i'd say v2 is most comfortable for me and that's what i'm sticking with. v3's gradient is too much, although i like the concept. maybe a more subtle gradient, perhaps a darker and lighter shade of the same color. the gray and green just makes it hard to read. i have to agree that links was impossible to read. but it looks like you guys might have corrected it already. and i agree that the image used for "quote" is overpowering, need to scale that down.
