gnome
Gnome Shell – Move Over Compiz, or Not?
Dec 19th
Gnome is moving ahead making great progress. Every successive release gets better. A new addition to Gnome is a build in shell supporting compositing. Install it in Ubuntu with:
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell
Then implement it the same way you implement compiz:
sudo gnome-shell --replace
You may want to have the fusion-icon open in the system tray to conveniently switch back to compiz if you want. Install the fusion icon with:
sudo apt-get install fusion-icon
Gnome shell is interesting. Clearly there are three ways to use Gnome at the moment; default, gnome-shell, and Compiz. The default shell is good for a server environment, but with the stability of the alternate shells there is no reason not to use Compiz or the now available Gnome shell.
KDE – Kmail
Dec 10th
I like kmail. It is the default mail client for KDE desktops. I have used Thunderbird for a long time now, but kmail is equivalent. So is evolution, which I use as well. Ultimately they all do the same thing; they are mail clients. Each one has comparable features, although they all look slightly different. I tend to use Thunderbird, but have grown an affinity for kmail. In particular, when Using Gnome I use Thunderbird, and when using KDE I use kmail.
KDE Desktop Option – Various Environments
Dec 8th
Now that I can logout to GDM I have realized a couple of things. The first thing is that Ubuntu 9.10 does not support modification of GDM. This must be because of various changes / upgrades. But there is no option to install themes or modifications in any graphical way. I’m not working really hard to figure out how to modify things, but I’m not incredibly disappointed with the way things look or work.
I also installed KDE. It installs easy on Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop
Then on the GDM it gives you a desktop session option. Toggle the drop down menu, and log in as normal to an alternative desktop environment. KDE is a nice change, I have been using Gnome for the longest time. Things work entirely different on KDE, and it will give me an opportunity to investigate something new.
Gnome Session Over SSH
Sep 5th
This is a cool one, far better than just a vnc connection. Even better than an X11vnc connection. Head over to another tty, lets say tty2: (cntrl)(alt)f2. Login, and start another X session: xinit -- :1 A minimal X session will start. Now login via ssh to your server. For example I login with this: ssh -X -C 192.168.0.1 Where -X forwards the X session, -C uses compression, and 192.168.0.1 is an example IP address of a server. If your sever is hosting a website using a domain, you can point the ssh connection at the domain. Also I recommend using rsa keys for the ssh connection, as it prevents brute force password attacks. For more information check here: http://www.bgevolution.com/blog/ssh-brute-force-protection/ After logged in via ssh start your Gnome desktop with: gnome-session Your desktop will start just as if you were sitting in front of your computer. Some things wont work like the notifications panel, because one is already launched on the server desktop. Other gnome panel applets may not launch, but your desktop overall will work.
Trash Icon on Desktop – Gnome
Aug 22nd
Using gconf-editor navigate to applications – nautilus – desktop. There are a couple of icons you can select to show on the desktop including “computer”, “home”, and “trash”.