Make Linux mint/ ubuntu look like Mac os X

Although I am not a fan of copying an entire OS look (even though Ubuntu does some of it by default), I'm sure some of you want to get the entire Mac OSX look in Ubuntu. For that, you can use a script called Macbuntu which is very easy to use and can make your Ubuntu desktop look like Mac OSX in seconds.

Macbuntu is available as a stable version (2.2) for Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx but there's also an alpha version (2.3) for Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat.

If you've used Macbuntu before, you should upgrade (run the upgrade script) as the latest version which was released today comes with new Plymouth themes: Paw-OSX (default), Paw-Ubuntu, you can select the distributor logo instead of Mac OSX, backup before applying the changes as well as bug fixes.

What does Macbuntu install?

The theme:

• Macbuntu-10.04 theme based on GTK Leopard
• Macbuntu-10.04-Icons based on Mac4Lin Faenza Icons
• Macbuntu-10.04-Cursors based on Mac4Lin Cursors
• Mac OSX backgrounds
• Mac OSX fonts
• It also includes Firefox, Thunderbird and Chrome themes

But Macbuntu is not only about a theme. It can also install: Global Menu, Docky, Ubuntu-Tweak, Cheese, Compiz Extras and will change the look of the Login screen, Metacity, set Compiz effects and modify the top panel completely.

(Macbuntu GDM login screen)

Download and run Macbuntu

To install Macbuntu, you can either manually download the archive, extract it and then run the "install.sh" script via a terminal or copy/paste the following commands in a terminal to download and run it:


Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx:

wget https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/macbuntu/macbuntu-10.04/v2.2/Macbuntu-10.04.tar.gz -O /tmp/Macbuntu-10.04.tar.gz
tar xzvf /tmp/Macbuntu-10.04.tar.gz -C /tmp
cd /tmp/Macbuntu-10.04/
./install.sh

Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat:

wget https://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/macbuntu/macbuntu-10.10/v2.3/Macbuntu-10.10.tar.gz -O /tmp/Macbuntu-10.10.tar.gz
tar xzvf /tmp/Macbuntu-10.10.tar.gz -C /tmp
cd /tmp/Macbuntu-10.10/
./install.sh

Then you'll be able to select what to install / tweak:

After Macbuntu finishes setting everything up, restart your computer and enjoy your new MacOSX-looking Ubuntu.

If you're upgrading from an older Macbuntu version, replace "install.sh" in the commands above with "upgrade.sh".

Uninstall

If you don't like the Mac OSX look after all, Macbuntu comes with an uninstall script. Use it (you'll have to redownload the packages in /tmp/ using the above commands, but don't run the "install.sh" script and instead, use the "uninstall.sh" script) like so:

Ubuntu 10.04:

cd /tmp/Macbuntu-10.04/
./uninstall.sh

Ubuntu 10.10:

cd /tmp/Macbuntu-10.10/
./uninstall.sh

Important: if you cannot turn on the desktop effects after uninstalling Macbuntu, search for "compiz" and "compiz-core" in Synaptic Package Manager and reinstall them, then everything should be ok.