Below you will find pages that utilize the taxonomy term “Fluxbox”
Customizing the Look of the OS
I forgot what post online got me thinking about this stuff, but I really don’t customize my computers’ desktop environments much. Generally, I tend to change the background image and leave it at that. I took a look over my desktop image gallery here on the blog to confirm my suspicions.
Starting at the bottom with Windows, you can see that until 2009 I was just going with the default look. I tended not to add launchers to my panel because, with Windows XP, it ended up really limiting the space for listen the open programs. I also didn’t have too many launchers on the desktop. I tend to always have programs maximised if I’m in front of the computer, so the only programs shortcuts I’d leave on the desktop are programs I’d be likely to launch upon starting up the computer. In fact, whenever I pay attention, I tell the installer not to put icons on the desktop.
Review: Antix 7.5
It’s time once again for a Linux distro review. This month, Antix 7.5 was included on the LXF DVD. It’s another light distro, so I will use the same metrics I used in the Lightweight Linux Throwdown. Antix is based upon Mepis which is, in turn, based upon Debian. I think at one point it was based on Ubuntu, but I think they’ve gone back to being based on Debian. So, let’s get down to it. Here’s a screenshot of my desktop upon boot.
One last, good look at KDE 3 Part 1
As you can see, by trawling through this, I have gone back and forth between KDE and Gnome a lot. As I’ve mentioned many times before, I initially loved KDE over Gnome. It looked more like Windows, it had more neat options, and great programs. Not only is Amarok the best media player out there (although Rhythmbox is not far behind), but the KDE programs feel so much more tightly integrated than Gnome. That’s one part where they’ve always had a huge lead over Gnome, although Gnome has been catching up recently. Still, I hope that KDE continues to evolve its KParts and KIOSlaves infrastructures. (Or whatever they evolve into in KDE4) KDE programs also just seemed to fit together visually so much better, I don’t know why because Gnome has the HIG.
The future of Compiz-Fusion
Compiz-Fusion, as you surely know is responsible for eye candy on GNU/Linux distros such as windows that turn into paper airplanes when the user minimizes it to turning the desktop into a spinning cube. There’s something about the wobbly windows that provides some a sense of inertia that just makes things feel a little more dynamic on the desktop. I can’t explain it, but some of the effects make the GUI slightly more useful. However, Compiz-Fusion isn’t perfect.
My Fluxbox desktop on Fedora Core 3 Part 3
Here I have decided to run the “top” command in the top transparent Eterm window. This is a great command to have running on the desktop. Basically it’s equivalent to hitting control-alt-delete in Windows and then clicking on “processes”. It tells you what you are running on your system, how much RAM/CPU cycles it’s taking up, and a bunch of other information. It dynamically updates so as you run programs you can see what’s holding up the computer. It doesn’t normally have that line running down the middle. That’s a consequence of some glitch when I was taking the screenshot.
My Fluxbox desktop on Fedora Core 3 Part 2
Finally I have figured out something else I have wanted to do for MONTHS! If you look on the top-right corner you will see what looks like an embedded terminal in my desktop. The biggest reason why I’ve wanted to do this is simply because it looks really neat to have a terminal “built into” the desktop. I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet, the way people use them to run a logger in the background or other neat utilities. Besides looking really neat, it allows you to enjoy your background while using the terminal instead of covering it up. I mean, what’s the point of going through all the trouble of having such a great background when you can’t even see it? If you are into computers you are now nodding in agreement. So, how did I do this?
My Fluxbox desktop on Fedora Core 3
I wanted to share my Fluxbox desktop on my main Linux computer both for the geeky motive of showing off my desktop like jocks show off their cars and also to help others achieve the same configurations that I have. Fluxbox, like Blackbox and other *box window managers, are very, very customizable.
Here is the screenshot of my desktop, which you can see in full resolution by clicking it.
First of all, on the left-hand side of the screen you can see my system monitor, gkrellm. If you’ve spent any amount of time checking out screenshots of others’ desktops you’ve definitely seen this system monitor, especially on a non- KDE or Gnome screenshot. I was actually trying to figure out what this program was for months before finally stumbling upon the answer. It is highly customizable both in what it shows and what the colour scheme is. Currently I have it showing my CPU usage, user/program usage, internet traffic, and a few other small things. The best and easiest way to get get gkrellm if you are a Fedora user is to install it from the freshrpms repository via apt or yum. Freshrpms also contains themes and plugins for gkrellm.