Proposing a new look, possible today.

[fredp]

Hi everybody.

Let me just show you a couple of screenshot of a setup I'd like to be the default for the next Ubuntu. Notice that there is no retouching at all, this is my current desktop done with quasi-standard things.

NOTICE: This is a new screenshot with the classical 2-panels Gnome layout:

http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521 (Small).jpg (http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521.jpg)


This instead are the old ones, similar to OSX:

http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080520bis (Small).jpg (http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080520bis.jpg)

http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080520 (Small).jpg (http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080520.jpg)

Technical infos:
GTK theme: Clearlooks Brave with custom color scheme
Window decoration: Emerald with customized Soft&Clear theme
Wallpaper: Spectrum (http://grlmgor.deviantart.com/art/Spectrum-81579475)
Goodies: Avant Window Navigator, Global Menu applet, a small touch also for the clock on the panel.
Icons: the beautiful nuoveXT 2
Fonts: FreeSans

I know Mac/Global Menu will never be accepted, but I think other things are pretty standard. I also know Ubuntu will hardly leave that brownish look, but I think another look could attract some more users.

Your opinion?

[meborc]

nice... but without compiz running, it would not be half as nice... and you can't expect everyone to have a machine capable of that

but it looks really polished ;)

[fredp]

nice... but without compiz running, it would not be half as nice... and you can't expect everyone to have a machine capable of that

but it looks really polished ;)

Yes I know not everybody can have Compiz.. It would need a way to fallback to a thicker window decoration if no compiz available: as that's emerald maybe just a different setting for metacity and choosing which one to run could be a simple way.

Anyway I don't expect anything in this direction: Ubuntu rocks, but on the graphical side, well... :neutral:

[twright]

metacity with compositing enabled + xserver-xgl should work on the vast majority of machines without proprietary driversYes I know not everybody can have Compiz.. It would need a way to fallback to a thicker window decoration if no compiz available: as that's emerald maybe just a different setting for metacity and choosing which one to run could be a simple way.

Anyway I don't expect anything in this direction: Ubuntu rocks, but on the graphical side, well... :neutral:

[hellomoto]

can i ask what your Icon theme is please?

and were did you get it from?

[fredp]

nuoveXT 2 - what a huge work to read :D
http://nuovext.pwsp.net/

[| MM |]

nuoveXT 2 - what a huge work to read :D
http://nuovext.pwsp.net/

The problem with nuoveXT is that the small icons are blurry, aren't they?

But i do like the look of your setup!

[smartboyathome]

This screams mac osx. Especially the one panel with combined with the menu bar. I don't like it really (and it doesn't say Ubuntu to me either).

[fredp]

The problem with nuoveXT is that the small icons are blurry, aren't they?


Maybe a bit. They're of course smoother (blurrier?) than the Tango style, but that doesn't hurt me (rather I prefer them at 32/48px size).


This screams mac osx. Especially the one panel with combined with the menu bar. I don't like it really (and it doesn't say Ubuntu to me either).
You're totally right, similarity with OSX is clear. Anyway that's the way I use it everyday, as the menu moved to the top panel and the dock which goes over windows save plenty of space, precious on a widescreen 15' notebook which has only 800px vertically.
However I posted those screenshots to show mainly the combination of gtk theme and window decoration, colours and icons. For tomorrow I'll take and post a screenshot with the classical Gnome layout, to check how the style goes with it.

[charlemagne86]

umm... i dunno if I am out of place but might I add my version of gutsy theme for contention and/or ideas for the default ibex theme.....


Now i used emerald/compiz for it with awn bar.....i understand that for the 'default' ubuntu look, it may nt b possible....what i would like all to note is the look given to nautilus etc...also package implementation can be as rquired.

my theme is posted at gnome looks as below:

http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php/Charlie+Brown+Theme?content=73705

any comments are welcome.

[Eclipse.]

This screams mac osx. Especially the one panel with combined with the menu bar. I don't like it really (and it doesn't say Ubuntu to me either).

I agree.Ubuntu needs its own look, its not osx or vista.

[decoherence]

Ahh, but wouldn't it be cool to be able to go in to the Appearance control panel and under a hypothetical "Style" tab select "OS X" and get a style like this? Or "Vista"? Or OS/2?~~

Make up your own themes, so us fickle FOSS bastages can say "I feel like using BeOS combined with Plan9 today!" click a radio button and there it is! Why not? A user friendly method of switching panels, window managers... heck even whole desktop environments. GNOME is one of the few environments that doesn't have a function to facilitate switching to another environment. Even KDE had this, last I checked (don't know about 4.)

[fredp]

So as I promised I set up my Gnome with the classical 2-panels layout. I also hacked a bit the Gtk theme to make them look good.

http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521 (Small).jpg (http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521.jpg)

Your opinion?

[meborc]

i like it... but is it running emerald or metacity right now?

[fredp]

Emerald, but just because I couldn't find a nice Metacity theme with a thin, pretty invisible border for windows.

[MacUntu]

There is no accounting for taste.

[fredp]

There is no accounting for taste.
Ehr, what do you mean?
Excuse me, but English is not my main language

[MacUntu]

My Italian is bad too, Google says: Non vi è alcuna contabilità per il gusto.

It's not my taste but everybody has a different taste. ;)

[fredp]

Ah, ok, thanks :)

I didn't get the phrase because in Italy is often used another one, the latin "De gustibus non disputandum est", which in Italian is "Dei gusti non si discute", meaning that there shouldn't be debate about personal taste.

[smartboyathome]

So as I promised I set up my Gnome with the classical 2-panels layout. I also hacked a bit the Gtk theme to make them look good.

http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521 (Small).jpg (http://fredp.netsons.org/screenshots/20080521.jpg)

Your opinion?

I think this strays too much from Ubuntu's colors, and thus won't be accepted. Besides, I am behind this theme (http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=71009&d=1211396564), based off of futurelooks. It is already possible as well, in fact I am using it right now.

[PRGUY85]

It's good but looks nothing like Ubuntu. It should have at least some orange or brown color somewhere.

[charlemagne86]

sorry to interrupt but ppl, i think my first post went unnoticed....it has loads of ubuntu colors used.....please tell my how u feel about it.


http://gnome-look.org/CONTENT/content-pre1/73705-1.png

[Gina]

I'm sorry but it's not to my personal taste. But if you like it, that's fine, we all have different tastes :) It will probably suit some people :)

[soapytheclown]

^^agreed, i really dont like it, my initial recations were:

1.) too much blur behgind the title of the focused window,
2.) emerald theme wont be accepted as default
3.) to me the emerald themes brown is far too dark to match the orange tango icons
4.) gtk theme is too 'blocky' and 'square'

just my opinion though.

[spamzilla]

TBH I hate it and Vista Icons :confused:

[charlemagne86]

Thank you all a lot..

i've been wanting for some feedback for a long time...thnx soapytheclown especially..

i'll keep that in mind 4 the future.

TBH I hate it and Vista Icons :confused:

Vista icons??...where!!




oooohh....got it...sorry!

[fredp]

TBH I hate it and Vista Icons :confused:
Are you talking of nuoveXT?
They've been available long before Vista came out. As you see on gnome-look.org (http://www.gnome-look.org/content/show.php?content=26448) the first release dates back to July 2005.

[analystscouch]

I am behind this theme, based off of futurelooks.

Can you tell us where to find that theme? Thanks.

[olskar]

As I understand it, nuoveiconthemes are dead, both old and new version. Lots of icons missing.

[smartboyathome]

Can you tell us where to find that theme? Thanks.

You can find it here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=796572&p=5020532). Use it with the Human-Clearlooks theme (included with Ubuntu 8.04). You have to have Emerald installed to use it, though I hear there will be a Metacity version of GommoMod, meaning I can make the new version based off of that.

[MALEADt]

I think this strays too much from Ubuntu's colors, and thus won't be accepted. Besides, I am behind this theme (http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=71009&d=1211396564), based off of futurelooks. It is already possible as well, in fact I am using it right now.

+1 for that theme, it builds further on the existing Ubuntu style, but freshens quite nicely. I'd love to see that one in the Ibex release :)

[MaX]

+1 for that theme, it builds further on the existing Ubuntu style, but freshens quite nicely. I'd love to see that one in the Ibex release :)

-1 from me then... It's too busy for my tastes... Clearlook or Blended works fine.

[Gina]

Yes, I think that's fine :)

[FirePrince]

Somebody told that this theme doesn't look like "Ubuntu". I think that this is a good thing. Ubuntu has several pros, but the theme is really ugly. The only way to improve it is to change it completely. Everything is awful in it: colors, icons, windows borders...

I thing this theme would be a great improvement, but I have to say that in the internet there are many mockups that I find more interesting.

[fredp]

Somebody told that this theme doesn't look like "Ubuntu". I think that this is a good thing. Ubuntu has several pros, but the theme is really ugly. The only way to improve it is to change it completely. Everything is awful in it: colors, icons, windows borders...

I thing this theme would be a great improvement, but I have to say that in the internet there are many mockups that I find more interesting.
You're right, out there there are many interesting beautiful mockups, but that's the point: they're mockups. Most of them are really difficult to do, many even impossible with today's software. Instead with this theme (well, not really a theme, just a patchwork of things already available with little modifications) I tried to stick with possible things.
I had already drawn a couple of impossible mockups (they're called May-B and Rockstar on gnome-look.org), this time instead I wanted to proposed not a finished theme (I haven't neither the ability nor enough time to do it) but just an idea of a new look that could be developed further.
However I see that this is a really radical approach and can hardly be taken in consideration, as Ubuntu people can logically be willing to keep some consistency between different releases' looks.

Hmm... hope I have been at least a bit clear, though I don't think so :\

[qamelian]

Somebody told that this theme doesn't look like "Ubuntu". I think that this is a good thing. Ubuntu has several pros, but the theme is really ugly. The only way to improve it is to change it completely. Everything is awful in it: colors, icons, windows borders...

I thing this theme would be a great improvement, but I have to say that in the internet there are many mockups that I find more interesting.
That's your opinion. I really like the default Ubuntu theme, but I find yours very hard on the eyes.

[smartboyathome]

I also like Ubuntu's choice in using brown. It can be made to look bood and functional, without blending in to other distros/oses (blue, green, and grey, I'm looking at you!).

[charlemagne86]

hmmm....I am at best impassive about the default ubuntu colors.....they are kinda okay in a way that any color is if it provides respite from those MS colors.....

now after installation, I create my own theme and personalise my box ....I do use a brown theme only having more of brown and less of orange in it.....but that's well my choice!

[danbuter]

I like the original post, but one of the first things I do after upgrading is change brown to blue on all my windows. :)

[charlemagne86]

I like the original post, but one of the first things I do after upgrading is change brown to blue on all my windows. :)
brown to blue on windows??

umm..could you explain how ur windows are brown?..and why u change them to blue?

[Gina]

I had enough of blue with XP - the change to orange and brown I find rather soothing :lolflag: I prefer warm colours generally :)