Compiz Fusion is a state of art frame work for a cool looking PC. With compiz you can make desktop effects, 3d Desktop, Desktop Zoom etc. There is a window manager called emerald is with compiz and lot of great themes are available for emerald. Compiz is an essential component for a full eye candy desktop in linux. Here we are just take a look at the simple procedure to install compiz fusion on Ubuntu 10.10 Maverik Meerkat.
First you need 3D acceleration Open GL driver for your graphics card. In the case of Nvidia,ATi you want to install them manually. If you can enable desktop effects in ubuntu then your graphics drivers are working perfect. or you can check in your ubuntu 10.10 by just type
glxgears
on terminal. It shows three gears rotating in a small popup window.
Installation of Compiz Fustion is very simple. Open A terminal then
sudo apt-get install compiz compiz-plugins compiz-gnome compiz-core emerald compiz-fusion-plugins-main compiz-fusion-plugins-extra fusion-icon compizconfig-settings-manager
After Installation you want to run the compiz fusion to select the effects. Go Applications -> System Tools -> Compiz Fusion Icon. A blue icon will appear to the tray. From here you can configure Compiz-Fusion.
You can change settings of compiz fusion by going into the settings manager. You can enable desktop cube, 3D Windows, Desktop Effects etc …
If things are not working properly then you can just reload the window manager to fix this problem.
To add compiz into start up , that is start compiz every time when your computer boots, just add the compiz into the startup application manager. To do this go System -> Preferences -> Startup Applications . Then Press ADD – Type name as Compiz Fusion , Command as fusion-icon –nostart . Comment as you like [eg – 3d desktop]. Then press ADD. Compiz is added to the startup list. The blue icon will appear on the tray every time computer starts.
In Ubuntu 10.10 the default desktop switching effect is Desktop Wall. Just Change it to Desktop Cube for a Window on Cube.Also tick Rotate Cube and 3D Windows options for enhanced effects. You can rotate the cube by clicking the mouse and drag on a desktop. You can use keyboard short cut Cntrl+ALT+Arrows , Right Arrow to move Right and Left Arrow To move Left.
By using compiz fustion on ubuntu you can view large window in multiple desktops. This is very usefull when you are using an editing software like Cinellera or Kino.
Ubuntu 10.10 Compiz Fusion Short Cuts
There are lot of shot cuts to perform different desktop effectis in compiz fusion. With these short cuts you can amaze your friends and lot of shot cuts will help you to done your work faster . Just go to Compiz Shortcut guide to Ubuntu 10.10