Recreating my Ubuntu desktop

I've been asked how to recreate the desktop I showed in the previous post in Ubuntu. For those who haven't seen it, here it is:


OK, first of all there's a number of applications you need (I'm assuming you're working from a fresh install). So run the following command:

sudo apt-get install avant-window-navigator awn-manager compizconfig-settings-manager emerald gnome-do gnome-do-plugins

Strictly speaking, Gnome Do isn't required as it doesn't contribute to the appearance, but it's a very handy application launcher.

Once these are installed, you'll need to remove the bottom panel. Move any applets you want to keep up to the top panel, then right-click on the bottom panel and select Remove This Panel. To set Avant Window Navigator to run when you start up, go to System>Preferences>Sessions and select Add. Then enter Avant Window Navigator as the name, and /usr/bin/avant-window-navigator as the command. You can put anything you like for the description (I put "Mac OS X-style dock bar").

Now to grab the packages you need:

1. Genesis Emerald Theme
2. Blue-Joy GTK Theme
3. Oxygen Refit 2 Icon Theme
4. Peace Wallpaper
   

Now open System>Preferences>Appearance. From the Theme tab, click on Install. You'll be able to browse your filesystem for the theme packages you just downloaded. Use this method to install the Blue-Joy GTK theme and the Oxygen Refit 2 icon theme. For the background, go to the Background tab, click on Add, and select it using the file browser. You might want to copy it to your/usr/share/backgrounds so all users can have it - this can be done with the following command:

sudo cp (insert name of image here) /usr/share/backgrounds

Finally, to install the Emerald theme. Go to System>Preferences>Emerald Theme Manager. Click on Import, select the theme package, and click on Open. You should then be able to select the theme package from the list of those installed.

However, it won't have any immediate effect as Emerald isn't running. To start it up, enter the following command at the terminal:

emerald --replace

To make Emerald always be the default window decorator, open CompizConfig Settings Manager and look for Window Decorator under Effects. Check the box, then click on the icon to adjust the settings. Replace whatever is in the Command box with emerald --replace.

If you now log out, restart your X window server using the Options menu from the login page, then log back in, Emerald and AWN should be running straight away. You can then add whatever launchers you want, but by default AWN only has the launcher applet. If you want to add Ubuntu Tweak so you can add more applets to AWN, please refer to my previous post.

If you're interested in recreating the dock bar I've got, here it is from left to right:

1. File Browser applet
2. Firefox launcher
3. Exaile music player launcher
4. VLC media player launcher
5. GIMP launcher
6. Evolution launcher
7. Pidgin launcher
8. Jokosher audio editor launcher
9. Kino launcher
10. F-Spot launcher
11. Skype launcher
12. Last.fm launcher (not the Last.fm applet, I couldn't get that to work)
13. XChat IRC client launcher
14. Time Vault launcher
15. Ubuntu Tweak launcher
16. Gnome Terminal launcher
17. Showdesktop applet
18. Stacks Trasher applet

I personally really like this desktop. I'm normally more of a KDE guy (I have a separate Kubuntu install on another computer, while this computer is dual-booting Vista and Ubuntu), but I really enjoy working in this kind of environment. I've added two more virtual desktops so as to get the cube effect, and the whole thing looks amazing.

One problem with using this theme is that a lot of things are black that aren't normally (such as the paper in OpenOffice!) and I haven't yet found a way round this, so this might be a problem. I'm hoping the theme's author will be able to resolve this.

Using Ubuntu Tweak to get third-party apps

The likes of Compiz and Avant Window Navigator are great for improving the appearance and usability of your Ubuntu desktop, but out of the box many of them don't include the latest and greatest features. For instance, Avant Window Navigator is available from the Ubuntu repositories in Hardy, but there's no applets available from there other than the launcher applet. This is a shame as there are a lot of applets which improve the functionality of AWN no end. The same applies for Compiz - how can you get new new plugins such as Cube Deformation (allowing you to change the cube to a cylinder or sphere)?

Now, one way is to add the respective PPA (Personal Package Archive) on Launchpad to your /etc/apt/sources.list. But there's an easier way - Ubuntu Tweak. This incredibly useful application allows you to quickly and easily add these third party repositories using a graphical interface. Normally I'm a strong advocate of the command line in this context, but we've gone through adding additional repositories in the past, and in this case I feel Ubuntu Tweak is the easier way to do it.

To get started, first download and install the package as usual. Run it as normal and you will come to a screen like this:


Select Applications, then Third Party Software Sources. This will take you to a list of the software that you can use Ubuntu Tweak to keep up to date with. You'll need to click on Unlock and enter your password before you can add anything (this is because Ubuntu Tweak needs root access to add the new repositories).
Now you can add the repositories for whatever apps you wish to keep up to date with, whether that's the latest versions of Google Gadgets, AWN, Compiz, Wine or whatever takes your fancy. Once you've selected what you want, click Refresh. The new repositories will be added and Update Manager will open - you'll need to enter your password again and an apt-get update will run automatically.
Now that you have the new new repositories added, you can get the newest versions of the apps you've chosen just by running the following:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

However, there are a few things that aren't included by default, and additional applets for AWN are one of them. To add these, once you've added the AWN repository from Ubuntu Tweak, just run the following command:

sudo apt-get install awn-applets-c-core awn-applets-c-extras awn-applets-python-core awn-applets-python-extras

This will install the applets available from the repository. You'll no doubt find that Avant Window Navigator becomes enormously more powerful once you add these additional applets. You can do a lot with it once you get used to it.

Ubuntu Tweak can be incredibly handy for non-technical users. It acts as a great one-stop control panel, and allows you to get some of the newest and most impressive goodies available for Linux. But unlike Automatix, it's safe to use and won't destabilise your system. For demonstration purposes, here's the Sphere effect. It's under Cube Reflection and Deformation in CompizConfig Settings Manager.


Pretty impressive, huh? Hope you have fun with Ubuntu Tweak!

Adding Google Gadgets to your desktop

One thing some people may miss from other operating systems is desktop widgets. There's several ways to get these in Ubuntu and its derivatives. For Gnome users, there's the gdesklets or screenlets packages. For KDE3 users, there's superkaramba, and if you're using KDE4 there's plasmoids available - just add the extragear-plasma package.
Now there's a new way to get desktop widgets, and this way gives you access to a huge cross-platform library of widgets. This is of course Google Gadgets. It's long been missing from Google Desktop on Linux, but now it's available separately.
I'm not going to tell you how to set this up because the people at Ubuntu Unleashed have written a great guide to this, which is available here. You should already know how to add third-party repositories, so I'm comfortable leaving you to head there if you want to install Google Gadgets for Linux.

Installing the Kubuntu KDE4 desktop

If you like the look of the KDE4 version of Kubuntu, it's easy to add it to your existing Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu session. Just enter the following in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-kde4-desktop

Now log out and use Change Session to switch to KDE4. Then log back in to your new KDE4 desktop!

Customising your Ubuntu desktop

While Linux doesn't have a reputation for eye candy, you can nonetheless get a great desktop with a little bit of work. Compiz will normally be working by default, so with a little effort you can use this to really make your desktop into something special!

If you want to get more out of Compiz, then you need to install the package compizconfig-settings-manager. This gives you an easy-to-use menu which allows you to set your preferences for Compiz, so you can get the famous cube effect going.

For a more attractive desktop, you can install Emerald. This is a theme manager for Compiz, allowing you to use loads of great themes to make it look even nicer.

And finally, if you want an OS X-style dock bar, install the avant-window-navigator and awn-manager packages from the Hardy repositories. With these, you can set up a dock bar and customise it to your heart's content!

It's staggering to see how great some people have made their Ubuntu desktops! If you need more resources, check out Gnome-Look.

Xubuntu will also happily run Compiz, Emerald and Avant Window Navigator, however Kubuntu is a bit less well served. It's possible to get things like Compiz and Emerald working, but it's a bit more of a struggle. But KDE4 has eye candy aplenty, so if you're using that you're OK!

Building a lightweight Ubuntu install using IceWM

As I mentioned in my previous post, there are a number of window managers that make excellent lightweight alternatives to Gnome, KDE or Xfce for getting better performance from older hardware.

If you opt for Fluxbox, you have a ready-made Ubuntu variant for your needs in Fluxbuntu. If you'd prefer IceWM, there is a project called Icebuntu which aims to produce an IceWM-based Ubuntu variant that's fast and ideal for older hardware, and it looks promising. However, this isn't yet very mature, so you may wish to customise an existing Ubuntu install instead. The problem is that if you install Ubuntu then add IceWM to it, you'll still have the Gnome desktop and all its dependencies and applications installed.

Sometimes, it's better to build it up from a basic skeleton. Don't worry, it's not as hard as it sounds, and it's quite fun! It also teaches you quite a lot about how Linux works, so if you have an old computer gathering dust in the attic, you may want to do this just for the educational value. It's also useful for getting old hardware working so you can give it to a computer-illiterate friend or relative (if someone else can get it set up for them, Linux is ideal for the computer-illiterate as it's so much more stable and reliable than Windows).

Using a method like this, you can get an Ubuntu install that only has applications you want. Also, IceWM natively supports both Gnome and KDE apps well, making it easy to pick and mix between the two.

If you want to do this, you'll need to first do a command-line install of Ubuntu on whatever computer you want to set it up on. If you have a DVD copy of Ubuntu (many Linux magazines give distros away on the cover, and Ubuntu is a regular giveaway), then if you boot from the disc as usual, when you get to the menu where you'd normally select "Start or Install Ubuntu", there's an option to do a command-line install.

If you don't have a DVD copy, you'll need to get the Alternate Desktop CD instead of the normal Ubuntu CD. You can get this from the Ubuntu website as usual. Again, boot from it and you'll be taken to a menu which includes the command-line install option.

Select this, and you'll be taken through a text-based installer - don't worry, it's not really any harder than the normal Ubuntu install, you basically get asked the same questions.

Once you've finished your install, boot into your new system. You'll need to log in - just wait for it to finish booting up, then enter the user name you've chosen and press Enter, and you'll be prompted for your password. Once you're in, it's just like the command line when it's open in Terminal or Konsole.

You need to have an Internet connection for the rest of this, although you could potentially use something like APTonCD. It's easiest if you have a router or home network of some kind where you can just connect via Ethernet and be online straight away. I wouldn't want to try this using dialup!

First of all, you'll need to make sure your /etc/apt/sources.list includes all the repositories you need. Enter the following:

sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list

If you haven't got the hang of Vim yet, feel free to use nano instead. You need to make sure that you have access to main, restricted, universe and multiverse. They will all be there, but it's possible that universe and multiverse may be commented out with a # symbol - if so remove this. You may also want to comment out the CD-ROM by placing the same symbol and a space before it. Now save and exit.

Now enter the following:

sudo apt-get update

Followed by this:

sudo apt-get upgrade

Depending on how old the version of Ubuntu is, there may be a lot of updates to come - if you're doing this now, you may want to wait a few days for Hardy Heron rather than use Gutsy. Once the updates have finished, it's probably a good idea to reboot.

Now, to start installing everything you need. First, you need the X Window Server (this is essentially the bare bones of a desktop, which you can then use a window manager or desktop with). Install this with the following:

sudo apt-get install xorg

As usual, there will be a host of dependencies to add as well, so this may take a while.

You can use X on its own, but it's pretty ugly, so I don't advise it! Instead, we're going to install IceWM now:

sudo apt-get install icewm iceconf icewm-themes menu

The icewm package is pretty self-explanatory, and icewm-themes is a collection of themes for use with IceWM. Iceconf is a graphical application for configuring IceWM, but I've not had much luck with it, and it's often easier to configure IceWM by editing text files as there's plenty of documentation to be found if you Google it. Menu is necessary to enable you to update the menu in IceWM.

Once IceWM is installed, you can start up the X Window Server with IceWM by entering the following:

startx

However, this still means you have to log in from the command line first, and without any software you won't be able to get much done! If you don't want to have to log in from the command line and start X manually, then you'll need to install a login manager to do this for you.

XDM is the default login manager for the X Window Server, and is lightweight, but be warned, it's pretty ugly. If you'd like something nicer-looking, go for either GDM or KDM. Whichever you go for, it's installed as follows:

sudo apt-get install xdm
sudo apt-get install gdm
sudo apt-get install kdm

Just choose the one you want to use, and next time you log in, X will start automatically and you'll have a nice graphical login screen.

Now we've got a desktop in place, we can start thinking about applications. First of all, you're going to need a terminal emulator so you can easily open the command line. Here, you can choose whichever you want. If you want just a basic emulator, then xterm is a good choice. If you're already used to the Gnome or KDE terminal applications, these can be installed instead. Or there are several which run in the background and can appear at the press of a button, namely Tilda for Gnome and Yakuake for KDE - I personally recommend Yakuake, once it's running press F12 and it'll drop down from the top of the screen.

Now you've got enough to finish the rest from the desktop so you can reboot or enter startx if you wish. You might want to run the following first to make sure you can get access to the terminal emulator you just added:

sudo update-menus

That updates the IceWM menu to show the installed applications.

Once you're logged into your new desktop, open whatever terminal emulator you installed. First thing you need to think about is a file manager. This is up to you, but two good lightweight file managers worth considering are PCManFM and Thunar. PCManFM has a tabbed interface similar to Konqueror, but is much lighter, while Thunar is a more conventional but lightweight file manager. XFE is even lighter, so may be better for lower-performance systems. You can always try different ones to see which appeal to you.

You'll probably need to install an icon theme to show nice friendly icons in your file manager - the package tango-icon-theme is a good choice. When you start the file manager, it will usually prompt you to set up a file to configure the icon theme it uses. Don't worry - this isn't as hard as it sounds. It will usually give full details of the kind of thing you'll need to put in the text file.

Next you may want a web browser. Firefox is always an option, but it may not be fast enough for older machines. At the other end of the scale is Dillo, which is very fast, but not really up to supporting most modern websites. There are a number of Gecko-based browsers similar to Firefox, but lighter, which may be worth trying - Kazehakase is a particularly good choice.

If you want a lightweight e-mail client, then Sylpheed is an excellent choice. Thunderbird is always an option, or if you use web mail you can always do without. If you use Gmail, then you're in luck - there's a number of desktop applets that work OK in IceWM and will notify you when you receive a new email and will even let you open your inbox in a browser with a few clicks, of which probably the best is gmail-notify.

Finally, if you want a graphical package manager, then you can install Synaptic from the repositories, however if you've made it this far, you can probably survive without it!

From here, it's up to you. Having come this far, I'm sure you can add whatever applications you want from the repositories without my help. Don't forget, to use things like Flash and MP3 playback, you'll need to install the ubuntu-restricted-extras package. Just remember, to update the menu in IceWM, you'll need to run the following command, otherwise your newly installed applications won't work:

sudo update-menus

Please note that there's no reason that you can't install all the additional software at once - I've just done them separately to make it clearer what's going on.

For more ideas about creating a lighweight Ubuntu desktop, including applications you can consider using when setting up the system, you may wish to refer to this document. You may also want to take a look at this document for ideas on how to set up your new IceWM desktop.

Because IceWM doesn't come preconfigured the way Gnome or KDE do, and the configuration application isn't much use, it's generally necessary to configure it using text files. Don't worry, the text files aren't hard to set up at all, it just needs you to do a little studying before you get started. If you're not sure you're up to it, you can always try it out in VirtualBox so you can get the hang of it before moving to an actual computer, and have access to the host OS's web browser in case of problems.

Window Managers

I've previously discussed the choice of desktop between Gnome, KDE and Xfce. You may recall that I mentioned that they aren't the only options. Well, I'm going to elaborate on this.

An alternative to using a full desktop such as Gnome or KDE is using a window manager. This is a program that controls the placement and appearance of windows on the display. For instance, take a look at an open application. You'll notice that, depending on what desktop you're using, you should have a panel along the top that includes several buttons to click on - minimise, maximise, close and so on. The window manager is responsible for drawing these.

Gnome, KDE and Xfce include their own window managers as part of the desktop to ensure a consistent look and feel - Gnome uses Metacity by default (although Compiz will usually be enabled instead in Ubuntu, so you can have the cool effects), KDE uses KWin, and Xfce uses Xfwm4.

There are a number of other window managers that you can use on a standalone basis, without Gnome, KDE or Xfce. These generally lack the visual appeal of something like Gnome or KDE (with the possible exception of Enlightenment), but achieve better performance, making them ideal for older, less powerful machines.

There are a number of these - Fluxbox, Openbox, aewm, the list goes on. If you're interested in looking, try searching for "window manager" in Adept or Synaptic - you'll find a load of them available from the Ubuntu repositories. If you decide to install one, a word of warning: you'll have to do the configuration yourself. It's not that hard, but not all of them have a graphical configuration tool, so you may need to edit a text file and do other work from the command line.

One very popular one, which I have installed alongside KDE, is IceWM. This window manager is laid out in a similar fashion to Windows, making it an ideal choice for those who are used to Windows. It's easy to theme it, too - you can find plenty of themes, some based on Windows XP or Vista, and others completely different. Check out this link for a very handy tutorial on how to set up IceWM (please note, this isn't terribly up to date). I'd recommend you install the icewm-themes and menu packages as well, and ignore the icemc package as that no longer seems to be in the repositories. Then, once you've logged out from your existing desktop, log back into IceWM from the login screen (you'll need to change the session type in this screen, there's a pulldown menu for it), then open a terminal and enter the following:

sudo update-menus

to update the menu in IceWM with your installed applications.

If your computer is a little sluggish with your current desktop and you're not too bothered about a fancy desktop, it's worth considering a switch to a window manager. It's a little more work than the default desktops, but may well be worth the tradeoff. For my money, IceWM is the easiest to use, but Fluxbox is also good, and Enlightenment is very promising (if E17 ever gets released!).

One of the reasons for IceWM's popularity is that it's easy to theme it. Here's an example - the FauxGlass theme from Box-Look.org:


I can't deny that IceWM isn't the prettiest desktop available, but it's fast and practical. If your computer is a bit old and slow, or you're just not happy with the speed of your Linux desktop, IceWM is a great alternative to Gnome or KDE.

A new look for Ubuntu

One complaint I hear about Ubuntu a lot is the colour - a lot of people dislike the choice of brown as the predominant colour in the default Ubuntu setup. Personally I think the default wallpaper in Ubuntu looks OK (it's a chocolate brown, not a something-unspeakable brown), but I use Kubuntu anyway so it doesn't affect me.

But if you're using Ubuntu, you may want to change the look if you don't like it as it is. Ubuntu has many resources to make it look better, and one of the best is Blubuntu. It includes a new session splash, wallpaper, theme and GDM theme to help rid your desktop of every last trace of brown!

Just open a terminal session and enter the following:

sudo apt-get install blubuntu-look

This will install the blubuntu-look metapackage.

Now open the System menu and go to Preferences, then Appearance. You can now change to using Blubuntu for your theme, wallpaper, GDM theme and splash.

Installing a new desktop

As you may recall, we've gone over the concept of metapackages, where I mentioned that the different desktops are available as metapackages. I've also gone over the three main desktop choices in Ubuntu - Gnome, KDE, and XFCE.

We're now going to cover how to install a new desktop. Say you're running Ubuntu, and you'd like to be able to use the Kubuntu desktop. Simple - open Terminal and enter the following:

sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop

Apt-get will download the kubuntu-desktop metapackage and install it for you. You'll notice that all of the default applications for Kubuntu will be added to you Ubuntu install, so you'll have the option of using Kontact instead of Evolution for e-mail and so on. You'll also be asked which display manager you want to use, GDM or KDM (either is fine, the only visible effect so far as I can see is that if you use GDM it has the Ubuntu login screen, and for KDM the Kubuntu login screen).

Once that is done, you can log out and return to the login screen. From here, you can change the session type from Gnome to KDE using a pull-down menu, then log back in. You'll now be using the Kubuntu desktop!

You can also install the kubuntu-desktop metapackage in Xubuntu. Similarly, you can install the ubuntu-desktop metapackage in Kubuntu or Xubuntu, and the xubuntu-desktop package in Ubuntu or Kubuntu. Each metapackage includes all the applications you need to create a working install of the desktop, but every single application you've installed will continue to be available in all three desktops.

This is a great way to experiment with the three desktops to see which you prefer. By having all three available, it's easy to find out which one you like the best. Also, although I can't deny it does take a while to download each individual desktop, it's quicker than it would be to download Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Xubuntu and install them each in turn to give them a try before moving on to the next one.

Gnome?KDE?XFCE?

Many people who have never seen Linux have the preconception that it is a DOS-like environment where you're expected to use only the command line, and there's no pointing or clicking, and certainly no Mac-esque dock. This actually couldn't be further from the truth! On the contrary, Linux has a staggering number of graphical desktops available, ranging from lightweight window managers like Fluxbox or Enlightenment to full-blown desktops like Gnome, KDE and XFCE. In fact, there's so many that it can be extremely confusing to a newbie. "Which one should I use?" is a common refrain.

In truth, I can't give a good answer to that, because we're all different and have different needs. You may prefer one desktop over another, or you may need to use something lighter because your machine isn't fast enough to run a full desktop. What I can do is give you some idea of what to expect from each, and what to bear in mind when choosing a desktop. Don't worry though, you can easily change your desktop without having to install a new version of Linux.

Although they are far from being the only ones available, I don't think anyone will disagree when I say Gnome and KDE are far and away the most popular desktops within Linux. These two are the most widely used and most advanced desktops available within Linux, and the chances are you will wind up using one or the other.

If you're using Ubuntu, then Gnome is the desktop that is installed by default:



It's a little like the Mac desktop in some ways. Don't be put off by the colour! A lot of people do seem to dislike the colour choice for Ubuntu, but you can change that easily once it's installed - you have several alternative wallpapers and themes available.

Gnome is a good desktop - it's reasonably fast, and has good applications. It's the default desktop for Ubuntu, and is simple enough that it's easy to use, yet also powerful enough for most things you could want. It's a bit of an adjustment from Windows, however.

If you like the layout of Windows or you consider yourself a power user, then KDE may be a better choice. It's laid out in a similar fashion to Windows, so you may find it easier to get used to. Also, it's got some very powerful features which Gnome can't match.



This is the KDE desktop in Kubuntu. Like in Windows, by default there's a bar at the bottom, with the main menu at the bottom left.

I'm unashamedly a KDE man myself - it has a lot of features I like. It has an excellent application launcher called Katapult - just press Alt+Space and it will appear, then start typing the name of an application and it will find it for you. Then press Enter and it will launch it. Konqueror is also a great asset - it's an extremely powerful file manager which doubles as a web browser, and has integration with many other KDE applications. However, if you just want to open files, KDE now has a lightweight file manager called Dolphin which is the default file manager.

Finally, there's XFCE. It's more lightweight than either Gnome or KDE - think of it as a quicker, faster version of Gnome. It's a good choice for older machines which don't have the processing power to run Gnome or KDE at an acceptable speed, or if you just want a really fast desktop.


You can still use all the same applications in XFCE as you could in Gnome or KDE, but you will notice a significant difference in speed.

Ultimately, the best advice I can give is to try them all out to see which you like the best. Although applications are usually designed with one of the desktops in mind, most Linux applications will work on all of them. I'll give details of how to install a new desktop in a future post.