Mac4Lin is upgraded to version 0.4

[I'm writing this with Peng since he saw the upgrade news first but I blogged the original post on it. We both use it and love it. - Nanci]

When I wrote my post about reinstalling Ubuntu I included information on the incredible Mac4Lin project which allows Linux users to get some of the look and feel of Mac OSX Leopard. Anirudh Acharya (a.k.a infra_red_dude), the developer of Mac4Lin, has released a new version, making an already great project even better.

You’ll notice that we’re not calling Mac4Lin a program because it really isn’t. While it needs to be installed there’s nothing to specifically run to use it like programs like Firefox, Pidgin, Avant Windows Navigator and even Compiz Fusion have. In a nutshell Mac4Lin is a collection of themes, icons, cursors and more that lets you give Linux the look and feel of MacOSX Leopard. We’re not even Mac people (although Peng has used a OSX on a previous live sound gig) but we love the improvements it brings to our beloved Ubuntu Linux.

The changelog lists all of the improvements in version 0.4, but some of the highlights are

• Mac4Lin ver.0.4 GTK-Metacity and Emerald themes now based on imetal port by SkiesofAzel
• Included GTK Metacity theme with MacMenu support
• New Graphite theme (Both GTK Metacity and Emerald themes)
• Replaced Firefox icon with Safari
• New icon for Opera
• Updated Mac4Lin Documentation
• Included iChat Pidgin tray icons
• Black Apple Panel logo now replaced with Black Ubuntu logo
• New Network Manager icons
• New GDM Theme
• Many more icon changes
• Unified Icon theme for GNOME 2.18 and 2.20

And that’s just some of the changes in Mac4Lin 0.4. The PDF documentation is the prefect thing for installing Mac4Lin, complete with not only step by step instructions but also screenshots that let you see what you need to do instead of making you have to figure out if you’re in the right windows to do things. The documentation also has some great screenies at the end so you can see how Mac4Lin looks before you install it so you can make sure it’s something you want to try. (The screenshot is the same as I originally posted but it uses icons from a beta version of Mac4Lin that hasn’t changed all that much.) Remember, if you want to use the Mac4Lin Emerald themes but you want the ninimize/maximize/close buttons to stay on the right hand side you need in use Emerald Manager and edit the theme so the Title-Bar Object Layout reads something like

HM:I(5)T:N(5)X(5)C

Of course to get the full benefit of Mac4Lin you’ll need a dock such as Avant, but the documentation does a great job of walking you through how to do that as well. There are even some great extras included in for some of your favorite programs such as Pidgin and Exaile the Mac4Lin archive files to let your doc icons look better and do even more.

There are also even more wallpaper included like an absolutely gorgeous Light and Line wallpaper and an adorable Clown Fish wallpaper that I’m going to have to resize to 1280×1024 resolution so it fits my desktop better.

There’s one thing that hasn’t been updated that I wish had been, and that’s the collection of splash screens in Mac4Lin. They all have very a definite OSX look to them and that’s not quite what I want to see when I boot Ubuntu. Peng has created a pair of new GTK splash screens that he is being kind enough to share with us. He also has another one that’s great for full screen use, although it’s 1280×1024 so you may need to do some image editing to get it to fit your preferred resolution. He’s promised to work on getting a Usplash screen made as well as a login page that will highlight that we’re running Mac4Lin, not OSX.

You can get more info on the Mac4Lin Sourceforge page, and if you want to use it just get the four files (including the PDF documentation) from the Downloads page. If you need some assistance with it you can post questions on the Mac4Lin topic on the Ubuntu Forums where the developer is really great about getting back to people who have questions and problems. If you like Mac4Lin you should definitely go over to OpenTIS and vote for it to get a FOSS Award. Click on the link that says “Click Here To Discuss or Voice opinion” to vote for it.