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Ubuntu In Blue

1.   Introduction
2.   Common Elements
2.1   Icons
2.2   Gajim
2.3   FileZilla
2.4   Metacity
3.   Blubuntu
3.1   Mixing the Blubuntu Theme
3.2   Wallpaper
3.3   GDM
3.4   Gnome Splash Screen
4.   Ubuntu Blue (My favourite)
4.1   Mixing the Ubuntu Blue Theme
4.2   Wallpaper
4.3   GDM
4.4   Gnome Splash Screen

Introduction

I spend all day sat in front of a Ubuntu workstation, then I come home and try and spend all night doing the same. Frankly, I find Ubuntu's default brown and orange desktop a bit wearing. So, with few downloads we can change it to something more soothing.

The blue themes for Ubuntu described below are just my personal preferences, you may hate them.

No, there aren't any screen shots. ;-)

Common Elements

I have describe two blue theme below, Blubuntu and Ubuntu Blue. Both have been mixed with Clearbox theme for Metacity and the Tango icons, to create some deliciously soothing blue themes.

Icons

I like the Tango icons, so the first job is to get Tango'd. The following installs the Tango icons and also adds Tango icons to OpenOffice, which looks great. The 'firefox-themes-ubuntu' package includes three themes for Firefox, one of which is Tango'd :-)

Ubuntu Gutsy

 aptitude install openoffice.org-style-tango firefox-themes-ubuntu tango-icon-theme tango-icon-theme-common tango-icon-theme-extras

Ubuntu Hardy

 aptitude install openoffice.org-style-tango tango-icon-theme tango-icon-theme-common tango-icon-theme-extras

Gajim

I use Gajim, here is a Tango icon set for it. 

 wget "http://www.gnome-look.org/content/download.php?content=46404&id=1&tan=98127457"
 tar xvf 46404-jabber_tango.tar
 sudo mv jabber_tango /usr/share/gajim/data/iconsets/

FileZilla

I use FileZilla, here is a Tango icon set for it. 

 wget "http://www.gnome-look.org/content/download.php?content=70012&id=1&tan=63937149"
 tar jxvf tango-filezilla.tar.bz2
 rm -rf tango-filezilla/cyril/16x16_old
 sudo mv tango-filezilla/cyril /usr/share/filezilla/resources/tango
 sudo cp /usr/share/filezilla/resources/tango/16x16/folder* /usr/share/filezilla/resources/16x16/
 nano /usr/share/filezilla/resources/themes.xml

Add the following... 

 <Theme>
   <Name>Tango</Name>
   <Subdir>tango</Subdir>
   <Author>Phroy</Author>
 </Theme>

gTango

You might also like the gTango icon theme. 

 tar jxvf gTango.tar.bz2
 sudo mv gTango /usr/share/icons/

Tango Generator

You can install also your Tango icons another way, by using Tango Generator. However, I have not got Tango Generator to work yet, 3.2.3 was the last version I tried. It just stops downloading icons part way through. I have given up on it and gone with gTango instead. 

 wget http://mejogid.ohallwebservices.com/packages/3.2.3/2.5/tango-generator_3.2.3-1_all.deb
 sudo aptitude install librsvg2-bin 
 sudo dpkg -i tango-generator_3.2.3-1_all.deb

Metacity

Metacity is the default window manager for Gnome. I like clean, simple, windows. I haven't got time for "bling". Therefore I use the Clearbox themes, particularly 'clearbox-in'. Just grab the Clearbox themes pack... 

 wget http://heanet.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/clearbox/clearbox-themes-pack.tar.gz

...and install it via System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Theme -> Install...

Blubuntu

Brent Roos took the Swirls Background from Aaron Waite and modified it to create Blubuntu, Brent also created a matching GDM theme and Gnome Splash.

NOTE! There are some Blubuntu look packages in the Ubuntu repos, they are not the same Blubuntu that Brent created. Brents Blubuntu is elegant and the stuff in the repos is badly thrown together and just plain ugly.

Mixing the Blubuntu Theme

Now we have the appropriate Icons and Window dressing installed, it needs mixing together in to a delicious desktop theme. Here is how I have things.

  • System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Theme -> Customise...
    • Controls : ClearlooksClassic
    • Colours : The defaults, but Background Selected Items is #6989A9
    • Window Border : clearbox-in
    • Icons : Tango
    • Pointer : whiteglass

Wallpaper

Get your Blubuntu Wallpaper below...

Add it and enable it via System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Background

GDM

Get the Blubuntu GDM theme below...

Install and enable it via System -> Administration -> Login Window

Gnome Splash Screen

First we need a easy way to change Gnome splash screens, this should do it. 

 aptitude install gnome-splashscreen-manager

Get the Blubuntu Gnome splash below...

Install and activate it via System -> Preferences -> Splash Screen

References

Ubuntu Blue (My favourite)

There is another collection of complementing blue themes called Ubuntu Blue. Again, I mix the Ubuntu Blue themes with the Tango Icons and Clearbox. This combination is my current favourite.

Mixing the Ubuntu Blue Theme

Now we have the appropriate Icons and Window dressing installed, it needs mixing together in to a delicious desktop theme. Here is how I have things.

  • System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Theme -> Customise...
    • Controls : ClearlooksClassic
    • Colours : The defaults, but Background Selected Items is #86ABD9
    • Window Border : clearbox-in
    • Icons : Tango
    • Pointer : whiteglass

Wallpaper

Get your Ubuntu Blue Wallpaper below... 

 wget "http://www.gnome-look.org/content/download.php?content=30812&id=1&tan=49488756"
 tar zxvf 30812-simple_blue.tar.gz

Add and enable it via System -> Preferences -> Appearance -> Background

GDM

Get the Ubuntu Blue GDM theme below...

Install and enable it via System -> Administration -> Login Window

Gnome Splash Screen

First we need a easy way to change Gnome splash screens, this should do it. 

 aptitude install gnome-splashscreen-manager

Get the Ubuntu Blue Gnome splash below...

Install and activate it via System -> Preferences -> Splash Screen

$Id: UbuntuInBlue,v 1.35 2008/07/05 09:54:59 martin Exp $

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