Since 17.10 Ubuntu pairs animal codenames with matching default wallpapers. Wallpapers favor geometric, glowing, and semi-realistic styles; my favorites include Lobster, Minotaur, Groovy Gorilla.

Not quite ready to jump into the Ubuntu 9.10 beta? Want to see what its subtly revised icons, themes, and wallpapers look like? Being an open-source project, you can grab pretty much everything right ...

I get bored with my desktop wallpaper pretty easily, especially in Ubuntu Linux, where it's nearly the only thing on my desktop. Until recently, that meant scouring theming sites for great artwork, ...