Linux Desktop Hacks By Jono Bacon, Nicholas Petreley Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: March 2005 ISBN: 0-596-00911-9 Pages: 342 Table of • Contents • Index • Reviews Reader With hacks that any user can follow, Linux Desktop Hacks demonstrates • Reviews how easy it is to modify Linux to suit your desires. The book is packed with • Errata tips on customizing and improving the interface, boosting performance, • Academic administering your desktop, and generally making the most out of what X, KDE, Gnome, and the console have to offer. Linux Desktop Hacks By Jono Bacon, Nicholas Petreley Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: March 2005 ISBN: 0-596-00911-9 Pages: 342 Table of • Contents • Index • Reviews Reader • Reviews • Errata • Academic Copyright Credits About the Authors Contributors Acknowledgments Preface Why Linux Desktop Hacks? How to Use This Book How This Book Is Organized Conventions Used in This Book Using Code Examples How to Contact Us Got a Hack? Safari Enabled Chapter 1. Booting Linux Hacks 1-9 Hack 1. Give Your Computer the Boot Hack 2. Kill and Resurrect the Master Boot Record Hack 3. Bypass the Boot Manager Hack 4. Set a Bitmap Boot Screen for LILO Hack 5. Create Your Own LILO Boot Splash Hack 6. Display a GRUB Boot Splash Background Hack 7. Create a GRUB Boot Splash Background Hack 8. Jazz Up Your Debian System Boot Hack 9. Graphics on the Console Chapter 2. Console Hacks 10-15 Hack 10. Redefine Keyboard Actions Hack 11. Energize Your Console with Macro Music Magic Hack 12. Take a Screenshot from the Command Line Hack 13. Put Your Command Prompt on a Diet Hack 14. Simplify Changing Directories Hack 15. Colorize Files in Your Pager Chapter 3. Login Managers Hacks 16-21 Hack 16. Switch Users Fast Hack 17. Double Your KDM (KDE) Login Screens Hack 18. Double Your GDM (GNOME) Login Screens Hack 19. Get Multiple Desktops the Macho Way Hack 20. Scrap X11 for Fancy Login Consoles Hack 21. Personalize Your Qingy Theme Chapter 4. Related to X Hacks 22-34 Hack 22. Take Your Screens Black Hack 23. Spice Up Your Desktop with Creative Mouse Cursors Hack 24. Convert CursorXP Themes for Use with Linux Hack 25. Use Windows and Mac Fonts Hack 26. Never Miss Another Reminder Hack 27. Make Applications Trigger On-Screen Alerts Hack 28. Heat Up Your Keyboard with Hotkeys Hack 29. Get Hotter Hotkeys with LinEAK Hack 30. Access Windows and Mac OS X from Linux Hack 31. Run Your Desktop over the Internet Hack 32. Access Your Programs Remotely Hack 33. Add Depth to Your Desktop Hack 34. Give Your Desktop X-Ray Vision Chapter 5. KDE Desktop Hacks 35-44 Hack 35. Make Konqueror a Window into Remote Spaces Hack 36. Konquer Remote Systems Without Passwords Hack 37. Ai Karamba! Flashy KDE Gadgets! Hack 38. Start Applications in Weird and Wonderful Ways Hack 39. Script Hacks with DCOP Hack 40. Create Your Own KDE Right-Click Menu Actions Hack 41. Make KDE Even Easier to Use Hack 42. Give Depth to Your KDE Windows Hack 43. Lock Down KDE with Kiosk Mode Hack 44. Run KDE on the Bleeding Edge Chapter 6. GNOME Desktop Hacks Hacks 45-48 Hack 45. Randomize Your GNOME Wallpaper Hack 46. Grow Your GNOME with gDesklets Steroids Hack 47. Create Your Own GNOME Right-Click Actions Hack 48. Compile a Bleeding-Edge GNOME Desktop Chapter 7. Terminal Empowerment Hacks 49-54 Hack 49. Share Applications and Monitors with screen Hack 50. Stop Using Terminal Command-Line Switches Hack 51. Ultimate Terminal Transparency Hack 52. View Microsoft Word Documents in a Terminal Hack 53. Display PDF Documents in a Terminal Hack 54. View Word and PDF Files from Within Mutt Chapter 8. Desktop Programs Hacks 55-69 Hack 55. Reduce OpenOffice.org Startup Time Hack 56. Read Yahoo! Mail from Any Email Client Hack 57. Encrypt Your Email Hack 58. Reclaim Your Email with procmail Hack 59. Convert Your Mailbox Hack 60. Configure Firefox Under the Covers Hack 61. Eliminate Annoying Browser Stalls Hack 62. Get Browser Plug-ins Working Hack 63. Create an Internet Phone Hack 64. Motion Capture and Video Conferencing Fun Hack 65. Put Screenshots Automatically on the Web Hack 66. Scan for Wireless Networks Hack 67. Map Your Meatspace Hack 68. Connect to a Microsoft PPTP VPN Hack 69. Play Restricted Media Formats Chapter 9. Administration and Automation Hacks 70-87 Hack 70. Automate Your Life with cron Hack 71. Update Your Clock via the Internet Hack 72. Start Desktop Applications Automatically Hack 73. Don't Let Elvis Leave the Building Hack 74. Clone Your Linux Install Hack 75. Forward Ports over SSH Hack 76. Take Control of New User Setups Hack 77. Send Email Alerts for System Events Hack 78. Create a Passwordless Login Hack 79. Magically Empower Your Network Cable Hack 80. Protect Yourself from Windows Applications Hack 81. Build a Custom Firewall Computer Hack 82. Link Monitoring in Linux with Wavemon Hack 83. Make Network Backups Hack 84. Recover from Debian Disaster Hack 85. Prelink for Performance Hack 86. Grab the Latest Source Code Hack 87. Speed Up Compiles Chapter 10. Kernel Hacks 88-91 Hack 88. Compile a Kernel Hack 89. Upgrade Your Kernel to 2.6 Hack 90. Use CKO to Make Your Desktop Go to 11 Hack 91. Tweak Your Kernel Without Recompiling Chapter 11. Hardware Hacks 92-100 Hack 92. Make an Internet Connection Using Bluetooth and a Mobile Phone Hack 93. Perfect USB Devices with Project Utopia Hack 94. Optimize Your Refresh Rates Hack 95. Print to Unsupported Printers Hack 96. Control Your Power with ACPI Hack 97. Use an iPod with Linux Hack 98. Sync Your iRiver with Linux Hack 99. Boost Hard-Drive Performance Hack 100. Accelerate Your Gaming Colophon Index Copyright © 2005 O'Reilly Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc., 1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472. O'Reilly books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://safari.oreilly.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales department: (800) 998-9938 or [email protected]. Nutshell Handbook, the Nutshell Handbook logo, and the O'Reilly logo are registered trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. The Hacks series designations, Linux Desktop Hacks, the image of a wood plane, and related trade dress are trademarks of O'Reilly Media, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and O'Reilly Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Small print: The technologies discussed in this publication, the limitations on these technologies that technology and content owners seek to impose, and the laws actually limiting the use of these technologies are constantly changing. Thus, some of the hacks described in this publication may not work, may cause unintended harm to systems on which they are used, or may not be consistent with applicable user agreements. Your use of these hacks is at your own risk, and O'Reilly Media, Inc. disclaims responsibility for any damage or expense resulting from their use. In any event, you should take care that your use of these hacks does not violate any applicable laws, including copyright laws. Credits About the Authors Contributors Acknowledgments About the Authors Nicholas Petreley began his career in computing in 1983 as an Assembly-language programmer for a signal-processing research and development firm called Adaptronics, located in McLean, Virginia, and he hasn't been able to escape the field since. After getting a taste of writing as a weekly columnist for the Times in New Jersey, Nick began spending more time with the English language than with Pascal, C, C++, and the dozens of other languages that previously dominated his life. Nick's former lives also include conference advisor for LinuxWorld Expo, creator of the Golden Penguin Bowl quiz show, editorial director of LinuxWorld, editor-in-chief of Network Computing World, executive editor of the InfoWorld Test Center, award-winning columnist for InfoWorld, and regular technical columnist for ComputerWorld. You can find his current articles on Newsforge and in other publications under various pseudonyms. He is a columnist for Tux magazine, the author of the Official Fedora Companion, a part-time Evans data analyst, a freelance writer, a creator and maintainer of the VAR- oriented web site (http://www.varlinux.org), and a professional open source consultant. Jono Bacon (http://www.jonobacon.org/) is an established writer, developer, and musician. Jono has been working as a full-time writer and technology consultant/developer since 2000, for a variety of publishers and companies. They include Linux Format, Linux Pro, Linux Magazine, Linux User & Developer, Linux Journal, PC Plus, MacFormat, MacTech, Digital Home, Newsforge, Sitepoint, and ContentPeople. Jono has also worked as a writer/consultant/developer for Trolltech, Apple, theKompany.com, the University of Wolverhampton, Delta Institute, and others. In addition to this work, Jono has been a part of the Linux community since 1998 and has worked for various free software projects including KDE and Kafka, and he founded Linux UK, the KDE Usability Study, KDE::Enterprise, and the Infopoint Project. He currently works on various free software projects, as well as for OpenAdvantage in Birmingham, UK, as a professional open source consultant.