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Design your own desktop with Xfce 4.4

xubuntublog.wordpress.com — "Xfce is just as customizable as KDE or GNOME, so I set myself a goal: make Xubuntu look like Windows Vista. Why? Because I can."

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  • xfile087, on 02/11/2008, -1/+27Quite a nice blog actually. It help me to decide to give Xfce another go because I just don't get along with KDE.
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -1/+7Thanks, good luck, and if anything is unclear feel free to ask :)
    • meez, on 02/11/2008, -1/+4I dugg it just for xfce, but luckily the article wasn't too bad either!
    • Culyt, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2hmm... might go back to XFCE myself. Personally I like Fluxbox but that doesn't work with Compiz :(

      Main problem with alternative window manager is that by default they don't integrate with the system too well, thats why I'm on Gnome right now.

      I wish the Linux desktop would stop making so much depend on the Desktop Environment, theres no reason that Gnome should control my CDROM auto mounting via gnome-vfs or whatever its called, it should be a standard program that works in all Window mangers, or in none on the terminal. I know there are alternatives to Gnome-VFS such as pmount but there not in use by default and probably conflict if you do use Gnome (or at least cause some features not to work fully). I know there are some things that gnome needs in an automounter such as being informed when a cd is mounted so it can make an icon, but communicating with it via dbus should do it (and dbus is now used in kde).

      Another example is icons not loading fully in GTK applications because gnome-settings-daemon isn't running.
      • WildTang3nt, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1You know you can use gnome-vfs outside of Gnome, right? When I used to run Flux, that's exactly what I did to take care of my media device auto-mounting.
      • mooninite, on 02/11/2008, -0/+3XFCE (and recently Gnome) are starting to use the Free Desktop standard, which uses one standard instead of "per-Desktop Environment" standards of the past. XFCE relies heavily on HAL and dbus for system control. This will allow anything else that uses HAL and dbus to control your stuff reliably. Compiz works great with XFCE. I've used XFCE for several years now, and it feels strange to use Gnome or KDE on other people's systems. They just don't work as fast as XFCE does, and I'm not just referring to performance.
    • ninja0, on 02/11/2008, -2/+1try gnome?...
      personally i want to deck out fluxbox.
    • nytel, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2I would love to learn linux...
      • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+4Well, you can always ask me for help (see the About page of my blog).
      • ubergeek09, on 02/12/2008, -0/+2Try a livecd version of Ubuntu, see if you like it. :)
    • Lammin, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1I would tap that
  • KevinJim, on 02/11/2008, -24/+11Will you shot your leg just because you can ???
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -4/+7Whaha, good point :P
      • zephyr42, on 02/11/2008, -2/+3Just say yes and move on. It always works.

        :-)
    • gnoshme, on 02/11/2008, -4/+34I would shoot whoever taught you English if I could.
    • Philluminati, on 02/11/2008, -1/+8The point isn't purely to mimic Windows Vista but to show how customisable it can be. If the user just said "I'm going to make it look like how I want it" and then did some stuff you might wonder if it's really customisable or if there are boundaries to it's customisation which you just can't see. Basically, by saying "to make it look like Vista" he has set himself an achievable goal that all of us can judge.
  • baalzebub, on 02/11/2008, -23/+3no thanks, i like xfce to look the the way the xfce developers intended it to look, of course i picked a preferable style & theme that was included with xfce's default install...
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -2/+30Well, personally, I don't think the Xfce developers added all those customisation options with the intention of nobody using them ;-)
      • baalzebub, on 02/11/2008, -5/+21i sure as hell don't want to make xfce to look like Vista...
        • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -3/+8Well, yeah, I don't use it as my actual skin too, but that doesn't mean that I make it look as it is set by default. When I find a nice new GTK theme (e.g. at xfce-look.org) then I'll use it :)
    • ptFoe, on 02/11/2008, -2/+10That is so retarded.
      Not everyone has same taste as you.
      The one which came with Mythbuntu was so depressing (that dull purplish blue) with guide I am hoping to change it.
      • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -1/+3If you encounter problems, please tell it to me so I can update the guide :)
  • Shogi, on 02/11/2008, -2/+58Oh man, if Linux ever gets big games running well, I'm ditching windows like I just skipped on the bill.
    • HCviolence, on 02/11/2008, -10/+2Cedega does ok but you have to pay for it. Which I guess isn't bad because in Windows you have to pay for everything.
      • martalli, on 02/11/2008, -1/+2Of course, you could just run xp in a virtual machine at about the same price as cedega (maybe minus the great graphics)
        • Philluminati, on 02/11/2008, -0/+7but that would cost the price of a copy of XP. Also VM's aren't great for playing new games.
          • martalli, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1I agree on both counts. However, I still have a few copies of that legacy operating system around from when I had a windows computer or two. I have moved on to a point where I would rather not dual boot, but use that windows license in a virtual machine (helps to have a newer computer for the VM IMHO, though)
    • xfile087, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Big games like what exactly? Linux can run World of Warcraft and many Steam games, as well as a host of over games via Wine and also it runs games such as Doom 3 and Quake 4 natively... Why wait?
      • Shogi, on 02/12/2008, -1/+3Key words "running well". I'm well aware of Wine and other such programs, problem is they don't run well, and it's a pain in the ass to get it to run period. Until it becomes easier and performance improves drastically, it's just not worth it.
    • DeadPanDan, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1With today's HD capacities you might as well dual-boot your machine. It's fun. Go for it.
    • rpapi100, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1I second that
  • Picaroon, on 02/11/2008, -26/+13I use linux, but Vista is a beautiful operating system. I would take Aero over the Ubuntu defaults any day. Nicely done.
    • zephyr42, on 02/11/2008, -3/+7I wouldn't call vista *beautiful* but it's definitely stepping in the right direction on the things that people tend to care more about.
    • WTF69, on 02/11/2008, -5/+4Vista is beautiful but beauty isn't everything, you always want some brains to go with beauty, or do you
    • bruenig, on 02/11/2008, -0/+11Depends on where you are defining the beauty. It is disgusting as an operating system. Perhaps you mean it looks pretty which depending on your tastes could be the case.
    • Picaroon, on 02/11/2008, -2/+6^ I meant aesthetically. As I said, I'm a Linux user. I have a small Windows partition for Photoshop and MS Word. And I don't intend to buy Vista--I'm just saying it looks nice, which is why I have a couple themes.
      • RubberBinder, on 02/11/2008, -0/+7You do realize Wine will run MS Word and Photoshop CS2 right, I don't know if it will run CS3 because I don't use photoshop, but I'm sure that in the near future CS3 will run if it doesn't already.
        • Picaroon, on 02/11/2008, -0/+4Interesting.. I use Wine for a couple of games, but I never thought about that. I'll give it a shot--thanks!
      • TheWindBlows, on 02/11/2008, -2/+3Why do you use MS Word?
        I haven't found anything wrong with Using :
        AbiWord : fast stable great
        OpenOffice Word Processor : supports more formats than AbiWord but needs to load the entire OpenOffice Base to start.
        SoftMaker Office : not free but its pretty nice.
        Then there is also KWord : Fast seems to be feature rich easy to use design.

        Personally Would suggest
        AbiWord or KWord
    • paulburu, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0it's cool.
  • tofagerl, on 02/11/2008, -5/+34But... why?
    • Haxxormaster, on 02/11/2008, -1/+23Because I can.
      eh, I meant because he can.
    • BlueSkyfish, on 02/11/2008, -1/+47To show you don't need 2 gigs of RAM for a shiny desktop.
      • martalli, on 02/11/2008, -4/+2I use Linux primarily, but OSX can also still run a fine desktop on a G4 with 512MB of memory, complete with nifty graphics effects and everything. Neither Linux nor OSX is the winner to me (maybe there is a winner), but Vista is the clear loser on quality and leanness. Fortunately, the memory manufacturers really ramped up production and now DDR2 memory is dirt cheap.
    • amnesia888, on 02/11/2008, -7/+1I have 2 gigs of ram though, so failing to see the problem
      • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I don't, and I did it :)
      • Darkhacker, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Then you can use that RAM that wasn't wasted on the desktop to do real work and run applications.
        • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I do both: real work *and* Compiz and whatnot, without 2 gigs of RAM.
    • jeriqo, on 02/11/2008, -6/+1We don't want to build our own desktop.

      We want standardisation so we can use any computer easily.
    • ninja0, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2He said in the article. Because he can!
  • digitallysick, on 02/11/2008, -1/+3I love xfce, but still upset over the fact that they will not include a network browser, the info on the net to install "fuse" i couldn't get it to work. So i wish someone would take xfce, and just make it with a network browser! it would be ftw!
    • gnoshme, on 02/11/2008, -1/+4I agree with you and at the same time, since setting permanent NFS mounts up all around instead of using that ultra-crappy SMB I've never looked back. NFS is a thing of beauty.
      • Stonekeeper, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I always had problems with NFS and I was also under the impression it was a security nightmare? Spoofed IPs can access shares or something? Does it now check for shares periodically? I had an issue where if the share was unavailable on boot it would not connect it when that share was made available at a later time. Meh, time to read up on it again.
      • Ellipsys, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I've been having the same problem - I can't even really get into my OpenFiler box which has both NFS and SMB turned on. Do you have a tutorial how to access NFS content? Strangely enough, Vista has no problem accessing my shares at all, but it is always a pain in Linux. I'm going to have to convert to FreeNAS or something...
        • Jorophose, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0Uhh, Samba should be just fine.

          Thunar can't do network files without having a plugin installed.
  • BlueSkyfish, on 02/11/2008, -0/+31You should open the system monitor and show just how little system resources it uses.
    • martalli, on 02/11/2008, -1/+7If you want a real lean system interface, I would suggest a window manager and not a desktop environment. You will use far less clock cycles with icewm, fluxbox, or jwm than with xfce, kde, or gnome. In fact, some articles posted on digg showed xfce being nearly comparable to equal to gnome and kde in footprint and speed.
      • meez, on 02/11/2008, -1/+9xfce feels a lot more responsive than gnome/kde...

        I recently switched from fluxbox to xfce
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1Well, the problem is that I have BOINC running in the background (for worldcommunitygrid.org) so that takes up full resources :)
  • richgustavson, on 02/11/2008, -0/+12Was it really necessary for me to have to click that screenshot like 6 times before it showed it to me full-size?
  • sirhomer, on 02/11/2008, -1/+12Getting Linux to look like Windows or Mac OS X is really simple, and with Compiz Fusion (for Vista check out the "Glide" and "Cover Flow" plugins) you can have pretty much the same effects too. I don't know why you would want that though, Compiz Fusion can do much more then Aero.
  • neil1492, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1Looks good! It looks like alot of work to get that looking perfect though.
  • LANjackal, on 02/11/2008, -9/+9First of all, I run Xubuntu 7.04 myself. But I do find it kinda ironic that Linuxheads are always trying to make their OS look like the one they supposedly hate so much. One of the primary complaints from them about Vista is its GUI. Yet this dude decides to write about getting Xubuntu to look just like Vista ... that just makes no sense. I also run Vista, too.
    • t3soro, on 02/11/2008, -0/+10he may have switched from Windows for reasons other than aesthetics.
    • suriyou, on 02/11/2008, -0/+14Maybe he's someone who actually likes the Vista look, but prefers everything else about Xubuntu?
    • Ademan, on 02/11/2008, -1/+5If the look and feel of vista is one of the main complaints you've heard, you haven't been on digg long... I actually don't think I've heard that complaint once...

      That said, I don't particularly care for the vista look anyways, but that's comming from the guy currently using the bluecurve theme... (I don't know why I like it.. but i do...)
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+10Well, to be honest, I don't think Vista ugly, but the main purpose was demonstrating how much you can customise Xfce.
    • seanmc303, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1You do not have a sense for irony do you?
  • clupean, on 02/11/2008, -1/+6If you're talking about Linux with Vista looks, what about www.vixta.org ? ( http://vixta.sourceforge.net/ )
  • sprash, on 02/11/2008, -3/+4"Because I can." seems to be the only reason why one would do that.

    The Vista look is impressive if you see it for the first time but gets boring very fast and is not very convenient to use because translucent windows impair readability.
    • GawtMilk, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Impair readability? What, through what would otherwise be a solid box?

      Plus, you can make it anywhere from 0 to 100% transparent.
    • DemDude, on 02/11/2008, -2/+4You do know that only the frames of the windows are translucent, right? Doesn't impair readabilty a bit, but please, go ahead and make dumb complaints about things you don't know ***** about. Thereby, put yourself in the corner with about 99% of people complaining about Vista, who usually don't have a single good argument against it.
      Vista has it's flaws. But nearly all who complain about the OS don't have the faintest clue as to what they are.
  • TheWindBlows, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1only time i do something similar to this is on a cheap computer running something like JWM or IceWM. no transparency things though It looks nice an all but kills usability...

    I like the Mac title bars so I use those but i like GNOME / Xfce's default dual bar look (bar on top of screen and a bar on bottom)
    This is what it looks like for me.
    Notes : I blanked a few things mainly info stuff.
    Processor automatically underclocks itself to 1Ghz scales back up to 2.1Ghz when needed.

    My Preference is keep it easy on the eyes, easy to use but, keep good productivity .

    http://img168.imageshack.us/my.php?image=screensho ...
    • Jorophose, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0You're in need of Xubuntu Blog's sexy fonts.
  • johnstar, on 02/11/2008, -1/+5"Xfce is just as customizable as KDE or GNOME" I love xfce but thats just not true :(
    • TheWindBlows, on 02/11/2008, -0/+4It lacks a bit in both regions.
      Though it is meant to be lean but designable. The More Designable it becomes the less lean it is...
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Yeah, well, sure, but that's also true the other way around: I can do some things with Xfce that I can't with KDE nor GNOME.
  • Tddupre, on 02/11/2008, -8/+2congrats on the first linux story on the front page in 25 years
  • enterneo, on 02/11/2008, -1/+2anyone preferring Xubuntu over Ubuntu, wouldn't have the hardware to run compiz fusion, so assume Flip3D and emerald won't work if your following the guide blindly
    • xfile087, on 02/11/2008, -0/+6That just isn't true. Some people just prefer a lighter distro!!! I could run Ubuntu and Compiz Fusion if I wish, I just don't.
    • DomZy, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1And quite a few people hate Gnome, I'm slowly edging away from it. But I just haven't got the time to play with another window manager at the moment
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+3Well, I prefer Xubuntu over Ubuntu *and* run Compiz. And I'm not the only one, since I wrote a guide on setting Compiz up on Xubuntu and, next to this post, it's my most popular post.
  • fyanardi, on 02/11/2008, -1/+5So KDE is not the best Microsoft Windows (TM) clone anymore? ;) Even this XFCE thing looks more Vista than Vista itself!!
  • Xonay, on 02/11/2008, -7/+2I still hate the ugly fonts and crappy icons... can't they 'steal' some OSX icons?
    • VirgilNilson, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2"Apple's font rendering is worse than Windows'."
      -Jesus
  • jacekpoplawski, on 02/11/2008, -5/+5Why everyone loves Microsoft products?

    I use Linux on my desktop since 1998, mostly because I simply don't like Microsoft way. But everyone else always need system similar to Windows. Wow, Firefox, it's just like Explorer. Wow, Thunderbird, it's like Outlook. Wow, xfce, you can make it look like Vista interface.

    Why? What for?
    • chris9902, on 02/11/2008, -0/+4because companies like Apple and Microsoft spend millions and millions on testing and R&D.

      There's a reason colours look the way they do.
      There's a reason the start menu is in a corner.
      There's a reason the taskbars are the width of the screen.

      you get the point.
    • neko, on 02/11/2008, -1/+3Wow, Internet Explorer is just like Netscape Navigator. Which is just like Mosaic.

      Because they're the same kind of tool.
  • booknow, on 02/11/2008, -2/+1Looks good. But why bother to make it look as WIndows Vista when there's so much else you can do with Xfce?
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+3To show it is possible - I don't use this as my actual setup, it's just another account I've added to play around in.
  • srg13, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1For people who like Vista's look, I'd say that this makes far more sense than that 'Vixta' distro somebody is making...
  • lcmatt, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2http://www.duggmirror.com/linux_unix/Design_your_o ...
    Images failed to load on the original website but duggmirror managed to catch them
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1I'll be uploading the original images somewhere else in a sec. :)
      (Though I must say, other than not being used to the Digg effect, 23hq.com is a really good photo sharing site)
      • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1OK, they seem to be working very hard to bring them back up so I'll leave them at 23 for the time being (also, Zooomr doesn't like transparency in pictures).
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1OK, they're back, now served statically, thanks to the great service by 23hq.com.
  • smoger, on 02/11/2008, -5/+1Why? Because I can. = Why? Because Vista looks great.(but I'm a 'nix fanboy and would never admit it)
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Vista looks great.

      There, I said it. However, "Because I can" is a way of saying "because Xfce has the customisation options to do just that", but catchier. It's not my default setup because my setup also looks great, and is more personal :)
  • proverbs17, on 02/11/2008, -0/+4Xfce is great. I run it on my old computers because it doesn't take a lot of resources. It runs great on a 800 Mhz PIII and a 400 Mhz PII. I used to make it look like Windows (because I could), but then I just went with one of the standard theme's.

    Bottom line with Linux in general is that you can make it look anyway you want it too, and it will work on old hardware better then Windows.
  • actionM, on 02/11/2008, -0/+0I love xfce4. Icon box is my favorite thing about it. Its the little things that count :)
  • bryan986, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1Avoid the four clicks on the image to get to the original:
    http://www.23hq.com/Vincentt/photo/2871683/origina ...
  • caldevil, on 02/11/2008, -1/+0Yes We Can
  • drspork, on 02/11/2008, -3/+1Making your linux box look like it runs an inferior operating system is nothing short of a downgrade.
  • plagiats, on 02/11/2008, -0/+1clock is unusable: black text on black background. the wallpaper is stolen from vista yet the author doesnt want to use the original vista's icons...

    interesting guide, but I'm not a fan of the result.
    • Vinvin, on 02/11/2008, -0/+2Well, I *said* it wasn't perfect (though the text colour can probably be fixed). I would like to use the original Vista icons, it's just that they aren't available as icon themes AFAIK.
  • seanmc303, on 02/12/2008, -0/+1I'd like to see a benchmark between similar desktop applications running in XFCE vs. Vista. The best part of XFCE is how lightweight it is. The simple fact that you can make something that is so light yet customizable look like the resource hog that is Vista is a testament to XFCE.
    • cry0x, on 02/12/2008, -1/+0That would be a great comparison! I would love to see the performance difference between a DESKTOP ENVIRONMENT and a full-blown OPERATING SYSTEM.
      Jesus Christ you people are stupid.
  • Banangroda, on 02/16/2008, -0/+1"Xfce is just as customizable as KDE or GNOME"

    No, it's not as customizable. It doesn't even have keybord shortcuts, nevermind customizable ones.
    • Vinvin, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1Xfce damn well has keyboard shortcuts (Xfce menu->Settings->Keyboard, Shortcuts tab) which are completely customisable. I love controlling Rhythmbox with my keyboard. In fact, I wrote a blog post on that earlier.
  • AppleMacMan, on 02/19/2008, -0/+0What's Linux?
    • Vinvin, on 02/20/2008, -0/+1I don't know, where did you read that?
  •  

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