Changing the KDE4 Plasma Theme

I installed the KDE4 version of Kubuntu 8.04, but i was not really satisfied with the look of the interface and all… I wanted to change the theme but this fuctionality was not really present in the systems settings of Kubuntu.

Default KDE4 Theme

So i tried to google a bit and even when to the chat forum of #kubuntu-kde4. So i asked them how can i install new Plasma Themes. Then a nice guy gave me a link which guided me through the steps of how to change the plasma theme. It was not as easy as in the KDE 3.5.9 version since we got to make the changes manually. So here are the steps to be followed to give your plasma theme a new look:

I will take an example of the theme i downloaded from here.

1. Create a new folder where you are going to store the downloaded plasma themes
   • Go to the folder “~/.kde4/share/apps/”
   • Create a new folder and name it desktoptheme if it does not exist
2. Get a Plasma Theme
   • Go to the site KDE-Look.org and choose a theme to download.
   • Download the tar.gz file to any folder of ur choice (I downloaded the Glassified Theme)
3. Install the downloaded plasma theme
   • Extract the tar.gz file to a folder in the directory “~/.kde4/share/apps/desktoptheme/” (I created a folder called “glassified” since it’s the name of the theme i downloaded ). You will need to create the folder ‘desktoptheme’.
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “kquitapp plasma”. This will exit the plasma theme. We will get it back later after configuring the new theme.
   • Press “Alt+F2″ again and type “kate” to open the text editor.
   • Open the file “plasmarc” found in the folder “~/.kde4/share/config/”
   • Locate the line where it says [Theme] and change “name=default” to “name=[Name of folder u just created]” (In my case “glassified”). In case you do not find the line, just add it to the file ‘plasmarc’
   • Save the changes u made to the file and Exit
   • Press “Alt+F2″ and type in “plasma”. This will bring the new plasma theme

The new Glassified Theme

The new theme gives a really nice look instead of the dull default KDE4 Desktop

 

An  update: 
There is a comment from the author “Tip” in the blog Easier installation of KDE4 themes – a deb package and a repository? which says:

“Have you noticed Right-clicking on desktop>Desktop Settings>New Theme?
Pretty simple plasma theme installation”

I am not pretty sure about it since i have not used Kubuntu for quite some time… but you can still check out if it’s possible… then it will not be difficult to change the plasma themes…

Two weeks without my mobile phone

I own a Sony Ericsson K750i which I had sent for repair 2 weeks ago since it was not being able to charge That was quite some experience living without my mobile phone for a period of time, and an opportunity to check whether it made any difference of having the mobile or not.

Firstly, since i got unlimited access to the internet and i use msn… i was most of the time communicating via msn or even skype. Incidentally all my friends have unlimited access to the internet so it was not a real problem to communicate with them when i was at home. I had no worry to put my mobile phone on charge. No calls in the middle of the night, no sms to reply…

However It was quite a problem not having my mobile phone outside home… I depend a lot on my phone when am not at home. For example i do not use any watch since i get the time from my phone itself, and these two weeks i got quite some problems keeping track of the time. My mother communicates a lot with me through mobile when am away from home. But these two weeks she was not able to call me for anything. My mobile is also used to know where my friends are waiting for me… But without my mobile i had to search for them in that university campus… I was lucky enough as my search always ended in a short time…

Well overall here’s a summary of the pros and cons of not having a mobile phone:

Pros:

1. No need to spend money to recharge my account…
2. No need to worry about charging my mobile phone.
3. No need to reply to any sms… (Joking… missed my friends… )

Cons:

1. Lack of communication with friends when outside home.
2. Really missed my friends when i was not at home…
3. My own dependencies on the phone (e.g. Alarm clock and Calender, Time)

Well to conclude i should say i really missed my phone… It’s my favorite phone…   Am so glad i got it back… With a new Casing…   That was nice…