The current Linux Mint desktop

I freaking love the current look of Linux Mint 19, XFCE looks really slick.
Also, sporting my own XFWM theme Mint-Y-Borderless, the light version of the dark one, called Mint-Y-Dark-Borderless.
Been using it on the Optiplex for the last couple of days non-stop, except for some annoyances here and there the thing is fantastic.

The current Linux Mint desktop

Yes!
Another screen shot post!
Once again, shamelessly pushing my own theme, this time with the lighter version of Linux Mint's Mint-Y, but borderless (or is it border-less?), appropriately called Mint-Y-Borderless.

The current Linux Mint desktop

Not only a screen shot of the current setup on my trusty Optiplex 755, but also a bit of a digression on XFWM4 themes...
Also, yes, a shameless plug on a new XFCE Window Manager theme I've made:

Mint-Y-Dark-Borderless

Obviously based on the lovely Mint-Y-Dark theme, but without window borders [doh!].

Don't know why, but it seems that borderless (or is it border-less) themes on XFCE aren't that loved out there on the webs...
For the little Google archaeology I did, it seems to come from Xubuntu's default theme Greybird.

Increase Window Border Size in Xubuntu 14.04 Greybird Theme

Borderless windows (with titlebars) possible?
((Oh... The Beck theme... The memories!))

Flatabulous: Near Perfect Flatness

Lately I've been hunting down flat themes for Unity (after all, I have to keep myself trendy, right?)
One of the best I've found is Flatabulous.
I like it a lot, specially because it's border-less (the Terminal's screenshot on the developer's site looks ultra hip & cool IMHO), it's flat (duh!), looks elegant and nice.
But, I've also found a couple of nasty bugs that ruin the whole thing, the whole experience.
There is one large "black hole" or space on Gedit when there is only one tab open (see screenshot).
Another small horror happens on Evolution's main window, on the section with icons for Contacts, Calendar, Taks, etc (no screenshot for that at the moment), it looks rough, with thick black borders that look from another planet on the whole theme vibe.
A minor gripe, and this is just me, I guess, is that the windows are really square.... I like the top corners of my windows to be rounded, but, hey, I like I said, that's just me...

The current Linux Mint desktop

Time for another exciting Linux screenshot!
With the now famous combination of Moka Icons, the Color-UI and the New Minty Cinnamon theme.

The current Linux Mint desktop

Quite a bit of changes since the last one.. The Cinnamon theme is New Minty, a classic around here, but the Window theme, the Metacity one, its a new one, a border-less theme called Adwaita-borderless.
The wallpaper, actually hoping for brutal autumn just around the corner, it is called "Summer Greets Autumn".

Ubuntu 14.04 on the Thinkpad T60p

Still not my cup of tea

Installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (32 bits) on the T60p today, using a SSD drive (I can't even believe there is a new LTS available... Time fucking flies...)

As expected, everything went peachy, no problems at all (Screen resolution, WiFi, Suspend/ Resume, etc, etc, etc...).
Unity feels quite snappy, the border-less windows (on top of the anti-aliased round cornered windows) look truly amazing, but the damn Global Menu implementation still sucks ass big time...

Also, with this current minimalist trend going on that strips everything of every possible configuration option, this Ubuntu release, following GNOME's "directive", doesn't offer any way to edit the keyboard layout (you know, for stuff like remapping the totally useless CapsLock key to a completely more useful additional Ctrl...)
You'll need to install GNOME Tweak Tool in order to do that, the program had a transparent window on the T60p, but I'm pretty sure that's because of the now crappy laptop video card.

Anyways, the thing is not for me, if I can't have the perfect Global Menu, then I don't want any... In the mean time, I'm patiently waiting for Linux Mint's next release, specially with all the annoyances I'm having with my current install.

Next distro hop: the newer Lubuntu.

GNOME 3: Some window glitches

A couple of glitches with the "effects" on the windows they seem to come and go, usually the biggest thing they require is a logout.
A real PITA, to say the least.

Updates dujour

Well, what you know? Todays updates (obviously the ones related to the X Server) fixed yesterday's glitches!
I'm out of flatland once again, and with pretty nice drop shadow effects once again.

2011-10-20 10:41:59 status installed tzdata 2011l-0ubuntu0.10.04
2011-10-20 10:42:05 status installed man-db 2.5.7-2ubuntu1
2011-10-20 10:42:06 status installed xserver-common 2:1.7.6-2ubuntu7.9
2011-10-20 10:42:06 status installed xserver-xorg-core 2:1.7.6-2ubuntu7.9

The current Ubuntu desktop

Been playing a bit with the drop shadows values...
I guess it shows...

Completely shadow-less

Well, decided to kill all the Desktop Effects.

As least for a while, totally cold turkey that is.
I don't use much of them anyways, but, but, but... The Drop Shadows are really, really missed in my desktop... That is the only Desktop Effect, actually, and, sort of related to that one, the ability to use a totally border-less window, which without shadow underneath, looks like crap (if not Scottish, its Crap!!).
So, right now I'm with borders and without shadows, so far, being using it like this for a couple of hours, I can do it just fine (the last time I tried didn't last more than a few minutes....)
I could use Metacity's own composite engine, but it blows g0at dick when you have to Alt - Tab with more than 6 windows open.
The theme is still Alliance, but since yesterday I've modified a little bit.

The current Ubuntu theme

Having a blast with the Alliance theme, using both the Metacity as well as the GTK version.
I like it, it is like a retro and also lighter -brighter-, but then again, not a lot, not too much than the regular version of themes I've been using on Lucid so far.
Of course, I have removed any sign of borders, making it completely border-less, the way modern GUIs should be, IMHO.

Simply Better

The lovely Metacity theme known as Simply Basic -which I have been using for a while now- got even better.
The author (I'd like to believe that after talking with yours truly... ;) ) removed the borders from the theme completely.

The current Ubuntu theme

Today felt like a bit of Radiance... Without borders on the Metacity theme, of course.

The current Ubuntu theme

Once again, Simply Basic... yeah, I'm a bored guy... I know...
But now completely borderless, the way modern themes/ window managers should be, God damn it!
The author gratuitously posted a snip of code to modify its Metacity theme to be borderless, long live the intarweb ;)

The current Ubuntu desktop

Right now using Dichotomy, a funky colored theme that sparks! ;)
The Metacity theme is my own creation Ambiance Thin, the borderless Ambiance.

Border-less Ambiance (4)

I have posted on Gnome Look the theme I've created, modifying Lucid Lynx's own Ambiance.

Ambiance Thin

More Lucid Lynx window shopping

Another theme for Lucid, following my current infatuation with the violets and dark themes, also, this one has sort of/ kinda border-less windows, close, but no cigar ;)

Ambiance Refined

Border-less Ambiance (3)

Yet another on the Ambiance without borders... I'm a drag, I know.
A before and after on the process of getting the lower corners straight, and getting rid of the borders themselves.

Border-less Ambiance (2)

A nice screenshot of my current Metacity modification on Ambiance.
The border-less window seem really sexy.