EDIT: Please note that this was written in 2011, and it may or may not be still valid for the latest editions of ubuntu. If anyone has tried it, please report in the comments.
I'll try to fix what is not working, but it's completely usable. Two exceptions, at least for me on this PC:
Elementary's official theme looks broken; other themes for Pantheon I've tried too; Lubuntu-default, Ambiance and Radiance, and Adwaita look fine.
Switchboard, the control panel, crashes if I click on certain elements; I can configure anything with the keyboard (tab to move between elements, arrows and space to change their value.)
Hotkeys are not the same as in a real Elementary OS, and that's the only thing I can't change on Switchboard; you have the typical Ubuntu hotkeys, which is not that bad. For instance, I prefer switching workspaces with SUPR+LEFT/RIGHT, but this has CTRL+ALT+LEFT/RIGHT.
If I fix those I might remember to update this. If I don't, feel free to remind me.
This is answer for newer releases of Ubuntu — 12.04 and up. Remember, use this at your own risk!
Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T).
Add the repositories and update the package list:
Upgrade your packages...
...and install:
After completed installation log out and chose session called Pantheon in LightDM.
Open a terminal window (press Ctrl + Alt + T).
Run these commands line by line in the terminal:
Logout?Restart and select Pantheon on the login screen.
All answers work but they install the unstable builds, so if you want the stable builds use Ubuntu 12.04:
Now, after you login to Pantheon Desktop it will still look like regular Ubuntu, to easily modify its appearance install Elementary Tweaks:
The
Elementary Tweaks
app is an icon at the mainSystem Settings
. Change all possible entries to elementary atAppearance
tab.You may want to install more apps from Elementary, but with this you get most of it.
I would try their PPA https://launchpad.net/~elementary-os/+archive/daily
To add it:
The new dock, Plank, is in its own PPA: and so is its browser:
Then:
I havent been able to install beatbox too.
EDIT: Please note that this was written in 2011, and it may or may not be still valid for the latest editions of ubuntu. If anyone has tried it, please report in the comments.
All the other answers are, I think, outdated. This question still shows pretty high on some Google searches (that's how I got here), so I'll add this:
I just installed pantheon on Ubuntu 14.04. It's working fine, with just a couple of caveats.
Also, this Ubuntu install has had almost every Desktop Environment under the sun, so it's nothing close to a clean Ubuntu.
Here's how I did it:
I'll try to fix what is not working, but it's completely usable. Two exceptions, at least for me on this PC:
SUPR+LEFT/RIGHT
, but this hasCTRL+ALT+LEFT/RIGHT
.If I fix those I might remember to update this. If I don't, feel free to remind me.
You can try this: