alternate desktop themes/ configurations

[brotherinbluejeans]

i really like  my new wolvix system but was unipressed with the default launcher panel .. it seemed superflous and very "asthetically lacking" 
so i got rid of the xfce panel and instead downloaded and install wbar. wbar is very configurable and is extremely lightweight as well. after editing the wbar config file to include my favorite apps, i added it to the session autostart list... then edited conky to include a clock (since that was the only really usefull widget  on the xfce panel) and voila!
screenshot (everyting else seen  came from preloaded themes, the top panel is set to autohide, icons used in the wbar are various ones i pulled on the web, slackware wallpaper)
http://www.hungry.com/~daniel/photos/my_desktops/wolvix-2.0-1.png
http://www.hungry.com/~daniel/photos/my_desktops/wolvix-2.0-2.png -showing some animation in wbar

i would love to see examples of what others have done or discuss new ideas... show us what you've got!

EDIT: i later made a package for wbar with a install how-to.. look here.

[Wolven]

The wbar looks cool. I'll have a look at it. Not sure if I really want to replace the Xfce panel, but I will certainly consider making it less cluttered and I'll look into a package for wbar. I like the way you re arranged Conky too. Perhaps you could post the conkyrc, so people can check it out.

Keep the screenshots and suggestions coming people.

[Wolvrik]

Hey BIBJ,

I like the W-bar!  A lot!  Will it work on the default desktop?  If so, I am going to use it .  Thanks for posting.  Here is my screenshot (you have to scroll down a bit to see it).  I got a little carried away with the conky. 

http://wolvrik-howlatthemoon.blogspot.com/

[Wolven]

I've stickied this post so it doesn't get lost. I love posts with screenshots. 

[Wolven]

Hey BIBJ,

I like the W-bar!  A lot!  Will it work on the default desktop?  If so, I am going to use it .  Thanks for posting.  Here is my screenshot (you have to scroll down a bit to see it).  I got a little carried away with the conky.

http://wolvrik-howlatthemoon.blogspot.com/

That's a massive Conky set up you've got there Wolvrik.  Nice screenshot, I like how it looks with the dark Xfce (GTK) theme.

EDIT: Can you post your conkyrc too? (Using the code formating on the forums here)

[brotherinbluejeans]

wolvrik;
quite the job with conky there... does it take out the trash too? 
yes, wbar will work on the default desktop. i did update imlib2 but i don't think that was really necessary. when starting wbar you can place it anywhere on the screen ( i belive you can place it vertically too, though i've never tried)  wbar --help and the README file will explain all options for placement and effects.

wolven:
thanks
here are the only lines i changed in the .conkyrc

Code:

# Gap between borders of screen and text
# same thing as passing -x at command line
gap_x 10
gap_y 20

# stuff after 'TEXT' will be formatted on screen

TEXT
${color FFFFff}CPU: ${color }$cpu% ${color D3D3D3}- ${color FFFFCC}MEM: ${color }$memperc%
${color FFFFCC}File System:  ${color }${fs_bar 8,64 /}
${color FFFFCC}Upload:         ${color }${upspeedgraph eth0 8,64 000000 ffffff}
${color FFFFCC}Download:    ${color }${downspeedgraph eth0 8,64 000000 ffffff}
${color FFFFCC}time:             ${time %H:%M:%S}
${color FFFFCC}Audacious:    ${color }${audacious_title}

pretty basic as you can see but i'm not done with it yet...

[brotherinbluejeans]

... i got tired of using slackware wallpaper on my desktop so i played around with the gimp this morning to try to come up with something wolvix themed that was to my tastes. i did this for my own use but if anyone else want to play with it they are welcome to do so. the png is 1200x800 to fit my screen resolution but i also uploaded the gimp source in case anyone wants to modify it or adjust  the dimensions.
 png:
http://www.hungry.com/~daniel/photos/my_desktops/dans_wolvix_bg-1200x800.png

gimp xcf
http://www.hungry.com/~daniel/photos/my_desktops/dans_wolvix_gb-source.xcf

.. and a current screenshot jsut for the fun of it..
http://www.hungry.com/~daniel/photos/my_desktops/wolvix_3.png

[Wolvrik]

Here is the code for the Horizontal Conky, If anyone is interested in the others I will be happy to post them as well. If you want to see the larger version go here and scroll down and click on the screenshot.  http://wolvrik-howlatthemoon.blogspot.com/ I haven't figured out how to link from here yet.  (BrotherInBluejeans wallpaper looks stunning with this.  I am also using the wbar he packaged, thanks!):

Code:

# Conky sample configuration
#
# the list of variables has been removed from this file in favour
# of keeping the documentation more maintainable.
# Check http://conky.sf.net for an up-to-date-list.

# Edited by: Wolven      <http://wolvix.org>

# set to yes if you want Conky to be forked in the background
background no

# X font when Xft is disabled, you can pick one with program xfontsel
#font 5x7
#font 6x10
#font 7x13
#font 8x13
#font 9x15
#font *mintsmild.se*
#font -*-*-*-*-*-*-34-*-*-*-*-*-*-*


# Use Xft?
use_xft yes

# Xft font when Xft is enabled
xftfont  DejaVu Sans Mono:size=8

# Text alpha when using Xft
xftalpha 0.8

# Print everything to stdout?
# out_to_console no

# MPD host/port
# mpd_host localhost
# mpd_port 6600
# mpd_password tinker_bell

# Print everything to console?
# out_to_console no

# mail spool
mail_spool $MAIL

# Update interval in seconds
update_interval 2.0

# This is the number of times Conky will update before quitting.
# Set to zero to run forever.
total_run_times 0

# Create own window instead of using desktop (required in nautilus)
own_window yes

# If own_window is yes, you may use type normal, desktop or override
own_window_type normal

# Use pseudo transparency with own_window?
own_window_transparent yes

# If own_window_transparent is set to no, you can set the background colour here
own_window_colour hotpink

# If own_window is yes, these window manager hints may be used
own_window_hints undecorated,below,sticky,skip_taskbar,skip_pager

# Use double buffering (reduces flicker, may not work for everyone)
double_buffer yes

# Minimum size of text area
maximum_width 900

# Draw shades?
draw_shades yes

# Draw outlines?
draw_outline no

# Draw borders around text
draw_borders no

# Draw borders around graphs
draw_graph_borders yes

# Stippled borders?
stippled_borders 8

# border margins
border_margin 4

# border width
border_width 1

# Default colors and also border colors
default_color white
default_shade_color black
default_outline_color white

# Text alignment, other possible values are commented
#alignment top_left
#alignment top_right
alignment bottom_left
#alignment bottom_right
#alignment none

# Gap between borders of screen and text
# same thing as passing -x at command line
gap_x 08
gap_y 10

# Subtract file system buffers from used memory?
no_buffers yes

# set to yes if you want all text to be in uppercase
uppercase no

# number of cpu samples to average
# set to 1 to disable averaging
cpu_avg_samples 2

# number of net samples to average
# set to 1 to disable averaging
net_avg_samples 2

# Force UTF8? note that UTF8 support required XFT
override_utf8_locale yes


# Add spaces to keep things from moving about?  This only affects certain objects.
use_spacer yes

#   mldonkey_hostname     Hostname for mldonkey stuff, defaults to localhost
#   mldonkey_port         Mldonkey port, 4001 default
#   mldonkey_login        Mldonkey login, default none
#   mldonkey_password     Mldonkey password, default none

# boinc (seti) dir
# seti_dir /opt/seti

# Allow for the creation of at least this number of port monitors (if 0 or not set, default is 16)
#min_port_monitors 16

# Allow each port monitor to track at least this many connections (if 0 or not set, default is 256)
#min_port_monitor_connections 256

# none, xmms, bmp, audacious, infopipe (default is none)
#xmms_player audacious

# variable is given either in format $variable or in ${variable}. Latter
# allows characters right after the variable and must be used in network
# stuff because of an argument

# stuff after 'TEXT' will be formatted on screen

TEXT
${color dodger blue}WOLVIX TIME:  ${time %H:%M:%S}        ${color dodger blue}Audacious: ${audacious_title 32}

CPU: $cpu%  ${alignc}${color dark blue}${cpugraph cpu1 8,65 FF7F50 FFFF00}${color dodger blue}  MEM: $memperc%  ${color dark blue}${alignc}${memgraph 8,65 730095 0000ff}${color dodger blue}  HOME: ${color dark blue}${fs_bar 8,65 /home}${color dodger blue}  Upload: ${color dark blue}${upspeedgraph eth0 8,65 FF0000 FF0000}${color dodger blue}  Download: ${color dark blue}${downspeedgraph eth0 8,65 00FF00 00FF00}
 

MOD EDIT: I've added code brackets around the conyrc code. -Wolven

[Wolvrik]

Thanks Wolven for making that smaller.  I don't know what "code brackets" are.  Could you please explain so I can use them in case I post another long conky or something?  Thanks. 

Brotherinbluejeans - can I use your wallpaper on my website for a screenshot?  It looks great and my wife likes it too so it's a win/win whenever we agree on stuff

[brotherinbluejeans]

no problem at all wolvrik...  (gee.. maybe i should  round out the moon if its going public -i wonder if anyone noticed that it was egg-shaped?)

btw, not trying to butt in here but the code brackets are on your formatting toolbar, third from the last marked "#" (on mouseover - 'insert code')


EDIT: i updated both the png and the xcf files; the moon is now round! (and a couple details fixed.) all hail the mighty gimp!

[Wolven]

Thanks Wolven for making that smaller.  I don't know what "code brackets" are.  Could you please explain so I can use them in case I post another long conky or something?  Thanks. 

It's a bit hard to show you the code brackets as they will be invisible if I post them correctly, but I'll add a space inside the brackets so you can see them.

[ code]
The text you want to format as code goes here.
[ /code]

[YoYote]

[Wolvrik]

Really nice YoYote!  Very mystical.  It is really nice to see the creativity of other people here.  Very inspiring. 

To Brotherinbluejeans:  No, sorry it doesn't take out the trash but I went for a bike ride with it yesterday.  It takes a little training but it's worth it...

[YoYote]

Thanks Wolvrik.
The screenshot dosen't do the big CRT I stare at justice.

My tool panel is on autohide, it pops up just to the right of the cliff face with Gimp, Thunar, Verve, Mixer, and Conky. I have IconBox (?) as well.
I have not played with Conky for awhile. Over time I have stripped it to just what I really use. The script is set for "display 10" or whatever that setting is. I have a Conky icon to call it up when I want to see the info.
Simple and useful.

[brotherinbluejeans]

^slack-track:
playing on gimp again ..

yoyote, that's a cool idea; the leaping wolf silhouette  w/ stars in bg.. nice.