XPUbuntu: My Saga
Having perhaps a little too much time on my hands today, I decided to make my Windows XP installation look like Ubuntu. Why bother with Windows XP at all? Well, I still need many windows applications for various classes I’m currently taking, but I like the Ubuntu interface better than the one provided with Windows XP, so making XP look like Ubuntu seemed like a good way to go. I’m actually quite pleased with what I was able to do, and I may stick with this configuration.
The first thing I had to do was find a theme that would change my interface to look like Ubuntu’s “Human” theme. I found a great (though slightly old) post that listed some of the options available. I patched the windows dll and (rather nervously) restarted Windows. After trying a few others, I finally settled on the first one on the list. (Its interesting to note that the Cursor files didn’t seem to install automatically, but doing so manually wasn’t that hard)
Next I went ahead and set the default Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex Wallpaper as my background to add to the Ubuntu atmosphere.
One of the things I love the most about Ubuntu is its Virtual desktops. After looking around, I found VirtuaWin, an open source virtual desktop manager for Windows. I tried it for a while, but while I loved its feature set, one thing I missed was the cool “Rotating Cube” effect that Compiz Fusion gives you in Ubuntu. I did a little more digging and came across Yod’m3D. As it turns out, this project is now DeskSpace, and is no longer free. Fortunately for me, an older version of Yad’m3D is still available for download. I installed it, and am now working in full Ubuntu-like glory.
Here are some screenshots:
“Development” Desktop
“Browser” Desktop
“Graphics” Desktop
Cube Transition Effect
If I decide to keep this configuration, I’ll probably purchase the latest version of DeskSpace so I can enjoy the advanced feature set, but for now the free version is plenty of fun to play with.
Kick XP to the curve and upgrade to Windows Vista! You get it for free from MSDNAA, so gear up and use it. It is a huge upgrade over XP and has so many usability enhancements it is ridiculous. Plus, if you decide to upgrade, you could split your partition and install Ubuntu side by side with Vista. That way, when you go to take OS or Computer Graphics, you’ll have a ready installation that you can write C and C++ code in and compile!
I need to check to make sure all the software I need is compatible with Vista, but I might do that. I had bad experiences with Vista on an old laptop, but with 4 gigs of RAM and a much better processor, I should no longer have any problems.
Dual boot’s not a bad idea either. My only concern is the extra space taken up by having two operating systems installed. That’s one reason I didn’t do that before. I’m impressed by the new way Ubuntu installs though. It’s actually created as a Windows application. This makes uninstalling it WAY easier than it was before.
Yeah, you should definitely go dual boot. Make the Ubuntu partition 10-15GB, and you should be just fine. You won’t need any more than that. After that, set the GRUB boot loader to boot to Vista by default and you should be fine.
Also, pretty much all software that I know of runs on Vista by now, especially anything you’re going to use. I think the only thing I had problems with was Maple (9) but you can use Windows terminal services on campus for that.
And we can now get Maple 12, which from what I can tell works on Vista. I’m definitely thinking about this now.
Clearly, you need to look up the Super Tango Patcher and get convert your icons over to the Ubuntu style as well.
Aha, hadn’t heard of that before. Thanks.