My minimal desktop

[qinn1996]

Hi there, I'm new to Linux and am using an old laptop as a "multi media hub", meaning it's permanently hooked up to my TV via HDMI, neatly hidden behind my TV wall. Now the HDMI setup came with some hiccups on Mint and I couldn't resolve an issue I had with shutting my laptop down or rebooting it: when the laptop is connected via HDMI (which it is supposed to always be), shutting down via the respective button would just log me out instead -same with rebooting: log out instead. Not happening when HDMI is not plugged in. Took to the forum -not very common issue apparently and I saw nobody point out that it might be related to HDMI.
While I couldn't fix the issue I managed to work around it: instead of the default menu I am using the applet "CinnVIIStarkMenu" which allows to hide reboot, shutdown etc. buttons altogether. I set up a second taskbar at the top (which is set to hide intelligently) and created a shutdown and reboot button using the panel launcher which execute a shutdown or reboot command respectively upon clicking them. To make it look a bit nicer, I set some accents using spacers and seperators.
This workaround works so well for me that I actually prefer it now over the "standard method" of needing to open the menu first in order to shutdown. Still weird how the regular shutdown/reboot button wouldn't work.

Other than that I opted for a very minimalistic desktop approach without any desktop apps, displaying only date and time -I use a dark window design, so I just created a desktop background image to blend in with the dark design (love how Mints standard paint app lets you pick colors OUTSIDE of the app itself, making it very easy to get the right background color). The orange accent color is used to blend with the orange LED that's behind my TV wall. The shortcut apps on the bottom taskbar are basically the only ones I ever need for this setup and normally the icons are neatly centered -having the terminal opened in the screenshot misaligns the icons a bit lol.




(colors are a bit off in the second image, but in reality the orange accent color matches the orange LED, which looks pretty good)

[Logansfury]

What an awesome setup.

That's a very ingenious way you worked around being unable to shut down or reboot.

I have a dedicated multimedia computer in the living room as well, but I am using win10. It connects via HDMI to the Vizio smart TV there, and uses it as it's primary monitor.

Besides having access to all my mp3's, music videos, television and movies to play on the bigscreen with it's soundbar surround sound system, I am using the program EventGhost and the android app Tasker so that I can start play of any media via voice command spoken to my phone that sends a command to the win machines EventGhost which then orchestrates starting the appropriate player for the media.

[qinn1996]

Thanks for your comment

That's a very ingenious way you worked around being unable to shut down or reboot.

Thank you -I must say I am also very pleased with it -once figured out, it was easy to set up and gives off a nice "custom made" feeling despite the relatively little effort it took. Also really loving the "hide task bar intelligently" option I set for the upper task bar, which doesn't exist in Win10 (there it's either always show the taskbar or always hide it). The "hide intelligently" option is a perfect fit for my button implementation as it hides the upper taskbar automatically whenever a full screen app is running (which is perfect, as I wouldn't want to shut down/reboot anyway having the browser or any other window open) and automatically displays the upper task bar when I'm back on the desktop and would actually want to shut down the system. Just neat and handy.

I have a dedicated multimedia computer in the living room as well, but I am using win10. It connects via HDMI to the Vizio smart TV there, and uses it as it's primary monitor.

Besides having access to all my mp3's, music videos, television and movies to play on the bigscreen with it's soundbar surround sound system, I am using the program EventGhost and the android app Tasker so that I can start play of any media via voice command spoken to my phone that sends a command to the win machines EventGhost which then orchestrates starting the appropriate player for the media.

Now that sounds pretty cool! Personally, I'm not a big fan of using voice commands to interact with tech, but the amount and broad range of stuff that can be done and automated really fascinates me! Thanks for the inspo -will be looking that up.

[klu9]

@qinn1996

Cool setup!

What are you using to control it?

[qinn1996]

Cool setup!

What are you using to control it?

Thanks! I use a wireless keyboard/mouse combo and an USB extension cable for the USB receiver to plug in, since the TV wall which my laptop sits behind would shield off the signal. So I run the extension cable underneath the sideboard in front of the TV wall in a way it's barely visible.

[Logansfury]

Thanks for the inspo -will be looking that up.

Be aware that EvenGhost for windows is an abandoned project. On the reddit for it, there are links to working newest versions and downloads to files to ensure it works.

I set all this up before the reddit for the program went dead. Myself and one of the mods are the only two people to post there in some years.

[elalbatross]

Cool setup!

What are you using to control it?

Thanks! I use a wireless keyboard/mouse combo and an USB extension cable for the USB receiver to plug in, since the TV wall which my laptop sits behind would shield off the signal. So I run the extension cable underneath the sideboard in front of the TV wall in a way it's barely visible.

you might want to explore methods to use a phone to control it (so you aren't having to relax with a whole keyboard/mouse setup on your lap). In the past I've used things like KDEConnect, but that was on another distro. Some research might yield the best options for Mint. I also had Kodi running, and there's a slew of Kodi remote apps you can download

[Robert600]

I've been mucking about in Mint trying to set up a 'multimedia hub' or what I think of as a HTPC. The problem I've encountered is that I've not found a way to passthrough lossless audio. Since I use a reasonably good AVR this shortcoming is a deal breaker and forces me to continue using Windows for media playback. It's about the only thing I use Windows for anymore ... Mint can do everything else I need.

[qinn1996]

you might want to explore methods to use a phone to control it (so you aren't having to relax with a whole keyboard/mouse setup on your lap). In the past I've used things like KDEConnect, but that was on another distro. Some research might yield the best options for Mint. I also had Kodi running, and there's a slew of Kodi remote apps you can download

Thanks for your suggestion, but for me mouse & keyboard are perfectly fine, feels more "natural" his way.

I've been mucking about in Mint trying to set up a 'multimedia hub' or what I think of as a HTPC. The problem I've encountered is that I've not found a way to passthrough lossless audio. Since I use a reasonably good AVR this shortcoming is a deal breaker and forces me to continue using Windows for media playback. It's about the only thing I use Windows for anymore ... Mint can do everything else I need.

Don't have any issue with the sound quality, no noticeable difference to Windows.