Hey there, as the subject implies, I'm looking for some addon that will really make KDE 3.5.x really stand out. I'm really proud of being able to run Linux, but I never get the proper gratitude from my friends, because it doesn't look "cool enough".

So I need something that'll make em jealous. I've seen a couple of things, but they don't seem to be for Slackware, more SUSE.

So anybody know anything like this? I have a new computer, so I have the processing power for something like this

First let me do the geek thing and state that what's cool about linux is under the hood. Though, I get where your coming from. Especially with Vista out and Leopard soon, you need to be able to show that Linux keeps up with the trends.

First and foremost, Beryl. This can be a little tricky to get up and running depending on distro, but there are some great guides on the Beryl web site. This will give you the biggest bang for your buck.

SuperKaramba is great for desktop widgets.

Kiba-Dock is a pretty neat OSX style dock, with it's own features.

Head over to youtube and check out videos on these Linux programs

Right, I know its cool, its just that you can't really explain why its cool to someone that only knows how to get onto the internet lol. Thanks for the input, I'll check them out

Try going for function over form, impress them with you're low system requirements and access to powerfull tools like wireshark

That's a good suggestion. That's one of the best things about F/OSS, in my opinion. Comparable software in the Windows world (usually) costs a pretty penny whereas it's free to us in the Linux world (though donations are greatly appreciated ).

Superkaramba is good for eyecandy-apps, though it has been known to be a bit flaky in the past...but not enough to make it unusable.

Also, take a look at www.kde-look.org . The entire site is dedicated to making KDE look spiffy. And, www.kde-apps.org provides numerous apps that are either written specifically for KDE or general apps that have been tweaked to integrate better into KDE.


My favorite from kde-look is taskbar v2 . It's not the flashiest thing in the world, but it's got just enough 'bling' to be cool, and yet still functional.

My favorite from kde-apps is kompose. This one is a bit flashier, but every bit as functional. If you haven't quite got the hang of virtual desktops yet (or if you just want to make switching between them easier) then this app is for you.


sleepy

In a perfect world, people that don't know a thing about computers would be impressed by low system requirements lol. j/k

I'll have to look into wireshark, don't think I've ever heard of it before. I just now got my box working the way I like it, so now I'm starting to add programs onto it. I have always liked working with a program that is a project to get working exactly the way you want, so now I'm lookin for some addons to do just that.

P.S. that kde-look.org is exactly what I was looking for, thanks a lot

Wireshark probobly won't be useful to you, unless you're a sysadmin, network or security specalist. Its a tool to analyse network traffic but if you can impress someone by access to advanced software for free, wireshark is a great example.