Screen Modding: Grub Splashimage / Was: KDE Desktop Themes: Options and Limits
Hi folks,
I am a bit surprised that there aren't more interested in mocking up
Skolelinux. Yes I know, Debian is pure and non-pretentious. It's
honest. However, I feel this project could get more students and pupils
envolved ...
Just having read a howto on Grub splashimage, this is all one need:
- an darkish image 640x480 of low contrast
- color depth: 14 colors only
- file format: xpm.gz
- file size: 8 to 80 kB (40k on average)
No worries: The image does not replace the starting messages, it is just
the background. Be honest: The install process also uses some
Skolelinux related background image, so there is nothing nasty about
it. Actually we could take this as some starting point:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-edu/2004/05/msg00143.html was used to
generate splash.rle in debian-installer, I think.
Read more at
http://ruslug.rutgers.edu/~mcgrof/grub-images/
Greetings
Ralf
Am Donnerstag 05 Januar 2006 18:59 schrieb RalfGesellensetter:
> Dear List,
>
> as I also mentioned on the kde-artists list, we discussed the
> possibilities to mock up the Desktop of Skolelinux/Debian-Edu
> in order to make it more attractive to pupils (and reviewers).
>
> Our first step was to evaluate the options - and limits given.
> You can find the results at:
> http://skolelinux.de/wiki/KDE3/Themes-en
>
> OPTIONs:
> Kcontrol->Appearance&Themes->Theme Manager includes 5 components:
> - Background (wallpapers)
> - Color schemes
> - Style (Widgets)
> - Icons (SVG)
> - Screensaver.
>
> Additionally options to change the appearance are
> - Fonts
> - Launch Feedback
> - Splash Screen
> - Window Decorations
>
> Generally, this grants many degrees of freedom - even though some
> components are quire work consuming (SVG icons, Window decor.)
>
>
> LIMITs:
> Besides wallpapers, the color scheme is maybe the easiest thing to
> change. Now, I think that this point has its limitations, however:
>
> 1. Usability/Ergonomy
> Contrast must be smooth enough to protect your eyes from damage ;)
>
> 2. Blue Dominance
> My first approach had been to chose a blackboard green as dominant
> color (cf. http://skolelinux.de/~ralf/kde-desktop-greenboard.png ) As
> you can see on the screenshot, many applications - and also icon sets
> - are dominated by the color of blue. Is it because planet earh is
> blue? I doubt that this blue prevailance could be ignored.
>
> 3. Default colors of some applications
> There are even KDE core apps like Kmail that come with their own
> coloring. In kmail I ended up with green on green text (quoted text)
> - and it was next to impossible to use the predefined color scheme
> with my custom KDE style.
>
> Thank you for reading the results of our first step - I would be glad
> about any kind of feedback, hint or even contribution.
>
> We will meet again in Guetersloh (Germany) from January 20 - 22:
> http://skolelinux.de/wiki/ArbeitsTreffen060120
>
> Feel free to show up ;)
>
> Kind regards
> Ralf
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