HOWTO: Manually set GDM Background and GTK Theme

My search for a new display manager ended me back at GDM after several long hours of searching. I was a bit tired of GDM's bland default brown background and the Clearlooks GTK theme so I deiced to change these. After much searching around I only found links describing how to change these options through GUI tools. I did not want to install an application to accomplish these two simple configuration changes - luckily I didn't have to and neither do you.

To change these keys we will not be editing configuration files in a text editor, instead we will simply use the gconftool-2 to set the values we want. To set the GDM background run the following command in terminal:

sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t str -s /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename /path/to/pic

For example, if the background I want is one of my shared backgrounds called "background.png" I would set it as such:

sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t str -s /desktop/gnome/background/picture_filename /usr/share/backgrounds/background.png

The GTK theme your GDM uses is set in a similar manner:

sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t str -s /desktop/gnome/interface/gtk_theme ThemeName

You can see what GTK themes are install on your system by looking in your /usr/share/themes directory. For example to set your GDM to use the Crux GTK theme you would run the following:

sudo -u gdm gconftool-2 -t str -s /desktop/gnome/interface/gtk_theme Crux

Enjoy your new GDM background and GTK theme!

~Jeff Hoogland

Fusion Linux 14 - Distro Review

Fedora is one of those Linux distros I have always wanted to love. It is sponsored by one of the top FOSS supporting companies in the world, it has strong principals in free standards, and yet somehow every time I get around to installing a new Fedora release it is just enough of a hassle that I end up removing it from my computer and reinstalling some form of Ubuntu. This is why Fusion Linux sparked my interest. Fusion Linux aims to to for Fedora what distros such as Linux Mint, PinguyOS, and Zorin did for Ubuntu. It aims to alleviate much of the messy setup work that is required to get a fully functional desktop operating system out of Fedora. It does this by preinstalling useful applications and codecs, including Adobe Flash and Sun's Java. It does all this while remaining 100% backwards compatible with Fedora.

For this review I will be using the latest release of Fusion Linux, which is their beta release based on Fedora 14. This version comes in a hefty 1.6gigabyte download, a bit large compared to the 700megabyte CD sized distros such as Linux Mint, but not too much larger than Pinguy and Zorin. The first thing you will notice when booting up Fusion (and I did a double take when I first saw it) is that their icon is a hotdog with legs...
According to the Fusion Blog this logo is really more of a funny place holder and they are looking for a graphics designer to create a real icon for the final release of Fusion 14, personally I think it gives the disc some unique personality.

Upon booting the operating system you are presented with a gnome desktop that largely resembles Linux Mint:

This isn't a bad thing though, for those coming from a Windows environment this setup will feel familiar. In fact, the menu you see in the lower left hand corner is the Linux Mint menu! Right next to this menu there are launcher icons on DockXBar for Chromium and terminal.

Also present on the desktop is the wonderfully useful "autoten" script. The autoten script allows for easy installation of extra packages on Fedora, you can see that many of the applications from this script come preinstalled on the system:

The reason Fusion has such a large download size is evident when you take a look at it's default software selection. It is a sizable list:

Accessories

• Calculator
• gedit
• Geany
  
• Gnome Do
• Gnote
• Parcellite
• Take Screenshot
• Tracker Search Tool
  

Games

• Abe
• Alien Blaster
• Blob Wars: Metal Blod Solid
• Chromium BSU
• FooBillard
• Frozen Bubble
• Glaxium
• PySol Fan Club Edition
• Teeworlds

Graphics

• Blender
• F-Spot
• Fotowall
• GIMP
• Inkscape
• PhotoPrint
• Picasa
• Scribus
• Simple Scan

Internet

• airsnort
• aLinkCreator
• aMuleGUI
• Chromium Browser
• Empathy
• Firefox 4
• Net Activity Viewer
• Thunderbird
• Transmission
• wxCAS

Office

• OO.org Writer
• OO.org Calc
• OO.org Impress
• OO.org Draw
• Project Management
• PyRoom

Sound and Video

• Audacious
• Audacity
• Audio CD Extractor
• Brasero
• Cheese
• Gnome MPlayer
• gtk-record My Desktop
• K3B
• Miro Internet TV
• Movie Player
• Pitivi Video Editor
• Rhythmbox
• VLC

System Tools

• autoten
• Fusion Icon
• Gparted
• LiveUSB Creator
• System Monitor
• Terminal

I only have a few comments about the selections Fusion Linux makes. First, is that there are two applications installed for several tasks including Brasero and K3B for burning CDs and Firefox and Chromium from webrowsing. While I am on the topic of Firefox, I would like to mention that Fusion ships with the beta 6 version of Firefox 4. This is a good thing, the beta is fairly solid and much better than firefox 3.x. I personally have been using it for several months now without issue. The installer for the live disc is the same one Fedora itself uses, so while it is not as friendly as Ubuntu's installer it is more than functional.

Also present is a wonderful selection of FOSS games that should keep most children (and some adults) entertained for a good long while. What is lacking from this application list you may notice is that there is no IRC client installed by default. The only issue I had with the software was that upon installation the system already had broken packages. Running yum update with the --skip-broken argument allowed the system to upgrade just fine though.

To finish on a good note I would like to mention I used my T101MT Asus tablet as my test computer and 100% of the hardware was functional with out any extra configuration! This is fantastic compared to the amount of work it takes to get the tablet to function under Ubuntu 10.04 (it has gotten better under Ubuntu 10.10, but it is still not 100% functional OOTB)

Overall Fusion Linux is a fantastic distro and for any beginner (or someone that doesn't want to deal with setting up Fedora) I would highly recommend Fusion Linux.

~Jeff Hoogland

I am a Linux Geek (and Proud of it!)

I came to a realization this morning:

I am a Linux Geek.

What finally brought me to this realization? Well, it all started last night. You see I was looking for a new display manager to use on my netbook, GDM has been getting bloated and I was looking for something a bit more trim. I came across SLiM in my various searches, but after giving it a try I decided it was not for me. It was late, so after uninstalling SLiM I went off to bed leaving my display manager search for another day.

As I was running out the door this morning I quickly shutdown my netbook down and threw it into my backpack, playing with display managers was one of the last things on my mind - it was a busy day! When I got to lunch I pulled out my netbook to check my email quickly only to discover the system was hanging at the Pinguy E17 boot splash. This was odd, I hadn't had my system randomly deiced to stop booting since I started using Linux. First things first, I did a cold shut off and waited for it to power back up again - after five minutes at the boot splash (that I normally see for 10 seconds, fast SSD) I concluded the system was not about to boot up.

So I started thinking "What did I change to cause this?" - and that is when it hit me. The system wasn't "randomly freezing" I had caused it to start freezing! After I uninstalled SLiM - I never set GDM to be the default display manager again. Not a problem, the flash drive I keep on my key chain is boot-able. I loaded the live environment, mounted my internal drive, and then ran dpkg-reconfigure gdm in a chroot environment and set GDM to be the display manager again. I restarted the system and this time around I saw my boot splash for a few seconds as normal and my system was starting up as it should.

Something that at one point would have taken me hours to figure out (and odds are would have required a few forum posts) I had resolved in minutes. I may not look like what we often type cast as a Unix Geek

But then, I don't think many of us do. It is 2011, Linux users come in all shapes and sizes today. If anyone asks me I will tell them:

I am a Linux Geek - and I am proud of it!

Have you ever come to this same realization about yourself? If so, what caused it?

~Jeff Hoogland

The Lion has Lost the Magic

For a long time Apple has been known as a company that creates new and innovative products. Now if you have stopped by my blog before you will know that while I am not a fan of Apple hardware, I don't mind using the OSX operating system. That is why it makes me slightly sad that the up coming Apple OS 10.7 (Lion) is going to follow in the steps of the iPad and be less than innovative in the area of new features .

The first on the list of new features is the "Mac App Store":

While this is a good idea, it is far from being a new idea. Even if you ignore the fact that our mobile computers have had application stores for years, Linux was the first to create a centralized, graphical application for easily installing software on your computer with a single click. Beyond simple applications such as gnome-app-install, the Ubuntu Software Center was released over a year ago:

Ubuntu 10.10 also brings with it an integrated software store. So it appears those behind FOSS have beaten Jobs to this punch.

Most he rest of the "new features" listed for Lion only go down hill from here. Next is Apple's "Launchpad":

Not only are these essentially desktop icons, but Lauchpad may very well be an infringement of Canonical's intellectual property on the name. Also, what is the point of the dock if all the application launchers are splayed out all over your desktop? This next one is unfortunately not a joke. Listed on the page for OS 10.7 is "full screen applications". Forgot a feature like the software store that has been around for over a year - we have had full screen applications for over a decade.

Finally the feature sneak peak closes out with "Mac command central":

What this does is allow you to see all of your opened applications on the screen in front of you. This way you can switch between applications and see what is open. While this is a much more interesting addition than desktop icons and full screen applications, it is still something that FOS desktop environments such as Gnome and KDE have been doing for years.

Unless Lion is going to pack some other awesome features that just have yet to be announced it appears it could very well be a "meh" release that would really only be worth upgrading to if it was free (or if you are die hard Apple fan and like throwing money at Jobs).

~Jeff Hoogland

HOWTO: Easily Install 2.6.35 (Maverick) Kernel on Ubuntu 10.04

Ubuntu 10.10 just released and it utilizes the 2.6.35 kernel, this is a good bit newer than the 2.6.32 kernel Ubuntu 10.04 uses. While there are a number of reasons to upgrade your kernel, the primary reason for doing so is typically for improved hardware support. Newer kernels contain more (and sometimes better) drivers than older kernels. This can cause older hardware that either didn't work (or required lots of hacking to work) to start "just working". Some of the highlights from the .33, .34, and .35 kernel releases include:

• brtfs file system support
• Improved FOSS graphics drivers (Intel, nVidia, and ATI)
  
• Trim support (For SSDs)
• Support for a number of new touch panels
• Much, much more
  

As with all Ubuntu releases, 10.04 will "play it safe" and stick with the 2.6.32 kernel. When I searched around for how to install the 2.6.35 kernel on 10.04 I found lots of guides on compiling it from source, but nothing on easily installing it. If you just want a generic 2.6.35 kernel on your 10.04 system there is no reason to go through all that headache. Before you follow my next few steps please be warned that upgrading your kernel does have the off chance of breaking things! Also know though, that your older kernel will still be installed should 2.6.35 have some problem with your hardware setup. To easily install a generic 2.6.35 kernel on Ubuntu 10.04 run the following in a terminal while you have an internet connection:

All Architectures:
mkdir ~/KernelDebs
cd ~/KernelDebs
wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux/linux-headers-2.6.35-22_2.6.35-22.35_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.35-22_2.6.35-22.35_all.deb

32 Bit:
wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux/linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_i386.deb
wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux/linux-image-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_i386.deb

64 Bit:
wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux/linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_amd64.deb
wget http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/l/linux/linux-image-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_amd64.deb
sudo dpkg -i linux-image-2.6.35-22-generic_2.6.35-22.35_amd64.deb

It is just that easy! Reboot and select your new kernel (which should be the default option) from your grub menu. Enjoy.

~Jeff Hoogland

E17 Basics - An FAQ

I just recently did a post detailing why you should give the E17 desktop a try. If you made the plunge and are now using E17 on your unix based system you might be slightly at a loss on exactly how it all works. The following are some helpful tips and tricks for when you are first getting started with E17.

Where is the main menu? I think a better question is where isn't the main menu. In E17 any open workspace on your desktop can be clicked upon to open the main menu. Right clicking on any open space will also jump right to your "favorites" application list.

How do I add an application to the favorites menu? This is quite easy, while the application you would like to add is loaded, right click on the window decoration at the top and mouse over Add Application and select To Favorites Menu.



What are gadgets and how do I add/change them? In E17 a "gadget" is anything you see on the desktop. Virtual desktop switcher, clock, system tray, ect. In order to add/remove gadgets go to Settings->Gadgets and you will find a helpful menu for adding/remove gadgets.



I love gadgets! How do I get more of them? What gadgets you have available to add is determined by what modules you have loaded. To load/unload modules go to Settings->Modules.

The default theme is alright but - where can I find others? E17-Stuff.org and Exchange.Enlightenment.org are fantastic sources for enlightenment additions such as themes.

I really want to try this theme, but it keeps telling me the file isn't valid. This means the theme was created before E17 changed how the default layout of themes are suppose to be. It is an easy fix however, when you downloaded the theme you should have gotten a file ending in .edj To convert this file to the new format, open a terminal and navigate to the directory the theme file resides in. Once you are there run the command edje_convert mytheme.edj and your theme file will be updated automatically to the new format (note replace "myfile.edj" with the name of your theme file).

I like most of this theme, but there are just a couple modules I don't like how it skins (or doesn't work with). Not a problem - you can have E17 change the theme on a single module. Go to Settings->Theme and then click on Advanced, you should then see this screen:


In the left hand column, select the module you would like to change the theme of. Then in the right column select the theme you would like to assign to it. Press Assign and then Apply and you are good to go.

What are shelves and how do I manage them? If you are coming from gnome, think of shelves as a more versatile version of a gnome panel. Shelves can house your gadgets if you do not like having them on your desktop.


To manage how many shelves you have go to Settings->Shelves. Once you have a shelf added you can right click on it and select "settings". From here you can manage it's size, what desktop it shows on, whether or not it auto-hides, what it looks like, and it's position on the screen. To assign (or remove) a gadget to a shelf, right click on the gadget and mouse over Move To and select either desktop or the shelf you would like that gadget to be moved to.

I covered all the different things I recall struggling to find when I first started using E17. If there are any other questions you have or something you would like to see added to the list please let me know. Also keep in mind I only list here a small portion of the edits you can make to your E17 desktop - explore the different menus to see what else you can tweak!

~Jeff Hoogland

Eight Reasons to give E17 a Try

If you are new to Linux you may never have tried any desktop environments beyond Gnome and KDE. If you have been in the Linux world for awhile odds are you are aware of the fact that several other desktop environments exists. During the three and a half years I have spent using Linux I have tried every different type of desktop under the sun and of them all Enlightenment's E17 is my personal favorite. The following are a few reasons why it may be worth breaking out of your Gnome/KDE comfort zone to give E17 a try:


1.) - Low Resource Consumption

The suggested minimum for running E17 on is 16megs of RAM and a 200mhz ARM processor for embedded devices. The recommend RAM is 64megs (and a stripped down version of E17 can be happy running on 8 megs of RAM). From personal experience E17 utilizes around 100megs of RAM on a fully loaded desktop install. Meaning if you have at least 128megs of system memory in your computer E17 will function fantastically. Because of this E17 makes for a great choice on older computers.

2.) - It is Fast

This is one of the reasons many use Linux in the first place, because it is quicker than some other operating system. With E17 your Linux desktop will be running faster than ever. E17's low system requirements leave more power for the rest of your applications to utilize.

3.) - Desktop Effects on All Systems

Don't ask me how it is done, but E17 provides elegant window effects and desktop transitions regardless of your hardware and driver setup. Intel, nVidia, or ATI chipset - closed source or open source driver, they will all give you a sleek looking desktop with E17. Through the itask-ng module E17 can also provide a dock launcher that has a sleek look without a need for a compositing window manager to be enabled.

4.) - It is Elegant

If configured properly E17 can be so much more than just a desktop environment. In fact many consider it to be a work of art. E17 is designed to be pretty and to this end it does a fantastic job.

5.) - It is 100% Modular

Not using some of the features E17 has and don't want them taking up unnecessary resources? Not a problem! E17 allows you to easily load and unload each and every part (module) of the desktop through the configuration menu. This way, only the parts of the system you are using are loaded at start-up.


6.) - It is 100% Configurable

Should you want to, you can easily spend days tinkering with your E17 configuration. You can adjust anything and everything. Most notably appearance wise, E17 allows you to easily theme each individual module with a different theme (should you want to).

7.) - Core ELF are now Beta

For many years now, people have been saying that they will not use Enlightenment because it is "unstable". At the start of this month, October 3rd, the Enlightenment foundation finally released a "beta" version of their libraries. To quote the Enlightenment homepage:

"There may be some minor bugs, but most if not all are gone."

I have been using the beta packages for nearly three weeks now and I can attest that the above statement is true.

8.) - You Don't have to Compile It Anymore

Just like many pieces of open source applications these days, there are a couple different pre-compiled Linux distros that use E17 as their default Window manager. These include:

• Elive - Full Desktop built on Debian Stable
• Unite17 - Desktop Distro
• MacPup - Minimal CD built on Puppy Linux
• Bodhi - Minimalistic Ubuntu 10.04 based

Finally, in case you didn't check out any of the links I provided above, my current E17 desktop appears as such:

Pretty isn't it? If I persuaded you to give E17 a try, let me know what you think about it. Also, if you are looking to chat in real time about Enlightenment - drop by #e over on Freenode

~Jeff Hoogland