MacBuntu and Compiz effects --Make Ubuntu look like Mac OSX

After a long gap, I have something interesting for you. The first part is to make Ubuntu look like Mac OS-X and the next part giving you some of the very interesting features of Compiz which I tried.

Unlike the earlier editions of Ubuntu which had a very dry default theme, the latest versions 10.04 and 10.10 have an interesting theme by default. Ubuntu must have definitely looked into this aspect and the booting process. The booting process is so fast that it takes hardly 20 seconds for the booting to take place. On the other hand, the Internet speed also has increased reasonably well over the Lucid Lynx (which had disastrously slow Internet). However, the look and feel of Mac-OS is top-class with glossy finishes and high resolutions.

How to make Ubuntu look like Mac OS X:

In order to get the Mac look-and-feel, a package named "Macbuntu" has to be installed. The process for the installation is given below:

1. Download the Macbuntu package from the links given below:
• https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/macbuntu/macbuntu-10.04/v2.2/Macbuntu-10.04.tar.gz for Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04).
• https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/macbuntu/macbuntu-10.10/v2.3/Macbuntu-10.10.tar.gz for Maverick Meerkat (Ubuntu 10.10).
2. After changing the present working directory to the folder which contains the downloaded file, extract the contents inside this compressed file to /tmp folder by using the following commands in the Terminal:
• tar xzvf Macbuntu-10.10.tar.gz -C /tmp
• cd /tmp/Macbuntu-10.10/
• ./install.sh
3. In the steps that follow the installation, give the  appropriate values to the questions at each stage.
4. Now restart your system to get the new look-and-feel of Mac OS.

Compiz Settings:

Getting to the later part of the discussion,  Compiz effects are something that anyone would like to have for better animations, extras, effects, Window management, Utility, Desktop effects etc.

The things I tried in Compiz are pretty easy ones and Desktop cube, cube reflection and deformation, Scale and Negative are the ones that I predominantly used. 

The negative  plug-in does get the negative version of the environment which we are working on. 

The Scale plug-in gives a list of all the windows maximised at the center of the screen just giving some amazing desktop eye candy as shown in the figure below. It is always handy to have these kinds of plug-ins.

The Wobble windows plug-in though is a good piece, seemed to be an unstable one as far as the look in the environment and the wobbling to the eyes are concerned. Among the others, all the plug-ins related to Cube are a treat to the eyes. But one should see that the performance does not get disappointed when you have an extra set of these animations enabled. Cube Atlantis and Cube gears are master-pieces in this section but demand very good hardware all around.

A balance between the performance and the look-and-feel  is the one we should look at because an operating system is not solely about the look-and-feel. Therefore, it is always recommended to think for a while before switching to high graphic oriented plug-ins.