Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
Make Linux look like BeOS
Because yellow tabs are sexy.
February 04, 2024
post photo preview

Making Linux look like Windows 95 or Classic MacOS? Pshh. That’s easy.

What about making your Linux desktop look like… BeOS?!

BeOS has long since been abandoned. But the BeOS spirit lives on in the form of Haiku: an open source re-implementation of BeOS (which now has many features that the original BeOS lacked).

Let’s walk through exactly how to do that.

Before we start, we’ll be using XFCE as the base desktop environment. When trying to mimic the look and feel of classic (read: “retro”) computer systems, XFCE is (more often than not) a good place to begin.

If you’re not already using XFCE, now’s a good time to get that installed on whatever Linux distribution you are using.

Set the Window Manager Theme

First thing's first: We need a theme to give us those iconic "Yellow Tab", BeOS style window borders.

And, since we're using XFCE (which uses the XFWM window manager), we have a most excellent option: “BeOS-r5 for XFWM”.

It looks darn near spot-on.

Set the GTK Theme

Next, we need to change our GTK theme. Gotta get those buttons looking BeOS-y!

Luckily the “BeOS-r5-GTK” theme is pretty gosh darned close to actual BeOS.

It’s not 100% perfect. But, it’s not far off. Gets most of the UI controls right. Once you combine this with the window manager theme… you’re almost there.

It's not exactly BeOS... but it's not not BeOS, either.  Just needs a little tweaking still.

Change the wallpaper

A good, classic looking wallpaper really sets the tone. And, when recreating the BeOS desktop background, the key is simple: Solid blue.

Specifically: Red 51, Green 102, Blue 152.

That’s “BeOS Blue”. Or you can grab one of the more old-school looking BeOS wallpapers… such as this one right here:

Use BeOS (and BeOS Styled) icons

Perhaps more than most operating systems out there, the icons of BeOS have a distinct look.

Isometric pixel art. Super fun looking.

If you have icons on your “BeOS-looking” system that use a different style… it can be more than a little jarring.

I highly recommend “BeOS-r5-Icons”. That icon pack is absolutely mammoth. And should give you more than enough icons to replace all (or close to all) of the icons on your system.

This is a standard icon theme. Meaning you can place the theme folder in ~/.local/share/icons/ and it should be available on GNOME and XFCE systems.

Don’t forget the cursor!

BeOS had a rather unique cursor style. Lots of hands pointing at things.

Luckily there is a cursor set that you can grab to get really close to the BeOS style.

Seriously.  Don't skip the cursor.  If your system is all decked out to mimick BeOS... but uses the wrong mouse cursor?  It's just not going to feel right at all.

Areas for Improvement

At this point, the overall system has a great, BeOS-y look.

But it’s not perfect.

The biggest remaining issue is the XFCE panel. You can tweak it a bit to make it more BeOS-like (see the GTK screenshot above).  But, as of this moment, we don't have a drop-in, pixel-perfect way to make the XFCE panel (or anything else) look exactly BeOS-like.

You may also want to tweak your terminal application to use a white background (like BeOS, itself). See this screenshot to give you an idea for how to theme your terminal to make it “BeOS Authentic”.

Also, a big thank you to Metsatron on GitLab for putting much of this together! Being able to make Linux look like any other operating system is a small part of what makes using Linux just so much fun.


Making Linux look like other systems is a favorite pastime of The Lunduke Journal. Here are some articles that detail how to make Linux look like… a bunch of different OS's:

community logo
Join the Lunduke Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
4
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
Google Tells Courts How Google Should Be Punished (and Tried to Hide it)

Released Friday before Christmas -- the ideal time to hide any announcement -- in response to losing an antitrust suit, Google proposes no real changes to their company or search business. Unsurprisingly, Mozilla (who likes Google's money) agrees.

00:27:44
December 19, 2024
ChatGPT Can Not Say "Bryan Lunduke"

Move over David Mayer, Lunduke joins the list of names which OpenAl will not display. Here's how this was accomplished.

00:22:23
December 19, 2024
Mozilla Executive Pay Doubles as Loss of 80% of Revenue Looms

"Mozilla has shifted much of its work toward Al" as funds directed towards African "Digital Justice", "Queer Youth Inclusion", & "Digital Activism for Young Feminists".

00:25:04
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

A selection of screenshots of people trying to get ChatGPT to say “Bryan Lunduke”.

Not what I was hoping for this afternoon, but still nice to get some classic Mac time in. Grabbed a game from Macintosh Garden; Starship Titanic. I’ve never played it, but I remember being really curious about it as a kid.

Moved it over to the Mac via sneakernet. It’s been decompressing for over 30 minutes… just realized I forgot the onboard USB is 1.1 and I didn’t transfer the files to the HDD before running StuffIt on it. Whoopsie 😅. I really love old systems.

mmmmmMMM! some juicy Be bits....

a bit of the important character of #BeOS - namely, Tracker and Deskbar - that managed to get officially released prior to Be, Inc. being consumed.

Go ahead. Grab a Lifetime Subscription. Treat yourself. (Bitcoin option available.)

Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriptions are available through December 26th.

Grab one for yourself.  Grab one for that special nerd in your life.  Support the last bastion of truly independent Tech Journalism.

Everybody wins.

The Famous Lifetime Subscription via Locals (+ Gift Option)

The "World Famous Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription" is exactly what it sounds like. Pay once and get full access to The Lunduke Journal (with all the perks of subscription on Locals). For life.

Plus: They make a great, nerdy gift.

New Lifetime Subscriptions are available, for $200, from now through December 26th. Then this option goes "back into the vault".

Here's how to grab one of these coveted bad boys for yourself:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select "Give Once".

  3. Enter "200" into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Want to purchase a Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription as a gift for someone else?  Here's how:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select "Give Once".

  3. Enter "200" into the amount field.

  4. Send an email to "bryan at Lunduke.com" with the subject "Lifetime Gift Subscription".  Include the email address and / or Locals user name (if they have one) of the person you would like to gift the subscription to.
  5. Lunduke will email you to confirm details.

The Famous Lifetime Subscription (with Bitcoin)

You can also obtain a Lifetime Subscription via Bitcoin.

  • Make sure you have a Lunduke.Locals.com account (a free account works just fine).

  • Send $200 worth of Bitcoin (or more) to the following address:

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email "bryan at lunduke.com" with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com.

Nice and easy.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
December 20, 2024
post photo preview
Funny Programming Pictures Part LXVII
More funny, nerdy pictures than you can [idiom for large quantity understandable by humans]

There are XXXIX pictures in part LXVII of "Funny Programming Pictures".

IX out of X people reading that sentence just googled "Roman Numeral Converter".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read full Article
December 18, 2024
The real "Year of The Linux Desktop"...
Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals