy

The GUI Olympics begins MONDAY

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The GUI Olympics begins MONDAY

from WinCustomize Forums

This Monday, the GUI Olympics 2004 will begin. It's a contest to see who can create the world's best visual styles, icons, and Winamp 5 skins.  Sponsors include Stardock, Nullsoft, ATI, nVidia, and others.  Microsoft is also providing prizes to the contest.  In total, over $10,000 (closer to $15,000) in cash and prizes will be given out including ATI video cards, an Xbox, tons of software and probably some surprises.

You will be able to enter skins individually or as part of a team.  The top teams will get a big bonus prize.  Anyone can form a team and there are no restrictions on the size of team (though obviously the bigger the team, the bigger the split in the prize money). You could have a Team MyfavoriteWebsite or a Team "l33t". It's up to whoever starts the team (on Monday there will be a mechanism on www.guiolympics.com to create your own team).

The rules are fairly straight forward. You have to enter submissions that are NEW. They can't be things that already exist.  They also have to be in WindowBlinds visual style format. But if you've ever made a .msstyles visual style, it's pretty easy to make a WindowBlinds one and SkinStudio can convert a .msstyles file to WindowBlinds visual style format. And then from there add the missing features to make it competitive.

The contest begins on March 1 but JUDGING won't begin until April 5 so you'll have over a month to actually put together your stuff. And judging goes on during the entire month so you may potentially have nearly 2 months depending on what events you're concentrating on.

Here is the schedule of events:

April 5: Most minimalist visual style, Most creative Winamp skin, Most original icon package
April 8: Best Power user visual style, Most useable Winamp skin
April 12: Most usable visual style, Best power user Winamp skin, Best "themed" (icons go together the best) icon package
April 15: Most creative visual style
April 19: Best themed* visual style*, Best themed* Winamp skin, Best pseudo-OS icon package
April 22: Best Pseudo-OS visual style
April 26: Best overall visual style, Best overall Winamp skin, Best overall icon package
April 27: Top Team/Individual: WindowBlinds, Top Team/Individual: Winamp, Top Team/Individual: Icons
April 29: User's Choice: Best visual style, User's Choice: Best Winamp skin: User's Choice: Best icon package

*themed skin as in the whole skin keeps to a particular theme.

16 Events. Over $10,000 in cash and prizes. Anyone can enter.

The judges will be admins/employees from Stardock, Neowin, deviantART, and Nullsoft.

So there you have it.  WB visual styles, icon packages, and Winamp 5. For $10k to $15k in cash and prizes spread among 16 main events.


[Message Edited]
50,344 views 191 replies
Reply #76 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me does a little dance, making large pointing gestures toward his elegantly coiffed head.

(If no one can take a hint, this is reminder that it is much better to laugh at the fool than stick your fork in the guy sitting next to you. I have pissed off both Frogboy and Jesha, so I think everyone will acknowledge my expert opinion. Nothing comes of shizznitz like this, other than sheepish apologies and uncomfortable relations.)

ALL HAIL ME!!!
Reply #77 from WinCustomize Forums Top
how do u write in red ?
TouchTasks - Access tasks with ease on Windows touchscreens.
Reply #78 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me hails BakerStreet

"/ me" without the space.
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Reply #79 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Jesh writes: so much more important than your little contest

Yea, I can't imagine how someone could take that as trivializing the GUI Olympics.

It's much ado about nothing. Unless Jesh learned to skin, he couldn't really enter anyway. The question is whether the skinners he contracts to make skins have time to enter or not. He's not speaking for them. He's speaking for himself and since Jesh has never released a skin to my knowledge EVER it's really a non-issue.

It would be like me saying that our skinners don't have time for a "little contest" as if I have some sort of magical control over the skin authors we contract for our projects. And incidentally, I also act as "art director" but don't call myself a skinner for that reason. I do call myself a skinner because..I...actually...create...skins. 

There is no shame in not entering. But the reality of the situation is that the general public is going to look at this as the contest between the best of the best participating in 3 different fields of skinning. Those who don't participate will sound, I suspect, like sour grapes if they say "Oh yea? Well I could have won a lot of stuff but I just didn't have time..." No one has to enter. But from a community stand point, this contest will be a who's who of skinning.  It may not be fair but that's reality.

Reply #80 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes, okay Jesh. I'll do that right away. Thanks for your advice.

/me wanders off to polish his 'faux gold medal'
Reply #81 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Here's an idea. How about i withdraw TSF from the community? Woudl that make you all feel better. I can remove our skins and make sure i don't offend anyone else with my paranoia or arrogance. Let's take a little poll shall we? When i get back if 10 people tell me to leave i'll remove our account. I think that's fair since you guys seem to talk aboit speaking for the majority.

I'll check when i get back.

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Reply #82 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me raises his hand
Reply #83 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Confucious say, "It is better to flame the n00b or the alien idiot than to piss on the guy you know you are gonna be neighbors with for the duration of your mortgage."

(No, I don't care if he really said it or not, I'm blaming the quote on him because he is dead and he can't do anything about it.)

/me does a little dance, making large pointing gestures toward his elegantly coiffed head.


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Reply #85 from WinCustomize Forums Top
It just wouldn't be the GUI Olympics without a good old punch up as the opening ceremony.
Reply #86 from WinCustomize Forums Top
We dont want you to leave. Just dont act so arrogant. Or get someone else to represent you. I think that if you want to keep acting like this, make YOUR OWN account to do it. I like The Skins Factory, but I dont think that you accurately represent them.
Reply #87 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Jesh: Why don't you calm yourself down. I don't know who did whatever to you in your past to make you so defensive and insecure but we are not your adversaries.

Perhaps when you get back and re-read this thread you will see that you are over-reacting to the extreme. I doubt anyone is going to tell you to leave because no one wants you to leave. They just want you to stop trivializing something most people around here and in our community do think is a good thing. 

And speaking for myself, I just wish you would quit assuming everyone is attacking you. Especially given how acidly you react to other people.

Reply #88 from WinCustomize Forums Top
if anyone can tell me how to write in color or bold, i would be pleased ...
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Reply #89 from WinCustomize Forums Top
bold is in the little area to the right with the smileys. Red is an emote signified by a / followed by a 'me'.
Reply #90 from WinCustomize Forums Top
@ neophil78

We're trying to have an argument here dammit.

To write in bold, put your text between a tag and a tag (without the spaces).

To write an 'emote' (the red text), start a line with / m e (again, without the spaces).
Reply #91 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I didn't trivialize this until i was attacked. I said this over and over again i support the GUI Olympics and if i didn't all ready commit myself to the 2 charities skins we as a company would enter. We're too busy working on 8 projects right now with more coming in and top of that the 2 charity skins. We don't have the time to enter. We've been working on a wb skin for fun and had to put it on hold. That's it. That's why we are not participating. There is no other reason then what i said. Brad you know about the main project we just took on because you were almost a part of it. Besides our other clients how could we possibly have the time to do anything for fun when we are so overworked. I have to go now i'm late...
Reply #92 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nevermind.
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Reply #93 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Grrr... bold... and , but using pointy brackets (less than and greater than arrows).
Reply #94 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me looks around, hoping jafo will tell people to listen to me... damn Australian timezone...
Reply #95 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me happy to be able to write in red and BOLD

Reply #96 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Oh shush BakerStreet. Everyone's too busy listening to me. I won the GUI Olympics dontcha know.

/me waves his faux gold medal around
Reply #97 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Cut the cr*p guys, really this isn't worth talking about >
Jesh, please don't remove the skins, you are making people happy with them, haven't you seen the download count? Are you going to them because some people are giving you negative comments?
So please stop this topic and if you decide to continue (witch will probably be the case ) ) Please keep it clean.

*Cough* Family site *Cough*
Reply #98 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me works on his WB entry.
Reply #99 from WinCustomize Forums Top
/me waits till and admin will accept his uploaded wmp skin... (hint hint ) ) Damn master apprentice level p
Reply #100 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Okay, okay... I apologise for raising my hand. I don't really want The Skins Factory to leave. I just want a gagging order placed on them.

/me whistles innocently to himself and goes back to working on his GAN-... er... GUI Olympics entry.