This past few days, I've been playing around and tweaking my desktops, both Windows XP and Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex, and I must say, it has been quite an eye-opener.
For my Windows XP, I chose the
Enigma desktop, which involves patching a UXtheme file that allows you to use unofficial Windows XP themes and visual styles. I chose Enigma because of its simplicity and minimalism. It basically adds functionality and productivity to a desktop without eating up much of the resources. Exactly the whole point of a minimalist desktop. The package includes config files for both Samurize and Rainmeter. I tried both and I decided it's better to use Rainmeter as it is more flexible than Samurize. Those with free time should check this out.
As for my Intrepid desktop, I didn't really do much with it. I recently installed
Gnome-Do and I finally "get it." With only a few keystrokes, I can post microblog updates, add tasks to remember the milk, launch an app, or basically do anything, except brew coffee or make me a sandwich. I also opted to use a darker theme, Dust, that is surprisingly not included with the default distro. However, I still don't know if I should stick with
Screenlets for displaying of stats and stuff, or go with the minimalist
Conky that conks out every once in a while. I have yet to find a suitable theme/setup for my Intrepid desktop, but I'm sure I'm bound to find one sooner or later.
But for a dual monitor setup, I think this will all change.
