[Tuxpaint-devel] Annc: Tux Paint and Google Summer of Code 2008 - Accepted students

[Bill K. <nb...@so...>]

As you all probably know, Tux4Kids (the loose-knit umbrella over Tux Paint,
TuxMath and Tux Typing II) signed up to participate as a 'mentoring
organization' in this year's Google Summer of Code program.  (This is our
first year participating.)

  http://code.google.com/soc/

Over 7000 students applied this year, and Google is able to fund just over
1100 of them.  (Each student and mentoring org receives a cash stipend
upon successful completion of their project for the org.  USD$4500 to the
student, and $500 to the mentoring org, if I recall correctly.)

Tux4Kids received over 130 applications from 90 students around the world,
and were allocated 10 slots (we had exactly that many mentors, in the end).
Out of the 130, many were excellent proposals, but in the end we had to
choose just 10 applications.

Five of the mentors were interested in mentoring Tux Paint-related work,
and here are the proposals we chose, in no particular order:

  * Create new Magic tools
    Student: Andrew Corcoran
    Mentor: Caroline Ford

  * Language learning aid for pre-school/dyslexic kids
    (using Orton-Gillingham method of learning)
    Student: Namrata Nehete
    Mentor: Me (Bill Kendrick)

  * Selection Tools
    Student: Reilly Watson
    Mentor: Martin Fuhrer

  * Support for system file dialogs
    Student: Bruno Dilly  (who has already merged Open/New/Slideshow code)
    Mentor: Luc Schrijvers

  * Text Manipulation
    Student: Arunodai Reddy Vudem
    Mentor: Mark K. Kim


You can see the rest, and read the application abstracts, here:
  http://code.google.com/soc/2008/tux4kids/about.html

And here's an announcement about the accepted student proposals for all of
GSoC 2008:
  http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2008/04/announcing-accepted-student-proposals.html


Expect to see these students, and perhaps many more whose applications we
decided not to accept, appearing on the 'tuxpaint-devel' mailing list soon!


PS - We also had some very close runners-up for Tux Paint, including
(but not limited to!):

  Joseph Austin (selection tools),
  Soha Hassan (selection tools)
  Rosoiu Ionut (text tool improvements),
  Adam Rakowski (Magic tools),
  Kamran Riaz Khan (system-integration improvements),
  Christian Schultz (selection tools),
and
  Jason Ward (file dialogs & selection tools)  (and who patched a bug in the
                                               direction brush with Line tool)


Thanks, all!

-- 
-bill!
bi...@ne...
http://www.newbreedsoftware.com/