racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

Last week I ditched Beryl in favor of Compiz Fusion. While Beryl effects are really slick, what I’m really after is the productivity boost I get with being able to manage windows and workflows more efficiently. For instance, I like how I can group windows, and how I can use different faces of the desktop cube for different window/task groups. And I particularly like the OSX Expose-like “Scale” functionality. The zoom functionality is also useful when making presentations.

However, I found Beryl to be quite unstable at times. It’s great that Compiz and the Beryl (a fork project of Compiz) had merged into Compiz Fusion. I would expect better stability and new functionalities and that’s just what I got. And they’re actually still in beta. I hear they will release a stable edition later this year.

Some screencaps. Oh, pardon the OSX-like theme. I was trying out some eye candy, and since I’m used to my Mac’s look, I guess it helps to have a more or less uniform look.

The desktop cube in action

The Expose-like Scale feature

Expo is much like the Desktop Wall feature. One thing I don’t like with Desktop Wall is that it conflicts with Desktop Cube. So it’s great to have Expo along with Desktop Cube (you can move windows across the different faces easily just by dragging).

Compiz Fusion’s settings manager has less customization abilities than Beryl, though, but I guess that’s a good tradeoff if you’re after stability. And it’s still not a final/finished product (active development is ongoing). So you can still expect more. Check out a guide for installing Compiz Fusion on Ubuntu Feisty here. I hear Compiz Fusion is included by default in the next release of Ubuntu (Gutsy Gibbon).