Feature Suggestions

[Michael]

Phoronix.com (as well as other associated sites) deploy an unique content management system dubbed PHXCMS. To date, PHXCMS has went through four large-scale revisions since Phoronix was launched in 2004; however, we are beginning to formulate some plans for the fifth major revision. Presently the code is quite impressive under the hood (if we may say so ourselves :D), but revision 5 of PHXCMS should bring some unique features for our readers, and are presently not capable by the other CMS systems. With that, we are also looking to see what site features our forum goers would like to see at Phoronix.com – such as more integration with the forums, custom RSS feeds, or what have you.

Due to the massive undertaking we have planned with PHXCMS 5, and the limited resources, we don't intend to roll out this new update for at least a couple more months – the full-blown update will likely not take place until Q1'2007. PHXCMS is written 100% in-house and while right now it isn't publicly available for other web-masters, once we have spruced up some features and cleaning up the code, we may open-up the content management system to the general public.

The site layout and theme won't change much with this update other than cleaning up the code with more XHTML + CSS improvements (eliminating the last of the tables and a few other messes), tweaking a few colors, and other random highlights -- excluding all of the new user features to come. There still may be some new improvements that aren't known at this time, or if we will fit it into version 5.

More information to come soon...

[Michael]

We are also looking for feedback on how you would like to see the front-page laid out (i.e. column/tiered design, any additional features, etc...), and any other areas you feel need a complete re-design.

[niniendowarrior]

So far, I haven't quite noticed any drastic change so most of the upgrades must be underneath.

I have a question on compatibility on Opera browsers because the layout of the front page seem kind of "off". I'll put up a screenshot to illustrate my point.

http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/7608/phoronixhm2.th.jpg (http://img57.imageshack.us/my.php?image=phoronixhm2.jpg)

As you can see the headline is moved to some other place and blocks most of the first news piece. Is there anyway to remedy this? Thanks!

[Michael]

No drastic changes yet, since all of the features are still under development and not active.

Oops, thanks for pointing out that home-page flaw. I will ensure it gets corrected in PHXCMS5.

Using an early version of PHXCMS5 will be the back-end of SpreadGNOME.org later this month (e.g. features -- calendar functions, improved user/image verification, improved options for community-created content).

[niniendowarrior]

I actually noticed that last week but I thought it was some minor glitch or something. It's only now that I realize your webstaff could do something about it.

Anyway, great site and keep it up!

[Michael]

What version of Opera are you using? This is the first time I have heard the problem reported.

[Patrick]

I checked opera on my computer and the same offset appeared.
-----
Version 9.01
Build 400
Platform Linux
System i686, 2.6.17
Qt library 3.3.6
Java Runtime Environment installed
-----

[niniendowarrior]

What version of Opera are you using? This is the first time I have heard the problem reported.

Opera 9.00 beta. I could have sworn I updated to Opera 9.01... but anyway, that's what my browser says. I did test Opera 9.01 on a different machine.

[David]

We should begin rolling out our first batch of noticeable changes next month for the CMS upgrade.

Basically lots of code cleaning and other maintenance is presently going on.

Comments/thoughts are still welcome.

[Michael]

Hopefully on/by September 1st we will be committing our first set of changes to the live server. As mentioned earlier, some of the new features will be implemented gradually, etc...

This first step is a massive code cleanup which should greatly improve the efficiency, load time, and browser compatibility (those few bugs that presently exist).

[Michael]

The first set of updates to the Phoronix Content Management System v5 (PHXCMS5) have been merged with our live server. Most of these improvements are under the hood, but there are a few visible changes. A majority of the CSS has been re-written for improved browser compatibility, load-time/efficiency, and the basis for some future expansions. The site should appear correctly in all major browsers. If you notice any browsing problems please report them.

The PHXCMS updates coming out later this year and next year will bring some new user features and other good things to come. Today's update can almost be dubbed as a maintenance release.

[niniendowarrior]

Hey Michael,

As an Opera user, I can happily say your upgrade has fixed the problem on the main page. :D :D :D

Great job!!!

[Scott]

Since this is the Site Discussion thread, I might aswell give some input.

There is one major thing that is really irksome to me since the latest updates to the main page. The only breaks inbetween each new topic under the "GNU/Linux Hardware News" section are blank spaces, I think its more visually pleasing if there's a solid colored bar of sorts at the end of each new section. I know that there are multiple blank spaces and the topics are in bold, but for this websites theme, a solid grey bar to signify the end of a topic would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
--Scott

[Michael]

Since this is the Site Discussion thread, I might aswell give some input.

There is one major thing that is really irksome to me since the latest updates to the main page. The only breaks inbetween each new topic under the "GNU/Linux Hardware News" section are blank spaces, I think its more visually pleasing if there's a solid colored bar of sorts at the end of each new section. I know that there are multiple blank spaces and the topics are in bold, but for this websites theme, a solid grey bar to signify the end of a topic would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
--Scott

Was intended, but the CSS for that never ended up getting uploaded. There is a 1px horizontal rule between news entries now, and we will continue to tweak that area.

[1c3d0g]

Yes, thank you Michael, it's much better now. :)

[Scott]

I find it to be much better when there is a line of separation, good work :)

--Scott