tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7759082763545989682024-03-13T08:34:47.972+00:00Linux ThemerA journey through theming Linux XFCErichjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-89301746014876581582014-09-23T16:05:00.001+01:002014-09-23T16:11:33.117+01:00New Chromixium Alpha out for testing<h3>
Chromixium Alpha 5f </h3>
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I realised a little too late that I was more than a bit hasty with my initial release of Chromixium as I hadn't sought permission for all the lovely wallpapers contained therein. I apologise to any authors/creators, and I have since pulled that release from Sourceforge and updated the ISO. Grab the new one here:<br />
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<b><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/ChromixiumAlpha5f.iso/download">http://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/ChromixiumAlpha5f.iso/download</a></b></div>
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I managed to get in touch with Clemens Günthermann who took that amazing photograph that I used as the default wallpaper and that is also found within ChromeOS. I am delighted and most grateful that he has given permission for it to be included (in spite of the fact that I jumped the gun somewhat). You will now see a small watermark on the login screen and the filename in the wallpaper picker contains his name and website:<br />
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<a href="http://www.clegue.com/">http://www.clegue.com/</a></div>
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His work is truly inspirational and I suggest you all have a look at the other amazing photographs he has taken.</div>
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There are still some other very beautiful wallpapers in the new Alpha release, courtesy of the free photo group on Flickr:</div>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/groups/freeuse/">https://www.flickr.com/groups/freeuse/</a></div>
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I just picked out a number of my favourites, but there are plenty more to choose from.</div>
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I will also be trawling through my own photo collection for anything suitable - yes, I have managed to take one or two good shots in my lifetime (well my wife has anyway!) If there is anyone out there who has an amazing photo that could be included in a future release, please get in touch. I'll be setting up a Google+ group soon which will be a good place to share such things.</div>
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And if any of you are hankering after the original ChromeOS wallpapers, this site has them all and all appropriately referenced:</div>
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<a href="http://www.chromeup.com/chrome-os-wallpapers/">http://www.chromeup.com/chrome-os-wallpapers/</a></div>
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Some of the best ones are taken by famous travel photographer, Trey Ratcliff, and there are countless, breathtaking shots on his website that you can download for personal use:</div>
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<a href="http://www.stuckincustoms.com/">http://www.stuckincustoms.com/</a></div>
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Finally, if anyone wants the official ChromeOS avatars, you can find them on the web here:</div>
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/+FrancoisBeaufort/albums/5772616161202581777">https://plus.google.com/photos/+FrancoisBeaufort/albums/5772616161202581777</a></div>
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I'm not sure I can use the avatars yet as I see they have been committed to ChromiumOS, which is meant to be the open source project upon which ChromeOS is based, so I will look into whether these can be added back in or not.</div>
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I have also taken this opportunity to include GParted which will help you partition your disk prior to installation and updated the brightness script which will hopefully work better (tested working on Intel graphics). The live ISO might still hang for a couple of minutes while it tries to detect the network. I'm still not sure exactly why this is happening - some remnant of the build environment? Happily it is not a problem post-install and I will share a fix for anyone who wants to create a persistent live USB in due course.</div>
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The ISO is now much reduced in size and will probably fit on a CD should anybody still use them!</div>
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Now I am going to get to work on some much needed documentation!!!</div>
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richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-80665088248223890372014-09-07T22:11:00.000+01:002014-09-19T14:57:22.720+01:00Chromixium Project - please test & volunteer<b>UPDATE: </b><b>Chromixium </b><b>Live ISO now available to download. Read on for more details.</b><br />
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<b>DOWNLOAD: <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/">https://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/</a></b><br />
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For a while now I've been working on a new Linux project with the working title <b><i>Chromixium:</i></b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTiydHLCVkN2HQC37biDiKc8Se8hmvCdEJAnqWPJeX-wIurRu3i27_tmi0K-_avn50JcLrKD9jz8HKtRlaq35T9TfC378aYAfoaX6ubEf9VmZmCHOAU8QhUE76NEeAxLdsJxtLnBRVsY/s1600/Chromixium-initial-screenshot.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTiydHLCVkN2HQC37biDiKc8Se8hmvCdEJAnqWPJeX-wIurRu3i27_tmi0K-_avn50JcLrKD9jz8HKtRlaq35T9TfC378aYAfoaX6ubEf9VmZmCHOAU8QhUE76NEeAxLdsJxtLnBRVsY/s1600/Chromixium-initial-screenshot.png" height="263" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://a.fsdn.com/con/app/proj/theme-ix/screenshots/ChromixiumAlpha4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://a.fsdn.com/con/app/proj/theme-ix/screenshots/ChromixiumAlpha4.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>The idea:</b> to create a ChromeOS/ChromiumOS-like experience using conventional Linux desktop technologies... and I am putting a call out for volunteers.<br />
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<b>Disclaimer:</b> if you do not approve of Google, do not read any further, this project is not for you.<br />
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<b><u>Here's the why, how, when and who:</u></b><br />
<br />
<b>WHY</b><br />
<br />
As an Android user for some years, I spend most of my time using Google's services. I have an Android phone and tablet - I use Gmail, Google Calendar, Blogger, Google Keep, Drive and a range of Chrome extensions on my laptop and similar apps on my tablet and phone. Chromebooks have been a growth area over the last 2 years. ChromeOS and its open source counter-part ChromiumOS are interesting operating systems and cheap way of owning a new laptop, but they are not without their drawbacks.<br />
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Chromebooks have very limited local storage and limited offline abilities. You are restricted to Chrome + extensions, no other software can be loaded. And of course, you must buy a Chromebook to use the operating system. It is possible to install ChromiumOS on a conventional laptop, but it isn't an easy experience and requires a lot of tweaking to enable simple things like flash, PDF support and Google Drive integration.<br />
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On the other hand, unless I perform a minimal installation of say Debian or Ubuntu, desktop Linux is shipping with too much bloat for my needs and few distributions are shipping Chromium as the default browser. I also find the default interface of ChromeOS uncluttered, yet modern and pretty.<br />
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<b>HOW</b><br />
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By taking a modular approach, I intend to create an installable system that matches as best as possible the appearance and usability of ChromeOS. Since I want it be a modern OS with a consistent interface, I will be aiming to use <i>mostly</i> GTK3 applications. The operating system has to be light on resources. One of the aims has to be to help users create Chromebooks from old laptops. It has to overcome the limitations of current Chromebooks and allow access to local storage and applications. It has to boot up and shut down fast. Above all it should feel integrated and all files should be managed by one application.<br />
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I have been steadily building up such a system in VirtualBox based on the following:<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li>Ubuntu 14.04 LTS kernel and repositories (though this may change to Debian Jessie in future)</li>
<li>Upstart - for quick bootup (may change to Systemd in future)</li>
<li>Openbox - window manager with XFCE menu plugin</li>
<li>Synaptic package manager - to allow installation of local applications</li>
<li>Plank + Compton - provides the Chrome Ash style dock with transparency</li>
<li>LXPanel - provides system notification area</li>
<li>LightDM login manager</li>
<li>Chromium browser + pepperflash plugin + pdfviewer extension</li>
<li>Chrome app launcher</li>
<li>Nautilus (Files)</li>
<li>Parole media player - latest GTK3 version</li>
<li>Wicd network manager</li>
<li>Le3fpad text editor, GPicView photo viewer, Catfish file search</li>
<li>Systemback for live ISO creation and installation</li>
<li>A collection of bespoke scripts.</li>
</ul>
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One of the important concepts of Chromebooks is that they are self updating. I hope to achieve a similar system using unattended upgrades.<br />
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<b>WHEN</b><br />
<br />
The alpha is already uploaded for initial testing:<br />
<a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/">https://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/files/Chromixium/</a>.<br />
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The live ISO can be installed to hard disk or can be used to create a live & persistent USB install. It is pre-configured with VirtualBox guest additions.<br />
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The current ISO is a bit hefty at 900MB but this is mostly due to the high-res Chrome backgrounds that I have included. They really are quite stunning!<br />
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After some initial testing I would want to get a beta out for wider public testing by November and a final release by late 2014/early 2015.<br />
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<b>WHO</b><br />
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I can do it on my own, but I would much prefer it to build a small team to bounce ideas off. I am not a Linux guru, but I have experience of developing small scale distros/re-spins. I do them my way, but I know there are technically better ways to do things. I can write custom scripts, but I am no coder. I have enthusiasm for Linux projects, but I would love to share that with others.<br />
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<b>How can you help?</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>By offering to discuss the pros and cons of the project, best base system and applications.</li>
<li>By offering to be an early tester and reporting back. </li>
<li>By offering to help with any technical skills you might have. And I mean anything and these can be very specific.</li>
<li>By offering to help with hosting or website design. Although this isn't terribly necessary at this stage in the project, it will still be most welcome.</li>
</ul>
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Of course it might be that nobody is interested, but I hope enough will be to take this project forward and get it out to the masses! Please leave your comments here at the end of this post and if needs be, I'll set up a forum or Google Groups page to continue the discussion.richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-33299728643296407842014-07-03T22:20:00.001+01:002014-07-31T22:08:16.421+01:00Docks for XFCE (with Window Control)<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Edit: This post has now been updated with all the reviews and a final summary! </span></b></div>
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The dock was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dock_%28computing%29">first given to us by RISC OS</a> as far back as 1987, but in more recent years they have evolved from a simple panel containing application launchers into all-purpose task and window controllers. This format was popularised by Apple in OSX and much copied since - by Microsoft in Windows 7, ChromeOS, Unity and Gnome 3.<br />
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The XFCE4 panel, venerable and customizable as it is, does not (yet) offer this sort of functionality. You can add launchers, you can add a window switcher/window buttons, but you can’t combine the two. So if you want a modern dock, you need to go 3rd party.<br />
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<b>Edit:</b> <i>Just to be clear, this post and the following reviews are concerned with docks rather than launch bars or panels. My definition of a dock is a bar that contains an icon for every open application, usually grouping similar windows together. The dock will indicate which applications are active or minimized. Clicking on the icon allows the user show, hide or close the application or in some cases switch between windows and tabs. Icons can be pinned so they are permanently on the dock. The obvious examples are given above in the intro. The main point being that when pinned, the dock uses the same pinned icon for window/task control. You can create a very good looking launch bar using the XFCE panel (<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/make-xfce-look-like-chromeos-part-1.html">see my post on recreating the ChromeOS look</a>) and you can add launchers or customize the window buttons to display icons only, but you cannot merge the two</i>.<br />
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There are number of docks that can be installed independently of your desktop environment. Most of these require a compositing window manager. Luckily, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xfwm#Xfwm">XFWM</a> is just one of these. So without further ado, here are the contenders (click on the name to read the review).:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/avant-window-navigator.html">Avant Window Navigator</a></li>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/cairo-dock.html">Cairo-Dock</a></li>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/dockbarx.html">Dockbarx</a></li>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/docky.html">Docky</a></li>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.com/p/plank.html">Plank</a></li>
<li><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/simdock.html">Simdock</a></li>
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</ul>
I will be testing each one within Debian (Jessie) Linux running XFCE 4.10 and rating each one against the following criteria:<br />
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<li>Ease of installation</li>
<li>Customization</li>
<li>Features/Applets</li>
<li>Stability/Resource use</li>
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Results</h2>
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The results are in, and based purely on the overall scores that I gave each dock in the individual reviews, the winner is...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">DOCKBARX</span></b></div>
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DockbarX is certainly the best dock to use within XFCE as it is the only one that provides a plugin for the XFCE Panel and provides the best compromise between simplicity, functionality, good looks and customization:<br />
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<a href="http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj609/richjack76/Docks/DockbarX/Dockbarx_winner_zps93f69084.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i1270.photobucket.com/albums/jj609/richjack76/Docks/DockbarX/Dockbarx_winner_zps93f69084.png" /></a></div>
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However, do make sure you read all the reviews before making your mind up. Everyone has their own ideas about what looks good, what is easy to install and configure and what their working practices are. With that in mind, read the following summary including the caveats about tabbed windows and Chrome/Chromium apps.<br />
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<h2>
Summary</h2>
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Only 2 of the docks that I tested were available in the Debian Jessie repositories but they were all hosted on Launchpad and available via Ubuntu ppas. I felt that Ubuntu was definitely the target system for some of these docks as most supported Unity quicklists. That being said, after a bit of trial and error, I did get them all installed on Debian.<br />
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Development was at different stages with each dock and each one seemed to be based on a different toolset and libraries.<br />
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<ul>
<li><b>AWN </b>- Written in C but currently under major rewrite. Development restarted in 2013. Plenty of themes and plugins available. Score = <b>7/10.</b></li>
<li><b>Cairo/GLX</b> - Can make use of OpenGL hardware acceleration. Can be used as a session manager under Gnome3/Unity. Highly configurable. Under active development but buggy. Score = <b>6/10.</b></li>
<li><b>DockbarX</b> - Supports full screen previews using Compiz and has an XFCE panel plugin. Easy to customize with plenty of supplied themes. Score <b>8.5/10.</b></li>
<li><b>Docky</b> - Built on Plank using mono for docklets. Currently lags behind Plank development build. Score <b>7.5/10.</b></li>
<li><b>Plank</b> - Lightweight and simple dock. No plugins, themes available but has to be configured manually. Latest version uses libbamf for window identification. Score <b>8/10.</b></li>
<li><b>Simdock</b> - Features pseudo-transparency so no window compositor required. Onli provides builds against current Ubuntu system, but development of features is static since 2007. Awkward to configure. <b>5/10.</b></li>
</ul>
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<h3>
Support for tabbed windows</h3>
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None of the docks that I tried could show a list of open tabs, in for example, Firefox in the way that Windows 7 does. This may be a limitation of Linux window managers but it's about time at least one these docks integrated this feature. This is the main reason that none of the docks achieved a score of 9 or 10.<br />
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<h3>
Support for Chrome/Chromium Apps</h3>
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If anyone uses Chrome/Chromium apps in a standalone windows (ie by creating app shortcuts) then you will find they are all grouped under Chromium on the docks. Since the docks don't support showing tab lists (see above) then all Chrome apps are hidden/shown at once by the one icon. That is all except Plank.<br />
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Plank uses Libbamf to identify window class and ID and this makes a much better job, than libwnck (which most of the other docks use). With Plank, you can pin Chrome apps like gmail and YouTube separately to Chrome itself and their windows are treated as individual apps. Docky 3.0 will most likely support this feature in future.<br />
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<h3>
Panel features</h3>
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Remember, these applications are docks not panels, but some do come with clocks, notification areas, application menu and other panel-type plugins (AWN, Cairo, DockbarX). However, don't necessarily expect to be able to totally do away with a standard desktop panel. That is why I recommend DockbarX for any XFCE user as it is the only one to integrate within the XFCE panel.<br />
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<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/avant-window-navigator.html">Click here for the first review - Avant Window Navigator</a><br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/cairo-dock.html">Click here for the second review - Cairo-Dock</a><br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/dockbarx.html">Click here for the third review - DockbarX</a><br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/docky.html">Click here for the fourth review - Docky</a><br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.com/p/plank.html">Click here for the fifth review - Plank</a><br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/simdock.html">Click here for the sixth review - Simdock</a><br />
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Let me know what your favorite dock is and why in the comments below. If you are a developer of any of these docks and anything is inaccurate or you would like to explain a feature, please contact me or leave a comment.<br />
<br />richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-46948613181225108362014-06-30T15:33:00.000+01:002014-06-30T15:33:17.939+01:00Give Ted some love!In the land of [<i>Microsoft</i>] word processing, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Word" target="_blank">Microsoft Word</a> is King, but perhaps <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/features/wordpad" target="_blank">WordPad</a> is the Prince. WordPad has been a default part of the Microsoft Windows operating system <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WordPad" target="_blank">since Windows 95</a>. After some years of neglect, it got a new makeover for Windows 7 and in all honesty, is all that most home users need to accomplish their word processing tasks.<div>
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In the land of FOSS/Linux, <a href="http://www.libreoffice.org/" target="_blank">Libre Office</a> is King, but who is Prince - <a href="http://www.abisource.com/" target="_blank">AbiWord</a>?</div>
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I would like to put forward an alternative, and it goes by the unlikely name of <a href="http://www.nllgg.nl/Ted/" target="_blank">Ted</a>.</div>
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If you are looking for a word processor more akin to WordPad, for simple tasks, that doesn't get in the way or try to do too many things, then you might be surprised at how nice Ted is to use:<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYkHpBZC7wGeeBcr0yQ6vxVXyMeqxK3essIVnQILBCdzsE44zIYlbxyy_dQS-fGw9vPyRCbhS2usCknwMCew844wZMf7oMfkJ-6JHmTpq7_qew8khtb5QmlxdjKznutPEFyslaeQWXak/s1600/Ted_main.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYkHpBZC7wGeeBcr0yQ6vxVXyMeqxK3essIVnQILBCdzsE44zIYlbxyy_dQS-fGw9vPyRCbhS2usCknwMCew844wZMf7oMfkJ-6JHmTpq7_qew8khtb5QmlxdjKznutPEFyslaeQWXak/s1600/Ted_main.png" height="283" width="400" /></a></div>
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Its author, Mark de Does, calls it "an easy rich text processor" and that's exactly what this is. Moreover, it was always intended to be the de-facto <a href="http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/editors/ted/TedDocument-en_US.html#Introduction" target="_blank">WordPad replacement for Unix/Linux</a>. The default file format is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Text_Format" target="_blank">RTF</a> - a format that, although proprietary, is cross-platform and has been stable for many years. That means that whatever Ted produces and saves on Linux, will be untouched and replicated exactly on any other *Nix system, Microsoft, Apple, or even Android. </div>
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Originally built on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LessTif" target="_blank">LessTif</a> toolkit, it hasn't changed much over the years from inception, but is now compiled with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GTK" target="_blank">GTK+2</a> toolkit, so blends in much better on a conventional Linux desktop.</div>
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<br />Ted is a bit quirky, but once you get used to the quirks, you will realise what a nice, clutter-free change from the norm it is.</div>
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Get Ted</h3>
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Ted is quite hard to find in many Linux repositories even though it was last updated in 2013. However, it's quite easy to download a .deb for Debian/Ubuntu or an RPM for Fedora/SUSE/Mandriva as the Author has kindly uploaded them to his own site:</div>
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<a href="http://www.nllgg.nl/Ted/#How_to_install_Ted">http://www.nllgg.nl/Ted/#How_to_install_Ted</a></div>
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There are some dependencies, most of which should be handled by your package manager, but certainly on Debian, you are going to need libtiff4 which you can download from Ubuntu. Install this first then install the Ted deb file:</div>
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<a href="http://packages.ubuntu.com/precise/i386/libtiff4/download">http://packages.ubuntu.com/precise/i386/libtiff4/download</a></div>
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Or, I have both packages on Github:</div>
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<a href="https://github.com/RichJack/Xubuntu">https://github.com/RichJack/Xubuntu</a></div>
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Start using Ted</h3>
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One quirk of Ted is that is doesn't open to a new blank document by default. This is the screen you will see:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEyym-8gbtT0SxcPTxsJ43sFph_mzCa6ZMBcxAA2Ihgc1JlfKjYs6QCh9TnkusslMqthZ0HNMYmjWf8yWc-QV1jJuy9h281VwcpfL_aj9Z-Iw7Z1wz8IQsjWVmUTsVNeQxwBhL12e5DI/s1600/Ted_firstrun.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEyym-8gbtT0SxcPTxsJ43sFph_mzCa6ZMBcxAA2Ihgc1JlfKjYs6QCh9TnkusslMqthZ0HNMYmjWf8yWc-QV1jJuy9h281VwcpfL_aj9Z-Iw7Z1wz8IQsjWVmUTsVNeQxwBhL12e5DI/s1600/Ted_firstrun.png" height="320" width="234" /></a></div>
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You'll have to click File|New or press Ctrl+N on your keyboard to get a new document.</div>
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Then you are presented with a clutter-free page ready for typing. The first thing you notice is the lack of a toolbar. Don't let this fool you into thinking that it is a plain text only editor - everything is found in the menus, or by bring up the Format Tool dialog.</div>
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Right-click to bring up the Format Tool which will open by default at the font dialog where you can change the font type, size and apply bold, italics or underline:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6WAZmfw_d4383TFgXWui3efOO1l0VVdv2AixSa_SsMbUEG8PzgZPGU7hCheRoAJ9oo-xunOp4y76QnfJ-6RqUWphX_UTR0W3Tw2bu2SBa4DwXGRlQ9UpGN75ed5rB08Z1iLeM8wwusA/s1600/Ted_font-tool.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis6WAZmfw_d4383TFgXWui3efOO1l0VVdv2AixSa_SsMbUEG8PzgZPGU7hCheRoAJ9oo-xunOp4y76QnfJ-6RqUWphX_UTR0W3Tw2bu2SBa4DwXGRlQ9UpGN75ed5rB08Z1iLeM8wwusA/s1600/Ted_font-tool.png" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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Leave this tool open and come back to it each time you need to change an aspect of the page. Click on the drop-down menu at the top and you'll see that you can use it to alter page characteristics, paragraph styles, insert a table, check spelling amongst other things.</div>
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A quick look through main application menu indicates you can insert images (which can be resized) and tables as well as other page processing commands.</div>
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If you don't already know your basic keyboard shortcuts, now's the time to learn as they'll help you use Ted with a minimum amount of fuss. They are indicated next to certain menu entries:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTT0A62GYpVmDYG7fb7x_FOzPdsGoLDWVuyLGDtA0fewyZjhBCUzgdbo3ouP-R7ENeSHbU69ENOSFRVcHA7ia1ZhAeCUUH9fTVOH8vKBfcGouHtt2ZP1nbpdvNadWkXjceuPM289la7c/s1600/Ted_menu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTT0A62GYpVmDYG7fb7x_FOzPdsGoLDWVuyLGDtA0fewyZjhBCUzgdbo3ouP-R7ENeSHbU69ENOSFRVcHA7ia1ZhAeCUUH9fTVOH8vKBfcGouHtt2ZP1nbpdvNadWkXjceuPM289la7c/s1600/Ted_menu.png" /></a></div>
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Conclusion</h3>
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Ted is lightweight to install, in terms of memory use and in terms of it's GUI. There are enough features 'under the hood' for the vast majority of anyone's home word processing tasks. In fact, it's on a par with Google Docs for text processing features. If you want a distraction-free word processor that won't take up much room on your hard drive or use precious CPU cycles, then I can heartedly recommend this product.</div>
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Post-script</h3>
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Ted is the default word processor on <a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/theme-ix.html" target="_blank">Theme-ix</a> Linux releases.</div>
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To start Ted with a blank page try this:</div>
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<ol>
<li>Install <a href="http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/" target="_blank">xdotool</a> from your distro's repositories</li>
<li>Create a new batch file as follows:<br /><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">#/bin/bash<br />Ted &<br />sleep 1<br />xdotool key ctrl+n</span></li>
<li>Save the batch file onto your desktop</li>
<li>Make it executable (use Thunar or from a command line: chmod a+x batchfilename)</li>
<li>Ted will open and a second after open a new blank file.</li>
</ol>
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The online Ted manual is here:</div>
<div>
<a href="http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/editors/ted/TedDocument-en_US.html">http://ftp.nluug.nl/pub/editors/ted/TedDocument-en_US.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Similar projects: <a href="http://gottcode.org/focuswriter/" target="_blank">FocusWriter</a></div>
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richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-59868316595891315852014-06-26T12:43:00.000+01:002014-06-30T13:17:37.050+01:00First Live CD released: DebianXbluebuntuIf any of you have read my <a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/about.html" target="_blank">About</a> page, you will know that I originally intended this project to be a theming project where I will share my experience with the wider community via tutorials. I hadn't intended or expected to be releasing any 'images'.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuSmU9QjaJqqa0A6wvIQnhVgx3AKZrd9tVwSjCWDaGQvnDWYOaPYZDf0vwZtE4LwSGtW8oqtR0Jeph0fwLZfgcofNBMa7poQgzZB5EaAVL7OJa9RzchEOvF3vnF3ss85jkLGgwb5kYKI/s1600/theme-ix_logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuSmU9QjaJqqa0A6wvIQnhVgx3AKZrd9tVwSjCWDaGQvnDWYOaPYZDf0vwZtE4LwSGtW8oqtR0Jeph0fwLZfgcofNBMa7poQgzZB5EaAVL7OJa9RzchEOvF3vnF3ss85jkLGgwb5kYKI/s1600/theme-ix_logo.png" height="185" width="200" /></a>But then I thought, if I am going to go to all the trouble of starting with a Debian net install and creating a themed Linux desktop from scratch and then I might as well share the results with the world.<br />
<br />
So here I am announcing the first release from the project code-named <b><a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/theme-ix.html" target="_blank">THEME-IX</a></b>, download link below:<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b><a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/theme-ix/" target="_blank">DebianXbluebuntu 14-06 Beta3</a> <-- Download now!</b></h3>
<br />
It's my 'port' of Xubuntu 14.04 to Debian (Testing/Jessie). It is a fully functional LiveCD that can be installed thanks to the efforts of the guys at Refracta. I have set up a Sourceforge page which will handle hosting and contains extra info such as a full packages list and a <a href="https://sourceforge.net/p/theme-ix/discussion" target="_blank">support forum</a>.<br />
<br />
Here's some information you might need to get going:<br />
<br />
Live username = user <div>
Live user password = user </div>
<div>
Live root password = root<br /><br />DebianXbluebuntu-14-06-beta3.iso = 650,278 KB</div>
<div>
MD5 = c0d9142e1fde334f9cd37be6c0fb353a<br /><br />
It's my first public beta and I appears stable on my hardware, in fact it flies. It is almost an exact replica of Xubuntu with the exception of a slight nod towards a couple of lighter-weight applications. Here's the full list:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Base:</b> Debian Testing (Jessie)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Desktop:</b> XFCE 4.10</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Theme:</b> Xubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr (Greybird GTK + Elementary XFCE icon set)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Desktop Applications:</span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Firefox web browser with Adobe Flashplayer</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Sylpheed emai client</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ted word processor (like MS WordPad)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Gnome paint (MS Paint clone)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Transmission bittorrent client</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Gmusicbrowser for playing tunes</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Parole for playing movies</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Printing support</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">GADMIN - Samba configuration manager</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Xfburn CD/DVD burning application</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Wicd network including wireless support</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Various accessories including calculator, notes, archiver, file search, dictionary, pdf viewer</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">XFCE Settings manager</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Lightdm & lightlocker control logging in, switching users and screen locking</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Synaptic package manager</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #0b5394;">Refracta tools: installer, snapshot and liveUSB creator</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Average memory usage when idle = 160-200MB</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Hard disk space required = 4GB+</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Recommended RAM = 512MB+ (should run in 256MB)</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;">Processor = i686 with pae</span></div>
richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-78937026102931764982014-06-13T15:00:00.000+01:002014-06-30T13:17:05.640+01:00Xubuntu with a *pure* Debian Base (from scratch)<i>Or, rather... How to make Debian look and behave like Xubuntu.</i><br />
<br />
<b>Why?</b> <a href="http://xubuntu.org/" target="_blank">Xubuntu</a> is a very polished distro and has gained many fans over the last couple of years as Ubuntu users dissatisfied with the Unity interface have looked for something more akin to the old Gnome 2 way of working, or wanted something that would run well on hardware no longer supported by Unity. The current version, 14.04 is an LTS release and is as good an Xubuntu release as I have used, and looks stunning - modern, but straight-forward.<br />
<br />
Still, Xubuntu has always been a little 'heavy' for an XFCE-based distribution, both in terms of RAM usage and it's reliance on many gnome packages and dependencies.<br />
<br />
Debian is a leaner system, though out-of-the-box, XFCE looks really dated on Debian.<br />
<br />
<b>The Goal:</b> Create a pure <a href="https://www.debian.org/" target="_blank">Debian</a> installation with XFCE, themed to look like Xubuntu, but with as few gnome dependencies as possible, whilst maintaining the same functionality.<br />
<br />
<b>How:</b> Starting with a <a href="https://www.debian.org/CD/netinst/" target="_blank">net install</a>, install the packages one by one, check dependencies, replace with alternative packages if available, then configure and theme like Xubuntu.<br />
<br />
<b>Difficultly: intermediate.</b> Some prior use of Linux is assumed, with some exposure to the command line and packaging tools, although all commands will be given in full.<br />
<br />
<b>Time:</b> 1 -2 days. You will be installing a base system and then adding the packages one by one to build a complete system. You will be editing configuration files and using the command line.<br />
<br />
<h3>
This tutorial will be in a number of parts so that you can follow easily if you want to have a go too:</h3>
<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/xubuntu-with-pure-debian-base-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a> - will get you a minimal Debian install with working X, sound, login manager and basic XFCE desktop environment.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/xubuntu-with-pure-debian-base-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> - will get the XFCE desktop themed like Xubuntu.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/xubuntu-with-pure-debian-base-part-3.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a> - will complete the Xubuntu theming through boot up and log on.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/xubuntu-with-pure-debian-base-part-4.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a> - will install all the required applications for a fully functional system and perform final tweaks.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/p/xubuntu-with-pure-debian-base-part-5.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a> - will set up the system for remastering and create an installable live ISO.<br />
<br />
<b>Edit 20/06/2014 You can now download the entire tutorial in PDF format:</b><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="511" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/36124804" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="479"> </iframe> <br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 5px;">
<strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/LinuxThemer/xubuntu-with-a-pure-debian-base-from-scratch" target="_blank" title="Xubuntu with a *pure* debian base from scratch">Xubuntu with a *pure* debian base from scratch</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/LinuxThemer" target="_blank">RichJack </a></strong> </div>
richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-57878604885423196902014-06-07T09:45:00.000+01:002014-06-18T22:29:55.767+01:00Make XFCE look like ChromeOS Part 2In <a href="http://linuxthemer.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/make-xfce-look-like-chromeos-part-1.html">Part 1</a>, I demonstrated how you could alter the theme and panel layout of XFCE to mimic the appearance of a Chromebook/ChromeOS. If you followed that tutorial, then you will have pulled some Google Apps down and created a transparent toolbar and dock.<br />
<br />
It's nearly there, but not quite. First of all, the icons on the dock are too close together. Secondly, if you look closely at a ChromeOS screenshot, you can see that the docks 'float' a little off the bottom of the screen.<br />
<br />
Finally, I have never been happy with the launcher icon, so let's fix that too!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
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<b>1. Add spacing to the launchers.</b><br />
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This one is easy. Simply go into the panel preferences and add a new item. Choose Separator. Click on the cog to configure it and and set it transparent:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCIzaJcP-k8_ZSOavPsI0WbyTvbOGTy1Q1PodFbs1dr5a1SHLYrpTmHvwp6jF6iXM3pwbWcW25naUjWPfxtY-Sp8dVBVa40aIAkG7vnddmkUkkJWQCMA486I3mNOSCpcGwnPYThn4JA8/s1600/Chromeos+Add+Separator.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJCIzaJcP-k8_ZSOavPsI0WbyTvbOGTy1Q1PodFbs1dr5a1SHLYrpTmHvwp6jF6iXM3pwbWcW25naUjWPfxtY-Sp8dVBVa40aIAkG7vnddmkUkkJWQCMA486I3mNOSCpcGwnPYThn4JA8/s1600/Chromeos+Add+Separator.png" height="316" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you add 2 such separators between the launcher icons (so 10 in all), you should get the spacing about right:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKVbtcqfDfCgOXYicUIl7Bcsgbmkvjc20C2ZDfN7D5aZh0rNDciO78W89UA-bNs0q0X9vYeVdvtmEeueAQNgQKjdrWfzgrgBT1eIPJorOq0UtwALnNtxTczNKUhq1eIrrL4ZfXdrbowM/s1600/Chromeos+Panel+with+Separators.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYKVbtcqfDfCgOXYicUIl7Bcsgbmkvjc20C2ZDfN7D5aZh0rNDciO78W89UA-bNs0q0X9vYeVdvtmEeueAQNgQKjdrWfzgrgBT1eIPJorOq0UtwALnNtxTczNKUhq1eIrrL4ZfXdrbowM/s1600/Chromeos+Panel+with+Separators.png" height="320" width="159" /></a></div>
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It's a bit of shame that the XFCE panel doesn't have an icon padding setting. That would make this a lot easier!</div>
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If you don't intend to add any other panel icons, you can reduce the length of the panel at this point.</div>
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<b>2. Get the new and improved app launcher icon.</b></div>
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Since the new icon is pure white with transparency, it is impossible to see it on this page, so <a href="http://i246.photobucket.com/albums/gg83/iainjackson/chromeos_apps_list_button_1.png">right-click on this link (and choose save link as...) to grab the new and improved launcher icon</a>.</div>
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Save it your home directory somewhere. Still in the Panel Preferences dialog, select the last Launcher in the list. Click on the cog to configure it. Then choose the pen icon (at least in Xubuntu) to edit the currently selected item. Click on the current icon and then browse to the new one.</div>
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<b>3. Float the docks.</b></div>
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This one is quite simple. Start with the main dock containing the Google icons. Unlock the panel by right-clicking the panel or in the Panel Preferences dialog. Drag the dock up a little and a little to the right. You will see it kind of 'snap' away from the edges. Get it as far left and down as you can before it snaps back to the screen edge. It can be a bit fiddly, but when you get it right, it'll look like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wK7I4PFzFPyDtLPJ49hY2eS0BRfpvSiHoFS3fglE1tpy72oAI452Fa16JYNUPTDfT4dkTWZuaJ-mL8BF1PF6XI3mqtAxyBdUiUP1U_hViSWUQxu-JAwOhAMGXKkc0nfAV84UL2uO1vw/s1600/Chromeos+Float+Panel+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wK7I4PFzFPyDtLPJ49hY2eS0BRfpvSiHoFS3fglE1tpy72oAI452Fa16JYNUPTDfT4dkTWZuaJ-mL8BF1PF6XI3mqtAxyBdUiUP1U_hViSWUQxu-JAwOhAMGXKkc0nfAV84UL2uO1vw/s1600/Chromeos+Float+Panel+1.png" height="65" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lock the dock and repeat with the notification panel.</div>
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<i>(If you mess around with the Window Settings in the XFCE Settings Manager, you can probably turn off this snapping to screen edges function.)</i></div>
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Although this looks good, you will find that because the panels are now not against a screen edge, maximised windows will appear over the top or behind the docks. This may or may not be desirable, but if you want to keep the default behaviour of windows not filling that space, there is a simple trick you can try. Create a new panel. Make it fully transparent but only have a length of 1. Position this panel in the bottom, left corner and lock it. Increase the height so that it is slightly higher than the main dock with the Google icons. As this panel (albeit tiny) is on the screen edge, it will stop maximised windows from filling the space:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEltWBDeyZ7hve0tFuCVBUzHsWcvYu5d1R0RmFg42-rThVoxf2flsCY6C0aNPxXDOURGhmcAPpuaSeiWiCNZYf5VYjGHlopGMoM3Y9v3zkRKw1wG91nbc-A5xYIG_l0lqN2JLkMVzvRE/s1600/Chromeos+Hidden+Panel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEltWBDeyZ7hve0tFuCVBUzHsWcvYu5d1R0RmFg42-rThVoxf2flsCY6C0aNPxXDOURGhmcAPpuaSeiWiCNZYf5VYjGHlopGMoM3Y9v3zkRKw1wG91nbc-A5xYIG_l0lqN2JLkMVzvRE/s1600/Chromeos+Hidden+Panel.png" height="320" width="195" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Add the user switch/log out button</b></div>
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Real ChromeOS has a nice button on the notification panel that shows the user account picture and allows for user switching or logging off.</div>
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To re-create this, right-click on the notification panel and select Panel Preferences. On the Items tab add a new launcher. Edit the launcher and use this command "xfce4-session-logout". Then choose an icon from the theme set, or if you have a personalised user picture, locate the picture and use that instead:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR70Xl5uTilVhCzTdIsR54g8_1Lc23nGfy3rNr24PXtonNsuQ74xNL4rFQ4v_PwbNwQRNkzpoGCOFUMtO2bOO5mjX59GZ7oXdAUIQ1hIQSAKfCMcWGu5HXyjv-POKHWDa_pSeeZjgMvKk/s1600/Chromeos+Logout+Icon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR70Xl5uTilVhCzTdIsR54g8_1Lc23nGfy3rNr24PXtonNsuQ74xNL4rFQ4v_PwbNwQRNkzpoGCOFUMtO2bOO5mjX59GZ7oXdAUIQ1hIQSAKfCMcWGu5HXyjv-POKHWDa_pSeeZjgMvKk/s1600/Chromeos+Logout+Icon.png" height="320" width="276" /></a></div>
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You may wish to add a transparent separator before this. Position it at the right-hand edge, just before the Windows Menu.</div>
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If you want the icon to switch user accounts instead use this command (or create another launcher):<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.1em;">/usr/bin/dm-tool switch-to-greeter</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.1em;">I usually only have 1 workspace and I alter the workspace name in the XFCE Settings Manager to "Running applications:" This way the window menu makes more sense to me:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.1em;"><b>5. Chrome Theme</b></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.1em;">As you will be spending all your time in Chrome itself, you need the Chrome theme to look the part. I can highly recommend the <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/mac-os-x-magic-theme-2-tr/nlgncieodnojjmngldcbgicdbkjhkdom?hl=en-GB" target="_blank">Mac OS X Magic Theme 2 Transparent</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 1.1em;">And if I do say so myself, the final result is very close to the ChromeOS look!</span></div>
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richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-775908276354598968.post-56370609750319682002014-06-04T21:15:00.001+01:002014-06-18T22:29:25.347+01:00Make XFCE look like ChromeOS Part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So today I decided to make XFCE look like a Chromebook. Here's what I am aiming for:</div>
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<a href="http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mobile/Google/ChromebookA15/desktop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/mobile/Google/ChromebookA15/desktop.jpg" height="356" width="640" /></a></div>
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Note: the Chromebook has a bespoke desktop comprising a transparent taskbar/dock containing Google product icons and integrates the Google Apps launcher in place of a traditional application/start menu. On the bottom right sits a floating dock with a clock, WiFi, battery and user account widgets. There is basically just the one app - Google Chrome.</div>
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<b>1. Get XFCE</b></div>
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I am assuming that most of you reading this know what XFCE is and how to get it. But just for completeness and in case anyone wants to follow exactly what I am doing, download and install <a href="http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/" target="_blank">Xubuntu 14.04 LTS</a> on real hardware or in a virtual machine.</div>
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<b>2. Get Google Chrome</b></div>
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You won't find Google Chrome in the official Ubuntu repositories, but you will find Chromium (the open source version). Personally, I recommend installing the official version of Google Chrome to ensure you get the best experience using all the Google Apps and Chrome Store, plus it has Flash built in and sandboxed.</div>
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You can just download it on any Ubuntu variant straight from the Chrome website, but you might like to add the PPA and install via command line as follows (taken from <a href="http://www.ubuntuupdates.org/ppa/google_chrome" target="_blank">here</a>):</div>
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Setup key with:<br />
<pre class="literal-block" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(215, 215, 215); margin: 1em 1.75em; overflow: auto; padding: 0.25em;"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #111111; font-size: 11px;">wget -q -O - https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add - </span>
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Setup repository with:<br />
<pre class="literal-block" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(215, 215, 215); margin: 1em 1.75em; overflow: auto; padding: 0.25em;"><span style="background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #111111; font-size: 11px;">sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.list'</span>
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Install package with:<br />
<pre class="literal-block" style="background: rgb(247, 247, 247); border: 1px solid rgb(215, 215, 215); color: #111111; font-size: 11px; margin: 1em 1.75em; overflow: auto; padding: 0.25em;">sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install google-chrome-stable</pre>
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<b>3. Grab the wallpaper</b>.</div>
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A quick Google image search will show a number of common wallpapers you might expect to see on a Chromebook. <a href="http://techwhack.co/google-chrome-os-wallpapers-1936/" target="_blank">This site</a> has pretty much all of them, so download the one(s) you want.</div>
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Right-click on the XFCE desktop and select Desktop Settings from the menu. You will need to change the folder to wherever you downloaded your image to:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3QVwdjECwXQkrioB-Nl0Z8F3MGgKta5-fE7kazicJPSLtsRP9vkw_d9ntgUVYMs37PVD_R7F34UYgIwsIrmNW6Ths3NQjN74lyEhFPhLK6xXAQ93Ni9rxsSv3aNuiUuUhK2UKuKdigo/s1600/Chromeos+Changing+wallpaper.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv3QVwdjECwXQkrioB-Nl0Z8F3MGgKta5-fE7kazicJPSLtsRP9vkw_d9ntgUVYMs37PVD_R7F34UYgIwsIrmNW6Ths3NQjN74lyEhFPhLK6xXAQ93Ni9rxsSv3aNuiUuUhK2UKuKdigo/s1600/Chromeos+Changing+wallpaper.png" height="277" width="320" /></a></div>
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While you're at it, take the desktop icons off using the icons tab (it might be a good idea to leave Removeable Device icons though):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyulWuIaj57vhS5elepAJ94Ft8zdjWtSt8v4g0zoa1FoWQCs_42cxQbBeZAUnX5-zD6GPAJIZPWBCxCAXU1QBnQXa44IEEsbKgEtodkOeEWQ6gjTNzkJs-nIayutkBpR49v3ktAW5wil4/s1600/Chromeos+Remove+Desktop+Icons.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyulWuIaj57vhS5elepAJ94Ft8zdjWtSt8v4g0zoa1FoWQCs_42cxQbBeZAUnX5-zD6GPAJIZPWBCxCAXU1QBnQXa44IEEsbKgEtodkOeEWQ6gjTNzkJs-nIayutkBpR49v3ktAW5wil4/s1600/Chromeos+Remove+Desktop+Icons.png" height="290" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Move the panel to the bottom and make it transparent</b></div>
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By default, XFCE on Xubuntu has a panel on the top edge of the screen. We need this at the bottom and we need to make it about 40% transparent so we can see the wallpaper behind it. Right-click on the panel and select the Panel submenu and then Panel Preferences. Untick the box "Lock panel" and then grab the panel on the left edge and drag it to the bottom of the screen.</div>
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Whilst you are there, increase the row size to 28. </div>
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Then click on the Appearance tab and set the transparancy Alpha value to 40.</div>
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<b>5. Turn the panel into the floating widget dock</b></div>
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The current XFCE panel already has widgets similar to the one floating in the bottom-right on the Chromebooks. A few items need removing and some need re-ordering. Back on the Panel Preferences dialog, click on the Items tab.</div>
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Remove the Whisker menu using the red minus sign. Although the Whisker menu is a great start menu, there isn't one on a Chromebook, so off it goes! Don't worry, a right-click on the desktop will bring up an application menu!</div>
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Now, Chromebooks use a Windows 7/Mac OSX style dock where the icons are also the Window buttons. You can't recreate this in XFCE as such, so it's worth keeping a way to switch between open windows. First, remove the existing Windows Buttons widget. Then click the green + button and add the Window Menu widget instead. Leave it at the end of the panel, click on the cog icon to configure. Change the button layout to an arrow.</div>
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Bring the clock widget to the start of the panel and configure it to show 24 hour time only. Remove the expand function of the separator between the clock and the other widgets. Now everything will shift to the left.</div>
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Chromebooks don't have a visible volume icon. If you have keys for the volume, then you can hide the icon by configuring the Indicator plugin.</div>
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Go back to the Display tab and reduce the length of the panel to just fit all the items in (about 15). Tick the box that allows the panel to automatically expand - this means it can make room for notification icons. Unlock the panel and shift it to the right-hand edge:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbg-JhqpXGMSLtKXGrL3hGRT-Sunps5xJME0nRv0VE9QvU-yMZuwYMpkCsahXxZCrHpAVgO4VJOidXR6eQcMpSOBiVVWKY3QTzQDvWjMz-JAbtknd932HUanJehjK4FpdZ4U3KEwD9-7Y/s1600/Chromeos+Panel+Settings+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbg-JhqpXGMSLtKXGrL3hGRT-Sunps5xJME0nRv0VE9QvU-yMZuwYMpkCsahXxZCrHpAVgO4VJOidXR6eQcMpSOBiVVWKY3QTzQDvWjMz-JAbtknd932HUanJehjK4FpdZ4U3KEwD9-7Y/s1600/Chromeos+Panel+Settings+1.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>6. Get your Google apps</b></div>
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I am assuming you already have a Google account if you are trying to recreate this look. If not, sign up for one from the Google home page. </div>
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Open Chrome and log into your Google account and make sure the tick is on the Stay Signed in box. The current versions of Chrome have an Apps shortcut on the Bookmarks toolbar. Alternatively you can type <b>chrome://apps</b> into the address bar and you should see a screen like this:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlw2zgiBrzeyTSLAxFAZqK4uUYEZYalxKWn9tu814gpATclS9TEjwYPT2nAgCJ1KPruACTM3OT-5oHazc9pUGVejBA_fmDLb9w2Pezy41c7OIeQtbMT5aYJGzgDWHPbizse6-ZtkpTfk/s1600/Chromeos+Chrome+Apps+Screen.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWlw2zgiBrzeyTSLAxFAZqK4uUYEZYalxKWn9tu814gpATclS9TEjwYPT2nAgCJ1KPruACTM3OT-5oHazc9pUGVejBA_fmDLb9w2Pezy41c7OIeQtbMT5aYJGzgDWHPbizse6-ZtkpTfk/s1600/Chromeos+Chrome+Apps+Screen.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Adding more Google apps, is a simple matter of visiting the Chrome Store, searching for an app eg Google Play Music and installing it. It will then appear on this screen and on the App Launcher discussed below.</div>
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The killer app that is going to really make XFCE look like a Chromebook is the Chrome App Launcher. Right-click on the desktop and click on Open Terminal Here... Then type into your terminal:</div>
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And this is what you should see. The apps will differ depending upon what you have added from the store:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Cb-lu-xSitP6QY8EO4izgtqJEZKiaATO4VApVLOghcaXe7_0dtgBlqcZNsDHLiMsB5Rq0g-72M9QmYrPNSElFWIUcFn6VYe0pJg3tfz1rf4BBKpS7fiieVNfLSudUk7uL_F_m-Z4Euk/s1600/Chromeos+Show+App+List.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Cb-lu-xSitP6QY8EO4izgtqJEZKiaATO4VApVLOghcaXe7_0dtgBlqcZNsDHLiMsB5Rq0g-72M9QmYrPNSElFWIUcFn6VYe0pJg3tfz1rf4BBKpS7fiieVNfLSudUk7uL_F_m-Z4Euk/s1600/Chromeos+Show+App+List.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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The next step is to add all the icons for all the apps you want to appear on the taskbar to the desktop.</div>
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1. Lets start with the App Launcher itself. This is a tricky beast to get on Linux. It can appear as if by magic into your conventional XFCE applications menu, but failing that, it's easy enough to create, but you will need the icon - save one of the icons below to your home directory somewhere:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMZnPcJVNeJw2eHP_ao1JuVRANTL0TF9VNTVwjTzP28fuSovoKBMqBUl3N63kbOio8ZO3uW4SiFbYGxsEXvstihGAaebCe72sgxIj-WtdmwQfm320E8FKMFwHiuXYDZMQEZt81TEmPls/s1600/chrome-app-launcher-02-100x100.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimMZnPcJVNeJw2eHP_ao1JuVRANTL0TF9VNTVwjTzP28fuSovoKBMqBUl3N63kbOio8ZO3uW4SiFbYGxsEXvstihGAaebCe72sgxIj-WtdmwQfm320E8FKMFwHiuXYDZMQEZt81TEmPls/s1600/chrome-app-launcher-02-100x100.png" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZ11Mug0CtpcJpMEBBd9d_Tm2WzQH6qyQStx73W5R3a7HqVb07v4-pHjPWAf8p25E_uisY2tBBOay7HdO5xVgLh1ldA14RcCiI0RlPGZfESoO81vs2CmzPRSp4o6ZEJDCZ4gQTVqGFNw/s1600/Application+icon+android.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQZ11Mug0CtpcJpMEBBd9d_Tm2WzQH6qyQStx73W5R3a7HqVb07v4-pHjPWAf8p25E_uisY2tBBOay7HdO5xVgLh1ldA14RcCiI0RlPGZfESoO81vs2CmzPRSp4o6ZEJDCZ4gQTVqGFNw/s1600/Application+icon+android.png" height="100" width="100" /></a></div>
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Okay, right-click on the desktop and select Create Launcher. Then fill in the details using the <b>google-chrome-stable --show-app-list</b> command as above and your icon that you have downloaded:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrrRegJpvOZRNTO7PNdMjg1Ru0NfZ0RpmWUE6zKlpFQCxubO4upJBGlLkenKTHQYxAPxpMVQEIh6XjYQRp7NLLnYVeh4EnpVauFsPuafIEdWcOOLKPRuKMreQ9BfTH4ldfsI7jaW7uTE/s1600/Chromeos+Create+Launcher.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrrRegJpvOZRNTO7PNdMjg1Ru0NfZ0RpmWUE6zKlpFQCxubO4upJBGlLkenKTHQYxAPxpMVQEIh6XjYQRp7NLLnYVeh4EnpVauFsPuafIEdWcOOLKPRuKMreQ9BfTH4ldfsI7jaW7uTE/s1600/Chromeos+Create+Launcher.png" height="320" width="276" /></a></div>
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Now test the launcher actually launches the app list. When you double-click it, you will have to first choose "Mark Executable" as a one-off. Hint: press Esc to close the app list.</div>
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2. Create launchers for Gmail, Google Search, Google Drive, Google Docs and YouTube.</div>
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This is easier than you think because Google should have placed the launchers (and icons) already in the hidden ~/.local/share/Applications and ~./.local/share/icons/hicolor/128x128/apps/ directories.</div>
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Open the XFCE file manager (Thunar) by right-clicking the desktop and choosing Open in New Window. Click on the View menu and select Show hidden files. Then navigate to the .local/share/Applications directory.You should see some cryptic looking icons (at least 5, but maybe more depending upon which apps you have added to Chrome already):</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZQU1M7oQ8p07EP_ciD1uVm_qcuZA5ppGyzp-lhZjOqwnkM7M0ZtDWBk_STgixLoiITi5P1urhGIjQvQAgln9q9dWnOq0r-zNoIeSWrV5d1fnQCs0_TJiDka7FUO6fJbmDRrLrtb0us8/s1600/Chromeos+Hidden+Apps+Folder.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZQU1M7oQ8p07EP_ciD1uVm_qcuZA5ppGyzp-lhZjOqwnkM7M0ZtDWBk_STgixLoiITi5P1urhGIjQvQAgln9q9dWnOq0r-zNoIeSWrV5d1fnQCs0_TJiDka7FUO6fJbmDRrLrtb0us8/s1600/Chromeos+Hidden+Apps+Folder.png" height="251" width="320" /></a></div>
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Select all the files that have names like <b>Chrome-abcd-Default.desktop</b>... and copy and paste them onto the desktop. Lo and behold, the default Chrome app launchers will appear:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCECCkgXvoaW_N6WLJmfWL53RIALCfd-9r10wyw3402BjOBiC3SG3DfeWPuyBOjSb9qfG2mzy-AkT0VWeQ1V2aZd_4X6d27YsSyTbgZsrsMQ9XPvEyWPb5luBeykp6DNlQrwKbLGw0_A/s1600/Chromeos+Default+App+Launchers.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCECCkgXvoaW_N6WLJmfWL53RIALCfd-9r10wyw3402BjOBiC3SG3DfeWPuyBOjSb9qfG2mzy-AkT0VWeQ1V2aZd_4X6d27YsSyTbgZsrsMQ9XPvEyWPb5luBeykp6DNlQrwKbLGw0_A/s1600/Chromeos+Default+App+Launchers.png" height="58" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>7. Create the main application dock</b></div>
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Now you have all the icons, you are ready to create the main dock with the applications icons. We are going to create a new XFCE panel for this. Right-click on the panel you already have and select the Panel Preferences menu. Click on the big green + symbol at the top to create a new panel which will appear as a black rectangle somewhere near the top-left corner of the screen.</div>
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Drag the new panel to bottom-left corner and then increase the length to occupy about half the width of the screen (length=50) and change the height to 36. Click on close to set the panel for now.</div>
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Drag a launcher from the desktop to the panel. Wait until you get a red line and let go of the mouse. A dialog will appear asking if you want to create a launcher, click Create. It's a bit tricky as you have to get each icon very close to the last before it will drop onto the dock:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFdyJ4A5ytxynboG-7_EFoar2zdB4M5B8GrzhJlk-8NFUhiqnpfYmLOu4Cag26JBg289w8JVuK1y5jKec6gQLukGCjUt803w-4MOJWA1zdBPgB7yc4YsMOBBFUU0qi7kcNSkk11hn0aU/s1600/Chromeos+Add+Launcher+to+Dock.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFdyJ4A5ytxynboG-7_EFoar2zdB4M5B8GrzhJlk-8NFUhiqnpfYmLOu4Cag26JBg289w8JVuK1y5jKec6gQLukGCjUt803w-4MOJWA1zdBPgB7yc4YsMOBBFUU0qi7kcNSkk11hn0aU/s1600/Chromeos+Add+Launcher+to+Dock.png" /></a></div>
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Continue until you have all the icons on the panel/dock. Arrange them in whatever order you like, or follow the order of the Chromebook screenshot at the start of this how-to.</div>
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Finally, add a launcher for Chrome itself. Right-click the new panel and select Panel Preferences. Click on the Items tab. Click on the + symbol, choose Launcher and then Add. An empty launcher will appear. Click on the cog to edit the launcher. Click on the green + symbol again and scroll through the list of installed applications until you find Google Chrome. Then click on close.</div>
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Whilst in panel preferences, you can re-order the launchers. Then for a final flourish, take the alpha level right down to 0 on the Appearance tab and on the Display tab lock the panel and close the preferences dialog.</div>
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Finally, remove all the desktop launchers by selecting them all and pressing the delete key on the keyboard.</div>
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The beauty is, the App Launcher will launch directly above the icon on the dock:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4df3tJJi-cbcR3CADETzREg5-mKxuZewLumaBqXMXMiN7lHzVycU9UwK8xOx-zsU_Yz6WwFShfGWnwhx8EoiPlC-AT_lDIgmX7gl8_vC70R5BJGhIhemZYqFo2X4H4p9gO_2wtd_i-Y/s1600/Chromeos+Final+Desktop+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR4df3tJJi-cbcR3CADETzREg5-mKxuZewLumaBqXMXMiN7lHzVycU9UwK8xOx-zsU_Yz6WwFShfGWnwhx8EoiPlC-AT_lDIgmX7gl8_vC70R5BJGhIhemZYqFo2X4H4p9gO_2wtd_i-Y/s1600/Chromeos+Final+Desktop+1.png" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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And that is how you make XFCE look like a Chromebook!</div>
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Next time, I'll have a few tweaks to get it even closer to the real thing.</div>
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Now you can see for free if the Chromebook way of working is for you.</div>
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<span style="background-color: #274e13; color: #cccccc;">Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions or requests below. Be nice, it's my first post :) Would love to see any screenshots if anyone has a go at this.</span></div>
richjackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04449852221580282895noreply@blogger.com16