How to Customize Your Linux Desktop

Linux can have the most beautiful interface in the world, because it is simply what you make of it. You can change every little detail with relative ease because that's what Linux is all about: Freedom and OpenSource.

I posted pictures of my desktop on the corkboard a few weeks back, encouraging others to show me theirs. I got a few compliments from people, as well as requests for how to get such nice looking themes in Linux.

In this Null Byte, I've made a video demonstrating how I customize my desktop. I can go into a lot greater detail with .dotfiles, etc. but I wanted to keep things simple. So, I'm showing you how to install a Desktop Environment (I chose KDE), plus how to get new themes, hack existing ones, and explain how you can go about hacking .bashrc to get an awesome looking terminal and work environment.

Before the Video

Here are a few commands you should know, which are used in the video.

• cd = changes directories
• pacman -Ss = searches the Pacman repositories
• pacman -S = installs a specified package from the repositories
• nano = edits a text file with the nano editor
• ls = lists subdirectories in your current working directory

Tips

• You don't have to use the "startx" command. You can go into the console, in run level 3, and issue the following command:

    xinit /usr/bin/

If you have any questions, feel free to have one-on-one chats with me on the Null Byte IRC.