JB Type is ready for Joomla 1.6
I have just released the Joomla 1.6 version of JB Type which in the end only needed a few lines of code changed in order to make it compatible with Joomla 1.6. I have also pushed through some additions to the styles that will be used in the upcoming Element Joomla template which is due for release in the next day or so.
As you can see from the screenshot above I have added some lovely coloured disc styling that should be useful additions and pretty additions to this plugin. You can see the updated style list on the JB Type extension page - I hope you enjoy the new additions.
Little Snapper + Ember = Heart
I have been using the Little Snapper screen capture app for well over a year now to capture screenshots of our Joomla Templates but for some reason I have never really looked into the options it provides for sharing images.
It's probably easily explained by the fact that I (like I assume most people do) form habits in their workflow that hard to break. My usual workflow for working with Little Snapper is to take all of the screen shots of the template once the local version has been finalised, and then export the images to fireworks where I crop and resize them.
Zen Grid Framework Updated to v1.1.18
I have just pushed through a minor update to the Zen Grid Framework for Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 1.6. The main feature is fourteen new fonts have been added to the google font list. Who would have thought that Google would have put together such a useful service?
One of the stand outs for me (as you can see above) is the Muli font. I featured it in the screenshot of the Element template posted here and over at Ember and think it's an awesomely elegant sans serif font perfect for the Element's simple block based design.
I've got a few other favourites in the collection - what are yours?
Members can download the framework updates from the Zen Grid Framework download page and check the changelog for Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 1.6 to see what was added.
Music to design to again and again and again
There are some tracks that I seem to be able to listen to while designing that never get old. Of course it depends on my mood but for the most part the tracks listed below could easily be put on repeat and I would never get tired of them - well I haven't yet at least.
A sneak peak at the Element Joomla Template
Work is progressing nicely on our June Joomla template release and while it is still a few days off launch I thought I would take some time out from coding it to show you what we have in store. The Element template is a colourful building block type design that will feature some subtle patterns fused with bold colours to create a versatile and flexible Joomla template for you to use in pretty much any situation.
You can see the full screenshot of the work in progress after the link. At this stage I'm hoping to have the Joomla 1.5 and Joomla 1.6 template ready for download early next week which should bring us back closer to our desired release timeline for our monthly template releases.
Newstream Joomla 1.6 Template Released
As promised yesterday, here is the next Joomla template from our back catalogue to be ported to Joomla 1.6. Newstream was released back in July 2010 and is an elegant magazine or media portal that has been used by Joomlabamboo club members for sites as diverse as traditional news portals, real estate sites, travel directory and even a food website.
You can check out the original demo of the Newstream template on our template showcase or club members can head straight to the download area and grab a copy.
Please note that two extensions featured on the demo - CaptifyContent and the JB BB Code plugin (For the twoline menu items) are yet to be ported to 1.6 but we hope they will be available in the next few days.
As a reminder you can check the status of any template by checking out the Version information page on the Joomlabamboo Knowledgebase and also follow JB Activity on twitter to keep apprised of all Joomla template and extension releases.
Interview with Ronni Christiansen from Red Shop
RedShop is a relative new comer on the Joomla ecommerce scene but it's offerings are genuinely impressive. I had some direct contact with redShop when we built the Shop Ignition Joomla template back in March and I really liked what I saw.
The scale of the extension is incredible and the templating system has a good balance between separating the design from the code, which makes theming the shop a pleasure for the non coder.
The following interview with Ronni from Redcomponent has been on the back burner for a little longer than I would have liked but I hope you will agree that it makes for some good reading.
Simpleshop Joomla Template ported to Joomla 1.6
While we wait for the Tienda ecommerce extension to make the leap to Joomla 1.6 I thought I would knock out a Joomla 1.6 port of the Simpleshop Joomla template. Even without the Tienda or K2 overrides it's an elegant and minimal Joomla template and may make a nice simple base to build your next Joomla 1.6 project on.
Club members can download the template from here or if you need a refresh of what Simpleshop looks like check out the Simpleshop demo.
Avanti Joomla 1.6 Template Released
After finally getting our May Joomla template out the door last week, it's time for us to put our heads down and start focussing more on porting some of the Joomla templates from our back catalogue across to Joomla 1.6.
By far one of our most popular themes over the years has been Avanti and so I am very happy to announce that it is now available as a Joomla 1.6 Template and quickstart package.
The next templates to be ported across to Joomla 1.6 will be Simple Shop - without Tienda and Virtuemart support, Ecolift, Newstream, Cultivate and Powerplay. Eventually all of our Zen Grid framework based templates will make the leap so if the theme you need ported isn't on the list hold tight - or bug us int he comments to move your template up the list.
For now club members can download the Avanti files from the Avanti download page.
Hub Joomla 1.6 Template and Quickstart now available
I know I only just posted the notice regarding the availability of the Joomla 1.5 version of the Hub Joomla template but I'm happy to announce that the Joomla 1.6 version of the template and the quickstart are available now also.
Members can download both packages from the Hub download page.