TEKNIDERMY - ISSUE 8: February/March 2002 Skinnables.org Skinnables.org came online towards the end of December, offering a place for coders, developers and skinners to come together & share creative ideas and work together on projects. It is a concept that has been bandied about a few times in the past few years, and it is a welcome addition to the skinning (and coding) scene. I was fortunate enough to get the entire Skinnables crew into IRC for a little chat. To be honest, I got a lot more than I expected. As Edina on Absolutely Fabulous is so fond of saying: "Names, darling, names". I found myself chatting with a list of community notables, namely: dork, plastic, integer, virophile & redllar (if you don't know those names, skin for a while, you'll learn them). Tek: so, is this the "skinnables" crew? integer: yeah - this is us :) Tek: Nice crew! Tek: where did the skinnables idea come from? integer:
skinbase - is where this all evolved
from Tek: great guy, great site integer:
kudos to the staff there Tek: how long has the site been "in the works"? integer: hrm.. it kinda started about early November Tek: wow, that's fast....who started this? dork: integer has been working on his obsessive compulsive behaviors.... Tek: so, the impetus came from integer? virophile:
I believe so Tek: that's another round of royalty there.... Tek: Over at skinz.org, in the news announcement regarding the opening of skinnables.org, shoggot says:
does that sum it up for skinnables.org? plastic:
hopefully Tek: please expound dork: it's not as much about the money charged for an application as it is the passion most of us share for skinning and/or coding... what does ?coder do when he/she has something in the works? Tek: well, the community has needed this kind of place for a long time... instead of having projects spanning several message boards, now we have a place for development that is dedicated to it... correct? dork: yes, and a place for new dev's to learn some tricks and skinners to get their hands on some really neat stuff as well Tek: yes...I have already seen some of that in just the past few days. I noticed the "default skin designers" section...very nice..."unsung heroes?" plastic: viro's department, as is the skinners sites section Tek: your department..eh? Was it your idea? virophile: yes, kinda, I wanted a place for every skinners homepage all in one place, as like a gallery or a place to go and visit these skinners worlds. Tek: ...and a place for devs to find people experienced with the process? virophile: exactly Tek: I'm working on a piece about "dollars and skins"...if I may ask...how are you supporting skinnables (i have not noticed pop-ups) integer:
no pop ups, no banners (intentionally) Tek: and loads of freebies...who pays for throughput and server space? integer: we run a warez cd businees, and that covers the costs ...only joking!! Tek: HAHAHHAHAHA Tek: seriously, tho.... dork: integer has set this up out of his own deep pockets... Tek: very kind integer:
I'm covering the hosting costs, though they're not expensive (yet) Tek: who "did" the site? plastic: ask who kept breaking it :) Tek: All right...who kept breaking it? integer:
we all did our bit... Tek: it is really nice...great app collection.... and nice to see an orphans section integer:
plastics department :) Tek: yes, howie has helped us out at tek too... like the "app stork" I notice there are already three "developmental projects" under way in just a few short days...shades of things to come? plastic:
let's hope so Tek: are you all linked up within the "code geek" communities? dork: many are already with us... and that's a blessing in and of itself Tek: care to give a few "shout outs' to the coding sites? (i know many are outside the sites skinners usually visit) redllar: http://www.codeguru.com - great group of people, to be honest... I've had exactly 2 responses from the 12 or coding sites i posted to a while back. Devs are a funky breed Tek: you got a nice post at Shell City a few days back tho...that's really good, right? integer:
bob (shellcity) has been great Tek: yeah, and really responsive, too... he knows "everything" Tek: of the three initial developmental projects... cursearch is the most fascinating to me personally...an original idea...we should hope to see much more of that.... integer:
yeah - i looked at that - its got great potential Tek: how many more "original" ideas can there be...program wise? virophile:
millions! I think. * integer nudges redllar Tek: should it be a stated goal, as shoggot suggests, to create a freeware version/competitor to every payware program out there? plastic: that would suggest we oppose shareware. Tek: seriously tho, not opposing, just offering a freeware alternative as EFX is to (lets say) windowblinds or Xstyles... integer: not primarily... i suppose that's an advantageous side effect. i just wanna see "joe coder" get the respect/support he/she deserves Tek: do you think skinnables would or could act as a platform for the development of pay or shareware? integer:
no Tek: so, is skinnables planning to host any of the apps under development, or is it more of a "farm"? integer: good name1, we're waiting on bandwidth figures at the moment... we've only been up a couple of days Tek: have you got any figures at all at present? integer: no, its too early to tell. Tek: any big events in the future for skinnables? integer: not big events - we've got some good features we're hopefully going to be adding Tek: care to mention...? integer: well, depends if I can understand the second chapter of my php book :) Tek: hahhahaha integer:
seriously tho, we'd really like to have seperate forums for each project-something
redllar is looking into * virophile attempts to teach dork how to read :) dork: skinnables.org will grow, just as code snippets grow into full featured applications... Tek: well, guys, how about an "uber spell checker" program? You could call it the "kenray cure"? plastic:
:) Tek: do you want Fnads five? plastic: frick, Fnad, he coded too, you know... Tek: ok then - 1. What skin do you wish you'd written redllar:
anything by kentium Tek: 2. What would you like to have on your laptop if you were stranded on an island, as in: skins, music, proggies, peripherals, games, etc. (Tequila is NOT an answer) integer:
Tequila Tek: 3. Have there been any skins that have made you laugh? Cry? Orgasm? integer:
SOG by bakerstreet made me do all 3 - without it I wouldn't be here
now Tek: ok...all the ladies (and some of the guys) will want to know...4. Boxers or briefs? integer:
nOoO - sensitive subject :) Panties!! Tek: virophile, the free-baller, huh? virophile:
sometimes, laundry sucks Tek: sunset beach attire? integer:
spot the American :) Tek: ok...the big chance to "shout out" 5. List some sites you visit daily, weekly, hourly. * virophile gives a big shout out to the LOS fellowship and all the celry troops plastic:
shellfront! Tek: thanks for doing this integer: our pleasure |