Making your Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop look like MAC OS X Leopard

Making your Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop look like MAC OS X Leopard

READ THE UPDATED VERSION OF THIS ARTICLE FOR UBUNTU 8.04 HERE

MAC OS has been traditionally known for their impressive graphical interface and stability . Now even though i have been an avid Linux follower over the past 9 years I have been using Linux , still i find my self attracted to MAC OS .
Now even though these days it's possible to run Hackintosh on normal Intel hardware , but still it's not stable and well there are hardware compatibility issues . So well other alternative to using MAC OS is either to purchase MAC hardware(which would be naturally expensive) and run full fledged MAC OS or you could tweak and customize your Ubuntu desktop to look more like MAC OS X .

In this tutorial i describe step by step how to make your ubuntu desktop look more like MAC OS X Leopard :) .


Step 1 :- Downloading LeopardX Icon Theme

First you need to download LeopardX theme (hosted on gnome-looks.org) from the following website : -

or you could download directly from this link :

http://rapidshare.com/files/73251200/LeopardX-V2.6.tar.gz

Gnome - Looks page : http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/LeopardX?content=64070

It will download a file named LeopardX-V2.6.tar.gz , now extract this file using file-roller to any temporary directory that you would use to house the files we would be using for the customization.(In my case it's $HOME/Leopard) or if you want to use console application you could use the following command to extract the file to Leopard directory (Make sure you create the directory before doing this step)

For me to extract the file to $HOME/Leopard directory(already created) command would be : -

tar -xvzf LeopardX-V2.6.tar.gz $HOME/Leopard

2. Downloading Mac4Lin GTK Theme

Now similarly download Mac4Lin GTK theme from the following website and extract it to the folder created above ($HOME/Leopard)

Download : http://rs18.rapidshare.com/files/71511264/Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3.tar.gz

and to extract it to $HOME/Leopard director(already created)

tar -xvzf Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3.tar.gz $HOME/Leopard

3. Download Cursor Theme Package

We need to download the cursor set for our new theme , you can download the cursor set from t he following website :

http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Shere+Khan+X?content=57588

After downloading the cursor set extract cursors to the directory created in the first step.

4. Combining the Downloaded Files into a Single Theme Package
Now after completing the above steps go to the directory( cd $HOME/Leopard for me ) in the Terminal and issue the following command to combine the three theme files into a single .tar.gz archive .

tar cvfz MyTheme.tar.gz LeopardX Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3 Shere_Khan_X/

5. Installing Theme Package
Now to install the theme package we have created in the above step , go to (System -> Preferences -> Appearance) and click Install and point to our newly created MyTheme.tar.gz archive.

This should start installing the theme package (Cursors/Icons/Theme) once installation is completed . Chose Custom in theme and click on Customize .You will find a window like this:

Customize Dialog Box

In this window in Icons chose LeopardX , in Controls Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3 , in Window Border Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3 and in Pointers White Cursor .


If you have followed the steps properly the theme and icons should have been installed , and you should be able to see the new theme applied to your default desktop .


6. Changing the Log In Screen / GDM Theme

To change the Log In Screen/GDM Theme download the package from website listed below : http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/OSX+Session+Login?content=68346

After downloading the package , open (System -> Administration -> Log in Window ) and there go to Local and click on Add and point to the downloaded theme package (osx-login.tar.gz) . Now you would find OSX-Login theme listed in the window , select OSX-Login and close the window . Logout and Login again you should find the new theme installed .

Log-in Window allows easy changing of the Login Screen Theme

7. Enabling Compiz-Fusion

IMPORTANT : - Enabling Compiz-Fusion is essential if you want to use Screenlets , Avant Window Manager Properly .

Unlike previous releases of Ubuntu where one had to manually download and install compiz,beryl etc (Compiz Fusion is composite window manager that provides best features of Compiz and Beryl) from Repositories if one wanted to have glitzy visual effects .

Ubuntu 7.10 comes with Compiz Fusion pre-installed and on supported hardware offers a wide array of Visual Effect . Now depending on graphic hardware of computer one could chose from three level of Visual Effect (From System -> Preferences -> Appearance )

None : - This mode causes Ubuntu to use Metacity instead of Compiz Fusion , with no visual effect

Basic : - Has only simple visual effects like shadows , fading windows-menus etc

Advanced : - Recommended for PC with descent graphic hardware , enables effects like wobbly windows, transparency , animated workspace switching etc

Visual Effect Dialog Box

However , compiz-fusion is capable of much more and you can enable more desktop effects /customize compiz by typing the following command in the terminal window : -

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

After completing above step , you can customize compiz by going to System > Preferences > Advanced Desktop Effects Settings .
After installation is over , open Terminal from (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal ) and issue the following command to install emerald which is necessary for using themes in compiz .

sudo apt-get install emerald

After installation is over download MacOS X Emerald theme from this link : http://gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Mac4Lin+Leopard+Emerald+Theme?content=68409

Now open (System -> Preferences -> Emerald Theme Manager )

After Emerald theme manager opens click on import and point to the downloaded theme package from withing the Theme Manager , you will find Mac4Lin Theme listed select the theme , click on refresh and quit the application .

Emerald Theme Manager

8. Installing Avant Windows Navigator

IMPORTANT : - To use AWN Compiz-Fusion should be up and running as mentioned in the step above

Avant Windows Navigator is cool little tool that allows you to have a cute looking dock at the bottom of the screen . Even though AWN is still very buggy, still because it is so feature rich and cool looking you could install it .

Before we begin installing first ensure Software Sources are in order by going to ( System -> Administration -> Software Sources ) go to the Updates and the window should like the image below with in Ubuntu updates box " first , second and fourth option " enabled .

Software Sources Dialog box

To install add in the following line at the end of file /etc/apt/sources.list by opening the gedit editor with the following command .

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

and LINE TO ADD : -

deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/ gutsy avant-window-navigator
deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/ gutsy avant-window-navigator

and after adding the above line issue the following command in the terminal window (Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal )

wget http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/reacocard.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

Now we begin installing AWN by issuing the following command in the terminal window :

sudo apt-get install avant-window-navigator-bzr

and , To install additional applets for AWN

sudo apt-get install awn-core-applets-bzr

Now after completing above mentioned steps AWN should be properly installed , To Launch AWN go to (Applications -> Accessories -> Avant Window Navigator )

Now you could customize AWN by choosing to add more applets , configuring 3D effects for AWN etc by going to AWN Manager ( System -> Preferences -> Awn Manager )

Three ScreenShots of AWN Manager , one with Applets Tab opened and other with Themes tab opened

Though the theme which AWN comes with preinstalled is also good , you might like to try this it's cool and very Mac like

http://rapidshare.com/files/71511920/Transparent.tgz.html

you could install this theme through AWN Manager .

This is how my AWN Dock looks(with the above theme installed) like : -

AWN-DOCK

9. Installing Screenlets

IMPORTANT : - To use Screenlets Compiz-Fusion should be up and running as mentioned in the step above

Screenlets gives user a collection of impressive widgets that can be placed on desktop this is similar to feature available on Windows Vista and Mac OS X Dashboard , it gives impressive look to the desktop.
To install Screenlets type in the following command in the terminal window :

First we need to add repository where the Screenlets binary is located , to do so open gedit with superuser permission by typing the following command in the terminal window :

gksu gedit /etc/apt/sources.list

and add the following line at the bottom of the file :

deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/screenlets gutsy screenlets

Now quit the gedit text editor and type in the following command in the terminal window :

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install screenlets

Now , After the installation is over you can add Widgets/Screenlets on your desktop by going to (System -> Preferences -> Screenlets ) , you will find a dialog box like this from where you could add Screenlets onto the desktop .

Screenlets configuring dialog box

10. Getting MAC OS X Leopard Wallpaper

Finally you can get MAC OS X Leopard wallpaper from the following website : http://appleology.com/images/space-desktop.png

Finally this is how my desktop looks after all the tweaking and installing : -

My Ubuntu Desktop

and


Another screenshot showing Menu in the AWN Dock




Technorati Tags:
Ubuntu, Themes, Ubuntu Themes, Mac OS X, Ubuntu Customization, Linux, Desktop Linux, compiz, beryl

Article Written by : Ambuj Varshney (blogambuj@gmail.com)
For Desktop on Linux Blog , http://linuxondesktop.blogspot.com
(C) 2007 , Ambuj Varshney