screenlets

[shadowboxer_k]

hi,

i have a pretty weak machine - 128 RAM, 20GB harddisk, and thus i don't believe i could run beryl. i do, however, want to make my desktop a bit prettier, so i was wondering if installing screenlets requires running beryl. and do screenlets only work for KDE?
thanks in advance. sorry for the newbie questions.

[Rospo Zoppo]

Screenlets requires compiz, not beryl... I'm using it in Gnome so I think that it don't run only on KDE

[shadowboxer_k]

bummer. i can't install compiz on a weak machine like mine, can i?

[rhennigan]

Originally Posted by shadowboxer_k bummer. i can't install compiz on a weak machine like mine, can i?

What type of video card do you have?

[sorcererx84]

Screenlets doesn't require Compiz, you can use it with Beryl also. Generally Compiz is a bit faster in the same hardware than Beryl.

[kpolice]

You can also run it without Compiz or Beryl, you can try it with xcompmgr but it runs better on Compiz

[shadowboxer_k]

thank you for the replies, everyone. i tried gdesklets, but to be honest, i don't quite like the look. and some of the essential ones don't work anyway. that's why i decided to go for the screenlets.

rhennigan: i am a computer dummy and quite frankly i have no idea what my video card is. i use an IMB T21 thinkpad, so it must be whatever comes with it. a friend of mine once told me i don't even have a videocard, but a chip. he is probably right.

kpolice:

You can also run it without Compiz or Beryl, you can try it with xcompmgr but it runs better on Compiz

now, what exactly do you mean by xcompmgr? i am a rookie. please bear with me.

[rolf-c]

Originally Posted by shadowboxer_k now, what exactly do you mean by xcompmgr? i am a rookie. please bear with me.

No worries. In your Synaptic Package Manager (System -> Administration -> Synaptic Package Manager) do a search on xcompmgr. Or, if you do not have the GUI running, you can do it from the command line:

sudo apt-cache search xcompmgr

You should see this among other results:

xcompmgr - X composition manager

To install, type:

sudo apt-get install xcompmgr

[shadowboxer_k]

okay. i did exactly as you said and managed to install it. any idea what to do now about the screenlets? i'm sorry i need someone to walk me through simple tasks like this but i really appreciate your help and so does my ancient laptop.

[FuturePilot]

deb http://hendrik.kaju.pri.ee/ubuntu feisty screenlets

There's a repo for Feisty screenlets.

Don't forget to add the gpg key

wget http://hendrik.kaju.pri.ee/ubuntu/F854AFD7.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -

sudo apt-get update

Then

sudo apt-get install screenlets