Run Compiz with Xfce4

So you're enjoy the series on Xfce4. What's more, you're enjoying Xfce4 itself! It's a fantastic desktop environment that should get far more attention than it does. And because Xfce 4 is […]

Add 3D, Compiz-like tabs to Firefox

If you've read me long enough, you know I like my eye candy. And one of my favorite bits of eye candy is Compiz (check out all the Compiz-related content here on […]

How to configure Compiz in Elive

For those of you who are lucky enough to have the Elive distribution running on your desktop, you might have noticed there is no CCSM (Compiz Config  Settings Manager). At least not […]

Configure KDE 4 to work with Compiz

If you read my most recent article ("Upgrading to KDE 4.3.5 and should you") you will have noticed two things: 1) I am behind by one release on my KDE updates ;-) […]

Multiple wallpapers in Compiz

Used to be, with GNOME it was simple to have multiple wallpapers configured so that each desktop would have its own wallpaper. But then Compiz came along and monkeyed with that option. […]

Upgrading Elive Compiz to latest Elive

Today was a day that offered me a few good surprises. On my editing schedule I have an assignment to cover virtual machines using KVM. But since KVM only works with CPUs […]

Get some serious transparency in GNOME and Compiz

As I have said repeated, I like eye candy. One of the aspects of eye candy I like more than any other is transparency. With the right Linux desktop there is almost […]

Configuring the appearance of the Compiz Cube

A while ago I covered "Enabling the Cube in Compiz" where I illustrated how simple it was to get the Cube working in the Compiz 3D desktop. That article did not go […]

Enabling the Cube in Compiz

If you've ever seen Compiz in action I'm sure you were impressed. If you don't know what Compiz is, it's a 3D composite window manager for the Linux operating system that really […]

Desktop Behavior KDE

Add eyecandy to KDE5 Plasma

In a previous article, I talked about theming KDE, and how powerful the environment is. I remember using Ubuntu back when an application called Compiz existed, with the Emerald theme engine. Those […]

Active Edge Screen Actions in KDE 4.6

Being Linux fans, you all know that Linux offers a lot of ways to manage the desktop. One of the best ways that Linux offers for keeping your desktop organized is multiple […]

Working with Ecomorph in Bodhi Linux

I have been giving Bodhi Linux a lot of love lately. You can see my articles here ("Adding Visual Effects on Bodhi Linux" and "Bodhi Linux: Enlightened Ubuntu"). One of the main […]

KDE 4.5 Window tiling

You've probably seen the advertisements for Windows 7 and the tiling windows feature. Believe it or not the very first tiling window manager was Siemens's RTL (created in 1988). After that came […]

Working with KDE desktop effects

So you've followed the latest series on KDE 4.5 (see Ghacks KDE 4.5 content) and you are now using the spectacular latest release from the KDE team. You want to use Compiz, […]

Even more GNOME keyboard shortcuts

Well all strive to make our desktop as efficient as possible. Whether you're a coder who wants nothing more than to never remove your fingers from the keyboard, or if you're a […]

Let Cairo-Dock be your Linux desktop dock

I've covered a number of desktop enhancements here on Ghacks. You've see my coverage of Avant Window Navigator (see my article "Avant Window Navigator: OS X-like dock on Linux") as well as […]

A requested Linux theming tutorial

Recently I had a request to illustrate how I managed to get a particular theme working in GNOME. The article referenced was my article on "What will Ubuntu 10.04 bring to the […]

Linux Games: Chromium B.S.U.

It's been a long time since I offered up a nice Linux game for the Ghacks audience. So I thought, today I will introduce them to one of my favorite Linux time […]

Vinagre remote desktop connection for Linux

Do you administer Linux machines? Or do you just need the ability to remotely connect to your Linux machines from other Linux machines? If so, are you looking for an easy solution […]

Tweak your RGBA enabled desktop

Recently I covered the addition of RGBA support in Ubuntu (see my article "Enable RGBA support in Ubuntu"). I've had a lot of people contact me about various tweaks to that desktop […]

Enable RGBA support in Ubuntu

There was talk, some time prior to the release of 10.04, that RGBA support would be included in the release. Well, it wasn't (much to the chagrin of many - including myself). […]

Have a sleek, simpler Nautilus

File managers can get a bit over-crowded in their layout and in their use of space. Although I am a big Nautilus, I am a bigger fan of efficient, clean workspaces. To […]

A sneak peek at GNOME 3

Recently I did what every good technical writer does - spent a lot of time getting something working that has yet to be released in order to test it out and write […]

Tweak your Ubuntu with Ubuntu Tweak

In a recent article ("Greenie Linux: A distribution for all users") I mentioned a tool (used in Greenie Linux) called Ubuntu Tweak. This tool allows the user to make certain tweaks to […]

Configure and use the KDE 4.4 pager

Have you ever used the Linux pager? If you've not you might want to read my article "Get to know Linux: The pager". The KDE 4.4 pager is, as the above article […]

Personalizing KDE 4.4

Sticking with our KDE theme this week, it's time to learn how to make KDE 4.4 yours. You've downloaded it, you've used it, and now you want to personalize it. You might […]

Upgrading to KDE 4.3.5 (and should you?)

This morning I decided to go ahead and upgrade KDE to the latest, stable release. I had grown weary of this Linux desktop because of instability issue as well as lack of […]

Top 5 top 5s for Linux

I've been using Linux for longer than I can remember. Over those years I have written a number of "top 5" lists for various publications. So I thought it would be fun […]

Multi-Process Plugins Enabled In Latest Firefox Nightlies

Mozilla enabled multi-process plugin support in Firefox recently which has plugins run in their own process separated from the browser Only Microsoft's Internet Explorer and the Google Chrome web browser are full […]

Advice on building a Linux box

I get a lot of questions on Linux hardware: "What's the best piece of hardware X for Linux?" "Should I go route A since I'm using Linux?" Of course not everyone builds […]

Theming GNOME

I get a lot of questions as to how to make the GNOME desktop look better. This question can be approached from  numerous angles: Compiz, Emerald, Metacity, Window borders, etc. I have […]

What will Ubuntu 10.04 bring to the table?

It's almost that time again - time to start chatting up the next release coming out of the Ubuntu-verse. I know, I know...it seems the tires of 9.10 were just kicked. They […]

Installing KDE 4.3.2 on Ubuntu

KDE is not a desktop that should be overlooked. Not only did it completely redefine itself upon the launch of 4.x, it has added features that have made it unique in the […]

Hulu desktop for Linux

I'm sure by now everyone here knows about Hulu. If not, Hulu is a huge collection of television programs that can be viewed on line, for free, with few commercial interruptions. It's […]

Five tips to help ease the migration from Mac to Linux

In my most recent article "Five ways to ease the migration from Windows to Linux" I examined how you can help new users make the migration from Windows to Linux easier. Most […]

Start applications using mouse gestures with Easystroke

Efficiency. That is the name of the game when you're sitting at a keyboard day in and day out. I try very hard to make computing as efficient and easy as possible. […]

Creating forms to aid OpenOffice.org Base data entry

In the first entry to this "series" I worked through the process of creating a database with OpenOffice.org Base ("How to create a database with OpenOffice Base".) Upon completion of that article […]

Add Screenlets to make your Linux desktop more useful

If you spend as much time on the Linux desktop as I do, having small applets available for specific tasks can make your life that much easier. If you use the KDE […]

Convenient Linux terminal access with Yakuake

The Linux terminal is an indispensable tool for administrators. It's one of those tools I can have open all day. The only problem with having it open all day is that it […]

Add Emerald for slick window decorations

I am a fan of eye candy. I have been for a long time. And, thankfully, Linux does eye candy better than any other operating system. Windows Aero? Linux has been doing […]