Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with ubuntu and desktop

Will I be punished for my inability to choose?

rosswald — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:28:18 -0800

Linux Question: KDE, Gnome, keeping things seperate, the future etc. (Ubuntu/Fedora). So I just got a new computer, on which I would like to create a primary Linux install (while keeping windows for Office, Steam).

I have used linux for a couple of years, and have tried Ubuntu (the most), Fedora, openSuse, maybe one or two others.

The meat: I like KDE 4.x, and would like to jump back on that train but it seems that most popular distros 'favor' Gnome (except Suse maybe). So...
-How terrible is it to install both?
-How do I clearly discern gnome vs. kde apps?
-How bad is it to run kde/gnome apps in their non-native DE?
-I have a lot of space, can I also instal XFCE etc. (not 'can' really, but 'should')?

Oh, and if you have any insight about how my question relates to Unity/Wayland, feel free to speculate.

Extra points: if you have a distro/flavor recommendation I am all ears. I am considering sticking with Ubuntu, or maybe moving to Fedora. Mint seems popular now these days too.

How do I get dynamic drive icons on my Windows desktop?

chorltonmeateater — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 11:05:14 -0800

How can I get Windows XP to show an icon on the Desktop for each mounted drive like Linux does? I am currently running a dual-boot Ubuntu/Windows XP system, and like the way that Ubuntu shows the mounted drives or loaded CDs on the desktop, with dynamic icons which appear change when drives or discs are added or removed. Is there any way to emulate this behaviour on Windows, either natively or using other (preferably free) software?

Essentially, the only thing on my Windows XP Desktop is the My Computer icon anyway, so this would save me one whole click (the savings!) every time I wanted to browse my computer's file system.

Changing gnome wallpaper

Jimbob — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:18:50 -0800

Linux / Ubuntu / Gnome question - how do I tell Gnome "Hey, the jpg you're using as desktop wallpaper has been updated with a new image. Go reload it and display the new version?" in a Python or Bash script? I've written a little Python script that runs once a day, and downloads the NASA Astronomy Image Of The Day, and saves it to a local file. Gnome is set up to use this file as my desktop wallpaper. The problem is, while the script downloads the new image every day, Gnome never checks the file to see if it's changed, so my wallpaper remains the same unless I restart the computer, or manually change the wallpaper on the Gnome desktop.

How can I automatically tell Gnome to "reload" the wallpaper jpg?

Help mebuntu!

one_bean — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 09:47:03 -0800

Can I access (hax0r!) my now screen-less xubuntu laptop over my home network? I've been setting up my 7-year-old laptop with xubuntu the past week, and turning on remote desktop was my next step. Then a 20 pound speaker fell on top of it and the screen is now demolished. The computer is working fine, I can see it on my network, but I don't have a monitor to plug in. Is there a way I can access this thing from another computer to turn on remote desktop or, at the very least, tell it to mount my Windows partition into a directory (that I've already shared) so I can get my files off of it? I know the username/password that has admin privileges, and I know its IP address. I have a computer running XP and another running OS X. Is there any way I can do this? Thanks!