Showing posts with label gnome shell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gnome shell. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Spice Up Your Linux Desktop With The Moka Project GTK / Icon Themes
Many of you are probably already familiar with the Moka Project but, since I never covered it, and the project has evolved a lot recently, I though I'd write an article about it now.
 |
| Stark Ceru GTK theme / Faba Ceru icon theme in Unity (Ubuntu 14.04) |
Moka started as a single icon theme but it has evolved into an entire project which includes multiple GTK and icon themes for the Linux desktop as well as icon themes for Android, all designed / developed by +Sam Hewitt.
Currently, the Moka Project consists of 3 beautiful GTK themes (Moka, Orchis and Stark) and 3 icon themes (Moka, Faba and Faba Colors) for Linux desktops, accompanied by a GNOME Shell and a Plank theme.
Here are a few screenshots with some of the GTK / icon themes included in the Moka Project:
 |
| Moka Icon Theme |
 |
| Faba Colors |
To allow you to choose from 6 different folder colors, there's a supplementary theme to Faba called Faba Colors (along with Faba Light/Dark) which you can see above. Faba Color matches the Stark GTK theme, which is available in the same color variations:
 |
| Stark GTK theme |
Below you can see some of the Moka Project GTK / icon themes in action:
 |
| Orchis GTK theme / Moka icon theme in GNOME Shell |
 |
| Orchis GTK theme / Faba Roja icon theme in Unity |
 |
| Moka GTK theme / Faba Viol icon theme in Unity |
 |
| Moka GTK3 |
 |
| Orchis GTK3 |
 |
| Stark Lutu GTK3 |
 |
| Stark Roja GTK3 |
 |
| Stark Verd GTK3 |
 |
| Moka GNOME Shell theme |
It's also worth mentioning that according to Sam Hewitt, Orchis is the main project GTK theme, and not Moka, as you would expect. Moka GTK theme is still maintained though.
Download the Moka Project GTK / icon themes
All the Moka Project GTK / icon themes are available in repositories for Ubuntu / Linux Mint (Launchpad PPA), Fedora, openSUSE and Arch Linux (AUR).
The themes are free to download but there's also an option to donate to help its development and for this reason, I won't add installation instructions here. Instead, head over to the Moka Project website:
... and simply click the theme you want to install, then click the Download button and follow the instructions.
To change the GTK / icon theme, use a tool such as Unity Tweak Tool, GNOME Tweak Tool, Ubuntu Tweak, etc.
... and simply click the theme you want to install, then click the Download button and follow the instructions.
To change the GTK / icon theme, use a tool such as Unity Tweak Tool, GNOME Tweak Tool, Ubuntu Tweak, etc.
Important note: the Moka Project website doesn't mention the GTK version required by the GTK themes. I've tested the GTK themes with Ubuntu 12.04 (which uses GTK 3.4) and the themes looked broken so I assume the GTK themes require at least GTK 3.6 (the themes seemed to look ok in my brief Ubuntu 12.10 / GTK 3.6 test).
Report any bugs you may find @ GitHub.
some images via Moka Project
Nautilus 3.10 Available In Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr
Another important GNOME 3 component was updated to version 3.10 for Ubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr: Nautilus, the default GNOME file manager.
Because Nautilus is also the default Unity file manager, it was patched not to use the new header bars under Unity, so if you use Unity (or other non-GNOME desktop environments), you won't notice any differences:
If you're a GNOME Shell user however, Nautilus (Files) should now use the new GNOME header bars, also known as client-side decorations:
Ubuntu 14.04 users: Nautilus 3.10 was promoted from the Proposed repository to Main a few minutes ago so it may take a while until you receive the update.
The only important GNOME components that still need to be updated to version 3.10 in Ubuntu 14.04 are GNOME Control Center (Trusty uses version 3.6.3 at the time I'm writing this article) and GNOME Settings Daemon (currently at version 3.8.6.1 in Trusty).
Make Firefox Use Native Notifications In Linux With GNotifier
Quick tip for Firefox users: GNotifier is a Firefox extension that makes the browser use native notifications on the Linux desktop. The extension currently supports GNOME (Shell), Unity, KDE and Xfce.
Below you can see a Firefox notification in action using GNotifier, under Unity and GNOME Shell:
Besides regular notifications, like the one displayed when a file is downloaded, the extension also supports the standard webkitNotification API (for instance, receiving notifications on new emails in Gmail) - to use this feature, Firefox needs an user script like THIS (you'll need Greasemonkey extension to install user scripts).
Get native Linux desktop notifications in Firefox with GNotifier
To install GNotifier Firefox extension, visit its page and click "Add to Firefox": GNotifier @ Firefox Addons.
The extension should start working immediately, without having to restart the browser.
Monday, October 26, 2015
GNOME 3.12 Released - See What`s New [Video, Screenshots]
GNOME 3.12 was released today and it includes some important changes such as proper HiDPI support, improved Wayland support, various enhancements for the core GNOME applications as well as 3 new preview applications.
GNOME 3.12 video
Below you can watch a GNOME 3.12 video I've recorder under Fedora 20, which should give you a better idea about what's new in this GNOME release:
(direct video link; for more videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel)
Please note that I used VirtualBox for the video, that's why you might notice some lag at times.
GNOME 3.12: Changes in GNOME Shell, Settings, etc.
The most important improvement in GNOME 3.12 it that GNOME now properly supports high resolution displays, but there are many other interesting changes.
GNOME Shell 3.12 didn't receive the huge amount of changes we're used to from the previous releases, but there are still some interesting new features and improvements:
- Jumplists (also known as Quicklists in Unity) support;
- improved network menus;
- you can now create your own app folders from GNOME Software: go to the Installed view, select some applications and then choose which folder you want them to belong to;
- when searching the Activities Overview, GNOME Shell now displays applications available to install, along with installed apps;
- A geolocation indicator was added to the status menu;
- refined animations;
- window previews are now keyboard navigable.
Other changes:
- improved initial Setup Assistant
- better Wayland support
- Allow specifying monitor for OSD
- new Bluetooth settings
- GNOME Online accounts has better Facebook and Google support and also, it now supports Pocket (a web service that lets you save videos, articles and pretty much anything from the browser for later use)
- Google Cloud print support
- updated Adwaita GTK theme: new style for tabs and buttons, etc.
Also, GTK 3.12 introduces restyled tabs and "popovers", an overlayed bubble interface element that is already used in some of the GNOME 3.12 core apps, such as Gedit.
Here are some screenshots with these changes:
 |
| HiDPI |
 |
| New bluetooth settings |
 |
| Quickly toggle location on/off |
 |
| Applications available for installation in the Activities Overview |
 |
| New buttons style |
 |
| New tabs style and popovers |
GNOME 3.12 applications
 |
| Gedit |
Gedit was redesigned for GNOME 3.12, bringing it in line with the other GNOME core applications: Gedit now uses header bars (client side decorations), the tabs were redesigned, GtkPopovers are used for various UI elements, Solarized light & dark styles are now available by default and more.
 |
| GNOME Software |
 |
| GNOME Software |
 |
| GNOME Software - manage software sources |
GNOME Software 3.12 received various performance improvements, along with some new features:
- GNOME Software now displays application screenshots;
- automatic ratings which indicate the application quality;
- supports removing third-party repositories.
 |
| GNOME Videos (Totem) |
 |
| GNOME Videos (Totem) |
Like Gedit, GNOME Videos (previously known as Totem) was also redesigned: it now uses header bars, the playback view was completely redesigned and it now uses a floating playback controls bar that hides when it's no needed, etc.
The application has also received some new features, such as an option to browse online videos - in this release, GNOME Videos supports The Guardian Videos, Applet Movie Trailers, Blip.tv and Rai.tv but more will be added in the future. Also, since GNOME 3.12 comes with Pocket integration, Videos allows you to watch any videos you've saved to Pocket.
 |
| Polari |
 |
| GNOME Sound Recorder |
With GNOME 3.12, there are also some new preview applications: Polari (an IRC client), Sound Recorder and Logs - see above.
 |
| Web (Epiphany) |
Web (Epiphany), the GNOME browser, features a new address bar design, a new style for incognito windows, better downloading behavior, redesigned cookies and password dialogs as well as Chrome-like one process per tab.
Changes in other GNOME apps:
- Photos: Facebook integration, improved screenshot handling, performance improvements and also, you can now search for photos from the Activities Overview;
- Games: 10 games now have modernized window layouts;
- Terminal: automatically wrap lines, setting to use dark visual theme, Solarized style is available by default and it's now possible to search for terminals from the Activities Overview (it will search for commands and display open terminals that match the query);
- Notes: new option to open notes in a new window, as well as a trash bin to prevent you from accidentally deleting notes;
- Boxes: networking improvements and and option to import existing boxes from the host system;
- Music: support for creating playlists;
- Maps: search will autocomplete previous searches, and there is a better minimum zoom level.
For more information, see the official GNOME 3.12 release notes.
Test GNOME 3.12
If you want to give GNOME 3.12 a try, you can download an ISO from HERE.
Ubuntu users: Ubuntu (and thus Ubuntu GNOME) 14.04 won't use GNOME 3.12 by default but it will be installable via PPA.
information and some screenshots via GNOME 3.12 release notes
GNOME Shell Clipboard Extension GPaste 3.8 And 3.3 Available In PPA
GPaste is a clipboard management system that comes with a command line interface as well as a GNOME Shell extension.
The application features URIs (remembers copied files, not just text) and pictures support, option to backup / restore the clipboard history and other useful features.
GPaste 3.3 (for GNOME Shell 3.9.5 and older) and GPaste 3.8 (for GNOME Shell 3.9.90 and newer) were released recently and are now available in the failsdownloads GNOME 3 PPA.
Changes for GPaste 3.8 (from the previous version available in the PPA):
- new growing-lines feature - this feature detects if a new copy is an extension of another one and replaces it if that's the case, useful for not polluting your clipboard with variations of the same text;
- the gnome-shell applet has been totally rewritten and is now more intuitive;
- the GPaste settings look has been updated to better fit with recent GNOME (GPaste now uses header bars, etc.);
- new gnome-shell DBus client library;
- keybinder now uses GNOME Shell if available to grab keys;
- port to newer glib;
- preparations for Wayland port;
- enhanced internal memory management;
- performance improvements;
- fixes.
Changes for GPaste 3.3:
- New growing-lines feature (backported from 3.8)
Install GPaste 3.8 / 3.3 in Ubuntu
The PPA below currently provides:
So, if you're using Ubuntu 13.10 with GNOME Shell 3.10 installed from a PPA, the GPaste version available for your Ubuntu version won't work. But you can manually download (download both gnome-shell-extensions-gpaste and gpaste debs) the GPaste debs from Ubuntu Trusty and install them in Saucy (not tested) and see if that works.- GPaste 3.8 for Ubuntu 14.04 (GNOME Shell 3.10);
- GPaste 3.3 for Ubuntu 13.10 (GNOME Shell 3.8), Ubuntu 12.10 (GNOME Shell 3.6) and Ubuntu 12.04 (GNOME Shell 3.4).
To add the failsdownloads GNOME 3 PPA and install GPaste, use the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:failsdownloadsteam/gnome3
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell-extensions-gpasteOnce installed, press ALT + F2 and enter "r" to restart GNOME Shell (or log out and log back in) and then activate GPaste via GNOME Tweak Tool > Extensions.
If you're upgrading from an older GPaste version, run the following command to activate the new features (the command might display an error but that's ok, ignore it):
gpaste drIf you encounter bugs, report them @ GitHub.
How To Install GNOME 3.10 In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander
GNOME 3.10 has been released yesterday and I've received requests to write an article on how to upgrade to it in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, so here goes.
The instructions below are only for those who want to use GNOME Shell (Ubuntu GNOME users, Unity users who want to switch to GNOME Shell, etc.) because of some bugs with the GNOME 3.10 PPA packages and Unity.
The GNOME 3 Next PPA, announced not so long ago, contains GNOME 3.10 packages that are considered stable. Unfortunately, the PPA currently only has a few packages: GNOME Shell (including the official extensions), GNOME Themes, GTK3, Mutter, Clutter, Network Manager, Vala, Wayland and WebkitGTK so basically, to get a GNOME 3.10 desktop which includes System Settings, the core apps, etc., you must also add the GNOME 3 Staging PPA which contains packages that have known bugs and regressions, "sometimes of critical nature" mentions the PPA description.
In my test (I'm using GNOME 3.10 right now on my main computer) under Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, I've added both the GNOME 3 Next PPA and the GNOME 3 Staging PPA and I've encountered the following issues:
- LightDM doesn't work so if you plan on using these PPAs, make sure you switch to GDM prior to upgrading;
- using these PPAs pretty much breaks Unity: the AppIndicators don't work, the applications don't show up in Dash, the mouse is invisible (update: this invisible mouse issue can be fixed by using the following command: "gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.cursor active false"), the new CSD applications don't have shadows and there are probably other issues too but I've only used Unity for a few minutes. So only add these PPAs for now if you don't have Unity installed or you don't plan on using Unity;
- some applications may not work properly or not work at all - in my test, Synapse stopped working while gThumb doesn't display the thumbnails properly.
So only follow the instructions below if you know what you're doing and know how to use PPA-Purge to revert the changes in case something goes wrong!
What will be upgraded: by using the instructions below, besides GNOME Shell (and the default extensions), GDM, GTK, GNOME Control Center, etc. and various libraries, the following applications will be upgraded to version 3.10.0: Cheese, Eye Of GNOME, Evince, Gedit, Boxes, Clocks, Contacts, Documents, Font Viewer, System Monitor, Terminal, Tweak Tool, Weather and Files (Nautilus). Web (Epiphany) won't be upgraded to version 3.10 for now, but to 3.9.91.
What won't be upgraded to version 3.10: unfortunately, the other GNOME 3.10 applications are missing from these PPAs: Music, Notes (Bijben - version 3.8.4 is available in the official repositories), Maps, Photos and Software. Totem won't be upgraded for now either.
That said, let's proceed to upgrading GNOME to the latest 3.10 version in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander.
Upgrade To GNOME 3.10 In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander
1. Switch to GDM if you're not using it already.
Like I was telling you above, in my test LightDM didn't work after using the two GNOME3 PPAs, so install GDM if it's not already installed:
sudo apt-get install gdmAnd select GDM instead of LightDM when prompted.
If you want to switch between LightDM, GDM, etc. see THESE instructions.
2. Add the GNOME3 Next and GNOME3 Staging PPAs and upgrade to GNOME 3.10
Before adding the GNOME 3 Staging PPA, make sure you read its description.
Now let's add the PPAs and upgrade to GNOME 3.10:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-next
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgradeImportant: when running "dist-upgrade", make sure you read the output before entering "y" to make sure no important packages are removed!
Also, since GNOME 3.10 doesn't work properly with Unity, you must want to use GNOME Shell, so install it using the following command if you didn't install it already:
sudo apt-get install gnome-shellTo install all the GNOME apps (and the default GNOME Shell extensions) that aren't installed by default in Ubuntu, use the following command:
sudo apt-get install gnome-documents gnome-contacts epiphany-browser gnome-boxes gnome-shell-extensions gnome-tweak-tool bijiben gnome-clocksTip: to avoid issues with black elements in various applications (and to get the default GNOME 3.10 scrollbars which now support fine scrolling - to use it, hold SHIFT while clicking on the scrollbar thumb), remove the Ubuntu overlay scrollbars:
sudo apt-get remove overlay-scrollbar3. Restart the computer.
For me, restarting via the system menu didn't work so if that happens for you too, reboot via command line:
sudo rebootAnd in the login screen, select the "GNOME" session.
Ambiance doesn't work properly with applications that use client side decorations so if you were using it, change to Adwaita theme using GNOME Tweak Tool (the application should have been installed with the last command from step 2 above). Another theme that supports GNOME 3.10 and client side decorations is Numix.
Revert the changes
If something doesn't work or you simply don't like GNOME 3.10 and want to revert the changes and go back to the default GNOME 3.8 available in the official Ubuntu 13.10 repositories, you need to purge the PPAs added using the instructions above, starting with the GNOME 3 Staging PPA:
sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-staging
sudo ppa-purge ppa:gnome3-team/gnome3-nextIf you've removed the Overlay Scrollbars package, install it back using the following command:
sudo apt-get install overlay-scrollbarIf you were using LightDM and want to switch back to it, follow THESE instructions.
And finally, reboot.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
See What`s New In GNOME 3.10 [Video, Screenshots]
GNOME 3.10 has been released today with some important changes such as initial Wayland support, header bars (client side decorations), a new system menu for GNOME Shell which combines the previous system status menus and of course, updated core GNOME apps as well as some new applications.
Let's take a look at what's new!
GNOME 3.10 video
Below you can watch a video I've recorded earlier today with some of the changes in GNOME 3.10:
(direct video link; for more videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel)
GNOME Shell / Settings changes
GNOME Shell hasn't received many changes, but GNOME 3.10 introduces a pretty important change: the old system status menus have been replaced with a new System Menu:
The System Menu is more compact and includes brightness and sound sliders, quick access to wireless networks, battery status as well as settings, lock screen and shutdown buttons. The language selector continues to use a separate menu as you can see in the screenshot above.
Other changes in the latest GNOME Shell 3.10:
- improved login and lock screens: better layout, nicer transitions, prettier lock screen notifications, etc.;
- various improved transitions;
- pagination in the application picker.
 |
| App picker pagination |
 |
| GNOME 3.10 lock screen |
Another pretty major change in the latest GNOME 3.10 is the introduction of "header bars" or "client side decorations". These decorations use the GTK+ toolkit and theme engine:
As you can see, the close button is now displayed inline with the toolbar which saves spaces but unfortunately it also creates an even bigger discrepancy between GNOME core apps and the other applications, because only the core GNOME apps use these client side decorations.
Client side decorations can also change state, here are two screenshots that showcase it:
With GNOME 3.10, there are also quite a few changes to Settings (Control Center):
- the lock screen background can now be changed via the Background settings;
- new date and time settings; there's also a new feature here: automatically change the computer's timezone based on the current location;
- new display settings;
- new universal access settings;
- the background can be selected from your Flickr photos;
- Telepathy integration and Google 2-factor authentication for Online Accounts.
Here are a few screenshots with these Settings changes:
Other changes include:
- new zoom mode for the scrollbars which allow for fine scrolling - to use it, hold SHIFT while clicking on the scrollbar thumb;
- smartcards are now supported as an alternate way to log in or unlock the screen;
- password authentication can now be disabled, forcing just fingerprint or smartcard authentication;
- initial Wayland support;
- high resolution (HiDPI) support.
GNOME 3.10 core apps
With GNOME 3.10, three applications that were available as a preview in GNOME 3.8, are now fully integrated: Bijiben, a note taking app, GNOME Weather and GNOME photos:
 |
| Bijiben |
 |
| GNOME Weather |
 |
| GNOME Weather |
 |
| GNOME Photos |
Bijiben now supports collections and is integrated with OwnCloud. Also, now the notes can show up in the GNOME Shell search. An interesting feature in Bijiben which might be available in the future for other GNOME apps as well is the right click menu which looks like the one used on touch devices:
The latest GNOME Photos features Flickr support, albums, share images to devices that support UPNP such as a TV, phone or another computer and more. Weather hasn't received any important changes except for the new client side decorations.
There are also 3 new preview apps for GNOME 3.10: Music and Maps and Software:
 |
| GNOME Music |
 |
| GNOME Maps |
 |
| GNOME Software |
Another new application is Photos, which features Flickr support, albums, share images to devices that support UPNP such as a TV, phone or another computer and more.
Changes in the other core GNOME applications:
- Web: DuckDuck go is now the default search engine; Web now has a search provider for GNOME Shell which allows accessing your web history or searching the web from the GNOME Shell Activities
- Contacts: UI enhancements, updated setup and accounts dialogs
- Tweak Tool: redesigned for GNOME 3.10 and includes new options, such as startup applications management, etc.
- Evince Document Viewer: improved accessibility, new Caret Navigation mode, improved Djvu support and a new sidebar showing search results
- Clocks: Pretty new analog timer in stopwatch and timer views as well as geolocation support
- Boxes: support for importing system images (QEMU, raw, vdi - Virtualbox 1.1 image format, vmdk - VMware 3 and 4, vpc and cloop) as well as many UI and other fixes
 |
| Web (Epiphany) |
 |
| GNOME Tweak Tool |
 |
| GNOME Clocks |
Up next: GNOME 3.12, which should introduce a Sound Recorder preview release, full Wayland support, Systemd for the user session, colour tinting in GNOME Shell, videos application implementation, support for Facebook in GNOME photos, integrate Zimbra in GNOME, Git integration in the developer experience as well as ratings, screenshots and history support in GNOME Software.
3 screenshots via gnome.org
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)