Introducing the Computing Machine Desktop Theme

Hi, everyone! I created the following Linux/Unix-like desktop-environment theme entitled Computing Machine. It is for GTK+ 2/Gnome 2 applications; GTK+ 3/Gnome 3 applications; and Qt 5/KDE 5 applications via the Qt5 Configuration Tool ( https://sourceforge.net/projects/qt5ct/ ). The following is its OpenDesktop.org 1 Pling page and its GitHub source-repository, respectively:

https://www.pling.com/p/1315191/ 6 , https://github.com/Jamie-Michelle/Computing-Machine 5

This desktop theme is intended to be visually reminiscent of classic desktop user-environments. See the included "Information.txt" file for instructions on how to configure this theme.

The computer-desktop background/wallpaper image featured in the pictures is entitled Angel Skin, and is available here: https://www.pling.com/p/1315563/ 4 , https://github.com/Jamie-Michelle/Angel-Skin 1

The Conky setup depicted in the images is available here: https://www.pling.com/p/1315871/ , https://github.com/Jamie-Michelle/Conky-Files

Already Computing Machine quite usable, at least with my desktop-environment setup. It was developed on the XFCE desktop-environment versions 4.12 and 4.14. I haven't tested it on other full desktop environments, just on window managers such as Claude's Tab Window Manager (CTWM), Feeble Virtual Window Manager (FVWM), Motif Window Manager (MWM), Tab Window Manager (TWM), and Virtual Tab Window Manager (VTWM), and it works quite well on them when the instructions in its included "Information.txt" file are followed. So on different full desktop environments, it may require some modifications to work well.

My intentions with this theme are to create a classic style of desktop theme while attempting to keep the code for it simple. As such, it doesn't attempt to make the GTK+ 2 and GTK+ 3 portions of the theme look exactly alike; but rather, to make them similar-looking in a retro style while keeping a consistent color scheme between them. Also to that end, this theme doesn't attempt to exactly mimic any actual historical user-environment theme, but instead is in the general pattern of them, e.g., sharp-cornered rectangle buttons and entry fields with solid-line pseudo-shadow edges; solid colors (e.g., no bubble-buttons with pseudo-shadow gradients); etc. This theme is intended to be practical in a form-follows-function manner.

For those who like classic-style desktop themes, I hope you enjoy!

Computing-Machine.png965×1634 1000 KB

Thank you, SinisterBrain!

For those who are interested in this background, it's an original that I created and I provide links to it in my originating post for this thread, which includes instructions on how to independently recreate it from its Persistence of Vision Raytracer (POV-Ray) source-code.

Teehee! I think perhaps 1995 would be a more realistic timeframe. Although I am a bit of an '80s girl at heart.

Hi, Klaude_kraap. Thank you!

I use Manjaro Linux, and this theme was spun on it. The pictures in the originating post are of Manjaro. The only thing that this theme needs done especial for Manjaro is to change Pamac's inactive tray indicator to a color that shows up well on 0.85× gray. The color I use for that is cyan (#00ffff), as seen in the pictures. One can simply hand-edit '/usr/share/icons/hicolor/24x24/status/pamac-tray-no-update.svg' in a text-editor. To suite my personal tastes, I also went ahead and made '/usr/share/icons/hicolor/24x24/status/pamac-tray-update.svg' pure red (#ff0000).

Whenever Pamac updates, I run the following command to replace Pamac's "pamac-tray..." icons while making backups of the originals (I have second copies of my modified icons with 'MOD-' prepending the file names, since the originally-named files get overwritten with updates):

$ cd "/usr/share/icons/hicolor/24x24/status/" ; sudo cp pamac-tray-no-update.svg ORIG-pamac-tray-no-update.svg ; sudo cp pamac-tray-update.svg ORIG-pamac-tray-update.svg ; sudo cp MOD-pamac-tray-no-update.svg pamac-tray-no-update.svg ; sudo cp MOD-pamac-tray-update.svg pamac-tray-update.svg

then:

$ killall pamac-tray
$ setsid pamac-tray

and sometimes this might be necessary:

$ xfce4-panel --restart

Speaking of my '80s retrospective heart, were you goodly folks aware that the Computing Machine computer-desktop theme has its own official '80s retrospective theme song? Yes, it's true. After all, what computer user-environment theme could possibly be complete without having official theme music selected for it? Since we're being thematic here. If Tony the Tiger can have an official theme song, then surely a computer-desktop theme can. So with no further ado, I present the theme song selected for Computing Machine:

• "Liquid Stranger & Space Jesus - Dragonhawks", WAKAAN (TheLiquidStranger), Sept. 5, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HizLy8FmjUk 1 . Mirror: "Liquid Stranger & Space Jesus - Dragonhawks", Second Phase (1080pDubstep), Apr. 20, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nREN5CPReUU 1 .

Enjoy this completely normal-sounding music which harkens back to an '80s classic!

Thank you, Gpunk!

I will submit your suggestion to the Computing Machine review board and our decision on the matter will be published in our final report due in 2024.

Teehee! Thank you for the input, Mbb!

Great news, everyone! The epic quest for interfacial perfection has reached a zenithal milestone. At least with my operating-system setup, the Computing Machine theme has become quite refined and polished. If you haven't yet taken a look, now at version 9 there's never been a better time to feast your eyeballs on the tungstenlike, austere glory that is Computing Machine!

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Updated image for Computing Machine version 9:

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