UKubuntizald Tutorial: Ubuntu + KDE Plasma Workspace + Compiz + Emerald

[lovinglinux]

Note:This is for Karmic

Objective:

The objective of this tutorial is to explain how to setup Ubuntu Karmic Koala to run with KDE Plasma Workspace, Compiz and Emerald (UKubuntizald ).

Target Audience:

• those who want the eye candy and widgets of KDE but don't want to fully switch or login into each desktop environment separately.
• those seeking alternatives for replacing the upcoming gnome-shell and thus retaining the ability to use compiz inside gnome.

Screenshot






Instructions


1) Enable proprietary drivers for your graphics card

Go to "System >> Administration >> Hardware Drivers" and select the latest driver, then click activate.


2 ) Enable Visual Effects

Go to "System >> Preferences >> Appearance >> Visual Effects" and select the "Extra" mode.


3) Install required applications

Open "Applications >> Accessories >> Terminal" then paste the code below and run it to install the required packages:

sudo apt-get install compiz compizconfig-settings-manager emerald fusion-icon kde-minimal compiz-kde kdeplasma-addons plasma-scriptengine-python gtk2-engines-qtcurve

4) Create scripts to launch each desktop

gnome-desktop

gedit ~/Desktop/gnome-desktop.sh

Paste the code below and save it:

#!/bin/bash

killall fusion-icon
killall gnome-panel
killall plasma-desktop
gnome-panel &
fusion-icon &

plasma-desktop

gedit ~/Desktop/plasma-desktop.sh

Paste the code below and save it:

#!/bin/bash

killall fusion-icon
killall gnome-panel
killall plasma-desktop
plasma-desktop &
fusion-icon &

Make them executable:

chmod +x ~/Desktop/plasma-desktop.sh 
chmod +x ~/Desktop/gnome-desktop.sh

5) Prevent the gnome-panel from auto-spawning

Open gconf-editor from the terminal:

gconf-editor

Open "desktop >> gnome >> session >> required_components", then double-click the "panel" option, then remove the "gnome-panel" value and close it.

This will prevent the gnome-panel from auto-spawning when killing it.


6) Install an emerald theme

Download an emerald theme from gnome-look.org then open "System >> Preferences >> Emerald Theme Manager" then click "Import" and select the downloaded file.


7) Kill gnome-panel and launch plasma-desktop

Double-click the plasma-desktop.sh script in your desktop and select the "Run" option to kill gnome-panel and launch the plasma-desktop. To revert and go back to default gnome desktop, double-click the gnome-desktop.sh script.


8- Replace the KDE Window Manager with Compiz and Emerald

Right-click the fusion-icon in the tray, then "Select Window Manager >> Compiz", then "Select Window decorator >> Emerald".


9) Configure the KDE applications to use the GTK engine

From the KDE menu, select "Favorites >> System Settings >> Style" then select GTK+ in the "Widget style" option. Click "Apply". Then select the "Icons" options, select the "Humanity" icon set and click "Apply"


Appendix

The is the complete list of packages installed by this tutorial:

compiz compizconfig-backend-gconf compiz-core compiz-fusion-plugins-extra compiz-fusion-plugins-main compiz-gnome compiz-plugins compiz-wrapper libdecoration0 compizconfig-settings-manager python-compizconfig emerald libemeraldengine0 kde-minimal akonadi-server dolphin exiv2 kappfinder kde-icons-oxygen kde-minimal kde-window-manager kdebase kdebase-bin kdebase-data kdebase-runtime kdebase-runtime-bin-kde4 kdebase-runtime-data kdebase-runtime-data-common kdebase-workspace kdebase-workspace-bin kdebase-workspace-data kdebase-workspace-kgreet-plugins kdebase-workspace-libs4+5 kdelibs-bin kdelibs5 kdelibs5-data kdepasswd kdepim-runtime kdepim-runtime-data kdepim-runtime-libs4 kdepimlibs-data kdepimlibs5 kdm kfind khelpcenter4 klipper konqueror konqueror-nsplugins konsole ksysguard ksysguardd kwrite libakonadiprivate1 libboost-program-options1.38.0 libclucene0ldbl libexiv2-5 libkdecorations4 libknotificationitem1 libkonq5 libkonq5-templates libkonqsidebarplugin4 libkwineffects1 liblzma0 libmodplug0c2 libmpcdec3 libplasma3 libpolkit-qt0 libqimageblitz4 libqt4-designer libqt4-network libqt4-opengl libqt4-phonon libqt4-qt3support libqt4-script libqt4-sql libqt4-sql-mysql libqt4-svg libqt4-webkit libsoprano4 libstreamanalyzer0 libstreams0 libstrigiqtdbusclient0 libxcb-shape0 libxcb-shm0 libxcb-xv0 libxine1 libxine1-bin libxine1-console libxine1-misc-plugins libxine1-x mysql-server-core-5.1 phonon-backend-xine plasma-dataengines-workspace plasma-widget-folderview plasma-widgets-workspace soprano-daemon systemsettings ttf-dejavu ttf-dejavu-extra compiz-kde compizconfig-backend-kconfig exiv2 kde-icons-oxygen kdebase-runtime kdebase-runtime-bin-kde4 kdebase-runtime-data kdebase-runtime-data-common kdebase-workspace-libs4+5 kdelibs-bin kdelibs-data kdelibs4c2a kdelibs5 kdelibs5-data khelpcenter4 libavahi-qt3-1 libclucene0ldbl libexiv2-5 libkdecorations4 libknotificationitem1 liblua50 liblualib50 liblzma0 libmodplug0c2 libmpcdec3 libplasma3 libqt3-mt libqt4-designer libqt4-network libqt4-opengl libqt4-phonon libqt4-qt3support libqt4-script libqt4-sql libqt4-sql-mysql libqt4-svg libqt4-webkit libsoprano4 libstreamanalyzer0 libstreams0 libxcb-shape0 libxcb-shm0 libxcb-xv0 libxine1 libxine1-bin libxine1-console libxine1-misc-plugins libxine1-x phonon-backend-xine soprano-daemon ttf-dejavu ttf-dejavu-extra kdebase-workspace-wallpapers kdeplasma-addons kdewallpapers libkexiv2-7 liblancelot0 libmarble4 marble-data plasma-dataengines-addons plasma-runners-addons plasma-wallpapers-addons plasma-widget-lancelot plasma-widgets-addons libqt4-assistant libqt4-help libqt4-scripttools libqt4-test libqt4-xmlpatterns plasma-scriptengine-python python-kde4 python-qt4 python-sip4 gtk2-engines-qtcurve kde-style-qtcurve kwin-style-qtcurve

[NRDNick]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one a little worried about losing compiz when Ubuntu switches over to gnome-shell. Thanks for sharing this with everyone!

[lovinglinux]

It's nice to know I'm not the only one a little worried about losing compiz when Ubuntu switches over to gnome-shell. Thanks for sharing this with everyone!

Yep, I'm freaking out with gnome-shell

But I must say I'm really happy with this setup using plasma-desktop. I'm impressed with the quality of the widgets and the look of plasma-desktop. Right now I wouldn't switch completely to KDE, so this seems to be the perfect solution for me.

[lovinglinux]

Right now I wouldn't switch completely to KDE, so this seems to be the perfect solution for me.

Strike that. I have fully switched to KDE and I couldn't be happier

[Joeb454]

Moved to Desktop Environments

[Ms_Angel_D]

Thanks so much for sharing this information, I wasn't aware that this was possible.

And Joeb454 thanks for moving the topic, now I can subscribe to it and not lose it

[lovinglinux]

Moved to Desktop Environments

Thanks. I forgot it was on Karmic development forum.

[RazzyDaz]

.

[Struki]

I tried the tutorial but some problems poped up.
1. when I run the plasma script, al the gnome panels remain, my main panel and the AWN bar.
2. when I tried to unpack the theme downloaded from the site i got an error;
gzip: stdin: not in gzip format
tar: Child returned status 1
tar: Exiting with failure status due to previous errors
3. I cant find the location:
Favorites >> System Settings >> Style
to modify al that is said.

But all in all it's an interesting concept and I sure would like to see it running on my lap. I would switch completley to kde but im just not ready, since im a fresh user.

[Ero]

Not so related question but, how GPU intensive is it top use this tweak. And, how much space would it require? I'm thinknig of doing this for my netbook Mini 9 but i'm not sure the GPU can handle it or if I even have the space for it.

Thanks