Closing 2002. 24 December 2002.

This surely will be my last posting for 2002. The new version of third.apex.to.fractovia, being successfully tested for the last month and a half, has matured to beta version. It has shown good stability and compatibility between most of the recent browsers out there, so for next year the site will be completely remodeled in CSS. There are going to be some additional changes too. For example, the polls have been cancelled already; possibly the Discussion Board will be closed, since it seems people still prefer to communicate using email (the last posting in the forum was on May, so figure out); the galleries will be “transformed” once again, plus new content will be added. So stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the Current Picture way below. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL…

Fractovia v5.0.1 Alpha. 29 November 2002.

In the next six months, third.apex.to.fractovia will be five years old. By web standards, that’s a lot of cybertime. Yet, I don’t think this site is mature enough as to be considered… well, a mature site. Actually right now if you’re here, you should be testing the fifth version in its embryo stage, so please, excuse me any glitches you may notice while roaming around. When completed, the layout and color scheme will be the same (I expect). What I’m really changing is the HTML and CSS codes, and by the time it’s all done, the pages should download faster. Let’s see if I can do it before this year ends. // P.S. There’s a new image below.

Migrating to Linux. 28 October 2002.

No, of course not. The picture at the left is not a fractal done by me (it isn’t a fractal, as far as I know). That’s the logo of Debian, a GNU/Linux distribution that now “powers” the heart of Fractovia. After several attempts with various different “commercial” variants, I finally finished a successful transplant using Debian (the official-stable release, the Woody 3.0 flavor), thus ending the transition from a corporate-controlled environment to a completely free Altiverse. MS-Windows won’t be radically washed out, anyway, because doing so would mean abandoning all those fractal generating tools I have come to enjoy so much (undoubtedly the whole raison d’être of this site), but will become fosilized on Win98-SE, as I won’t keep doing further costly upgrades every time a new “half-functioning” tool is announce to the already cramped and overpraised Microsoft recent OS. My biggest thanks in this endeavor go to my friend incuo, who provided me with the CD images and “technical support” for the installation. // It is but three days from All Hallows Eve, so Happy New Year and best wishes to all those true witches out there… Hugs, the fractovia crew. // P.S. Look for a new picture below.

Another “themed” exhibit. 23 September 2002.

Here is another room filled with pictures on the same motif, except for one or two that seems to “unfit”, but are actually derived from the same initial image. They’re kind of retro, if you ask me (well, don’t ask me why), but some of them look nice. Just check them out.

Yet another new version of Fractal Forge (2.8.2). 28 August 2002.

Uberto Barbini has released a new version of his open source fractal generator, Fractal Forge. It’s mainly fixes some more bugs, but anyway it’s worth downloading. The new Current Image (way below) was made with this generator. SourceForge still hosts both the binary and source code. You can also download it directly from Fractovia.

“Black” Celebration. 15 June 2002.

My first “same theme” collection dates from the Second Millennium AD (see the Ann Nabuki Collection). I did a second attempt with the Spirals Nwards display early this year. This third attempt, Talus A & B, comprises two new rooms with ten pictures each, all of them derived from the same original motive (not shown among them). They are simpler than the previous two, being twenty “lines and curves” rainbow-colored patterns against a dark background. // I was going to change the Current Picture (see below) with a new one, but some of you has asked to keep it on display a little more. Well, I grant you this, but only for a couple of weeks, after which a new one will replace “Momentarily”. // The fourth anniversary of third.apex.to.fractovia went astray, but thankfully none of you missed it. See you later…

Long delay “overdue”. 13 May 2002.

Enough said about the delay; now for the “changes”. The Fractal Music section, Fractaephonia, has finally been updated (sort of). I converted the old MIDI files to MP3 ones, so now they should reproduce the same sounds in every sound card (or at least that’s the idea). There’s also a new composition that you should not miss. Beside those, there are additional changes all around, so roam at will to discover them. And, of course, don’t miss this month’s ghostly new image below.

New version of Fractal Forge (2.6). 07 March 2002.

After a year of apparent “inactivity”, Uberto Barbini has released a new version of his open source fractal generator, Fractal Forge. It’s already available from its web site, which is hosted by Fractovia, and SourceForge, which hosts the binary and source code. Then, the voting period for the second Fractal Poll is over, and the results show most people think fractal pictures can be considered a true visual art form. Of a total of 68 participants, two said they don’t care, while another one thinks they are not art. Don’t forget to vote on the new Fractal Poll and have your say in the Discussion Board.

New images. 10 February 2002.

I’m two weeks late with this update that I should call it an uplate instead. But, well, there’s a bunch of new images following up the Fractal ViZion series, plus a Recommended Software section under Tutorials.

Results of last poll. 2002-01-16

Yesterday, the period to vote in the Fractal Poll “Which is your favorite fractal generator?” ended. The results show that there’s currently a tie between Ultra Fractal and Fractal Explorer users, both of which received 27.0% of the votes. That’s not a surprise, since UF is the most praised fractal generator around, but those must be good news for FE authors and its users because it show its following is growing fast. The third option to receive enough votes was OTHERS with 15.9%. People weren’t able, this time, to tell which “other” they were talking about, but that means fractalers are using some other tools to create their works besides the favorite ones. If you were one of the visitors to vote for the OTHER category, please participate in the Poll Results Forum to let us know which was your selection and why. Everybody is invited to get into the discussion. The other contenders were Tiera-Zon, which came in fourth place with 12.7%, Mind-Boggling Fractals in fifth place with 9.5%, and Sterling-ware in the sixth with 7.9%.

To begin with. 2002-01-15

Mid-January already (and the year is only starting). Despite all that occurred in 2001, it was a good year in a personal level. For 2002, I have lots of plans, among them several changes that you will start noticing in this web site as the year progresses. One is already evident if you visit the software section. The page layout hasn’t change (if you thought it was an aesthetic makeover), but now it contains many more freeware titles (actually, 113), each one with its screen shot. Of those, a total of 19 are available for direct download. The PASSAGEWAY also begins the year with a new gallery titled SPIRALS NWARDS, the first room at Fractovia to exclusively show spiral pictures. The thumbnail at upper left and the CURRENT PICTURE way below are two of its examples. And, of course, a new year requires a new calendar, so if you haven’t gotten one yet, pick up LoneWolf’s Calendar, a small electronic calendar for which I have prepared several fractal and non-fractal picture sets containing a different image to display each month.