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Some tips for Compiz Fusion under Xubuntu


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#1 nickca

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Posted 21 December 2007 - 06:14 AM

I'm now running full Compiz Fusion under the eee distribution of Xubuntu. It works great, everything is smooth with very little to no lag. I do have 1GB of RAM, though, and running it at 512MB with no swap would probably be a little taxing if not impossible. With 1GB DDR2 sticks at 30 bucks or less, however, you really should upgrade to 1GB anyway (I would have gone to 2GB, but 2GB sticks are still new tech and thus cost around $190). Anyway, here's my tips. Everything is done from the CompizConfig settings manager, which you can get to via Settings/Advanced Desktop Effects Settings in the XFCE menu, or by running "ccsm" from a terminal. You should run ccsm and get the settings right before you first start Compiz.

1. Install according to alchemist's post in this thread: http://forum.eeeuser...pic.php?id=5664. There are lots of guides around telling you to add repositories, etc. - everything you need is already in the ubuntu repositories.

2. Optimize for the small screen - First, under General/Focus and Raise Behaviour, turn off Click To Focus, Auto Raise, and Raise On Click. This prevents a very annoying behavior where windows that are larger than the screen will randomly jump around when you click anywhere within them. Next, under Window Settings/Move Window, turn off Constrain Y. This will enable you to move a window (using Alt+Button1) above the top of the screen.

3. Plugins - I disabled Effects/Animations and Effects/Minimize Effect entirely, as they are just too slow on the eee. These are just eye candy anyway. Everything else I'm running works great. Here's all the plugins I have turned on:

Enhanced Zoom Desktop, Negative, Desktop Cube, Expo, Rotate Cube, Viewport Switcher, Cube Reflection, Window Decoration, Wobbly Windows, and everything that was selected by default in Image Loading, Utility and Window Management. I also followed some suggestions in this article: http://forlong.bloga...p-Compiz-Fusion

4. How to get the famous cube to work - Believe it or not, the cube works great on the eee. I figured it would be slow, but not at all. To get it to work properly, first go to General Options/Desktop Size and set Horizontal Virtual Size to 4, Vertical Virtual Size to 1, and Number of Desktops to 4. Now you should see the desktop flip when you hit Ctrl/Alt/Left or Right, but you can't see the actual cube and the Initiate action (Ctrl/Alt/hold Button1) doesn't work. To get that to work, go to Desktop/Rotate Cube/General and set Zoom to a non-zero number (I set it to 1). Now you should be able to hit Ctrl/Alt/hold button 1 and see the cube, and move the mouse around to rotate it. Useless, but really cool. :)

5. Testing it out and setting it to autostart - Start it up by running "compiz --replace" from a terminal or Alt-F2. If everything is working to your satisfaction, go to Settings/Autostarted Applications in the XFCE menu, and add an item that starts "compiz --replace". Restart X and Compiz should start automatically. It only adds a second or 2 to startup time, you'll barely notice it.

Hope this helps someone, I had to do a lot of searching to get all this to work, especially the cube. Compiz Fusion is really awesome - I've been a Linux user since around 1996, but I haven't used it as a primary desktop platform in several years. It's come a LONG way. Compiz Fusion isn't QUITE as good as Quartz Extreme/CoreImage on Mac OSX, but it's very close, and that's high praise.

Edited by nickca, 21 December 2007 - 06:18 AM.

eeePC 4G 7B - 1GB DDR667 RAM - Internal USB hub w/32GB (2x16GB) flash, Bluetooth, spare internal USB connection

#2 dvm

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Posted 21 December 2007 - 01:13 PM

Just tried. It's FANTASTIC! I am also a Mac user but I've never imagined that this kind of fancy effect and happen to Linux, and now on the EeePC!!

Thanks a million for taking the pain to straighten things out and sharing with us. :)

PS Forgot to say: My 701 black only has 512MB RAM, yet compiz just works beautifully!

Edited by dvm, 21 December 2007 - 01:15 PM.


#3 technoturkey

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Posted 21 December 2007 - 01:47 PM

What we need now is compiz on Xandros!

#4 CMYanko

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Posted 21 December 2007 - 03:22 PM

Very nice, once I get sound back this will be next. But... as much as I like the cube I think that cover-flowish desktop switcher is even better. Thoughts on that?

No joy. When I go to test it pretty much whacks the windows and desktops ('whacks' is the non-technical word for 'horked' ;)

Ok, took some doing but I got it! I had started by just loading through Add/Remove nd then I did an apt-get in terminal but just the second one in the thread and not the first one... so I did the first, restarted X and then did the second. Now my only issue seems to be window decorations, only termminal seems to have them!

Edited by CMYanko, 21 December 2007 - 05:16 PM.


#5 nickca

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Posted 21 December 2007 - 08:03 PM

Quote

What we need now is compiz on Xandros!
I don't know if you can install the full Compiz Fusion on Xandros, but it is possible to install regular Beryl/Emerald. This post: http://forum.eeeuser...pic.php?id=2182 will tell you how, but be sure to read the whole thread as you can bork your system and make it unbootable if you set it to autostart and don't have a certain setting turned on in your xorg.conf. I had this running on Xandros before I ditched it for Xubuntu, and it works fine if you turn off some of the more resource-hungry effects. Not quite as nice as Compiz Fusion though, as it's missing some of the nicer plugins such as window cover flow and the desktop cube, plus shadows and transparencies don't work properly (they do in Compiz on the same hardware).
eeePC 4G 7B - 1GB DDR667 RAM - Internal USB hub w/32GB (2x16GB) flash, Bluetooth, spare internal USB connection

#6 overthere

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Posted 29 December 2007 - 09:05 PM

Interesting the transparency works on a different distro from xandros might have to give that a go.

FYI the 3D cube works fine on Xandros and everything seems to run at a decent rate minus the transparency etc as you said

#7 rboatright

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Posted 29 December 2007 - 11:46 PM

Followed the directions, (including putting "emerald" in the window decorator space on the wordpress blog page) and am getting the following error:

(emerald:5984): Wnck-WARNING ** Property _NET_WM_NAME contained invalid UTF-8
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Error: Count not acquire compositing manager selection on screen 0 display ":0.0"
/usr/bin/compiz.real (core) - Fatal: No manageable screens found on display :0.0

environment eeeXubuntu r3 with all patches for that from the wiki page installed, skype installed and working eeecamtray installed and working, etc....

What did I do wrong boss?
-_ Rick

#8 rboatright

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 12:12 AM

answering my own question, I had previously gone into settings -> window manager tweeks and turned on compositing to get cool transparency effects and such in the basic umodified XFCE desktop. Oooops. You can't have any other compositor running when Compiz starts.

If you get this, go into setting -> window manager tweeks, and turn compositing off, the start compiz --replace and all should be well.

And by the way, 512 meg ram, no swap, applications open on 3 desktops, everything is fast and cool. No problems. I'm really starting to think I don't NEED more ram.
-_ Rick

#9 rboatright

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 12:52 AM

If you do this, you'll want to add the download of emerald-themes_0.2.1-0ubuntu1_all.deb which is in the feisty repositorys but not in the 7.1 repositories, but you can get it direct download from packages.ubuntu.com and install from the download. This gives you a bunch of nice themes for emerald.
-_ Rick

#10 CMYanko

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 01:19 AM

I'm not finding emerald-themes anywhere?

#11 CMYanko

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 02:03 AM

Ok, downloaded a Hman-ish emerald theme and hav compiz going, but... now media player wont play a file.

#12 rboatright

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 02:12 AM

Created a walkthrough putting all the pieces together on the wiki.
http://wiki.eeeuser....z_on_eeexubunto
-_ Rick

#13 CMYanko

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Posted 30 December 2007 - 04:04 AM

Why do you load emerald, and then not use it? Don't you have to elect Emerald in CCSM in order to use it?

Edited by CMYanko, 30 December 2007 - 04:09 AM.


#14 rboatright

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Posted 01 January 2008 - 03:27 PM

Quote

Why do you load emerald, and then not use it? Don't you have to elect Emerald in CCSM in order to use it?
Yes, you do, and that's in the walk through on the wiki.
-_ Rick

#15 edifonzo

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Posted 18 June 2008 - 04:46 PM

Thanks

#16 toasty mofo

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 01:00 PM

I can't install ccsm or emerald as mentioned in the wiki. The rest install alright but for the other two I get E: Couldn't find package compizconfig-settings-manager. Which is odd because when I try and run them as if they were installed, I get

The program 'ccsm' is currently not installed. You can install it by typing:
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Can someone tell me why it's only he ccsmm and emerald packages that don't show up? They're not in synaptic either fwiw

#17 CptSpudGun

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Posted 08 August 2008 - 09:44 AM

Firstly thanks for a great guide, I'd struggled for ages trying to get it all working-then I found this guide :)
One problem I still have is I cannot actually see the whole cube (are you supposed to be able to do this?)

Also (and not sure if it is related) following the instructions below:
"first go to General Options/Desktop Size and set Horizontal Virtual Size to 4, Vertical Virtual Size to 1, and Number of Desktops to 4."
I can't change the number of Desktops. It is set to 1 and the selector is greyed out and the slider has no effect. Can anyone shed some light on this?

Ta





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