How to make Ubuntu 12.04 look like Mac OSX

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Undoubtedly, Mac OS has got the best looks among all the operating systems. But just for the its look one doesn’t need to ditch our beloved Ubuntu which has a pretty decent looks with Unity or Gnome. Here is a way to install a theme that will give Ubuntu the looks of Mac OS and by this way you will have the beauty of Mac and the power of Linux, perfect combination!

Installing The Theme:

The theme which turns your Ubuntu in Mac OS is Adwaita Cupertino. You can download it from here. This downloaded package is in .tar.gz format. You can extract it by right clicking on it. It contains of four themes one for Mac Leopard and one for Lion for Unity and Gnome Shell. You should use Adwaita Cupertino SL Unity  if you are using Unity.

Now the next step is to copy the folder to the themes directory which is located at ~/.themes If you are not able to see this directory in your Home, then use Ctrl+H to show the hidden files. Now copy the entire folder here.

If you prefer to do the same procedure explained above in terminal then follow these steps:

cd ~/Downloads

tar xvzf 147061-Adwaita-Cupertino.tar.gz

cp -r 147061-Adwaita-Cupertino/Adwaita Cupertino SL Unity ~/.themes

Using the Theme:

Now once we have copied our theme in the correct directory, its the time to use this theme. To use the newly installed theme, we need a tweaking tool.

For Unity, you can use My Unity by using the following command in the terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install myunity

For Gnome Shell, you can use Gnome Tweak Tool by using the following command in the terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get install gnome-tweak-tool

Now you can use these tools and select all the installed themes. The pic below shows you the MyUnity interface in Mac theme:

I hope you find the article helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have any. Cheers :)

How to show Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox in Ubuntu 12.04 [Quick Tip]

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When you install Ubuntu and try to surf internet using the default browser Firefox, you will notice one thing missing and that is the bookmarks toolbar on the top. I had a little trouble looking for the option in the Preferences and that is the reason why I am writing this post. Here is how to enable the bookmark toolbar in Firefox in Ubuntu12.04.

Go to top menu and look for view, In view go to Toolbars and here you can see the option of Bookmarks Toolbar. The pic below will come as handy:

So this is what Ubuntu 12.04 Countdown banner looks like

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It is an Ubuntu tradition to provide Ubuntu lovers with a countdown banner to put on their blog and websites. Before each release Ubuntu invites banner designs entries from users and selects one of them to use in the official banner.

This year for Ubuntu 12.04, the winner is Silviu-Ionut Radu. So the new countdown banner for Ubutnu 12.04 will look something like this:

The banner will go live on around 27th Mar 2012. Keep checking this space for the link to grab the banner script to put on you blog and show your love for Ubuntu.

How to solve: No wireless networks in Ubuntu 12.04, 11.10 and 11.04

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Problem:

Recently I installed Ubuntu 11.04 (wireless was working while installing) on my Dell Inspiron N4010 which uses Broadcom Wireless Adapter (How to know which network adapter you are using?). Wireless networks were even available when I used it for the first time after installing. Then there were message from Ubuntu that restricted drivers are available for Broadcom STA (BCM4311) (why did it ask me to download the wireless drivers when wireless was working on the first hand..??). Any ways, I said, why not? I clicked on the activate button. It installed the driver and asked me to restart the computer. I restarted it and there you go. Wireless is on. But it detects no networks. I know there are wireless networks but Ubuntu is not detecting any wireless networks.

Reason:

The reason what I think is some compatibility issues (it’s probably a bug in 11.04) with this version of Ubuntu and the restricted driver because same driver was working quite well in previous versions of Ubuntu.

Solution:

Here is what you need to do. Use other Broadcom drivers. Download these drivers (from Windows or through wired network or a friend’s computer or from wherever you are reading this article :) ).

For 32 bit: http://ie.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/b/bcmwl/bcmwl-kernel-source_5.+bdcom-0ubuntu5_i386.deb

For 64 bit: http://ie.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/restricted/b/bcmwl/bcmwl-kernel-source_5.+bdcom-0ubuntu5_amd64.deb

(Don’t know which Ubuntu you are using? Click here: Check you Ubuntu architecture)

Now remove the previous drivers in Ubuntu 11.04 by using: sudo apt-get remove bcmwl-kernel-source

Now install the appropriate driver (you have downloaded from the above links). Restart your computer. If restarting doesn’t work try shut down and then start it (strange…but works). Enjoy :)

Alternate Solution 1:

If you could connect through a wired network, this solution might work for you. (If not then check here). The problem is with STA drivers so better to deactivate/uninstall it.

Alternate Solution 2:

People who cannot solve the problem with the above specified method may want to try this one. Here you go:

  • open the ‘Synaptic Package Manager‘ (if you are using Ubuntu 11.10 then install it first from the software cemter) and search for ‘bcm’
  • uninstall the ‘bcm-kernel-source‘ package
  • make sure that the ‘firmware-b43-installer‘ and the ‘b43-fwcutter‘ packages are installed

  • type into terminal:

    cat /etc/modprobe.d/* | egrep '8180|acx|at76|ath|b43|bcm|CX|eth|ipw|irmware|isl|lbtf|orinoco|ndiswrapper|NPE|p54|prism|rtl|rt2|rt3|rt6|rt7|witch|wl'

    (you may want to copy this till the end if it is not visible properly) and see if the term ‘blacklist bcm43xx‘ is there

  • if it is, then type cd /etc/modprobe.d/ and then sudo gedit blacklist.conf put a # in front of the line: blacklist bcm43xx then save the file (I was getting error messages in the terminal about not being able to save, but it actually did save properly).
  • reboot
Hopefully this works for you all!
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Sources: ubuntuforums, askubuntu