Pimp my GUI!

December 19, 2007 10:53 AM

Help me find all those small but necessary apps, as well as the fun and ostentatious bells and whistles, for my new desktop (linux)! What are your favorites?

My mac is finally sliding over from crufty to decrepit. I've priced out and ordered the parts and will (hopefully) be spending the next week tinkering with my new Linux desktop (though probably with an XP partition for games.)

I've flirted with Linux on and off since 98 or so, so I'm comfortable with the install, file system, xorg, etc. However, every linux box I've setup has been for a server role, so any funtional GUI, no matter how hideous, was just fine.

Help me discover all of the extras.
What are your favorite little addons? Your flashy, totally unnecessary extra flairs? Your time-saving (or wasting) widgets? Your bling!

posted by Barmecide to computers & internet (6 comments total)

I'm not sure exactly what you're after here. GUI tweaks? Small, useful programs? All those and more?

Regardless, I'd definitely install VLC, Amarok and AcidRip if you want to do any kind of media ripping/playing.

Ktorrent for filesharing is decent, seems to be a lot easier on the system than Azureus.
posted by cog_nate at 11:04 AM on December 19, 2007

Compiz, AWN, and Gnome DO will help you bling out.
posted by quarterframer at 11:10 AM on December 19, 2007

Compiz provides hardware-accelerated compositing and desktop effects, and it's even included with the latest Ubuntu. Make sure you install the advanced settings panel (it's called compizconfig-settings-manager in Ubuntu), and this will give you hours of bling excitement.

e17 is a desktop environment with higher esoteric bling-factor, but without most of the Windows/Mac-like amenities of Gnome/KDE.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:18 AM on December 19, 2007

Ah, I was a little unclear there. (Might have gotten a little carried away in the reach to include Bling and Flair in there.)

I'm looking for suggestions more along the lines of Compiz, AWN, and Amarok more than, say, standard applications like VLC and Ktorrent.

(Thank you, quarterframer!)
posted by Barmecide at 11:22 AM on December 19, 2007

Agreed on AWN & Compiz... it takes a little extra configuration, but some people get Conky to show system stats/other info pretty nicely.
posted by juicedigital at 12:14 PM on December 19, 2007

I plan on following this Ubuntu / Leopard looky-likey tutorial over the holidays, just for the challenge and the shits and the giggles.
posted by punilux at 12:15 PM on December 19, 2007