Want to make your Ubuntu install look like OS X Leopard?  Don't want to pay Apple the $2,000 for a Mac Book?  I can help you.

Ubuntu's Gnome GUI is extremely customizable.  With themes, icons, cursors, etc., you can have that OS X Leopard look without the OS X Leopard price.

Follow the steps.

1.  Download the tarball archive containing the OS X Leopard theme, cursors, login screen, icons, splash screen here.  The tutorial assumes you have downloaded the archive to your home folder.

2.  Unpack the archive in your home directory as the commands I have in the following steps assume the proper files are there.  To unpack the archive use the following in a terminal:

• cd ~
• wget http://www.stchman.com/themes/OSX_Theme_Icons_Cursor_LoginGDM_Fonts_Splash.tar.gz
• tar -zxvf ~/OSX_Theme_Icons_Cursor_LoginGDM_Fonts_Splash.tar.gz
  
  
• - The tarball contains 10 different files:
• Cursors_57588-Shere_Khan_X.tar.gz
  Fonts.zip
  gdm-osx-theme.tar.gz
  Icons_LeopardX-V2.6.tar.gz
  Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3.tar.gz
  OS_X_Splash.png
  GDM_Login/gdm-osx-theme.tar.gz
  GDM_Login/gdm_osx-login.tar.gz
  GDM_Login/Mac4Lin_GDM_v0.4.tar.gz
• GDM_Login/UbuntuLeopard_GDM_theme.tar.gz
• 
  

3.  Install OS X Leopard theme.  Note on Feisty and older use System--->Preferences--->Theme.  Gutsy and newer use System--->Preferences--->Appearance and click the Theme tab.

• - Open the Themes Manager or Appearance Preferences
  - Click the Install button and point to the Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3.tar.gz archive
  - Select the Customize button and click the Controls tab
  - Select the Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3 option
  - Select the Window Borders tab
  - Select the Mac4Lin_GTK_Aqua_v0.3 option
  - Select Close
  - Select Close

4. Install OS X icons

• - Open the Themes Manager or Appearance Preferences
  - Click the Install button and point to the Icons_LeopardX-V2.6.tar.gz archive
  - Select the Customize button and click the Icons tab
  - Select the LeopardX option
  - Select Close
  - Select Close

5.  Install the OS X cursors

• - Open the Themes Manager or Appearance Preferences
  - Click the Install button and point to the Cursors_57588-Shere_Khan_X.tar.gz archive
  - Do not Apply the changes
  - Open the Mouse manager via System--->Preferences--->Mouse and click the Pointers tab
  - Select the Shere_Kahn_X cursors
  - Select Close

6.  Install the OS X login screen (Login screens are generally referred to Gnome Display Manager or GDM)

• - Open the Login Window manager via System--->Administration--->Login Window
  - Enter administration password
  - Select the Local tab
  - Click the Add button and point to the osx-login.tar.gz archive or use one of the other archives in the GDM folder
  - You should see a new login screen appear
  - Place a check mark by the new login screen and make sure there are no other check marks next to any other login screens
  - Select Close

7.  Install the OS X fonts

• - Open a terminal and type or copy the following
  
  sudo unzip -d /usr/share/fonts/truetype/ ~/Fonts.zip
  sudo fc-cache -f -v

• - This will install the fonts to your system.  Apple uses the Lucida Grande font.
  - Open the Font menu via System--->Preferences--->Font and make the following changes

• Application Font	Lucida Grande	9 Point
  Document Font	Lucida Grande	9 Point
  Desktop Font	Lucida Grande	9 Point
  Window Title Font	Lucida Grande Bold	10 Point
  Fixed Width Font	Bitstream Vera Sans Mono	9 Point

• 
  - Reboot  the workspace CTRL-ALT-BKSP for the changes to take effect

8.  Change the login splash screen

• - Install the Gnome Splashscreen Manager by doing the following in a terminal
  
  sudo apt-get -y install gnome-splashscreen-manager

• - Copy the new splash into the proper directory

• sudo cp ~/OS_X_Splash.png /usr/share/pixmaps/splash

• - Start the Splash Screen via System--->Preferences--->Splash Screen
  - Click the Install button
  - Point to the OS_X_Splash.png in the /usr/share/pixmaps/splash directory
  - Click Open
  - Hightlight the new slpash screen
  - Select Activate
  

9.  Change you boot up splash screen to an OS X theme.

• - Download the OS X .so boot up splash file here.  Choose to save the file in your home directory.
• - Install StartUp-Manager here.  Choose to open with GDebi Package Installer.  This will install the application.
• - After installation is complete start StartUp-Manager via System--->Administration--->StartUp-Manager
• - Click the Appearance tab.
• - Click the Manage usplash themes button.
• - Click the Add button and navigate where you saved the macx-splash.so file.
• - Click Open.
• - Click Close.
• - In the Usplash themes: drop down menu choose the macx-splash theme.
• - Click the Boot Options tab and select the Resolution and Color depth in the Display section.
• - Click Close.  You new boot splash screen will now be in effect.  Use this to install other boot splash screens.
  

10.   Change Firefox skin to a Safari theme here.  I have found that the iFox Metal theme give the best OS X look.  Another good OS X for Firefox called VFox can be gotten here.


You now have a Gnome desktop that looks very much like OS X Leopard.  Make sure to remove the old archives from your home directory as they are no longer needed.

Another great OS X theme for Gnome is the Mac4Lin project over at SourceForge.net.

I hope this helps. 

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