Content-Type: RST Here we go judging books by their covers again! I have a friend who doesn't understand why this whole thing about theming your desktop is so big and important. So I pulled a few themes off `gnome-look.org`_ and -- .. _`gnome-look.org`: http://www.gnome-look.org But wait, I have Windows users in my audience, too! They might not know what it means to be able to decide exactly what your desktop looks like. No, I don't mean background, I mean the color and feel of how your windows work. No, I don't mean the silly old Windows 98 "change the colors of the fade in the title bar" which most people didn't even know existed. *Sort of* like Vista and 7 themes. Except these existed way before as part of open source graphics and windowing toolkits, most notably `GTK+`_ and `Qt`_. `GTK+`_ is the toolkit that `Gnome`_ (the default desktop/window manager for Ubuntu) uses, while `Qt`_ is the toolkit that KDE (in Kubuntu) uses. .. _`GTK+` : http://www.gtk.org .. _`Qt`: http://qt.nokia.com/products/ .. _`Gnome`: http://www.gnome.org/ Now that the linkies are over with, let's address the question: What exactly *is* theming? Well, let's look at an example of an unthemed application (The Widget Factory a program to test themes out with the different widgets), before we look at what a theme is. GTK+ comes with its default look, which is stable, but rather ugly. And by rather ugly I mean butt ugly: .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/twf-unthemed See the `Full View `__. Well, my friend I mentioned above doesn't think this is butt ugly, but as the Windows people would be quick to say, that is so butt ugly it could be on the level of... well I won't go into that `shock site`_. By contrast, here's the "pretty" version of that, using the `Aurora`_ GTK+ engine/theme: .. _`shock site`: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_Site .. _`Aurora`: http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=56438 .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/twf-themed-aurora See the `Full View `__. Personally I much prefer Aurora to unthemed. Why? - Shading! Check out the buttons, they actually have a *gradient* on them to show that they're "3D" - A "flatter" look. Thick lines outlining a faux-3D look on every single element of the user interface are so 90's. - Shades of color. Maybe different elements should be emphasized by a change in the background color? - Compactness. Not always a factor, some themes are more compact than others, but they all aim towards a "sleek" look. - Animation! Again, not for all themes (not for Aurora), but on some others, stuff like - for example - the progress bars, is animated! So, okay, a bit of eyecandy, and a little practical use, but why go to the effort? And, saith the Windows people: but we got a theme! It's a pretty good one, and it's coded by one of our smart Microsoft developers: .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/pants-on-head-retarded Thank you, `Yahtzee `__. ... but I'm changing the subject. See, the magic of Linux themes (and of the new Windows themes, too, but they're proprietary so they suck) is that you can change them on the fly to suit your mood or your environment. Working at night to pour all stress into a great blog post, and the contrast of brightly colored windows to the dark room bothers your eyes? Try the default-included Ubuntu Darkroom theme - this one is actually animated! .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/twf-themed-darkroom See the `Full View `__. Or, if you're an undercover GTK+ developer infiltrating the rival Qt labs, use the KDE4-Oxygen theme to make your Gnome look like their Oxygen theme: .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/twf-themed-oxygen See the `Full View `__. Or, for other infiltrating purposes, some old screenshots of what I've achieved: `OS X`_, and `Vista`_. Okay, they were just for confusing people when my Vista windows burst into flame when I close them. (I made Vista **hot**) .. _`OS X`: http://www.opensourcenerd.com/resources/blog-ss/mac.png .. _`Vista`: http://www.opensourcenerd.com/resources/blog-ss/vista.png And the good news? Since GTK+ is open-source and Qt is *sort of* open source (stupid Nokia), techies can code their own anytime they want. Also, this feature's been around for a while, so there's some good stuff out there. The only hitch? You need a computer that's able to run your chosen desktop manager in the first place. In the past, I would have probably recommended Qt (hence KDE) because it really feels more powerful, you can do cooler things with it, and it's more friendly to people not accustomed to a more Linux-y environment (like GNOME). But that was before KDE 4, which took a spoonful of LSD and poured it in Qt's eyesockets. It sees pretty colors now, but they're pretty much useless unless you run a heck of a powerful machine. Hence why I use the prettyful Oxygen theme on GTK+. .. figure :: http://blog.opensourcenerd.com/upload/confusion-looks-best-sideways Oops! I made a jargon! But I digress again! The point is: if you're using unthemed Gnome, `get cracking`_. If you're using KDE, `you too`_. If you're using Windows, `QQ more`_ and `really get cracking`_. .. _`get cracking`: http://www.gnome-look.org .. _`you too`: http://www.kde-look.org .. _`QQ more`: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=QQ .. _`really get cracking`: http://www.ubuntu.com/get **Edit:** Hey look! I can do edits on my blog now!