15 Linux Desktop Customizations

If you think Linux desktops are ugly, think again. Here is an awesome collection of 15 jaw dropping Linux desktop customizations made by users. I wouldn't mind calling them works of art instead of just customizations. They are that good. A good number of them include clever conky modifications. I haven't yet tried to emulate them in my desktop, but surely will, at least some of them. For now, just the screenshots and the source. Watch and enjoy!



Install Flock Web Browser Ubuntu 10.10


Flock is a free, open source web browser based on Firefox.
Flock is still in development and will be officially released and added to the Ubuntu repositories in future.
For those who want to try Flock before then, there are two methods, using either a pre-packaged .deb, or a compressed file be downloaded and installed manually. A .deb package file may be found at getdeb.net/flock and installed using any standard package installation method, or you download and extract the program using the following method:

Install Flock
  • Download Flock page for Linux.
  • Right click the file, choose Extract Here
  • Right click the desktop, choose Create Launcher  
    For command, click Browser and chose the file called 'flock' in the folder you just extracted. 

Amarok No Sound



Kubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat comes with Amarok 2.3 pre-installed. For users of Kubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx, Amarok 2.3 will be among your normal updates.


Actually, in order to make it work, the package libxine1-ffmpeg is required, which probably isn't included in the default installation due to licensing issues. So, all you need to do is install the package and you are ready to amarok.
Libxine1-ffmpeg contains MPEG-related plugins used by libxine1, the media player library used by Xine engine, which Amarok and other xine-based players use. This package includes the ffmpeg plugin for Xine, enabling xine-based players a large variety of audio and video codecs.

sudo apt-get install libxine1-ffmpeg

Install Xine (if it is not there)

sudo apt-get install phonon-backend-xine
Then, GStreamer

sudo aptitude install phonon-backend-gstreamer
Then you must restart Amarok.

If Still No Sound,
Open Amarok --> Setting --> Configure Amarok --> Playback --> Configure Phonon ( choose device)

if still No Sound,
System --> Preference --> Sound --> Hardware --> setting for the selected device  (choose one)

Eyecandy Compiz Animations and Effects


Who doesn't like some eyecandy for their desktops, definitely not me. Compiz has enthralled Ubuntu users for years now. When GNOME officially ditched Compiz for Mutter for its next version, Ubuntu decided to stick with Compiz for its Unity Shell. Compiz is actively being developed now and we can expect a lot of surprises for next major Ubuntu release, Ubuntu 11.04 "Natty Narwhal". Here is a collection of Compiz experimental plugins that does not come with the default package and which is definitely going to blow you away.

compiz experimental plugins

  • Freely Transformable Windows gives you the ability to rotate, slant, flip, and grow or shrink windows by scaling them. Unlike resizing a window normally, a scaled window's contents grow and shrink along with the windows - text, buttons, and images inside the window will actually appear larger or smaller.
Stack Window Switcher compiz plugin
  • Stack Window Switcher is an absolutely eyecandy alternative to your normal Alt+Tab. If you are seeing it for first time, *big* surprise guaranteed.
Cube Atlantis
  • Cube Atlantis breaths in new "life" to desktop cube compiz plugin. Cube Atlantis plugin adds fish from the Atlantis screensaver to the inside of the cube. 
snow
  • Snow plugin makes snow fall on your desktop, simple as that.
Animations Add-On Compiz
  • Three new animations plugin. Animations Add-On, Animations Plus and Simple Animations. Brings in new animations life Helix, Blinds, Shatter etc.

  • Ghost plugin is awesome. Above screencast will give you the idea. There are a ton of other plugins too like Anaglyph, Minimize Effect, Fireflies, Stars, Elements etc. And you can install them all by doing the following.
How to Install Compiz Experimental Plugins in Ubuntu Maverick, Lucid?
  • After following the steps as given in the link above, goto System - Preferences - Compiz Config Settings Manager and you will find the new Compiz experimental plugins installed and ready to go

What To Do After A Fresh Ubuntu 10.10 Install? Run These Commands!

Important: before running the commands below, you need to enable the restricted, multiverse and partner repositories. To do this, open the Ubuntu Software Center, select Edit > Software Sources, and on the first tab (Ubuntu Software), check all the repositories. Then switch to the second tab (Other Software) and check the "Canonical Partners" repository.


1. Install Adobe Flash, Java, fonts, codecs and other restricted stuff (I don't use "ubuntu-restricted-extras" because it also installs some stuff I really don't need while it doesn't install a lot of the applications that I do need):

sudo apt-get install gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg gstreamer0.10-pitfdll gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly-multiverse gstreamer0.10-plugins-base gstreamer0.10-plugins-good libdvdnav4 libdvdread4 libmp4v2-0 libxine1-ffmpeg ffmpeg flashplugin-nonfree sun-java6-fonts rar unrar p7zip-full p7zip-rar unace unp zip unzip ttf-mscorefonts-installer ttf-liberation mencoder mplayer sun-java6-plugin sun-java6-jre
2. Medibuntu is not ready for Maverick yet, but you can still play encrypted DVDs. Simply run the following command:

sudo /usr/share/doc/libdvdread4/install-css.sh

3. If you occasionally build applications from source or make your own deb files, here are some basic packages you should install:

sudo apt-get install build-essential automake make checkinstall dpatch patchutils autotools-dev debhelper quilt fakeroot xutils lintian cmake dh-make libtool autoconf git git-core subversion bzr

4. The following applications should really be default in Ubuntu but anyway, install VLC, OpenShot, GIMP (removed from the default installation a few releases back), gThumb, Pidgin, Skype, Adobe Air, Wine (ok, these last 2 shouldn't be in a default install), aptitude (removed from the default installation starting with Maverick) and Chromium using the following command:

sudo apt-get install vlc mozilla-plugin-vlc openshot gimp gthumb pidgin skype adobeair wine aptitude chromium-browser

Disclaimer / notes: This is just the basic stuff to install after a fresh Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat installation and it includes a lot of non-free / restricted applications as well as some very popular non-default applications. If you'd find some applications which you've never heard of, it wouldn't be a "what to do immediately after installing ubuntu" post anymore but a regular post about new applications with a catchy title.

'My Weather Indicator': A New Ubuntu Weather Appindicator

The new indicator-datetime (clock indicator) which was released in Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition (and will also be default in 11.04 Desktop edition too) doesn't provide any weather info like the old Gnome Clock applet.







To add the PPA and install My Weather Indicator in Ubuntu Lucid, Maverick or Natty, use the following commands

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:lorenzo-carbonell/atareao
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install my-weather-indicator                                                                                                                                              
Once installed, run it by going to Accessories > My Weather Indicator.

install Conky Colors Ubuntu 10.10


Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any information on your desktop. You've seen it in many screenshots under various forms; take a look at these screenshots if you don't know what Conky is.


A while back we told you about a really easy way to configure Conky using a GUI called ConkyWizard - which is very nice, but it doesn't come with plugins and too many options. Conky Colors on the other hand doesn't come with a GUI but is just as easy to set up (from the command line) and it comes with A LOT of options and scripts (from Gmail to Rhythmbox, weather and more) so you can create an amazing looking Conky in a matter of seconds (don't let our long guide fool you - you just have to install a few packages and run Conky Colors)You can view a list of options supported by Conky Colors, here.


How to set up and use Conky Colors in Ubuntu
1)
For Ubuntu 10.04 or older only: Add the Conky PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:norsetto/ppa
sudo apt-get update


For any Ubuntu Version

sudo apt-get install conky-all
2. Install other required packages
You'll also need the following packages:

sudo apt-get install python-statgrab ttf-droid curl
Optional: if you want Conky to display your CPU / motherboard temperatures and hard disk, also install lm-sensors and hddtemp:

sudo apt-get install lm-sensors hddtemp

Now you need to configure lm-sensors. Run this in a terminal:

sudo sensors-detect

Then enter "y" for everything and run this to start the sensors:

sudo /etc/init.d/module-init-tools start

For hddtemp to work in Ubuntu 10.04, you need to run this command:

sudo chmod u+s /usr/sbin/hddtemp

And then reboot.


3. Download Conky Colors

4. Configure Conky Colors
a) Extract the downloaded archive (from step 3), use a terminal to navigate to the folder where you extracted it and run:

make

b) Now to see all the available options, use the following command:

./conky-colors --help

Then to set up everything, simply run "./conky-colors" followed by the options you want. Here is an example:

./conky-colors --lang=english --theme=ambiance --cpu=2 --cputemp --swap --updates --hdtemp1=sda --proc=3 --clock=modern --nvidia --calendar --m --network --rhythmbox=case --ubuntu


I used the command above to get Conky the way it looks in the screenshot in the beginning of the post.
There are many options available such as themes, Gmail, Rhythmbox (or other music players) plugins, network info, hard drive temperatures, available / used disk space, display images, weather, todo lists, battery status and lots more - like I said, to see them all, use "./conky-colors --help".
c) Once you are done, run the following command:

make install
d) Try it out. Run conky by pressing Alt + F2 and then type "conky" or type "conky" into a terminal. To close conky, if you run it from a terminal press Ctrl + C or type "killall conky".
4. Put Conky in your Startup applications

To run Conky when your computer starts, go to System > Preferences > Startup Applications, add a new startup application and under "Name" enter "conky" and under command, enter "~/.conkycolors/bin/conkyStart"

3 Beautiful Conky Configurations


1. Conky Meet Faenza

Conky meet faenza



2. Conky Launchpad

Conky Launchpad


3. Conky Ken

Conky ken


The first 2 Conky setups above are very easy to configure - just install conky, then copy the extracted files (look for hidden files and folders too) into your folder and that's it. Conky Ken takes a bit longer to set up but it's not all that difficult, however I couldn't get the weather to work (it might have something to do with might location though). For each of the 3 Conky setups above, download the archive and see the README for exact installation instructions.


And speaking of Conky - Conky Colors, an utility to easily set up amazing custom Conky configuration has just been updated (by the way, I was using Conky Colors in the Compiz 0.9.2 screenshot). Download the latest Conky Colors | How to set up Conky Colors Cairo mode (rings).

Window Applets 0.2.10

Window Applets is a package that comes with two Gnome panel applets: Window Title and Window Buttons which are basically controls for windows that are placed on the Panel instead of the window. They provide a clever way to increase vertical screen space.











New features / changes in Window Applets 0.2.10:

  • Disabled applet hiding by default (it was causing confusion with new users)
  • Added option to override button orientation (automatic/default, horizontal and vertical)
  • Added option to reverse button order
  • Updated themes: Ambiance-Maverick, Radiance-Maverick (thank you Cierreics)
  • Saturate title icon and darken text on inactive
  • Select a more apropriate non-custom title text color
  • Added options to set both active and inactive font/color
  • Added experimental option to show window action menu on title right click. Warning: Overrides applet menu over title.
To install Window Applets 0.2.10 in Ubuntu, you can use the WebUpd8 PPA:


 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install gnome-window-applets

Then, right click the Gnome Panel, select "Add to panel" and add "Window Title" and "Window Buttons".

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