What's Next? Isis!

After the release of Luna, some of us may have sat back and watched the amazing reviews roll in. But the elementary team is already back at it. So what's in store after Luna?

The next release will be named Isis after the Egyptian mother-goddess whose popularity continued well into the Greco-Roman period. Keeping the theme of mythic goddesses, the elementary team may wish to draw parallels between the primacy and strength of Isis or the beauty of her femininity. Or maybe the name just sounds awesome!

But enough of the myths, let's get to the facts! Here are a few exciting goals for this release:

• AppCenter. The dependency on the Ubuntu Software Center was a glaring inconsistency in Luna. The USC is slow. And it is ugly. There are now plans to include a beautiful, lightweight AppCenter to Isis with both free and paid apps.
• Automatic driver detection. Continuing to making elementary the most usable operating system available, the team is pushing to polish the installation process by taking out some of the guesswork.  This will be especially nice for all those with NVidia drivers.
• Universal Accounts Dialog. Although not officially confirmed for Isis, there is a strong chance that a system-wide accounts dialogue will be created to hold online profiles, usable by all elementary apps.
• Name changes. Goodbye, Empathy, Geary, and Shotwell. Hello, Chat, Mail, and Photos! The apps will stay the same. Only the names are changing to something a little more intuitive.
• Much more. Check out the launchpad page for a full list. 

Excited, yet?

[EDIT (10/21/2013): As mentioned by Daniel Foré in the comments, these goals are not promises. They are part of a wishlist. All the more reason to support the team!]

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Top Things To Do After Installing Luna

After elementary OS Luna has been officially released, a surge of new eOS users has arrived, and we are here to help. Everyone, including me, loves a "Top Things To Do After Installing..." list, so let's get you started.

UPDATE

After you have a freshly installed copy of elementary OS Luna at your hand, the first thing you should do is check for updates. You can either use the Update Manager by clicking on Applications (located on the top left corner) and looking for it there, or by opening your terminal (shortcut to open: CTRL + ALT + T) and typing:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Updating your system is always a good idea. Updates include bug fixes, security patches, and new features!

MIDORI AND FLASH

eOS comes with the awesome lightweight browser Midori (pronounce it “midoɺi”, with a Spanish/ Japanese “r”). To get Flash working for it, you'll need to install ndiswrapper and do some tweaking, but don't fret, it's easier than it sounds. Just open up your Terminal (CTRL + ALT + T) and type in:

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-installer nspluginwrapper
sudo nspluginwrapper -i /usr/lib/flashplugin-installer/libflashplayer.so
nspluginwrapper -v -a -n -i

Update: Lewis Goddard has created a script that fixes flash in Midori if the above does not work for you here. Just follow the instructions provided there.

That's it, Midori should run Flash now!

OTHER BROWSERS

If you prefer to use Firefox or Chromium, no problem!

Install Firefox
You can set up Firefox to fit in elementary OS perfectly as described here.

Like Chrome/Chromium? No Problem.

Install Chromium
Theme Chromium to fit into eOS as described here.

COMMUNITY PPA

Elementary Update has set up a community driven repository for third party applications, themes and more, all tailored to fit right into eOS. You can easily add the PPA to your system by opening your Terminal (CTRL + ALT + T) and typing:

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:versable/elementary-update
sudo apt-get update
With the community PPA enabled you can now do the following.

ELEMENTARY TWEAKS

You might be familiar with Gnome Tweak Tool or Ubuntu Tweak. Well, for elementary OS we have elementary Tweaks. With elementary Tweaks you can easily change advanced settings that are otherwise hidden in elementary OS and more!

Install elementary Tweaks
Once installed, you'll be able to access it by opening the System Settings and clicking on Tweaks. There are even more options in Tweaks that you can unlock by reading on and following the instructions.

WINGPANEL SLIM

Wingpanel, the super sexy space-saving top panel of eOS, is great as it is, but you might want something even more space saving due to a small screen or your personal preference. +Heath Paddock has forked Wingpanel and coded the awesome Wingpanel Slim. It is customizable through elementary Tweaks once installed.

Install Wingpanel Slim
Once installed, open elementary Tweaks, activate Wingpanel Slim by hitting the switch, and customize it to your liking.

INDICATOR SYNAPSE

+Tom Beckmann, the developer behind Gala, elementary's Window Manager, has coded a search indicator based on Synapse.

Install Indicator Synapse
Once installed, log out and back in and you'll have a search icon in your panel. You can change the keyboard shortcut with elementary Tweaks!

APPS

There are also a bunch of elementary styled applications in the Community PPA. Here is a list of their package name and a short description:

• audience - A modern media player
• birdie-granite - Twitter client for elementary OS
• cable - IRC client for elementary OS
• etube - Youtube viewer for elementary OS
• feedler - Awesome RSS reader
• foto - A very simple image viewer
• gazette - Clock, news and weather for your desktop
• nuvolaplayer - cloud music integration

Install Third Party Apps

THEMES

Albeit the awesome default elementary theme, the community has created a slew of astonishing themes and icon themes too.

• elementary-blue-theme
• elementary-champagne-theme
• elementary-colors-theme
• elementary-dark-theme
• elementary-harvey-theme
• elementary-lion-theme
• elementary-matteblack-theme
• elementary-milk-theme
• elementary-plastico-theme
• elementary-whit-e-theme

Install Themes

ICON THEMES

The same goes for icon themes that have been customized to fit eOS, here is the available list:

• elementary-elfaenza-icons
• elementary-emod-icons
• elementary-enumix-utouch-icons
• elementary-nitrux-icons
• elementary-taprevival-icons

Install Icon Themes

OTHER THEMES

If you like the default elementary OS icon theme, you should install elementary-thirdparty-icons, which provides additional icons for thirdparty apps:

Install Icons for Thirdparty Apps
Additionally, you can install extra Plank (the Dock that elementary OS uses) themes:

Install Dock Themes
How about some awesome new wallpapers?

Install Wallpapers Collection

UPDATE YOUR KERNEL

Since elementary OS is based on Ubuntu 12.04, it uses a rather outdated kernel. If you have any hardware issues, you might be able to fix them by installing a backport of Ubuntu's 13.04 Kernel. Although some users report that newer kernels don't work well for them. Note: You can always revert.

Install Raring Generic Linux
Reboot and it should work! If booting fails, you can boot with your old kernel by holding down SHIFT during the boot process, you can now choose your old kernel, boot up, and remove the linux-generic-lts-raring package from Software Center.
That's it! You should be all set to customize elementary OS Luna to your needs.

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eNumix uTouch Icon Theme

The famous and gorgeous icon theme Numix uTouch from Deviantart user me4oslav with over 245 icons has been modified by us to work with elementaryOS Luna.


We dig it's style and love how complete it feels with the large collection of application icons.


It is now available through the Community PPA, if you haven't added the PPA, check out this post. If you have it added, continue installing it in the Terminal with:
sudo apt-get install elementary-enumix-utouch-icons

Apply the theme with elementary Tweaks and enjoy.

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Birdie Needs Your Help!

Birdie, our favorite elementary OS styled Twitter client, has started an Indiegogo campaign. It is trying to raise funds to:

• Implement missing Twitter features
• Make Birdie rock solid, without crashes and weird bugs
• Integrate and test Birdie on the most popular distributions, so Birdie feels great whether you use Ubuntu, elementary OS, Fedora, etc.
• Optimize Birdie so it runs and feels faster
• Create packages and repositories for the most popular distributions
• Continue developing free open-source software that everyone can use, modify and redistribute

So head on over to Indigogo and contribute what you can!

If you want to try out Birdie, it is available in our Community PPA! If you have the PPA activated, install it through the Terminal with: sudo apt-get install birdie-granite

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5 New Awesome Elementary Themes

Recently, Deviantart users kxmylo and rhoconlinux have been working hard on themes, specifically tailored to work with elementaryOS. We have added them to our Community PPA for your convenience. Let's have a look, shall we?

Blue

The Blue theme from kxmylo does not only bring a warm and friendly feeling to your desktop, it also comes with custom icons to polish this great theme. If you have the Community PPA enabled, simply install the theme with your Terminal:
sudo apt-get install elementary-blue-theme Use elementary Tweaks to change your theme and don't forget to use the Blue icon theme as well.

Colors

Another great theme from kxmylo is Colors. It playfully brings a colorful and beautiful palette to your elementaryOS desktop. Install it with:
sudo apt-get install elementary-colors-theme

Lion

The OSX inspired theme Lion from kxmylo brings a vibrant and polished look to your Desktop that is definitely worth checking out:
sudo apt-get install elementary-lion-theme

Champagne

This elementary based theme from rhoconlinux brings a nice alternative to the default elementaryOS theme. Get it with:
sudo apt-get install elementary-champagne-theme

Milk

The final and very professional theme Milk from rhoconlinux brightens up your desktop and brings a lot of features with it, such as Wingpanel Slim compatibility. Install it with:
sudo apt-get install elementary-milk-theme
Be sure to thank Camilo "kxmylo" Higuita and Rho Con Linux for their hard and awesome work!

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Community PPA Update #1

A lot has happened recently in the elementary community, so it's time for a round up.

CABLE

For starters, +Eduard Gotwig released a new version of the IRC client Cable, which is based on Sushi IRC. It brings visual improvements and a lot of bug fixes, like the buggy user list it used to have, with it.

The newest version is available through the Community PPA, and can be installed with: sudo apt-get install cable

elementary Tweaks

Elementary Tweaks has gone through a lot of changes. The most obvious is the new UI, which was done by +Tom Beckmann. The flexibility of the new UI allows more settings to be added.
Additionally to the new UI, Terminal settings have been added by Tom Beckmann and, thanks to the work of +Heath Paddock, Wingpanel Slim can now be aligned.

Icon theme emod

+Luca Di Martino has been working on an impressive new flat icon theme for elementary OS. He recently release the icon theme, which, of course, is also available through the Community PPA: sudo apt-get install elementary-emod-icons

New Plank Themes

Due to the new popular trend of using Plank in Panel mode, +Kevin Kleinman released 3 new Plank themes: sudo apt-get install elementary-plank-themes

Time off

Elementary Tweaks development and the Community PPA maintenance will be put on hold for a week, as I am taking some time off for a beach vacation. You can still send me questions/feedback/suggestions for elementary Tweaks and the Community PPA per email at versable@gmail.com and I will check my inbox when I get back.

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Safely use Wingpanel Slim

There has been an uproar in the elementary community ever since +Heath Paddock introduced Wingpanel Slim, a Wingpanel hack that greatly reduces Wingpanels size and increases the usable space on the desktop.

When Wingpanel Slim was introduced it brought a couple of problems: It replaced Wingpanel, making it rather complicated to switch back to the original Wingpanel, and it broke Galas Workspaces. These problems have been taken care of recently.

I have packaged Wingpanel Slim, so it doesn't collide with Wingpanel, and +Tom Beckmann has fixed the Gala Workspace issue. Additionally, elementary Tweaks now includes an option for Wingpanel Slim, making it easy to switch between the two panels.

Installation

You will need to have the Community PPA activated, elementary Tweaks installed and an updated system for the Gala fix. Check this post for instructions on installing the Community PPA and elementary Tweaks. If you already have the Community PPA and elementary Tweaks installed, open up your Terminal (CTRL+ALT+T) and type in:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install wingpanel-slim
That's it! Switching to Wingpanel Slim and back to Wingpanel is easily done by opening up the elementary Tweaks plug from your System Settings and activating or deactivating the Wingpanel Slim option located under the Appearance tab. You might want to log out and back in for the Gala fix to take effect.

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