Well, if you do not mind 1000 extra packages and 100 MB of extra memory then I would suggest you install Linux Mint LMDE edition. The nice thing about mint LMDE is that you get a nice looking desktop with the choice of MATE or Cinnamon. The fonts and rendering looks nice out of the box.
However, if you have just started with the Debian net installer and just installed your desktop then the rendering and fonts may be a bit out of shape! You may wonder if your 1300$ LCD screen is not seen by Debian at all! Fret not! With little patience and work, we can make our Debian desktop look real nice and polished.
Install Flash
However, if you have just started with the Debian net installer and just installed your desktop then the rendering and fonts may be a bit out of shape! You may wonder if your 1300$ LCD screen is not seen by Debian at all! Fret not! With little patience and work, we can make our Debian desktop look real nice and polished.
Fix font configuration
We first copy the ubuntu font config files in Debian wheezy following the steps outlined in
After that we install microsoft ttf fonts
$sudo aptitude install ttf-mscorefonts-installer
Now we reload the font config and clear the old font caches
$sudo fc-cache -fv
$sudo dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig-config
$sudo dpkg-reconfigure fontconfig
Fix font aliasing and rendering
The following combination works for LCD screens
System | Preferences | Customize L&F (or whatever is equivalent for your DM of choice)
- Turn subpixel hinting to RGB
- Turn on font aliasing
- Set font hinting to slight
Change Mouse cursor
$sudo aptitude install dmz-cursor-theme
$ sudo update-alternatives --config x-cursor-theme
Preferences | customize L&F | Mouse cursor
select DMZ white theme and you get a sane mouse instead of default x-cursor (circa 1991)
Install Flash
Download 64 bit flash player from Adobe site, unpack
$sudo cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib/mozilla/plugins/.
restart iceweasel, try viewing a youtube video.
Change login screen
By default wheezy is using gdm3 and the gdm3 login screens are, well, yuck! To change gdm3 login screen, one "simple way" is to create a new symlink for /usr/share/images/desktop-base/login-background.svg that points to your new login splash background. Please note that only the .png files work. The .jpg files would not work in this scheme.
Install lightdm
This provides a much better looking login screen.
$sudo aptitude install lightdm
verify that lightdm is the new display manager in /etc/X11/default-display-manager
To configure
$dpkg-reconfigure lightdm
To change lightdm login screen background (greeter background) change background in /etc/lightdm/lightdm-gtk-greeter.conf (PNG images)
After all these changes you will have a shiny looking Debian Wheezy Desktop :D Enjoy'
