Use this thread for general tips, questions or tutorials on customizing Linux.
I will start off by writing some things that I use to make my box look half decent.
[highlight]Tint2[/highlight]
Tint2 is a lightweight panel, often used for *box systems because of it's speed and style. It is in most repos and should be easy to download. If you can't find it, get the source [url=http://code.google.com/p/tint2/]here.[/url] That is their "homepage" and also contains images of what it can be made to look like as well as configuration tutorials.
[B]Advantages[/B]
1. It is extremely flexible for some simple edits.
2. Pretty simple to get the hang of.
3. Very lightweight.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
Doesn't use any glow effects or animation, so might not look as smooth to some people. I prefer this though.
[highlight]SLiM[/highlight]
This is a lightweight (again) login manager which is also pretty customizable. It is also found in most repos or can be downloaded [url=http://slim.berlios.de/]here.[/url] Try not to be thrown off by the mediocre website, this is a very powerful tool since it simple uses a background image and a splash image, with textboxes. It can look very nice if done correctly.
[b]Advantages[/b]
Very lightweight, customizable and simple to edit.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
No effects, so maybe less smooth.
[highlight]Some Websites[/highlight]
[url]http://www.box-look.org/[/url] - For *box customization. Nice themes etc there.
[url]http://www.gnome-look.org/[/url] For Gnome themes, backgrounds.
Awesome posts will be added to the OP.
[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/nos217/says.png[/IMG]
Ok, i'll start off with a few things i like and use every day.
[highlight]Openbox[/highlight] [ [url="http://icculus.org/openbox/index.php/Main_Page"]link[/url] ]
Openbox is a highly configurable, minimalistic window manager. If used with a panel like PanelPy or Tint2, it usually provides GREAT speeds be that on a netbook or desktop computer. Openbox CAN be combined with KDE or GNOME.
[b]Advantages: [/b]
1. VERY fast window manager.
2. Easy, yet advanced to use. (Easy to use with lots of options and possibilities)
3. As with tint2, this is also very lightweight.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
1. No standard "flashing" effects. (as to my experience, correct me if i'm wrong)
[highlight]Conky[/highlight] [ [url="http://conky.sourceforge.net/"]link[/url] ]
(from [url]http://conky.sourceforge.net[/url] )
Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any information on your desktop. Conky is licensed under the GPL and runs on Linux and BSD.
[b]Advantages[/b]
1. Very fast and efficient system monitor that can display most, if not all, information about your system, and even the output of programs.
2. HUGELY customizable, YOU design the system monitor window, and there's support for Lua amongst other languages.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
None (please inform me of any)
And, since i'm running Arch Linux:
[highlight]Pacman[/highlight] [ [url="http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman"]link[/url] ]
Pacman is the software package manager bundled with Arch Linux, and is capable of downloading and installing automatically. You can update your entire system with one command using pacman!
[code]pacman -Syu[/code]
[b]Advantages[/b]
Easy to use, easy to configure, easy to manage.
Full control of server list.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
Console-based; no GUI (note: GUI's can be made and/or installed)
[IMG]http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t259/nos217/says-1.png[/IMG]
Not sure media applications count, but "Linux Customization" is pretty broad so I am going with it. Also, this has already been typed out, so it has to be submitted. :)
[highlight]MPD[/highlight]
In short: it's a music player. In long:
[url=http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Music_Player_Daemon_Wiki]MPD[/url] is a music player [i]daemon[/i]. This means that it plays music, utilizes playlists, etc. However, it has no GUI. And in fact, barely a CLI text based interface, either. Its sole purpose is to stay in the background and let whatever program (or script) easily be able to control the music.
[b]Advantages[/b]
- Very lightweight.
- Network transparent. Controlling it on a computer in Italy will feel no different than controlling it on your own computer.
- As a daemon, any front end (program to control it) can be used.
- Using a front end, CLI or GUI functionality is possible.
- Everything is a playlist. Wanna play a song? Add it to the playlist. Just rock? Only add rock to the playlist. Want to play 30% Britney Spears and 70% Kanye West (what is wrong with you)? Easy, add them to the playlist.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
- No front end included.
- Feels unusual at first. Many are used to a stand-alone music player.
- Always running. However, it is extremely lightweight, so this is not that bad at all.
- Everything is a playlist. Wanna just play a song that you downloaded? You have to add it to the database and playlist first.
[highlight]
Sonata[/highlight]
It would be weird to mention MPD without talking about a front end (way to control it) and that is where [url=http://sonata.berlios.de/]Sonata[/url] comes in. As a graphic frontend to MPD, it offers a more traditional way to play music. So, it offers buttons, album art, lyrics, etc.
[b]
Advantages[/b]
- Uses MPD. Thus, it can be controlled via the command-line and other MPD GUI front ends.
- Simplistic design. There is no maze of menus or the like.
- Awesome tray support.
- Downloads album art and lyrics automagically.
- Lightweight
- Those media keys on your keyboard are recognized automatically.
- Last.fm support.
[b]
Disadvantages[/b]
- Requires MPD, which could be bad if you dislike it.
- What little Last.fm support it has is currently pretty bad. Some songs are scrobbled, others aren't. But thanks to the daemon design of MPD, [url=http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Client:Mpdscribble]there is a solution[/url].
- Might be [i]too[/i] simple for some people.
Ok, i'll start off with a few things i like and use every day.
[highlight]Openbox[/highlight] [ [url="http://icculus.org/openbox/index.php/Main_Page"]link[/url] ]
Openbox is a highly configurable, minimalistic window manager. If used with a panel like PanelPy or Tint2, it usually provides GREAT speeds be that on a netbook or desktop computer. Openbox CAN be combined with KDE or GNOME.
[b]Advantages: [/b]
1. VERY fast window manager.
2. Easy, yet advanced to use. (Easy to use with lots of options and possibilities)
3. As with tint2, this is also very lightweight.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
1. No standard "flashing" effects. (as to my experience, correct me if i'm wrong)
[highlight]Conky[/highlight] [ [url="http://conky.sourceforge.net/"]link[/url] ]
(from [url]http://conky.sourceforge.net[/url] )
Conky is a free, light-weight system monitor for X, that displays any information on your desktop. Conky is licensed under the GPL and runs on Linux and BSD.
[b]Advantages[/b]
1. Very fast and efficient system monitor that can display most, if not all, information about your system, and even the output of programs.
2. HUGELY customizable, YOU design the system monitor window, and there's support for Lua amongst other languages.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
None (please inform me of any)
And, since i'm running Arch Linux:
[highlight]Pacman[/highlight] [ [url="http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Pacman"]link[/url] ]
Pacman is the software package manager bundled with Arch Linux, and is capable of downloading and installing automatically. You can update your entire system with one command using pacman!
[code]pacman -Syu[/code]
[b]Advantages[/b]
Easy to use, easy to configure, easy to manage.
Full control of server list.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
Console-based; no GUI (note: GUI's can be made and/or installed)
Awesome, Openbox here too. Adding to OP.
[QUOTE=nos217;17083944]Awesome, Openbox here too. Adding to OP.[/QUOTE]
Would you mind removing the [quote] thing? It's just a visibility thing, it'll look better that way (Although, feel free to keep the content) :]
Yeah sure :).
Not sure media applications count, but "Linux Customization" is pretty broad so I am going with it. Also, this has already been typed out, so it has to be submitted. :)
[highlight]MPD[/highlight]
In short: it's a music player. In long:
[url=http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Music_Player_Daemon_Wiki]MPD[/url] is a music player [i]daemon[/i]. This means that it plays music, utilizes playlists, etc. However, it has no GUI. And in fact, barely a CLI text based interface, either. Its sole purpose is to stay in the background and let whatever program (or script) easily be able to control the music.
[b]Advantages[/b]
- Very lightweight.
- Network transparent. Controlling it on a computer in Italy will feel no different than controlling it on your own computer.
- As a daemon, any front end (program to control it) can be used.
- Using a front end, CLI or GUI functionality is possible.
- Everything is a playlist. Wanna play a song? Add it to the playlist. Just rock? Only add rock to the playlist. Want to play 30% Britney Spears and 70% Kanye West (what is wrong with you)? Easy, add them to the playlist.
[b]Disadvantages[/b]
- No front end included.
- Feels unusual at first. Many are used to a stand-alone music player.
- Always running. However, it is extremely lightweight, so this is not that bad at all.
- Everything is a playlist. Wanna just play a song that you downloaded? You have to add it to the database and playlist first.
[highlight]
Sonata[/highlight]
It would be weird to mention MPD without talking about a front end (way to control it) and that is where [url=http://sonata.berlios.de/]Sonata[/url] comes in. As a graphic frontend to MPD, it offers a more traditional way to play music. So, it offers buttons, album art, lyrics, etc.
[b]
Advantages[/b]
- Uses MPD. Thus, it can be controlled via the command-line and other MPD GUI front ends.
- Simplistic design. There is no maze of menus or the like.
- Awesome tray support.
- Downloads album art and lyrics automagically.
- Lightweight
- Those media keys on your keyboard are recognized automatically.
- Last.fm support.
[b]
Disadvantages[/b]
- Requires MPD, which could be bad if you dislike it.
- What little Last.fm support it has is currently pretty bad. Some songs are scrobbled, others aren't. But thanks to the daemon design of MPD, [url=http://mpd.wikia.com/wiki/Client:Mpdscribble]there is a solution[/url].
- Might be [i]too[/i] simple for some people.
Can MPD be used as a replacement for alsa?
[editline]07:53PM[/editline]
nevermind, i fail for not reading up on this..
MPD + MPC + dmenu-vertical + xbindkeys + dmenu script when it comes to music for me.
MPC is a commandline front end for MPD (I used to have the commands in the Openbox menu, but then I found xbindkeys).
I got dmenu-vertical of the Arch Linux AUR so I don't know if you can get it for other distros.
Here's the dmenu script if anyone's interested:
[code]#!/bin/bash
mpc play `mpc playlist | sed -e "s/^>/ /" | dmenu -xs -nb "#000" -nf "#7af" -sb "#000" -sf "#bdf" -p "Find:" -l 67 -w 400 -i | grep -P -o "^ \d+" `[/code]
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