Alternative Dock-n-Rollover

(Avant Window Navigator + Stalonetray)*Screenlets = Ubuntu Visualiciousness

My Ubuntu desktop with AWN, Stalonetray, and several Screenlets (including Pidgin!)

So with the newly overhauled Taskbar in Windows 7 and the venerable OSX/Leopard Dock, come a plethora of alternative Linux docks to choose from. Theres Cairodock, Gnome-Do's new dock, Trayer (actually an older GNOME panel alternative), Stalonetray (STAnd-aLONE-TRAY panel) and my favorite, AWN/AWN-Curves (and thus the subjects of this post). NOTE: My earlier post on installing Screenlets can be found HERE.

This post is broken up into the following 3 parts:

PART I: Installing Avant Window Navigator
PART II: Installing Stalonetray
PART III: Removing GNOME panels & other tips

PART I: Installing Avant Window Navigator

To start with, we're gonna install the Avant Window Navigator (AWN from here on out) from the repositories. As usual, I'll show you how to do this in the terminal (for you aspiring keyboard punchers out there) and also through the Synaptic GUI.

In the terminal, type

sudo apt-get install avant-window-navigator

Type 'y' when prompted to install the additional packages.


To install the so-called "extra" packages, enter

sudo apt-get install awn-applets-python-extras awn-applets-c-extras



To do this through the GUI, open up the Synaptic Package Manager (either alt+f2 & "gksudo synaptic" or System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager) then search for 'avant.'


Select the avant-window-manager, right click and select 'Mark for Installation' to install AWN and its dependencies. You may as well select the extras (awn-applets-python-extras and awn-applets-c-extras) to get full use from the install. Click 'Apply' and wait for all of the files to be installed before closing the Synaptic window.

AWN can be opened through the Accesories menu (under Applications) or by open the Run Application window (alt+f2) and entering 'avant' (the full command is avant-window-navigator but it should start to appear automatically once 'avant' is typed).

This is how it looks for now with a couple of applications running.


Looks more yawn then AWN. Lets change that. Open the AWN Manager by clicking its icon. From here, you can tweak the rollover effects of the icons (I keep mine on 3D spotlight turn) and adjust a number of other settings. I recommend also selecting the 'Bar Appearance' tab and changing the 'Look' to 3D.



APPLETS & LAUNCHERS

You can also select the Applets Menu to add a plethora of applets (especially if you opted to install the extras) such as file browsers, trash can, weather apps, terminals, etc. To install your own application Launchers, select 'Launcher' and click 'Add.' Most apps can also be dragged-and-dropped from the Applications Menu directly onto the AWN dock (this also saves time cuz now you don't havta sift through all your icons searching for the right one).

To find the appropriate command for launching your favorite apps, go to the Main Menu editor (System > Preferences > Main Menu OR right-click the Ubuntu icon in the upper left corner of the screen and select 'Edit Menus').



Locate the program you wish to add, and click Properties to view the command. Copy the command from the Main Menu editor, and paste it into the 'command' section of the AWN-manager Launcher-add window. Also, click on the blank icon to select a custom icon for the AWN toolbar.



AWN THEMES

Themes and skins can be found HERE and with a quick Google search. They can be installed and applied through the Themes menu within the AWN-manager. If you choose to remove the AWN-manager icon from the dock, it can be launched by entering 'awn-manager' in the Run Application dialog or by right-clicking on the dock and selecting 'Preferences.'

From AWN to AWN-Curves

Now lets add some curvature. To do this, we'll need to access the Configuration Editor, but chances are you've never used this, so lets add it to the menu first. Open the Menu Editor (right-click Ubuntu icon > Edit Menus) and under 'System Tools,' check the box next to Configuration Editor. Close the Main Menu editor, and it should now be accessible in the Applications menu.



Now that its available, open the Configuration Editor, and under 'apps' find 'avant-window-navigator' then select 'bar' and alter the following values accordingly:


bar_angle = -1
bar_height = (anything from 45 to 50)
bar_pos = (anything from 0.5 to 0.6)
corner_radius = 40
curves_symmetry = (anything from 0.2 to 0.3)
curviness = 1
icon_offset = (anything from 5 to 8)


You can instantly see the effects of your choices, so feel free to mess around for a bit. Exit the editor and the changes are automatically saved. You may notice that some of the launchers don't quite fit right on the curved bar, but for most of these, there is an alternative which works just fine. I also recommend opening the AWN-Manager and tweaking the settings under Bar Appearance and Glass Engine. Have fun picking whatever works for you!



Please note that if you choose to have AWN fully replace both the the top and bottom panel, make sure you add all of the necessary applets and launchers to access the menu and exit GNOME. I have chosen to delete the bottom panel, and keep the top one hidden (both can be done by right-clicking on the panels and selecting the appropriate options). Also, to view the effects of some of the above options, a restart or reload of the dock may be needed. Simply right-click and close AWN, then relaunch it from the Run Application dialog.


Adding AWN to Startup

To ensure that AWN appears upon startup, open the Sessions window (System > Preferences > Sessions). Click 'Add' and for the command window key in 'avant-window-navigator.' Fill in the other boxes and close the Sessions window.





PART II: Installing Stalonetray

To install Stalonetray, enter into the terminal 'sudo-apt-get install stalonetray' or search 'stalonetray' in the Synaptic Package Manager (Settings > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager).



Download stalonetray.txt, and save it into your $HOME folder as .stalonetrayrc (right click > save link as). If the link is broken, feel free to email me and I can send you a copy of my settings file.

Add stalonetray to your startup by following the same methods for AWN as above. The command to be added to the Sessions dialog is 'stalonetray.' To run it in this session, open up the Run Dialog box and type the above command, 'stalonetray.'



To edit the tray to your own preferences, open the .stalonetrayrc file in your preferred text editor and the options are pretty straightforward. Enjoy!


PART III: Removing GNOME Panels and Other Tips

Removing the GNOME Panels

Whichever panel you remove first, is easily done with a right-click > Delete this panel. The remaining panel is a bit trickier. These instructions are specifically for Ubuntu 8.10 (although it should work with earlier versions, instructions for 8.04 can be found HERE).

PLEASE NOTE: If you plan on completely removing the panels, be sure you've added all necessary launchers and applets to AWN, staylonetray, or as screenlets (ex - Applications menu, File Browser, Clock, Logout Option, Volume, Trash, etc.).

First you'll need to open the Configuration Editor. Instructions for installing the editor are posted above in the section on how to curve AWN. To open the editor, open the Run Application dialog and enter 'gconf-editor.' Then go to desktop > gnome > session >required_components_list and remove the value entered into 'panel.' You'll need to logout and back in in order to see the effects.


Pidgin Screenlet

I already have a post for installing Widgets/Screenlets, but since it is featured in the title screenshot and not a default Screenlet, I figured its okay to include here. First, download the Pidgin Screenlet (if the link is broken, just do a search for 'PidginScreenlet-0.3.3.tar.gz). Then open up the Screenlets manager, and click 'Install,' select 'Install Screenlet' (the default) from the dropdown menu, and locate the .tar.gz file you downloaded. After the screenlet is properly installed, you can delete the archived file.

In order for the screenlet to work, you must be logged into Pidgin, so you might as well ad Pidgin to the startup Session manager as well with the launch command 'pidgin' (instructions are given several times now in this post).


Bonus AWN Plugins

As far as I know, there are two popular apps in particular which have specific AWN plugins - Pidgin (formerly GAIM, a multiple-faceted IM program) and the pre-1.0 release versions of Banshee (the Ubuntu version of iTunes). I'm sure a quick google search can turn up the older Banshee .deb install files as well as a quick tutorial on getting the plugin to work. Unfortunately, as of the date of this post, no such extension has been written for version 1.0 or above.

Pidgin Plugin - Status & Message Icon

Be sure to add Pidgin to your dockbar, then download the plugin HERE. Then open your home folder, and either press 'Ctrl+H' or click 'View' and select 'Show Hidden Files'. Open the .purple directory, create a new folder called 'plugins' and extract the downloaded files into this new directory (not the pidgin_awn folder, but the actual .so and .c files ).



Delete the downloaded archive file (the one ending in .tar.gz) and open Pidgen itself. Now go to Tools > Plugins and check the box next to 'AWN Plugin,' and click 'close.' Notice the icon on AWN has now changed, and will continue to change dynamically according to your status and whenever someone sends you a message.

Hello Joshua

How to Install/Configure a new GDM Theme/Login Window

The default login window (the screen where you type in username and password) in Ubuntu has always been rather plain, simple, but still aesthetically pleasing. However, if you are not one of those uptime-obsessed users, it can get rather boring logging into the same brown window everyday, and then having the same brown background with the coffee-stain resembing a ram. If you head over to www.gnome-look.org, you will find that there are dozens of pages with a variety of what are called 'GDM Themes' (short for GNOME Display Manager), which are just customized login windows. When I myself was first interested in installing my own theme I found the lack of instructions to be a bit distressing, and that I sometimes encountered errors when just moving the archived themes into the appropriate folder. Not to worry, its pretty simple to do graphically, and I'll show you how.

So, after wasting about an hour or so perusing and downloading the themes you want onto the desktop, go ahead and open up the Login Window manager (System > Administration > Login Window).



From there, select the 'Login' tab. From here you can click 'Add' to add the downloaded theme, after which you can delete the original file from your desktop. You can also just drag the file into the Login Window Manager and it should prompt you to install. I personally like a little surprise and variety in life, so I've chosen to download several themes, install all of them, and select the 'Random from selected' option from the dropdown 'Theme' menu. From here, you can also create a custom 'Welcome' message, although most themes have thier own already. You can also peruse the other tabs for options such as a timed login and adding additional users.



When you are finished, click Close, delete the now unnecessary files from your desktop, and the next time you login, one of the selected themes should appear. Please note that it is possible to install the themes by dropping the archived file directly into the .theme folder, but I have found that this can cause an error with some themes, and you need to open the GUI anyway to enable the random selection.

Spacely Sprock-err I mean, Widgets, Gadgets, and Google Desktop

Widget Layer, Screenlets and Google Desktop & Gadgets for Ubuntu

Ahh yes the venerable Mac Widget Layer and detachable Gadgets from Vista and Google. These can be easily installed and customized on any Gnome desktop environment. First, make sure you've followed the instructions from my previous post on Compiz Fusion and have access to the Compiz Settings Manager.

Open the settings manager (System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager) and under the Desktop heading, and check the box next to the Widget Layer feature. The keyfault keybinding is F9, but this and other features can be adjusted by clicking on the Widget Layer icon.



First we are going to install Screenlets to fit onto either the Widget Layer or 'stick' to the desktop. You can either open up the Synaptic Package Manager (Alt+F2) and search for the 'screenlets' package, or key the following into the terminal:

sudo apt-get install screenlets

Then press 'y' when prompted to install. After install, the Screenlets manager is accessible from the Applications > Accessories menu.




You will notice the Screenlets manager is now accessable from the blue screen icon up on the taskbar. From the manager, you can Launch the screenlets of your choice, and once they open, simply right click and under 'Window' you can select either Sticky or Widget. If Widget is selected, press the F9 key to display/dismiss the widget layer. Please note that from the Screenlets Manager, once a screenlet is selected, you can check the 'Auto start on login' box to have that screenlet load load from startup.



You can also click the 'Get more screenelts' button from the manager, and it will take you to a website to download and install more screenlets. However, as of this writing, the website was offline, but you can go to www.gnome-look.org and there are plenty to be found under the screenlets subsection. To make the screenlets manager itself load at startup, go to System > Preferences > Sessions. Add a new item, and for the command, type:

screenlets-manager > /dev/null

Screenlets on the desktop

Screenshot with the widget layer

Now we'll move onto Google Gadgets.

If you are moving from Windows/Mac to Linux, you may have Google Gadgets which you are used to, and you'll be happy to know that they are all available for Linux. I should also note that most Google Gadgets can also be run under the Screenlets program and installed through the Screenlets Manager. For awhile, only the gadgets were a functional part of Google Desktop, but the comprehensive indexing program itself was recently made available for the Linux platform.

The Gadgets can be DOWNLOADED HERE

Once the .deb package is downloaded, just double click it to install. To run the gadgets, open the Run Application dialog (ALT+F2) and type:

ggl-gtk

or

ggl-gtk -ns

The second option removes the sidebar, although it is easy enough to make the gadgets float on their own anyway. You can also make this program run from startup the same way you would screenlets, except under the 'command' section you would add the recently aforementioned command code (ggl-gtk).

To add Gadgets to the Widget layer, open up the screenlets manager, select the Widget Layer, and under the 'Behavior' tab, enter the following text next to the 'Widget Windows' feature:

class=Ggl-gtk

Google Desktop

The desktop software can be found HERE. Open the .deb file to install the package.



A new Google Desktop submenu will be added under the Applications menu. It will also automatically install the option to start upon login, but to use it immediately, it must be selected from the Applications menu and will be accessible from the taskbar or by pressing the CTRL button twice.

Me Look Pretty One Day

How to Enable Compiz and other Advanced Desktop Effects

This posting will walk you though the relatively simple steps it takes to get your Ubuntu setup running all those fancy-schmancy and oftentimes completely useless desktop effects seen on YouTube and a plethora of Digg postings.

First, from a clean install, to enable any type of desktop effects, go to System > Preferences > Appearance, and click the Visual Effects tab once the window pops up. Here you can choose between None, Normal, and Extra.



Then, to download the Compiz-Fusion configuration manager, open up the Synaptic Package Manager. (Alt+F2, gksudo synaptic) Search for 'compiz' and select the compizconfig-settings-manager. Alternatively, you can open up a terminal window and type 'sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager.'



To access the settings manager, you can either download the additional package named 'fusion icon' which will install an icon on the taskbar from which you are able to adjust the compiz settings, OR simply access it through the menu by going to System > Preferences > CompizConfig Settings Manager.


From the settings manager, you are able to select helpful options such as a preferred window switching method, Enhanced Desktop Zoom, ADD Helper (one of my personal favorites) and Window Previews (similar to the nifty new feature in Windows 7). Theres also some fun (and other rather pointless options) such as manifesting your desktop workspaces into a cube or sphere, rotating the sphere, being able to 'write' on your desktop with fire, and other such stuff.



Have fun, and try not to go too overboard!! Below are screenshots from another of my favorite options, Tabbing Grouped Windows. Also notice the dimmed window in the background (yay ADD helper!)

MEDIbuntu - Movies & Mp3 Playback

Okay, fresh off the first install..now what? Missing some of your favorite old Windows or OSX functionality and programs after experimenting with the pre-installed software? No worries, I'll offer some suggestions on free, alternative software and tell ya just how to get it. And now its time for the infamous question first asked by *nix n00bs galore...

"Soo.. how can I play all my p0r-I mean mp3s, movie 'backups' and Sopranos DVDs?"

No worries. The Ubuntu communitiy has made this easy with MEDIbuntu - Multimedia, Entertainment, and Distractions in Ubuntu. (Please note, some of these links are specific for i386 computers, if you have and amd64 or powerpc please check carefully and adjust accordingly.)

You can install the appropriate packages through the terminal or synaptic package manager.

ADDING THE MEDIBUNTU REPOSITORY

Now, to do this in the package manager, go to System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager (or, press Alt+F2 simultaneously then type 'gksudo synaptic.')

Enter your admin password, and select Settings > Repositories.


Go to the Third-Party Software tab, and add http://packages.medibuntu.org as the link, add you distro in lowercase letters (ie. gutsy, intrepid or jaunty) and for Components, enter 'free non-free' without the quotes.


You'll also need to add the GPG security key (a harmless verification key for some 3rd party sources) in order to appreciate everything the MEDIbuntu repository has to offer. It is in the package manager under 'medibuntu-keyring.'


SAME THING...BUT WITH THE TERMINAL

To save time, you could open a terminal and copy and paste the following commands. The first one is to add the Medibuntu Repository source to your list of trusted sources so that you are able to receive future updates

sudo wget http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/intrepid.list --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list

*Be sure to replace intrepid with your Ubuntu release name, for example 'jaunty,' 'intrepid' or 'hardy.' And to add the GPG key type:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install medibuntu-keyring && sudo apt-get update.


VIDEO & DVD CODECS

To install the codecs for Windows Media, Real, Apple, Divx, and other files which are not native to Linux, you can use the synaptic manager and search for 'w32codecs.' For the CLI, enter:

sudo apt-get install w32codecs


To enable DVD playback, the decoding library files are needed and you can again install through the package manager by searching 'libdvdcss2' or using APT:

sudo apt-get install libdvdcss2

MP3 and Video Players

If you are coming from Windows or Mac, you're probably looking for something decent as the default video player. The MEDIbuntu player is found in the repositories as 'mplayer.' Or using the terminal,

sudo apt-get install mplayer

I also highly recommend VLC Media player, plus a few plugins (such as mozilla for firefox), which can all be found by searching 'vlc' in the software manager. In the terminal, key the following:

sudo apt-get install vlc vlc-plugin-esd mozilla-plugin-vlc

VLC in action:


As far as MP3 playback in Linux is concerned, the aforementioned media players will playback almost any media format available. If you are looking for a program to organize your media collection and interface with your iPod (so, basically some kinda iTunes clone) there are about three or four programs worth taking a look at: AmaroK, Banshee, Rhythmbox and, newly released version 1.0 from Mozilla, Songbird. [Of course you could try installing iTunes with WINE, but I've never been able to get it to recognize my iPod] All of these are available in the repositories and maybe someday I'll do a comparison post. For now, enjoy your media collection and feel free to email me or comment for any questions on playback or any programs/entries in this posting!

Tilda - Creating a Drop-Down / Quake (or other FPS) Style Terminal window

This guide will walk you through the installation of a Quake/Half-life style drop-down terminal window, such as the one pictured above.

While I mostly get around in Ubuntu with the GUI, I do try and experience using the Terminal window as much as I can, and having one easily avialable via a hot-key (a single key 'shortcut') can be very convenient. The main reason I have decided to start off with this post, is that I find having the terminal window readily available so that when you are copying and pasting commands from the web, you can have the drop-down terminal window be transparant and 'above' the other windows making it easy to still read whats online while monitoring the installation.

First off, the following installation instructions are for the Gnome Desktop Environment, if you are running KDE, I recommend checking out Yakuake. There are a couple different Quake-style console apps for Gnome, but I prefer to use Tilda, and I will briefly discuss the others at the end.

INSTALLATION

Tilda can be found in the Synaptic Package Manager (Alt+F2 and enter 'synaptic'). Just type 'tilda,' mark it for installation, and apply. To download the program through the terminal, open a window and type:

sudo apt-get install tilda

After the installation has completed, it can be accessed under Applications > Accessories > Tilda

By default, the hot-key is (duh) the Tilda button. "The what!?" The tilda. That wavy line that you've never known actually had a name, on the same button the crazy-lookin apostraphe, below the Esc key. To change this (I like to use the tilda button to switch application windows - look for an upcoming how-to post on that!) simply right-click anywhere on the Tilda terminal window and select preferences. A menu will pop up with several tabs.

The 'Keybinding' tab, is where you will change what button to press in order to hide/view the window. You can also adjust other options such as the size of the window, add borders, add background image, change colors, etc.

INITIATE TILDA ON START-UP

You may be wondering at this point just how annoying its gonna be to have to wait for your machine to start-up, then select Tilda from the application menu everytime, or if theres a way for it to initiate on startup. Well, there is. And its easy.

Just go to System > Preferences > Sessions and enter the information as seen below. The command is simply 'tilda' (without quotes), the title is Tilda, and you can put whatever comment you damn well please.

And there you have it, folks. Feel free to mess around with some of the settings, as you can see from the screenshots, I prefer a classic matrix-esque color scheme and to have the terminal window only take up a portion of my screen.

Also, if Tilda isn't quite what you are looking for, or doesn't agree with your system for whatever reason, don't fret, you can also look into YeahConsole (the simplest drop-down console) or Guake. Both can be found in the repositories.

First things first...

OS Installation and some initial key words...

So you've finally given in to that pesky nerdster inside of you (or the weird kid next door always telling you to give it a shot) and decided to try out the latest Ubuntu distro (short for distribution, i.e. - the current release). Congrats, and welcome to a whole new world of software freedom!!

If you haven't already installed it, its fairly simple to do so. You can insert the disc while still in your old OS and try it live, or reboot your computer with the disc in the drive and give it a shot that way as well. Once satisfied, go ahead and setup the appropriate partitioning and follow the on-screen instructions for installation.

For some nifty guides on installing Linux while keeping Vista or XP on your machine, check out these how-tos from APCmag. Also, I highly reccomend their suggestion of installing Linux AFTER Windows, otherwise things do tend to get a little tricky.

Okay, assuming thats all taken care of, now what? Well, you're at least able to browse the web with pre-installed Firefox 3.0 (as of release 8.10 codename: Intrepid Ibex, the network manager should be extremely easy and straightforward to configure) . Before we get too deep in setting up your new OS, let's start off by explaining a few basic elements which will be referred to quite frequently from here on out.


Terminal: Ahh, the terminal. The command line interface. Gracing computers and intimidating users since the hayday of MS-DOS. THIS, ladies and gentlemen, is where it all goes down. The command line interface, or CLI, is exactly what it says. You type commands, line by line, to interface with your machine and can do everything from download software packages, move and delete files, and burn/copy a plethora of video formats. Throughout this guide, I will provide tips on avoiding this scaaary interface for the n00bs, but also provide tips on how it is used. An excellent guide for getting your feet wet in the Terminal, can be found HERE.

Root: The term 'root' in '*nixland' is most often used to define Administrator privelage. Note that within your filesystem there is a folder called 'root' with which you need admin privelages to access. Additionally, when you open the package manager GUI you are asked to input your root/admin password. However, if you attempt to download packages through the CLI, you must first let the computer know you wish to do something as root by typing 'sudo' (super-user do) and then the command, then it will prompt for the password.

Synaptic Package Manager: This program, found under System -> Administration, is equivelant to the Add/Remove program in Windows.

This is where a variety of free, open source software (FOSS) can easily be found and located. Alternatively, if you already know the specific package for which you are looking, you can simply type the appropriate command into the Terminal. The package manager accesses the archives of software which are held in Repositories. In order to get the most from your Ubuntu distribution, I suggest enabling all repositories, instructions are provided below.

ENABLING EXTRA REPOSITORIES (The First Real Lesson)

You can either open the Synaptic Package Manager and select Settings > Repositories, OR go to System > Administration > Software Sources and enter the admin password. I recommend ensuring that all boxes under the Ubuntu Software tab are checked off (multiverse, etc.).


You can also localize the Ubuntu server from which the software is downloaded. When you attempt to close the window, you will be prompted to reload your sources and some updates may already be available. Also, keep in mind that some software requires you to return to the Software Sources manager and add in their specific repository, but we'll get to that when the time comes.

These are just some of the many key words and programs to which I will be referring, and as new ones appear so shall their explanations. But, as always with any computer program, I highly recommend reading as much of the provided documentation as you can stomach, or sifting through the Ubuntu community forums.

Check back soon for the next few updates: How-to's on installing all the necessary files and programs to play your complete video/mp3 collection, desktop customization, suggested 'substitute' application reviews, and more!

Welcome

Welcome to gn00buntu! These are the helpings of an ex-Windows addict since 3.1 up through XP with limited programming knowledge, who has been working with Ubuntu Linux for almost 2 years. So this will be hopefully be geared towards new converts, or users who've just found a trick or two they havent seen before without having to sift through 100's of results on ubuntu forum and google searches. When users make that first switch from Windows or Mac to *nix, it can be a bit overwhelming perusing the forums for just the right answer. My goal here is to provide an easy to read, K.I.S.S. style guide for those just getting their feet wet, or too timid to key everything into the terminal. Again, welcome to my site, I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to any and all criticisms and feedback! Let's get started!