Lubuntu Icon Theme

Lubuntu/Ubuntu 10.04 onward

I've never been too happy with Ubuntu/Lubuntu default icons. I've toyed with a few different icon sets, but my favorite by far has to be the Faenza Icon Theme. Here's a sample of Faenza:

To install the icon theme, open LXTerminal and paste in the following code.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:tiheum/equinox
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install faenza-icon-theme

After it's installed, open the Look and Feel preference window: Applications -> Preferences -> Customize Look and Feel. Click on the icons tab and choose one of the Faenza themes.

Enjoy your new theme!

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Lubuntu: gconf-editor

Lubuntu 10.04-11.10

There are times when editing the configuration files of a particular app is done most easily using a tool like gconf-editor.

This editor ships by default with Ubuntu, but not Lubuntu. If you want it, here's how to get it:

First, open up LXTerminal. Then type/paste in the following code.

sudo apt-get install gconf-editor

Done. To use the editor: Applications -> System Tools -> Configuration Editor

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Lubuntu Quick Launch: Synapse

Lubuntu 10.04 onwards.

I came to Linux/Ubuntu from OSX after falling in love with spotlight. To scratch your quick-launcher itch, there's a lot of options, but my favorite has become Synapse.

Synapse uses the hotkeys CTRL+SPACE to summon the launcher.

To install Synapse, open up LXTerminal and type/paste in the following:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:synapse-core/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synapse

Finally, let's talk appearance. I used Synapse for about 5 months without compositing, but I finally took the plunge. If you want full aesthetic functionality, install a composite manager like xcompmgr. You can find instructions HERE.

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Lubuntu + Pandora = Pithos

Lubuntu and Ubuntu 10.04-12.04

If you're like me, you installed Lubuntu on your netbook because it is such a lightweight OS. The last thing I want to do is import my entire music collection on the hard drive, but I need my tunes! Enter Pithos.

Pithos is a Pandora client that plays high-quality, ad-free music from your Pandora account in a flash-free app. Did I mention it's ad-free?

To snag this app, open up LXTerminal and enter the following:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kevin-mehall/pithos-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install pithos

In closing, all systems are a bit different, but I had some issues playing Pithos out of the box. It gave me a gstreamer error. If you run across this same issue, open Synaptic (Menu -> System Tools -> Synaptic Packet Manager) and search for gstreamer.

I installed the following two packets and everything worked perfectly.

gstreamer-tools
gstreamer0.10-alsa

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Lubuntu Screenshots

The quick way to take a screenshot on Lubuntu is simply hitting the PrtSc button. It saves your file to your home folder.

However, certain actions can't be captured using the PrtSc button. Sometimes a time delay is required in order to begin a specific function. In cases like these, I use mtPaint. It comes default on Lubuntu. In the menu, there's a timedelayed screenshot option.

Although this is an easy solution, I found I wanted a way to shorthand the process even more. It's a small script/application that will appear in your menu. Here's how I accomplished it.

Step One. Open up Leafpad, copy in the following code, and save the file to your home directory as "screenshot.sh"

sleep 5; mtpaint -s

Step Two. Create an application that runs your shell script. First, you need root access of your applications file. Direct your file manager to:

/usr/share/applications

Now open the location as root.

Now, secondary-click -> create blank file.

Save as screenshot.desktop. Find your newly created file, secondary-click, and open with leafpad.

Paste the following code into the document and click save. Be sure to insert your username where it's appropriate.

[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Name=Grab Screenshot
Exec=sh /home/YOUR_USER_NAME/screenshot.sh
Icon=gthumb
Type=Application
Categories=Application;Graphics;

The icon option can be set to any icon. You can view acceptable icons by looking through

/usr/share/icons

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Lubuntu Composite Manager: xcompmgr

Lubuntu 11.04, 11.10. Will probably work for almost all flavors of Ubuntu.

In order to get apps like Docky and Synapse to work on Lubuntu, you will need a composite manager to handle window transparency. This doesn't ship by default in Lubuntu.

First, let's install the light-weight composite manager called xcompmgr. In the terminal, type:

sudo apt-get install xcompmgr

Enter your password and you're done.

However, installing xcompmgr is useless unless you set it to autostart at login. This part is a bit trickier. The simple method is to download the following .desktop file xcompmgr.desktop and place it in the directory:

~/.config/autostart

Hint: if you don't know how to show hidden files, simply press "[CONTROL]+h".

When you're finished, you should have something that looks like this. You might have other items or less items in this directory, but you should at least see the xcompmgr file.

Restart your system and you're compositing!

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Bookmark Apps

Lubuntu 11.04, 11.10. Will probably work for almost all flavors of Ubuntu.

Because I use the gmail web interface as my email client, I was looking for a way to create a "gmail.com" application/icon on my desktop. There are certainly "easier" ways to do this, but most beginers don't like using the terminal. Here's a GUI approach.

First, you need root access of your applications file. Direct your file manager to:

/usr/share/applications

Now open the location as root.

Now, secondary-click -> create blank file.

Save as gmail.desktop.

Find your newly created file, secondary-click, and open with leafpad.

Paste the following code into the document and click save.

#!/usr/bin/env xdg-open

[Desktop Entry]
Name=Gmail
Exec=chromium-browser http://gmail.com
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Icon=gmail
Categories=Network;WebBrowser;

If you use Firefox, simply replace "chromium-browser" with "firefox". Also the icon option can be set to any icon. You can view acceptable icons by looking through

/usr/share/icons

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My Lubuntu Desktop

In my opinion, Lubuntu ships with some fairly ugly defaults. In all fairness, 11.10 was a huge improvement over 11.04. However, here's some modification ideas.

Docky, semi-transparent panel on top, Faenza icon theme.

PCManFM file browser. Looks like an elementary theme.

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