Want some Android-style live wallpaper on your Ubuntu desktop? Now you can.
Inspired by Android’s live wallpapers – in particular the Galaxy Live Wallpaper – a user named ilap set about creating something similar for Ubuntu 10.10.
Making use of the Compiz plugin framework, ilap has created something really quite stunning – and this is in spite of him admitting that he lacked experience in OpenGL and Compiz plugin programming before starting the project.
Install
Installing the plugin is relatively straightforward. The instructions below assume you already have Compiz and the Compiz settings manager installed.
Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal) and enter the following two lines separately, hitting the enter key after each.
- sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ilap/lwp
- sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install compiz-plugins-livewallpapers
Proceed to enable and configure the plugin: –
- Right click on the Desktop and choose ‘Change Desktop Background’
- Press the “Add” button
- Enter “/usr/share/backgrounds” in “Location” field. Hit the return/enter key
- Select “Space_by_ilap.jpg”
- Press “Open” followed by “Close”
After the background is changed you need to enable the “Galaxy Live Wallpaper” plugin via the CompizConfig Settings Manager. Launch it from:
Systems -> Preferences -> CompizConfig Settings Manager
The Compiz Configuration Settings Manager window will open. In the left-hand side pane select “Live Wallpapers” and check/enable ‘Galaxy Live Wallpaper’.
Toggle the live galaxy effect by pressing the “Super” (Windows logo button) and F4 keys in unison.
Galaxy Live Wallpaper in action
You can delve in the live wallpaper settings accessible through the CompizConfig Settings Manager to further tweak how the wallpaper behaves.