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10 Of The Best Linux Desktop Screenshots

maketecheasier.com — One of the best thing that I love about Linux desktop is its flexibility and the ability to tweak and customize every single part of it to your liking.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 28, 2008

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  • Rockkybox, on 11/28/2008, -22/+212I don't understand this fascination with putting the cpu temp on the desktop, or even RAM + CPU usage really, though they are slightly more justifiable; is it just to make you feel more like you're the captain of a spaceship or what?
  • inactive, on 11/28/2008, -4/+166Its a geek thing.
  • cheeseplease, on 11/28/2008, -2/+94@Rockkybox: you are not welcome on my spaceship. Full speed ahead.
  • Cupantae, on 11/28/2008, -0/+44I have little CPU and RAM meters because I like to have some idea of whether I should be closing down applications that are hogging the resources. Firefox still does sometimes hoard memory and needs a restart.

    @Rockkybox: I've never seen that /not/ happen. I think gnome, xfce and kde all do it if there's hal installed. if you're using something else, maybe you could implement it in idesktop or something
  • alexiadeath, on 11/28/2008, -4/+46Temp has practical use if you need to diagnose potential cooling issues that result slowdowns in use.
  • l800LEMMINGS, on 11/28/2008, -1/+36dugg for not only awesome screen sources but links to the resources to the different elements used
  • Spr0k3t, on 11/28/2008, -7/+35dugg for primarily dark themes.
  • inactive, on 11/28/2008, -4/+25Mine -
    http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4464/screenshot ...
  • Renton, on 11/28/2008, -2/+21Racist.
  • dave11980, on 11/28/2008, -3/+20This doesn't say anything about Linux vs. Windows, just 10 cool themes. Grow up.

    Linux is better though. :)
  • dave11980, on 11/28/2008, -0/+17Dark themes have their place but so do light themes. I think if your going to do a best of you should probably include both, otherwise it's not really a list of the best but a list of your personal favorites. Oh well, just my .02 and probably not even worth that.
  • mithrasinvictus, on 11/28/2008, -5/+22switch to linux
  • derbloodlust, on 11/28/2008, -6/+23Some of these are nice.. but the hoard of penguins one is ***** ugly... to name a few.

    Here's my desktop: http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j308/shredyourax ...
  • fergytech, on 11/28/2008, -2/+17I can see how the temp is TEMPORARILY used to diagnose a problem (after you overclock your CPU). I agree that it's mainly a geek thing. It makes for great screenshots, but it's not really practical, every-day, usage of a desktop widget. Overall; I say it makes me feel like Captain!
  • tech10171968, on 11/28/2008, -1/+15Why do we do it? Some of us have those meters on our desktops for pretty much the same reason you have a speedometer, oil gauge and coolant temperature meter on the dashboard of your car. If something goes haywire (like a Flash animation ramping the CPU to 100%, or the laptop's core temperature getting a little too warm) then the CPU load and CPU temperature meters on my desktop are usually the first places I look; they give me a starting point for any kind of diagnosis on the problem.
  • PhailQuail, on 11/28/2008, -0/+13Linux is the most customisable OS, in contrast to OSX and Windows, where most users keep the default theme.
    As a result, there are some pretty snazzy setups for Linux.
  • renegadeafk, on 11/28/2008, -6/+18buried for primarily dark themes.
  • jamesmcm, on 11/28/2008, -1/+132 and 7 look like something from 24.
  • FriedSperm, on 11/28/2008, -4/+15Buried for primarly dark emo themes.
  • mrblue182, on 11/28/2008, -1/+12imo, 2 is the only one that is deserving of "best" linux desktop screenshot, but they are cool none the less.
  • pprkut, on 11/28/2008, -2/+13Why do all the Linux peeps complain about Mac OS X then skin Linux to look almost exactly like it?
  • Rockkybox, on 11/28/2008, -7/+17Yeah well anyway it annoys me that if i wanted to know the exact temperature of each core of my processor there are thousands of programmes to do the job, but I can't find one that will show mounted disks and drives on the desktop automatically
  • SatNav, on 11/28/2008, -1/+10Because it's fun to take the piss, but in the end, it's a pretty OS. Also, Mac folks are really easy to bait. I personally think Macs work well, and look great, but they're way overpriced, and lack customisation options. Everything that could do any serious damage is hidden away from the user, which keeps the OS stable, but also takes the fun out of using a computer.

    I like being able to break my computer, because I enjoy fixing it, and knowing I can squeeze every last drop of power out of it. Some people prefer having a computer that has a consistent UI, and rarely suffers from bugs or requires troubleshooting. To each his own.
  • flangepiece, on 11/28/2008, -0/+9Yeah who the ***** do they think they are posting tech-related articles on Digg?
  • csarak, on 11/28/2008, -4/+13Dark != Good. Only the very last theme utilized a light theme. Not all of us like headaches.
  • inactive, on 11/28/2008, -0/+9I think the complaints are for Apple as a company and their very closed proprietary paranoia and the mind boggling overpriced hardware.

    the desktop on the other hand is pretty slick, so why not copy it and get the look for free. plus I think if doing it will get Steve Jobs to pass blood, why not.
  • dustin32, on 11/28/2008, -0/+8Anybody have a link to the wallpaper of the world map in #2? I kinda like that one...
  • mloiterman, on 11/28/2008, -2/+10I don't understand it either. But what I don't understand even more is the fascination with looking at screenshots of tweaked Gnome or KDE desktops. To me Linux or Unix is the command line, but I guess that doesn't make for a very nice screenshot.
  • derbloodlust, on 11/28/2008, -1/+9Actually, I do keep an eye on most all of it. I run an Ubuntu distro from a Sony VAIO TZ.. only has a gig of RAM until I upgrade. There have been major overheating issues with this model within my serial number range, and Sony even sent a personal technician to my house to rewire the faults. So uh, I keep an eye on all of it for a reason. Normally I have an AIM window that covers the newtork and HDD jazz. Besides, conky lies on the desktop and impedes in no way, so what's your point?
  • SatNav, on 11/28/2008, -4/+11whoa, stand back guys, this man is way more hardcore than the rest of us. He's probably using a browser he hand-coded in assembly.
  • CaviMike, on 11/28/2008, -0/+7Normally I hate when people 'brag' about their -whatever- but I dig it. And dugg it.
  • bytor4232, on 11/28/2008, -0/+7In my case, I need the temperatures and system monitors because for what I'm doing, I multitask a lot. Plus, I use a pretty resource intensive desktop. I need to know when firefox goes out to lunch and I need to clear the caches. Plus, I need to know at times if my hard drive is getting too hot due to advance power management utilities.

    Plus, yes, it makes me feel like the captain of my spaceship ;) Starship Acer Go!!
  • jamesmcm, on 11/28/2008, -0/+7That looks excellent - could you provide links to themes/icons/wallpapers etc. please?
  • derbloodlust, on 11/28/2008, -0/+6It's Xubuntu 8.04 (the 8.10 kernel hates my vaio atm, it will kernel panic without notice and I actually have to unplug and pull the battery out just to shut it down)... i HATE ***** gnome, KDE 4 is getting nicer all of the time, but i use Fluxbox here because it's very sexy and one quick, very customizable lil bitch. This computer needs as much help as it can get in the speed department.

    The background came from one of the Ubuntu Ibex blogs before its actual release. I modified it to be pretty with Conky. FBpager in bottom left corner. Elfin 2 I believe is the name of the Fluxbox style... and Artwiz fonts.
  • Markpdotcom, on 11/29/2008, -0/+6Its an aesthetic thing... You're saying why do people look at something beautiful? Does it matter what it is? A painting, a beautiful view, an interface, a car, a woman, a computer desktop?
  • AboveandBeyond, on 11/28/2008, -10/+16also the most dysfunctional desktops......
  • izelpii, on 11/28/2008, -0/+6I do it too, because a lot of times, your computer gets slower without any explanation.
    Then, you realize you need to kill a process, or there is an application with a flash bug that is trying to use 100% of your processor.
    Also, I like to know exactly when the HD is being used (since mine is really quiet), since that causes also slowdowns. For example, you try to open Firefox, and it won't open in one sec... I'll quickly look to my task bar to see if everything is normal (my controls are small).

    This screenshots are nice, some great, others not so much... there are so many at kde-look.org and gnome-look.org that is difficult to agree on best 10 screenshots.

  • CaviMike, on 11/28/2008, -0/+6Even us Windows users like our CPU Usage in the taskbar. It's not just a linux thing.
  • kamildiouri, on 11/28/2008, -0/+6Well lose him in the asteroid belt, his spaceship sucks!
  • ghostborg, on 11/28/2008, -0/+6Thats the beauty of Linux, you can make the desktop look and function to your liking and work flow.
  • Chrono64, on 11/28/2008, -0/+5I generally like to see cpu temperatures because I'm using a laptop all the time, and I like to know when things are getting a bit higher than I like to see them on here.
  • isunktheship, on 11/28/2008, -2/+7I use it every day, I can see how the temperature inside my house is even, lol. It helps when I'm using differerent programs, I can see what exactly is being used, how hot things are getting. (Granted I overclock like crazy, and watercool, so yeah it's slightly more important to me than some dell-bought douche.)
  • inactive, on 11/29/2008, -0/+5The wallpaper is called "6 AM". I'm not sure of the source, but I'm sure you could find it using Tineye
    http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=6amzm4.jp ...

    The icons are Crashbit
    http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/CrashBi ...

    The GTK theme is Raptor v5

    The AWN theme is custom

    The fancy ass transparent menus can be implemented by opening CompizConfig, selecting "General Options", going to the "Opacity Settings" tab, and adding

    (name=gimmie_applet) | (name=gnome-panel) | (type=Menu | PopupMenu | DropdownMenu)

    as an opacity windows rule

    The firefox window you also see pictured uses Compact Menu 2 rather than the standard menu; it looks much cleaner
  • daf666, on 11/28/2008, -0/+5Some more:
    http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=58159
  • smotpoker, on 11/28/2008, -0/+5I use it all day long, especially if I am doing something cpu intensive. The first thing I do if there is any sort of hiccup is look at conky. It is easier to just minimize whatever window is open and look at the desktop than switch to my admin workspace and enter commands in the terminal to read their output.

    With my conky config I can tell what process is eating all of the resources, whether my cpu or case fan is about to die/needs cleaning, if a given app died or locked up because of disk space issues, check if there are anomalous network connections, check network throughput and see the latest error messages.

    Since it only updates every 3 seconds it has minimal resource load. Some of us aren't rolling in doe to the point where we rarely/never utilize our hardware to full potential and can afford to instantly replace whatever goes bad. If my CPU fan dies and damages my cpu or motherboard it will be at least a week before I can get a replacement (assuming I even have the ability to pay for the most cost-effective replacements online immediately).
  • klulukasz, on 11/28/2008, -0/+5did you notice uptime on 10)
    :D

    118days 6h 18m 00s
  • unrealmp3, on 11/29/2008, -1/+6Am I the only one who like a simple interface without all those indicators?
  • zzzpoohzzz, on 11/28/2008, -0/+5if you didnt notice a lot of these screen shots were using xfce.... not gnome
  • inactive, on 11/29/2008, -0/+4And I almost forgot, the emerald theme is Scaled Black Mod

    http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Scaled+ ...

    Yes I've spent a lot of time customizing my desktop ;-)
  • westyvw, on 11/29/2008, -0/+4Could be any distro with blackbox or fluxbox.
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