9 Steps: Make a ultra cool and good looking desktop for your Ubuntu Linux machine in 30 minutes
Apr 6,2008
A clean install of Ubuntu is not looking very slick at all. To be frank, it looks pretty boring.
But relax, if you follow this guide you will be able to get a ultra cool desktop like this one.
If you like that dark desktop, just keep reading, but if you rather like the below colourful desktop I have a guide for that as well right here.
Edit: Several steps in this guide will probably work very well also on other linux distributions as well but due to lack of own experience I won’t guarantee that.
We will do following steps:
- Change background picture
- Change GTK2 theme with window border and controls
- Change icon set
- Change Fonts
- Configure the top bar
- Install a cool Mac-like dock (AWN)
- Install and get conky up and running to get the geeky text information about RAM usage, processes etc
- Change login theme
- Change the ugly orange color which is between the login screen and your fully loaded desktop
Edit: BOBCFC kindly pointed out that compiz must be up and running in order to get this transparent look. You can activate compiz on Ubuntu 7.10 or higher: right click in the desktop, click “change desktop background”, click the tab “visual effects” and click “normal” or higher. It requires that your computer is equipped with a 3d graphics card.
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40 Responses for "9 Steps: Make a ultra cool and good looking desktop for your Ubuntu Linux machine in 30 minutes"
OMG the buttons, slidders and other GTK widgets are gorgeous!
You know what, I downloaded this from gnome-look a while ago but I think I only tried the Metacity part, I hadn’t realised how nice the buttons were.
I am using a different emerald theme for the titlebars: radial
http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/radial?content=71352
Although you need compiz fusion because of the transparency.
You are right the font is very important and often overlooked. Personally I use good old Tahoma, it looks very profressional, I even override the web fonts in Firefox so every site that I visit uses Tahoma too.
IMHO, KDE looks greater.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Openfire_3.4.1.png
Try using windows, much better desktop than the old brown look of Ubuntu
cool top! though i’m not sure how I’d type in a terminal that small.
>Try using windows, much better desktop than the old brown look of Ubuntu<
It may look better than brown Ubuntu but not better than this and then there’s the downside that it’s crapware.
Nice article. Personally I don’t like the GTK theme (too dark) but I love the panel background.
I myself am using:
- GTK: Aurora
- Window decoration: Simple GTK-Window-Decorator w/compiz (darkened the colours a bit)
- Dock: Avant Window Navigator
- Icons: NuoveXT
Screenshot: http://andri.dk/files/latest_desktop.png
[...] Edit: BOBCFC kindly pointed out that compiz must be up and running in order to get this transparent look. To activate compiz on Ubuntu 7.10 or higher: right click in the desktop, click “change desktop background”, click the tab “visual effects” and click “normal” or higher. You need a 3d graphics card to get it to work too. I will write a better compiz guide in some days so if ie the dock doesn’t work due to compiz problems, stay tuned. Read more at Kimchikid [...]
I’m really annoyed that everyone seems to think that you need a Mac style dock to be cool. Gnome is a solid foundation that anyone can use effectively.
Personally it has nothing to do with being cool. I hate how cluttered the window list gets when I have a few programs running. The dock doesn’t do that as much.
It’s just a plus that it looks cool.
I wonder why so many people like to comment stuff. Why is this kind of spending your free time so popular? Maybe people have a lack of communication in real world? Maybe that’s because they have a lot of problems in reality and want to run away from them? Maybe they need new impressions and experience? Or they just got suck here? I don’t have a clue. What do you all think?
How much memory do you got after this sequence compared to before?
I like mine the way it is. This isn’t cool at all, just clutter.
You should really turn this into an article for Full Circle Magazine.
I am not over keen on the brown theme that comes with Ubuntu. I upgraded my version to an Ultimate Edition but the theme with that was far too dark so I changed it to a lighter one.
I do not like docks and effects that look great but achieve nothing. Having tried Rocket Dock on Windows I would not entertain putting any dock on another computer. Compiz maybe great to look at but how does it help you ? I tried Tabs Effect in Firefox but uninstalled it after five minutes because it just got on my nerves. Maybe I am getting too old for these things but I just cannot see any benefit to me using my computer.
[...] 9 Steps: Make a ultra cool and good looking desktop for your Ubuntu Linux machine in 30 minutes [...]
Wow, thanks for the easy-to-follow guide.
Refreshing my ubuntu once in a while is a good thing to do, and it looks awesome now
Ok, after all that I have gone back to Liberation Sans-Serif. : )
I experimented a bit and decided that numbers look better than Tahoma because they are slightly narrower.
I agree with Andri, Aurora was my previous favourite GTK theme, although you have to actually compile it, lol.
If I could just have the cool buttons and widgets from Darker Ice but the colour scheme of Aurora…. hmmm
Nice article. I got to stumbled on this also http://www.quicktweaks.com/2008/04/11/three-little-things-to-make-your-ubuntu-desktop-beautiful-and-productive/
That is a sweet looking desktop. I like it a lot
Looks neat but I also prefer a simpler configuration. I do like the Compiz cube though; it makes switching desktops and dragging windows around simpler and faster. (Plus it freaks people out to no end.) I also find semi-transparent Emerald window borders help me to sort out overlapping windows.
[...] How to make a gorgeus and cool desktop for your Ubuntu Linux machine in 30 minutes | Kimchikid [...]
i dont use linux but this is great looking
Hi,
I would like to thank you for this excellent “how to”. Its the best guide I came across so far. I have been using Ubuntu for one week and struggling with things.
Regards,
Art
UHHH just get Windows + LITESTEP =)
Very nice writeup, I didn’t implement everything you recommended but it’s an excellent place to get started. I like the dark look. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sharing
Oh yeah, you’ve captured the look of old PC-DOS really well.
Great tutorial and now i have a really good-looking desktop
Anyone has an idea why i now cant move the windows anymore?
I don’t get it…
What’s synaptics, awn-manager etc
I get the other stuff, but could someone help with this bit?
One problem, and a solution.
When you hit the “Show desktop” button it hides Conky, and gives no real means of making it visible again.
The solution is:
sudo apt-get install wmctrl
Once that is installed create a file called “show_desktop.sh” or something of your choosing and put into it:
#!/bin/sh
wmctrl -k on
wmctrl -a conky
set the script to be executable by entering:
chmod +x show_desktop.sh
Now right click on your panel and choose “Add to panel” select “Custom Application Launcher” and point it to the script.
What the script does is minimize all windows to reveal the desktop via the “wmctrl -k on” command, then it brings Conky back via the “wmctrl -a conky” command.
Thanks!
link : http://www.kimchikid.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/clean-desktop.jpg
please sent me desktop wallpaper
e-mail : remember-everything-forgive-nothing@windowslive.com
Too much crap on the background for a single-monitor setup. Otherwise nice.
One of the things a person may run into when installing fonts is a permissions problem with the .fonts folder. You may need to hit Alt>F2 then type in gksu nautilus to get root access to the folder so you can add fonts. Though I think the Liberation fonts are available in the repositories and can be loaded via synaptic.
As far as a dock being worthless I disagree. The reason I use one (AWN) is because it puts all my launchers in one place that auto hides, and gives me that extra little bit of screen real estate at the bottom, and it certainly has nothing to do with wanting my GUI to look like Macwhatever.
And to all the Windows fanboys telling everyone to try Windows as if it’s some kind of “radical alternative” to Linux-they obviously forget that most Linux users have tried Windows, and thats why we use operating systems like Ubuntu now.
Thank you for your site
I made on photoshop backgrounds for myspace or youtube and more
my backgrounds:http://tinyurl.com/6rbxmr
Hope you had a good day and thank you again!
[...] If you like this green desktop, just keep reading, but if you rather like the below dark desktop I have a guide for that as well right here. [...]
Thanks for the tut, Im gonna try it out now!
Wait a sec…
There’s a better alternative:
USE KIBA-DOCK INSTEAD OF AWN.
Thanks… really enjoyed the site and the help offered here got everything up and running in no time
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