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Gutsy Gibbon Enabled 3D Compiz Fusion Effects – But Where Are They?

Most of the 3D visual effects are controlled by keyboard shortcuts by default in Gutsy Gibbon. Obscure keyboard commands like Super(Windows Key)+E to emulate Expose, or Super+Right Click to Zoom around… but where’s a list of all the shortcuts? Who knows, it’s probably hidden in the Gnome configuration somewhere. What I do know is that […]

Most of the 3D visual effects are controlled by keyboard shortcuts by default in Gutsy Gibbon. Obscure keyboard commands like Super(Windows Key)+E to emulate Expose, or Super+Right Click to Zoom around… but where’s a list of all the shortcuts? Who knows, it’s probably hidden in the Gnome configuration somewhere.

What I do know is that we can install the Compiz Fusion configuration tool and setup our desktop the way we want to. It’s easy as baking no-bake cookies. 🙂

Open up the Add/Remove software (Synaptic package manager) in Applications:

add_remove.jpg

Change the drop down menu on the top to Show: “All available applications” and type in “compiz” into the search box, put a checkbox next to “Advanced Desktop Effects Settings”, then press Apply Changes.

add_remove_compiz.jpg

Open the application under System | Preferences, then you can setup all the eye candy you’d like to your hearts content. I suggest turning on Desktop Cube, Rotate Cube, and heading to the Effects section and turning on whatever you like.

compiz_settings_menu_location.jpg

Finally, a shipping version of Compiz Fusion with Ubuntu…. perhaps they were too busy making things work just right and forgot about including the configuration tool.

13 replies on “Gutsy Gibbon Enabled 3D Compiz Fusion Effects – But Where Are They?”

I discovered this last night myself. A bit annoying that it was left out, because I really wanted to see what the rotating cube thing was like to work with… FWIW, it’s like Vista but good and not annoying. =)

@Adam – do you get the composite error (I’m at work so I can’t remember the exact error I got). I had to apt-get install xserver-xgl and tweak the xorg.conf to allow composite something-or-others. Not as “out the box” as I imagined, but a good foundation. (As someone who’s had to hack various wireless NIC configs on various distros, I’m just made up by the fact that my laptop got on my network faster than my Chumby did!)

Anyone up to the challenge of getting Compiz working with my Nvidia 6600GT on Gutsy? I’ve run into problems and it’s not the composite one mentioned earlier. I’ve written up a detailed description on my blog if anyone wants to help me out, otherwise I will try a clean install next.

You can get to these same settings (I think), by clicking on System/Preferences/Appearance, choose the “Visual Effects” button, click on the “Custom” option, then hit the “preferences” button.

I don’t THINK that I installed ccsm… but maybe I’m wrong. It’s been a long beta…

As good as every legacy and new-look IT vendor has its own plagiarize on making the entire observations center more programmable via software and less dependent on specialized, proprietary and expensive hardware.

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