Next Generation Graphics Manager
If Beryl was something you toyed with before then you are going to like Compizfusion the ingenuity that put Beryl on the map as a serious contender to Vista, in our opinion Compizfusion is better still. Why is Compiz better, possibly the reflection properties and the integration of the application within Gutsy Gibbon or Hardy Heron. As pretty much everything you need is already installed this section will focus more on the operational settings that enable you to enjoy the eyecandy rather than an installation matters.
As we have said already Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) and 8.10 (Hardy Heron) is for the most part is extremely stable Ubuntu 8.10 (Hardy Heron) and a viable if not better alternative than that of "Vista Sour Grapes"
Advanced Desktop Graphics can work on many previously low end graphic adapters but the output needless to say will work better with a more appropriate Graphic's Card. To initialise the Advanced Desktop Effects you need select the Appearance option in "System => Preferences" and of course select "Visual Effects" Tab and "Extra". This should install a Ubuntu package called "ccsm" or "Compiz Configuration Settings Manager". Even if your desktop refuses to function using the Extra feature in Visual Effects, Appearance it can sometimes be kick started to work installing "simple-ccsm"' via "sudo apt-get install simple-ccsm" or searching and selecting the "Compiz Configuration Settings Manager in Synaptic"'.
Here are some of the effects possible using Beryl old or the Compiz new Beryl and Compiz
Blacklist Bypass Hotfix
This worked on Brian's ATI laptop to make compiz run :-). Run "compiz" at a terminal, if you see something similiar to this: "ATI laptop detected" and then it aborts and uses the fallback (metacity on a GNOME system), this means your video card driver is in compiz' blacklist. The driver may have bugs or issues that make compiz unstable or buggy. To force compiz to run bypassing checking the blacklist, run the following at a terminal:What this does is, creates a folder at ~/.config/compiz, then puts "SKIP_CHECKS=yes" at the file ~/.config/compiz/compiz-manager.
Now, run compiz. this can lead to compiz running but unstable, and may cause some applications to crash. The driver is blacklisted for a reason. If there are problems, disable compiz by System -> Prefs -> Appearance and then "Visual Effects" and click "None". However, many cases this has lead to a sweet compiz setup without issues, so try it if you like =]
There are some Desktop applications however that when running compiz, fail or at least seem to fail and become unusable we have noticed for example that the 3D application program Blender appears intermittent when used with compiz active, at present we are unaware of any work around for this other than disabling compiz. Blender when run within a compiz session will flash into and out of focus presumably because Blender is already a 3D program.
