Bisigi Offers Beautiful GNOME Themes for Your Ubuntu PC

Open source developers get under the hood and create new applications, tweak software code, and fix program bugs to make computers run better. It turns out that it is not just programmers that have hopped on the open source train. Artists are also entering the fray. Artists are creating new layouts for desktops, wallpapers, and icon sets that blend into your overall desktop experience. The developers of the Bisigi project have collected some the best themes that the GNOME desktop has to offer into one "easy" to install package and it now available for install in Ubuntu Linux.

For nearly as long as Ubuntu has existed, fans have complained about the default colors that come with the Ubuntu GNOME Desktop. The default desktop theme is called the Human theme. The colors of the Human themed desktop range from tan to brown, with a few hints of orange. Upon install many do away with the human theme and create a desktop more suitable to their tastes.

The Karmic Koala release of Ubuntu introduced a few new colors in the latest version of Human theme. There are a few darker colors that are now included with the original brown and tan colors found in previous Hume themes. It appears that the developers have taken a page from some of the color sets that are included Ubuntu Studio. There are also new themes that widen the color spectrum by including some pictures of flower various landscapes.

There are other themes that are available in Ubuntu that feature different color sets. The standard install of Ubuntu 9.10, Karmic Koala comes with 11 themes for the GNOME desktop. There are about 10 different wallpapers. There are hundreds of combinations a user could choose from when setting up their desktop theme for the first time.

There are a lot of options available using the default theme and icon sets to change how your desktop looks. If you are hunting around for new themes to install on you Ubuntu desktop, you should check the themes that are available through the Bisigi project. Bisigi uses an gtk-engine based on murrine to create attractive themes that perform well withing your GNOME desktop. It also is pretty easy to install. Bisigi has not found its way into the Ubuntu Software center yet, but there will likely be a day when theme expansion packs will be available. There are 12 different themes that come with Bisigi.

showtime
balanzan
infinity
Wild-Shine
Exotic
Tropical
Bamboo Zen
Step Into Freedom
Ubuntu Sunrise
aquadreams
Orange
Ellanna

Do not look for Bisigi to make it onto the default distribution on Ubuntu any time soon. The package requires about a 175 MB of download space which would take up a fair amount of space on an install disk. If the Bisigi project was available in the Ubuntu Software Center, it make the install much easier, only needing a few mouse clicks. In the meantime, if you want to check out these new themes, you can follow these instructions for installing Bisigi themes in Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala:

1. Install the key
Open up a terminal window (Applications -->Accessories --> Terminal) and type this command (all one line):
sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 0x1781bd45c4c3275a34bb6aec6e871c4a881574de

2. Add the the software depot to your software sources.
a. System ---> Administration --> Software Sources
b. Enter your password
c. Select the "Other Software Tab"
d. Select "Add" and enter the APT line. In this case it is:
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/bisigi/ppa/ubuntu karmic main

3. At you command line where you entered the key in step 1 type:
sudo apt-get install zgegblog-themes

Enter 'Y' at the prompt and the download and install will commence. The download is about 175 MB, so it would be best you have a high speed internet connection.

My personal favorite is the Balanzan theme. The Balanzan theme is a re-worked Human theme, using the original color scheme with new wallpapers and icons. What makes the Balanzan theme standout from the rest is the unique icon set.