Ubuntu 10.4 (Lucid Lynx) that looks like an Apple Mac!

Date June 2010

Apple Macs are (1) robust, (2) less prone to Viruses (3) based on Unix code and (4) They are very expensive.
Linux PCs are (1) robust, (2) less prone to Viruses (3) based on Unix code....

Spot the difference? If you could make a linux/x86 machine look like a Mac, and behave very like a Mac, then you have a Mac at half the cost.

Well with a Mac theme to give you the style of a Mac, plus a dock similar to the Mac dock you can do just that.


A clean icon-free desktop, familiar red/amber/green "glass" buttons on screens and an animated dock for applications gives that familiar Mac look.

This is achieved with the Mac4Lin theme and Cairo Dock .

Theme
First Install "Emerald" and "Compiz" from the Package Manager if not already installed.

Next go to the Mac4Lin site and download Mac4Lin_Install_v1.0.zip. Open with the archive manager when asked and extract to your home folder.

Double click on the Mac4Lin_Install_v1.0.sh file and opt for "Run in terminal" which will install the theme.

Answer "n" to the question about Metacity, and "y" to the one about root access (and enter your root password).
At the end of this log out and back in again. You should be able to right click the desktop, choose Background, then Themes, and the Custom theme should be the Mac OSX one with the Red/Amber/Greem glass buttons on left hand corner of your Firefox Browser, OpenOffice, and other dialogue boxes. Software running under Wine such as MS Office are not themed this way unfotunately.

Warning: Every time I have loaded Mac4Lin I have had to run the install more than once til I got the responses right but I'm pretty sure "n" then "y" is correct! You may have to play and tweak, but then this IS Linux!

Use the leopard wallpaper included in the Mac4Lin package as per my picture. This is a good contrast to most Docks.


Cairo Dock
I think Cairo-Dock is the best dock, and more stable than AWN. First right-click on the narrow lower panel and remove it. The Panel with the systray etc should be at the top. I tend to keep that panel in place in case the Cairo Dock does not have what I need to display.
Then go to the Synaptic Package Manager and install Cairo Dock plus all dependencies.
Go to Preferences / Startup Applications in the Mint Menu and Add a new startup app. Call it Cairo Dock and put in the Command box cairo-dock -o This will make the dock appear on login.
Restart the machine and when the Dock appears, right-click on it and select Cairo-Dock then Configure. Go to Themes tab and select Mac OSX by Lord Northam.

I suggest a setting for Cairo dock configuration (Behaviour / Accessibility) of "Keep the Dock Below Other Windows" ticked which will display the dock on the desktop screen, but it is hidden when using fullscreen programs such as Firefox.

Easiest way I know to add applications such as OpenOffice Writer to the Dock is to go to the normal Gnome applications menu, right-click on the app you want, then click Add Launcher to Desktop. Then drag the launcher icon into the dock - usually it will only be accepted on left hand end. Items on the Right-hand end are usually added from the Cairo-Dock Configure panel add-ons etc, such as a Trash icon.