How would you like to help make the Ubuntu website a thing of great beauty? If so, here’s your chance. There is a newly created Ubuntu Web Presence team recruiting members. If you’re excited about web technologies now you can help out. Some of the tasks this team will tackle include:

• New countdown banners for the releases
• Contribute to the start page that users see when they first load Ubuntu (http://start.ubuntu.com/8.04)
• Allow localization of key portions of the Ubuntu website
• Use your javascript, python or PHP coding skills to create exciting new features
• Design a visually engaging website experience
• Enable more people in the community to help out
• And more… the possibilities are limitless!

Presently, the Ubuntu website is managed by a very small group of people, mostly Canonical employees. We’d like to open this up so that a team of talented and trustworthy community members can help define the website experience. This is your opportunity!

Sign up now by joining the Web Presence Team’s mailing list and introducing yourself: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-website

Pascal Klein writes in to announce a new effort brewing from the Art Team:

This weekend, coinciding with the Ubuntu UI sprint happening in London, might as well be a nice time to catch up, get some decisions and work done, so I suppose let us dub it the ‘Artwork Weekend’. This has several implications, especially meeting wise. Please note (!) there is no set discussion time set for this. Come and go to the artwork IRC channel (#ubuntu-artwork) and catch up with what is happening, show the work you’ve worked on and overall, help cover the agenda items.

Showing up unprepared isn’t fun for anyone, so Pascal was kind enough to submit some preparation links before you dive in:

• Meeting Schedule
• Meeting Agenda
• Meeting Notes and Minutes
• Voting Page - to be used if any issue needs to be voted on by the community. (Please keep the results on the page so others can keep track of it!)

[Discuss]

Nothing beats a nice custom touch to your newly minted Ubuntu installation. Many times a nicely done piece of wallpaper or icon can really liven up your desktop experience. You can indulge your artistic craving by stopping by the Art Team website at art.ubuntu.com, where you will find plenty of themes, icon sets, and backgrounds.

If you want to get involved in the process, check out the team’s mailing list and the Ubuntu Art Talk forum. You can find lots of great artwork from around the web in the related art sites thread.