ElectricSheep is THE COOLEST screen saver. I was able to get it running easily on my Windows machine. Unfortunately, my girlfriend saw it and wanted it on her Kubuntu installation, so I was tasked with installing and configuring it. These are the steps I followed to get it working on both her machine and on mine.
The first step, of course, is to install it. This is simple enough. Open Adept Manager and type electricsheep into the search dialog. It appears in the search results. Simply mark it for installation and click on Apply Changes. Done
The second step is to ensure that your firewall has port 8090 open. ElectricSheep needs this to communicate with its servers. Interestingly, Kubuntu is not configured with a firewall by default. Hmm... To solve this problem and to get the required port open, I installed kmyfirewall, also using Adept Manager.
To start it, open the run dialog with Alt+F2 and type kdesu kmyfirewall into the dialog. Enter your password when prompted. A borderless window that resembles a splash screen appears next. It has a drop-down selection box enabling you to choose IPTables. By default it is set to use a Generic Interface. Use the IPTables one. Then click on Start KMyFirewall. A warning dialog will appear next. Clck on OK.
The first time you run KMyFirewall its configuration dialog opens. It is misconfigured by default. You will need to correct the paths to IPTables, modprobe, the init directory and the default runlevel directory. These are the values you will need:
/sbin/iptables
/sbin/modprobe
/etc/init.d/
/etc/rc2.d/
When you are done with that you will need to create a new IPTables script: File/New brings up a dialog asking what you want to do. Select a rule set for a workstation as a starting point. The next step is to add a rule to the FORWARD chain. But the interface of KMyFirewall has a quirk. It won't let you do anything until you explicitly select the filter table radio button, even though it appears to be selected. Simply click on the nat radio button and then click on the filter radio button again to enable it. Next, select Run/Show IPTables Configuration/Show Filter Table from the menus. This should fill the window with information about the firewall settings.
Select the FORWARD chain and expand its display. Right-click on Rule(s): and choose Add Rule... You can name it as you wish. I named mine ElectricSheep. Right-click on your new rule and select Edit Rule Option/Edit Protocol Option. In the Match Protocol section select TCP. Select the Ports & Portranges tab. Enable both Source Port and Destination Port and type 8090 into the text boxes for both. Then click on Apply.
Save your new rule set using File/Save As.... I named mine electricsheep. Then start your firewall with Run/Run Firewall. A dire warning dialog appears with instruction on how to back out of your changes if they break your system. You can select these instruction and save them to a file. I saved them to fixiptables in my home directory and clicked OK to start the firewall.
My installation of ElectricSheep would only run in 640x480... not exacty my idea of a screen saver. I needed to edit my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and add two lines to the device section for my Radeon video card.
Option "VideoOverlay" "on"
Option "OpenGLOverlay" "off"
My girlfriend's configuration worked without adding these lines. We have identical computers. Go figure.
I also added the following ElectricSheep.desktop file to /usr/share/applnk/System/ScreenSavers:
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Exec=electricsheep --mplayer 1 --zoom 1 --root 1
Icon=kscreensaver
Type=Application
Actions=InWindow;Root
X-KDE-Category=Fractals
X-KDE-Type=OpenGL
Name=ElectricSheep
[Desktop Action InWindow]
Exec=electricsheep -window-id %w
Name=Display in specified window
Name[af]=Vertoon in gespesifiseer venster
Name[bg]=Стартиране в избран прозорец
Name[br]=Diskwel er prenestr spisaet
Name[bs]=Prikaži u navedenom prozoru
Name[ca]=Mostra a la finestra especificada
Name[cs]=Zobrazit v určeném okně
Name[cy]=Dangos mewn ffenestr penodol
Name[da]=Visning i angivet vindue
Name[de]=In vorgegebenem Fenster anzeigen
Name[el]=Προβολή στο καθορισμένο παράθυρο
Name[eo]=Montru en indikita fenestro
Name[es]=Mostrar en la pantalla especificada
Name[et]=Määratud aknas näitamine
Name[fi]=Näytä määrätyssä ikkunassa
Name[fo]=Vís í givin gluggi
Name[fr]=Affichage dans la fenêtre spécifiée
Name[he]=הצג בחלון המצויין
Name[hu]=Megjelenítés a megadott ablakban
Name[is]=Birta í völdum glugga
Name[it]=Mostra nella finestra specificata
Name[ja]=特定のウィンドウで表示
Name[lv]=Rādīt norādītajā logā
Name[mt]=Uri f'window speċifika
Name[nb]=Vis i angitt vindu
Name[nl]=In een gedefinieerd venster weergeven
Name[nn]=Vis i oppgitt vindauge
Name[nso]=Bontsha kago di-window tseo di bont****swego
Name[pl]=Wyświetl w zadanym oknie
Name[pt]=Mostrar na janela especificada
Name[pt_BR]=Mostrar em janela especificada
Name[ro]=Afişează în fereastra specificată
Name[ru]=Отображать в указанном окне
Name[sk]=Zobraziť v zadanom okne
Name[sl]=Prikaz v določenemu oknu
Name[sr]=Прикажи у задатом прозору
Name[sv]=Visa i angivet fönster
Name[th]=แสดงในหน้าต่างที่กำหนด
Name=Belirtilen pencerede göster
Name[uk]=Відобразити у вказаному вікні
Name[ven]=Sumbedzani kha windo dzo bulwaho fhedzi
Name[xh]=Bonisa kwi window ekhankanyiweyo
Name[xx]=xxDisplay in specified windowxx
Name[zh_CN]=在指定的窗口中显示
Name[zh_TW]=在指定的視窗中顯示
Name[zu]=Veza kwi-window ecacisiwe
NoDisplay=true
[Desktop Action Root]
Exec=electricsheep --root 1 --zoom 1
Name=Display in root window
Name[af]=Vertoon in root venster
Name[bg]=Стартиране в главния прозорец
Name[bs]=Prikaži u korijenskom prozoru
Name[ca]=Mostra a la finestra arrel
Name[cs]=Zobrazit na pozadí plochy
Name[cy]=Dangos mewn ffenestr gwraidd
Name[da]=Visning i root-vindue
Name[de]=In Hintergrundfenster anzeigen
Name[el]=Προβολή στο βασικό παράθυρο
Name[eo]=Montru en radika fenestro
Name[es]=Mostrar en la ventana raíz
Name[et]=Juuraknas näitamine
Name[fi]=Näytä root-ikkunassa
Name[fo]=Vís á bakgrundini
Name[fr]=Affichage dans la fenêtre racine
Name[he]=הצג בחלון השורש
Name[hu]=Megjelenítés a gyökérablakban
Name[is]=Birta í bakgrunni skjáborðs
Name[it]=Mostra sullo sfondo
Name[ja]=ルートウィンドウで表示
Name[lv]=Rādīt saknes logā
Name[mt]=Uri fuq l-isfond
Name[nb]=Vis i root-vindu
Name[nl]=In hoofdvenster weergeven
Name[nn]=Vis i rotvindauget
Name[nso]=Bontsha kago window ya modu
Name[pl]=Wyświetl w oknie pierwotnym
Name[pt]=Mostrar na janela de fundo
Name[pt_BR]=Mostrar na janela-raiz
Name[ru]=Отображать в корневом окне
Name[sk]=Zobraziť v koreňovom okne
Name[sl]=Prikaz v korenskem oknu
Name[sr]=Прикажи у главном (root) прозору
Name[sv]=Visa i rotfönstret
Name[th]=แสดงในหน้าต่างหลัก
Name=Kök pencerede göster
Name[uk]=Відобразити на тлі екрана
Name[ven]=Sumbedzani kha windo ya mudzi
Name[xh]=Bonisa kwingcambu ye window
Name[xx]=xxDisplay in root windowxx
Name[zh_CN]=在根窗口中显示
Name[zh_TW]=在根視窗中顯示
Name[zu]=Veza kwimpande ye-window
NoDisplay=true
You may want to remove the --mplayer 1 option from the Exec line near the top of the file. It will only work if you have mplayer installed.
Although I did not need it, rumor has it that this may be needed on Ubuntu:
export XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS=1
Place that in your bash startup file.
After that, simply open the Configure Desktop dialog from the desktop and select ElectricSheep from the list in the Screen Savers section. Click on the Test button to be sure it is working properly. It may take a little while for ElectricSheep to begin displaying. When it does you can save your changes. You're done.
The first step, of course, is to install it. This is simple enough. Open Adept Manager and type electricsheep into the search dialog. It appears in the search results. Simply mark it for installation and click on Apply Changes. Done
The second step is to ensure that your firewall has port 8090 open. ElectricSheep needs this to communicate with its servers. Interestingly, Kubuntu is not configured with a firewall by default. Hmm... To solve this problem and to get the required port open, I installed kmyfirewall, also using Adept Manager.
To start it, open the run dialog with Alt+F2 and type kdesu kmyfirewall into the dialog. Enter your password when prompted. A borderless window that resembles a splash screen appears next. It has a drop-down selection box enabling you to choose IPTables. By default it is set to use a Generic Interface. Use the IPTables one. Then click on Start KMyFirewall. A warning dialog will appear next. Clck on OK.
The first time you run KMyFirewall its configuration dialog opens. It is misconfigured by default. You will need to correct the paths to IPTables, modprobe, the init directory and the default runlevel directory. These are the values you will need:
/sbin/iptables
/sbin/modprobe
/etc/init.d/
/etc/rc2.d/
When you are done with that you will need to create a new IPTables script: File/New brings up a dialog asking what you want to do. Select a rule set for a workstation as a starting point. The next step is to add a rule to the FORWARD chain. But the interface of KMyFirewall has a quirk. It won't let you do anything until you explicitly select the filter table radio button, even though it appears to be selected. Simply click on the nat radio button and then click on the filter radio button again to enable it. Next, select Run/Show IPTables Configuration/Show Filter Table from the menus. This should fill the window with information about the firewall settings.
Select the FORWARD chain and expand its display. Right-click on Rule(s): and choose Add Rule... You can name it as you wish. I named mine ElectricSheep. Right-click on your new rule and select Edit Rule Option/Edit Protocol Option. In the Match Protocol section select TCP. Select the Ports & Portranges tab. Enable both Source Port and Destination Port and type 8090 into the text boxes for both. Then click on Apply.
Save your new rule set using File/Save As.... I named mine electricsheep. Then start your firewall with Run/Run Firewall. A dire warning dialog appears with instruction on how to back out of your changes if they break your system. You can select these instruction and save them to a file. I saved them to fixiptables in my home directory and clicked OK to start the firewall.
My installation of ElectricSheep would only run in 640x480... not exacty my idea of a screen saver. I needed to edit my /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and add two lines to the device section for my Radeon video card.
Option "VideoOverlay" "on"
Option "OpenGLOverlay" "off"
My girlfriend's configuration worked without adding these lines. We have identical computers. Go figure.
I also added the following ElectricSheep.desktop file to /usr/share/applnk/System/ScreenSavers:
[Desktop Entry]
Encoding=UTF-8
Exec=electricsheep --mplayer 1 --zoom 1 --root 1
Icon=kscreensaver
Type=Application
Actions=InWindow;Root
X-KDE-Category=Fractals
X-KDE-Type=OpenGL
Name=ElectricSheep
[Desktop Action InWindow]
Exec=electricsheep -window-id %w
Name=Display in specified window
Name[af]=Vertoon in gespesifiseer venster
Name[bg]=Стартиране в избран прозорец
Name[br]=Diskwel er prenestr spisaet
Name[bs]=Prikaži u navedenom prozoru
Name[ca]=Mostra a la finestra especificada
Name[cs]=Zobrazit v určeném okně
Name[cy]=Dangos mewn ffenestr penodol
Name[da]=Visning i angivet vindue
Name[de]=In vorgegebenem Fenster anzeigen
Name[el]=Προβολή στο καθορισμένο παράθυρο
Name[eo]=Montru en indikita fenestro
Name[es]=Mostrar en la pantalla especificada
Name[et]=Määratud aknas näitamine
Name[fi]=Näytä määrätyssä ikkunassa
Name[fo]=Vís í givin gluggi
Name[fr]=Affichage dans la fenêtre spécifiée
Name[he]=הצג בחלון המצויין
Name[hu]=Megjelenítés a megadott ablakban
Name[is]=Birta í völdum glugga
Name[it]=Mostra nella finestra specificata
Name[ja]=特定のウィンドウで表示
Name[lv]=Rādīt norādītajā logā
Name[mt]=Uri f'window speċifika
Name[nb]=Vis i angitt vindu
Name[nl]=In een gedefinieerd venster weergeven
Name[nn]=Vis i oppgitt vindauge
Name[nso]=Bontsha kago di-window tseo di bont****swego
Name[pl]=Wyświetl w zadanym oknie
Name[pt]=Mostrar na janela especificada
Name[pt_BR]=Mostrar em janela especificada
Name[ro]=Afişează în fereastra specificată
Name[ru]=Отображать в указанном окне
Name[sk]=Zobraziť v zadanom okne
Name[sl]=Prikaz v določenemu oknu
Name[sr]=Прикажи у задатом прозору
Name[sv]=Visa i angivet fönster
Name[th]=แสดงในหน้าต่างที่กำหนด
Name=Belirtilen pencerede göster
Name[uk]=Відобразити у вказаному вікні
Name[ven]=Sumbedzani kha windo dzo bulwaho fhedzi
Name[xh]=Bonisa kwi window ekhankanyiweyo
Name[xx]=xxDisplay in specified windowxx
Name[zh_CN]=在指定的窗口中显示
Name[zh_TW]=在指定的視窗中顯示
Name[zu]=Veza kwi-window ecacisiwe
NoDisplay=true
[Desktop Action Root]
Exec=electricsheep --root 1 --zoom 1
Name=Display in root window
Name[af]=Vertoon in root venster
Name[bg]=Стартиране в главния прозорец
Name[bs]=Prikaži u korijenskom prozoru
Name[ca]=Mostra a la finestra arrel
Name[cs]=Zobrazit na pozadí plochy
Name[cy]=Dangos mewn ffenestr gwraidd
Name[da]=Visning i root-vindue
Name[de]=In Hintergrundfenster anzeigen
Name[el]=Προβολή στο βασικό παράθυρο
Name[eo]=Montru en radika fenestro
Name[es]=Mostrar en la ventana raíz
Name[et]=Juuraknas näitamine
Name[fi]=Näytä root-ikkunassa
Name[fo]=Vís á bakgrundini
Name[fr]=Affichage dans la fenêtre racine
Name[he]=הצג בחלון השורש
Name[hu]=Megjelenítés a gyökérablakban
Name[is]=Birta í bakgrunni skjáborðs
Name[it]=Mostra sullo sfondo
Name[ja]=ルートウィンドウで表示
Name[lv]=Rādīt saknes logā
Name[mt]=Uri fuq l-isfond
Name[nb]=Vis i root-vindu
Name[nl]=In hoofdvenster weergeven
Name[nn]=Vis i rotvindauget
Name[nso]=Bontsha kago window ya modu
Name[pl]=Wyświetl w oknie pierwotnym
Name[pt]=Mostrar na janela de fundo
Name[pt_BR]=Mostrar na janela-raiz
Name[ru]=Отображать в корневом окне
Name[sk]=Zobraziť v koreňovom okne
Name[sl]=Prikaz v korenskem oknu
Name[sr]=Прикажи у главном (root) прозору
Name[sv]=Visa i rotfönstret
Name[th]=แสดงในหน้าต่างหลัก
Name=Kök pencerede göster
Name[uk]=Відобразити на тлі екрана
Name[ven]=Sumbedzani kha windo ya mudzi
Name[xh]=Bonisa kwingcambu ye window
Name[xx]=xxDisplay in root windowxx
Name[zh_CN]=在根窗口中显示
Name[zh_TW]=在根視窗中顯示
Name[zu]=Veza kwimpande ye-window
NoDisplay=true
You may want to remove the --mplayer 1 option from the Exec line near the top of the file. It will only work if you have mplayer installed.
Although I did not need it, rumor has it that this may be needed on Ubuntu:
export XLIB_SKIP_ARGB_VISUALS=1
Place that in your bash startup file.
After that, simply open the Configure Desktop dialog from the desktop and select ElectricSheep from the list in the Screen Savers section. Click on the Test button to be sure it is working properly. It may take a little while for ElectricSheep to begin displaying. When it does you can save your changes. You're done.