I've been getting around to starting this thread for a long time, a place where we can share random tips regardging what we do to make our Linux system our own.
For example:
On my computer, I usually have three operating Systems on three different partitions-- SUSE 10.1, Windows XP, and a second Linux system that I rotate periodically (currently Ubuntu "edgy").
Whenever I install a new boot loader, one of the first things I do is edit the /boot/grub/menu.lst file so that the value for "timeout" is changed from 8 or 10 to 300. This is the number of seconds before the computer boots into the default OS. By giving myself five minutes instead of eight or ten seconds, I am freed from having to watch the machine like a hawk while rebooting, if I want to boot another choice. I can allow my mind to wander, which it tends to do whether I allow it or no. I can even go to the bathroom or get a snack.
I'm betting people have similar customization tricks that they like to use, and would love to share, yes? No?
betamaxman
11-25-2006, 02:57 AM
I share my firefox and thunderbird profiles between 3 other nixs vista and xp on my system. Bookmark a page in SUSE and it is bookmarked in pclinux ubuntu or windows. Same for thunderbird email, download an email in one os it is there in another as is my filters etc.
Parcival
11-25-2006, 07:22 PM
Hmm, this is an endless topic as there are uncountable numbers of customizations. However, the first thing I always do is setting my desktops eye candy. It has to look really neat or I won't enjoy working with it.
blackbelt_jones
11-25-2006, 08:04 PM
Hmm, this is an endless topic as there are uncountable numbers of customizations. However, the first thing I always do is setting my desktops eye candy. It has to look really neat or I won't enjoy working with it.
The first thing I do, whether I'm starting out with KDE or Gnome, is establish my keyboard shortcuts. Using the mouse to open everyday applications or a terminal, or to minimize, maximize or close windows... is strictly for rubes.
Today was the day when I figured out how to get my SUSE system to start up at the console as default by changing the default runlevel in the /etc/inittab file from 5 to 3. Up to now I had been using the options in the boot menu to start in the console.
I did the same thing for the Debian (sketch) system that I installed today, but the process was a little more involved. In Debian runlevels 2-6 are the same when the system is installed, so in addition to changing the default level in the inittab file from 2 to 3, I also went to the directory with the scripts for runlevel 3 /etc/rc3.d and disabled the script for gdm. The method for disabling the file is a little involved but you can find it outlined in the README file in the /etc/rcX.d directories.
The idea is to learn something cool every day. Yesterday I learned about running a command in the background.
betamaxman
11-25-2006, 08:31 PM
Not for me, give me a GUI the more pretty the better. :cool:
Pafnoutios
11-25-2006, 09:31 PM
I use a Dvorak keyboard layout.
blackbelt_jones
11-25-2006, 10:45 PM
Not for me, give me a GUI the more pretty the better. :cool:
Well, I like to start with the console, but I certainly haven't renounced guis altogether. Actually, I think I should probably change my signature cause lately I've running KDE more and more and fluxbox less and less.
So what's your idea of a "pretty" gui? Do you run Enlightenment? I've always thought that Enlightenment was the Godiva Chocolate of eyecandy.
betamaxman
11-25-2006, 11:04 PM
Nothing too extravagant, mostly kde with a cool kicker background, I like to customize things such as splashes the kmenu side bar icons the usual perhaps superkaramba if i see a usefull theme. My SUSE partition runs xgl/compiz though imo it is still a bit buggy for my main os. In my main os pclinux I use kdes compositing feature for true transparency (to a lite degree to much is unusable). If I enjoyed typing (or truth be known didn't suck at it) I probably would use the cmd line more than I do.
I also like to make a custom live dvd of my current install with all my settings so as to download email etc if i need to when not home, or simply show off linux to some windows user. But I am a visual type of person and enjoy nice graphics but that is just me others such as your self like simplicity and that is cool as well. :cool:
Tried enlightenment nice but too lite for me.
For a shell have you tried yakuake?
WhiteKnight
11-26-2006, 12:26 AM
Eye candy :D
Currently using e17 as my windowmanager
CVS code.. have some kinks here and there at times, but its generally stable enough for daily use :D
EFL is kind of cool, will be playing around with that after my college exams during the winter break.
I'm sharing thunderbird profiles between my WinXP and my linux too.
Oh.. will be trying to install gentoo on my spanking new macbook too!
crow2icedearth
11-26-2006, 01:05 AM
i like to customize Kde. i like to have 100% transparents terminals on my background in kde. I have no borders or anything. I make it look cool with my backgrounds . I use aterm for it so i can control the colors , etc. I also customize my prompts, shell env vairables,
I havnt use enlightment in years. i didn't even think it was still active
Sepero
11-26-2006, 06:50 AM
I did the same thing for the Debian (sketch) system that I installed today, but the process was a little more involved. In Debian runlevels 2-6 are the same when the system is installed, so in addition to changing the default level in the inittab file from 2 to 3, I also went to the directory with the scripts for runlevel 3 /etc/rc3.d and disabled the script for gdm.
For most cases, it is best to just "apt-get remove gdm kdm xdm". Debian based systems basically figure this, "If you have a DE manager installed, it must mean you want to use it". If you want it back, just install it.
My customizations are to have my desktop as LITE and FAST as possible (icewm). Eye-candy to me is simply a time consuming distraction. At boot, it starts immediatly into Xwindows with 2 xterminals, one for user, and one for root. I put my most often used programs 1-click away. If I don't do anything with the internet 15 minutes after boot (usually because I'm not even there), it automatically starts aMule and begins up/downloading (legal) files. Automating with scripts, isn't it beautiful...
AND GOD****! I LOVE THE "CRASH RECOVERY" EXTENSION FOR FIREFOX.
Firefox just crashed right in the middle of me typing this. Not only did it restore every tab, it also restored the text I was writing right here in this box!
(attached is the left side of my taskbar)
daYz
11-26-2006, 06:57 AM
I use a Dvorak keyboard layout.
Does it take long to manage that? What are your experiences with it?
Thanks.
Ben
daYz
11-26-2006, 07:26 AM
The first thing I do, whether I'm starting out with KDE or Gnome, is establish my keyboard shortcuts. Using the mouse to open everyday applications or a terminal, or to minimize, maximize or close windows... is strictly for rubes.
That is an interesting comment. I already do that in a way with firefox for example, but to apply that on the whole OS is even better.
For firefox I often use the commands:
for a new tab:
ctl t
to close a tab:
ctl w
to jump to the url part:
ctl l
to jump to the search engine part:
ctl k
Another thing you can do is saving your config files on cd. After you have reinstalled your OS you copy them to your system so that you don't have to configure/edit them again.
Even better is putting commands in a file, make that file executable, and run the file after each reinstall. That way you can quickly configure your whole system, it only takes some time to set up the file.
To achieve this you can put every command on a new line in the file. Like so:
I put my thumbprint on any box I touch with gKrellm installed, webmin, and I normally go for the fastest them availbale for KDE, although I have put an aqua theme on my laptop. I also install Opera on all my machines, with Firefox as a "backup" I also mke my terminals semi transparent so I can see my desktop, just looms funky..
XiaoKJ
11-26-2006, 10:16 AM
Easy, since I want to save myself of the trouble from setting up many times, I will make a partition and edit fstab and so on, then:
The others, let them be. I constantly try to accept other types of UI styles, though I keep myself mostly on KDE/xfce4.
blackbelt_jones
11-26-2006, 02:22 PM
That is an interesting comment. I already do that in a way with firefox for example, but to apply that on the whole OS is even better.
For firefox I often use the commands:
for a new tab:
ctl t
to close a tab:
ctl w
to jump to the url part:
ctl l
to jump to the search engine part:
ctl k
Another thing you can do is saving your config files on cd. After you have reinstalled your OS you copy them to your system so that you don't have to configure/edit them again.
Even better is putting commands in a file, make that file executable, and run the file after each reinstall. That way you can quickly configure your whole system, it only takes some time to set up the file.
To achieve this you can put every command on a new line in the file. Like so:
There's a terrific extension for firefox called conkeror that is supposed to make it possible to run firefox 100 per cent from the keyboard. The developer claims that he doesn't own a mouse: Conkeror works by assigning each link in a page a number and typing the number is how you get to the link. There's also a series of simple keyboard-based navigation commands that are supposed to be based on emacs.
http://conkeror.mozdev.org/
Actually, there may be some exceptions. SafariBooks Online is a website that I use, and they seem to have switched over from straight html to some kind of candy-assed javascript format, so the mouse seems to be necessary for some links.
Using Conkerer had a huge influence on my computing style, because it got me to appreciate the power of the keybinding for navigating the desktop. Of course, if you really want to take keybinding all the way you can't beat FLUXBOX, where the possibilities for keybindings are supposed to run into the millions. Maybe I'll do a post on fluxbox in this thread later on.
This thread is finally starting to take off. It's a good topic, if I may say so.
Parcival
11-26-2006, 03:46 PM
So what's your idea of a "pretty" gui? Do you run Enlightenment? I've always thought that Enlightenment was the Godiva Chocolate of eyecandy.
As far as my taste goes, a pretty GUI doesn't relate to a specific window manager or desktop. I find myself liking screenshots from any window manager depending on how they are set up. In my eyes a pretty GUI has to meet two factors:
look like every part was painted with the same concept in mind.
be unique and tell something about its owner.
Usually I start to design my desktop by looking for a cool wallpaper that matches my current mood. Once I am done with that I adjust my KDE windows accordingly. Once I am done with that I look for Karamba apps that fit or take existing ones and redesign them until they fit my desktop.
When I am in the mood and have the time I also take the whole thing one step further and also adjust the GRUB screen and the login screen until they match.
Pafnoutios
11-26-2006, 10:27 PM
Does it take long to manage that? What are your experiences with it?
I found a month where I didn't need to be typing term papers; Added us_dvorak to my available layouts in KDE's keyboard layout settings; Set my typing tutor program (I forget which and don't have it anymore) to a Dvorak based program and practiced one lesson/day (~10 minutes). I also bought a fine-tipped paint pen from Office Max and wrote the layout on my qwerty (there's one word that's faster to type on qwerty) keyboard. The paint will wear off the commonly used keys, hopefully after you learn them. Google for a sketch of the layout.
blackbelt_jones
11-27-2006, 01:59 AM
For most cases, it is best to just "apt-get remove gdm kdm xdm". Debian based systems basically figure this, "If you have a DE manager installed, it must mean you want to use it". If you want it back, just install it.
The reason why i don't do it this way is because of a minor glitch that I experienced when I used this method in Ubuntu.
I had installed KDE (for Ubuntu it's called the "kubunu-desktop") on top of the default gnome desktop, so I could get access to certain KDE applications like konqueror, and so after uninstalling gdm I found that I also had to uninstall kdm to get the desired effect, and after I did that, apt-get apparently decided that I didn't want kde at all, and so whenever i used apt-get it would give the long list of every kde application, and suggest that I remove them with 'auto-remove' or something like that. Not a real problem, but enough of annoyance that I would try to find another way next time.
Sepero
11-27-2006, 03:40 AM
There's a terrific extension for firefox called conkeror that is supposed to make it possible to run firefox 100 per cent from the keyboard. The developer claims that he doesn't own a mouseThat's funny. I love it. :)
For me though, I prefer using the mouse most times. In fact, I wish I didn't have to use my mouse or keyboard, I'd much rather "talk" to my system.
TheCatMan
11-27-2006, 12:13 PM
I have a little script that runs when I log into X. It starts GKrellm, wmix, xscreensaver and Skype, and maps the extra keys on my keyboard. The script is deliberately WM-independant, although I keep coming back to Fluxbox because I like the way the slit works - KDE's dock just isn't the same.
Another one I've had fun with is running the Star Wars xscreensaver hack in the root window, with whatever information seems appropriate at the time. Takes a lot of cycles without a graphics card though.
blackbelt_jones
11-28-2006, 01:16 AM
I have a little script that runs when I log into X. It starts GKrellm, wmix, xscreensaver and Skype, and maps the extra keys on my keyboard. The script is deliberately WM-independant, although I keep coming back to Fluxbox because I like the way the slit works - KDE's dock just isn't the same.
Another one I've had fun with is running the Star Wars xscreensaver hack in the root window, with whatever information seems appropriate at the time. Takes a lot of cycles without a graphics card though.
Wow, that's an awesome idea! So simple, but I had never thought of that. Take those 5 or six applications that you open everytime you run X, and put em all together. Sometimes I have a script that I run as root, and it mounts all my partitions at once.
And now for something completely different: Here's my .Xmodmap file:
remove Lock = Caps_Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
add Lock = Caps_Lock
What this does , by saving to the home directory as .Xmodmap, is disable the CapsLock key. I think I was actually trying to make the caps lock key into a second tab key or something, but disabling the CapsLock function was the most important part. I used to "customize my system" by prying the CapsLock key out with a screwdriver, but then I got one of those flexible keyboards that's molded out of one piece of silicon, and I had to come up with another solution.
In my opinion, CapsLock is a fine and noble idea for a key, but it's been given an extremely unfortunate location, right there next to a very popular vowel that I am supposed to hit with my most unreliable digit, the left pinkie. Why in the world didn't they put it, say, between "esc" and "F1"? Where it is, I am more likely to hit it by accident than on purpose, and always when I am typing feverishly, which means that I won't notice until I 've typed several words that I've been using allcaps, and have to go back.
I love my .Xmodmap file!
Sepero
11-28-2006, 02:53 AM
Perhaps instead of having a Caps Lock key, they should have made that a feature of pressing Shift twice? I thought about that a while back. It seems logical to me...
(Then again, I think the reason for Caps Lock has to do with inheritance from old typewriters. Remember those things?)
blackbelt_jones
11-28-2006, 03:31 AM
Actually typewriters didn't have a CapsLock Key... they had a Shift Lock key. In my Dad's old manual typewriter, it was located right about where the Ctrl Key is located.
I learned to type on a manual typewriter, which is why, thirty years later, I still hit the keys too hard. My silicone keyboard has a rubbery texture which absorbes a little of the shock... but I digress.
That's funny. I love it. :)
For me though, I prefer using the mouse most times. In fact, I wish I didn't have to use my mouse or keyboard, I'd much rather "talk" to my system.
I would submit that a keybinding can be a lot more direct, and therefore more like "talking" to your system than clicking though a series of menus.
When I use gnome, or KDE, I have a keybinding (Ctrl + Alt + ]) that I use to open the run application dialogue. No searching through the menu for the application I want. I just open the dialogue, type the name of the application, and the application opens. It's just that fast and direct. No searching for the button. You tell it what you want and it gives it to you.
blackbelt_jones
12-05-2006, 11:47 AM
When I brought up the topic of customizing, I always knew that I was going to
get around to my scheme for custom keybidings in fluxbox, which I consider to
be pure genius. Allow me to prove it to you.
Without going into a tutorial about fluxbox keybindings, Most of my
keybindings involve three kinds of modifiers. Organizing my keybindings in
groups is crucial if I want to remember them. People have said to me they
don't know how they could ever remember all those keybindings, but with a
little planning, it's easy.
Ctrl + Alt + <key> opens an application. Ctrl + Alt + f opens firefox.
Ctrl + Alt + G opens gedit. Ctrl + Alt + T opens a terminal window, etc.
Ctrl + Windows Key + <key> opens a location, whether it's a local
directory or a webpage. [/b] Examples: Ctrl + Windows Key + J opens firefox
to justlinux.com; Ctrl + Windows Key + G opens my Google homepage, also in
firefox; Ctrl + Windows key + M opens Konqueror to the directory where I keep
all my mp3s; Ctrl + Windows Key +D opens Konqueror to my desktop (Yes you
can access your deskop icons in fluxbox, through Konqueror. Not as
pretty, but just as functional.)
Now for my favorite part:
Windows Key + Alt + <key> opens a workspace. I have 26
workspaces set aside, one for every letter of the alphabet, and that allows me
to put anything I want to open on fluxbox exactly where I can find it in a
second with one modified keystroke. Before I open xchat, I might decide to
put it in the workspace named "X", so I hit Windows Key + Alt + X and then I
open X. And when I want to check back with xchat, I can go there in a flash,
without touching the keyboard.
psych-major
12-05-2006, 12:59 PM
i like to customize Kde. i like to have 100% transparents terminals on my background in kde. I have no borders or anything. I make it look cool with my backgrounds . I use aterm for it so i can control the colors , etc. I also customize my prompts, shell env vairables,
I havnt use enlightment in years. i didn't even think it was still active
Speaking of aterm, I use it with transparency on Slackware and SuSE, but I can't get it to display properly on Kubuntu with KDE 4. Has anyone else tried this?
As for my customizations, there's the obvious of installing mp3 and dvd support, as well as tweaking the settings of amarok to match my tastes and mount my iPod.
I also like to install knemo on KDE, or activate the network monitor on gnome. I just like to see my network traffic, I don't know why!!
techwise
12-05-2006, 01:04 PM
If I had to restart from scratch it would be painful to get where I am today in one day of customizing a new install. I dont think I could possibly remember everything. Some of the basics are:
turn off all unecessary services at boot time
setup all ssh and gpg keys
lock down sshd
set aliases (mostly for ssh'ing to remote machines)
set up backup scripts
get my Gnome panel all set up with my icons etc...
enigmail for thunderbird setup
set the x coordinates for gnome terminal
set up fonts and colors etc...
seldomseen
12-13-2006, 12:26 PM
I always keep my /home directory on a separate partition, so even when I'm setting up a new system much of the tweaking (especially in the eye-candy department) is pretty much automatic.
Random eye candy: Not much. I do like a nice wallpaper background (usually one of my own scenic photos), so I'll set that up. If I'm using a lightweight window manager such as Fluxbox, I like to have Rox with it so I can set that up more easily.
Programs: I have a few that I like to use and may not come with the new distro. In particular: tuxcards, jpilot, vym mind-mapper, tea text editor (my own favorite). If they're not on that particular distro I'll add them -- I keep the .tar files in my /home directory.
Basic setting up: Internet connections, peripherals, sound, access to other partitions. I keep all my mp3s on a separate HD and run 'em with xmms. I may not be much for eye candy, but I do like music when I work.
"Must" downloads: qt is the first on my list. So many of my favorite apps use it.
Like TheCatMan, I have a shell script that gets gkrellm, xscreensaver, jpilot, and other things into firing position when I log into X. Another shell script to build my /dev/ttyUSB* files if I need to. And one that more or less automates my backup process. Back when I was using DOS (oh so many eons ago) I was the .bat king --
could make those batch files do anything I wanted, so this is a logical step for me.
XiaoKJ
12-13-2006, 02:07 PM
I stumbled upon the configuration files the other day, and it reminded me that I've forgotten something in my previous post here.
Other than setting up the ln -s ../store/xkj /home/xkj, I've also stripped the .config-directories-and-files to /home/xkj_dots and manually linked them back, so that the configuration of each partition will not affect the programs in other partitions. (grammer mistake?) I did it that way so as to allow myself to use different apps, like kde and xfce4 on different partitions.
Needless to say, I have the exact isolation in windows, and by far its working fabulously and have not given me any trouble (except those horrid programs that hard-code C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\ into the binary (also means that I will drop the usage of such poorly written programs)
Is there any simple way for people to isolate configuration files in directories?
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