[Ser-Lin] Compiz Fusion Ubuntu 7.10

As you may know by now, Compiz and Beryl have merged and the resulting composite manager is called Compiz Fusion. As the name implies, Compiz Fusion has the best of two. The good news is that it is not just an amalgamate of Compiz and Beryl. It shows very good features and eye candies too. One beautiful eye candy is the reflection in Expose mode. You are well aware that reflection has become a hot feature everywhere. Apple has the lead and even Microsoft uses reflections! Where? have look at the left lower corner of Media Player 11.
I am particularly pleased to see that we have a nice and (almost) user friendly setting manager in place.



I assume that you are using Ubuntu Feisty Fawn (7.04) and gnome.
The first step is to disable Compiz (desktop effect) if it is running.

Then you need to un-install Compiz. So in terminal type:

sudo apt-get -y remove compiz-core desktop-effects

Then add the following line to third party repositories in synaptic:

deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy


In terminal type:

wget http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb/DD800CD9.gpg

and then:

sudo apt-key add DD800CD9.gpg

Now in synaptic, hit reload button.
The penultimate step is to install Compiz Fusion. In terminal:

sudo apt-get -y install compiz compiz-gnome compizconfig-settings-manager compiz-fusion-plugins-extra libcompizconfig-backend-gconf

Finally, in terminal type:

compiz --replace

to activate Compiz Fusion.

You should be able to find your new Compiz setting manager in your preferences menu.
As usual, you may add the latter command to your sessions to have it up and running every time the system starts up.

This is an update to my previous guide on installing compiz fusion in Ubuntu. I have used a new repository in this new guide. The following steps are those which worked for me. I have installed compiz fusion in Ubuntu 7.04 Feisty Fawn 64 bit edition and it should work in 32 bit edition as well.

1. Go to Synaptic and remove compiz (and preferably anything with compiz in its name!).

2. Again in Synaptic, remove all compiz related repositories that you might have added before. If you have not installed compiz yourself (and/or you have a fresh installation of Ubuntu) forget about this step.

3. Add this line to your repositories in Synaptic:

deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/amaranth/ubuntu feisty main

and then reload (there is a button on synaptic for reloading package information).

4. In Synaptic, Install these packages:

compiz, compizconfig-settings-manager, sexy-python, emerald, emerald-themes

To be accurate, only the first package is absolutely essential for running compiz fusion. Compiz Settings Manager makes your life a lot easier in configuring compiz fusion. Emerald is not a necessary package. It basically handles windows decoration (like window frame, buttons, shadow ...). But I personally like it very much and in fact I missed it a lot from beryl era.

5. Now, it is time to run compiz fusion. But my personal experience was that plugins would work best if you reboot your system before actually getting to run compiz for the first time. To run compiz fusion, in terminal type:

compiz --replace &

and if you like to take advantage of emerald, type:

emerald --replace &

I am particularly fascinated by shift switcher plugin in this compiz. It is more like cover flip effect in new Mac interface (used in new iTune, iPhone, iPod Touch, OS X Leopard). It is not active by default and you should activate it through Compizconfig Settings Manager.

It is worth mentioning that Expose effect is called Scale here.
One last thing to remember is that due to some bugs, your system update will keep notifying you that compiz-core needs updating. The fact is that it does not! Use your imagination to find a workaround.


I would also like to suggest that you read these two posts on installing a Mac OS X like dock (Avant Window Navigator):
Avant Window Navigator
Avant Window Navigator + reflection

Just remember that in the latest version of Avant Window Navigator, you don't need to change settings manually to get 3D effects. It is all in its preferences now.

Enjoy!