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blur xc
October 14th, 2009, 07:00 PM
I've read a handful of polls and discussion on compiz, and I think I'm noticing a trend...

#1- Compiz haters have inadequate hardware. It crashes a lot for them, slows their computing down, etc... It's not fair to say compiz is a buggy pos app when in reality your tired 10yrd old laptops w/ integrated graphics is a pos...

#2- Compiz haters are coders, terminal junkies, uber-geek elitists who look down on those of simple minds and are entertained easily by wobbly windows and flashy animations.

#3- Compiz haters are ones who turned it on, played with if for a few minutes, didn't spend enough time with it to find it useful in to them, and never came back to it.

I started out as a #3, but came back to it a few times before I found out that I can't live w/o it. Well, I could, but it'd be a much more miserable experience. I think the biggest problem with compiz is its extensive options and settings. You can't just "turn it on" and experience it's full productivity potential. It actually takes a lot of time to get it set up and running in a manner that is actually useful, rather than just bling. And ask anyone I know, bling w/o purpose has no place for me. And I will admit, that sometimes it crashes- but it's like 2 seconds to get it restarted, so that's not a real problem.

It's not like some other programs I run in another os that crash all the time (whether or not it's the fault of the os, I don't know) and needs a reboot to clear the error. And that is on my work computer, and in my industry where productivity is important, lost work, crashes, and reboots are considered normal.

So, I would think a poll where only average computer users with modern, modest computer builds that are known to be of good compatibility w/ Linux, decent ram, and a decent gpu were only allowed to answer, you'd get far different results.

My build- Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz, 4 gig ram (3.2 usable, for now), BFG Tech Nvidia GeForce 9600 GT 512mb video card, runs wonderfully w/ Compiz. Very fast, very smooth, very reliable. I consider myself a moderate geek, but mostly I just use my computer. Edit photos, email, web, run a few simple games, but normally always have a terminal window open...

BM

dchurch24
October 14th, 2009, 07:02 PM
Personally, I find Compiz to be the reason most people want to change.

I don't use it as much as I used to, but there's no way I could do without 'wobbly windows' - it never gets tired!

CharmyBee
October 14th, 2009, 07:03 PM
I have good hardware so not #1. I'm not a coder or terminal junkie so not #2. I do not find the unessential eye candy "useful" in any way, so not #3.

It's the development focus on the eye candy as a priority rather than UI usability that bothers me (as per a desperate attempt to gain the 'market share' by persuasion of a 3d effect on the desktop). IMO, we still haven't reached the Windows 95 level-of-ease yet. 95 specifically, things only got intrusive after IE4 and Windows 98 when the commercial opportunity of dominating the desktop was discovered. :/

j.bell730
October 14th, 2009, 07:10 PM
there's no way I could do without 'wobbly windows' - it never gets tired!

I agree entirely. There's something about it that, I just can't do without it.

hellomoto
October 14th, 2009, 08:02 PM
Compiz good, when i first started using ubuntu, i would spend hours tweeking compiz and customising my desktop. However when I upgrade now I can't be bothered to set it all back up, i use A default theme and just turn compiz on, i don't download compizconfig anymore. I like the effects but personally even after using it for 2 years don't find it adds to the usability that much.

starcannon
October 14th, 2009, 09:40 PM
I fit none of the suppositions listed in the OP; I quit using compiz because it breaks the U.I. in worse ways than it improves it. Disappearing window decorations is one of the most irritating things it does on a regular basis. Compiz looks to me like it suffers greatly from release early release often problems, and it also looks like not nearly enough time is taken to sort out old problems before creating new ones.

Just my .02

NTolerance
October 14th, 2009, 10:15 PM
I like the idea of Compiz, but unless you're running a system with open source drivers (Intel POS?), you're going to run into really nasty NVidia/ATI bugs.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1238781

mdmarmer
October 15th, 2009, 02:15 PM
Compiz does run well on old hardware -- i have a 10 year old PC (RAM and a newer video card were added about 5 years ago). It runs compiz very well. It's 450 MHz, has 320 MB RAM, and an old 64 MB Nvidia video PCI card.

Mike

Skripka
October 15th, 2009, 02:32 PM
I fit none of the suppositions listed in the OP; I quit using compiz because it breaks the U.I. in worse ways than it improves it. Disappearing window decorations is one of the most irritating things it does on a regular basis. Compiz looks to me like it suffers greatly from release early release often problems, and it also looks like not nearly enough time is taken to sort out old problems before creating new ones.

Just my .02

Bingo. I ain't a "coder", nor do I run 10 year old hardware. When all something does is cause breakage on your system-shelving it is about all you can do. Of course, thing being the way they are there's no knowing what was causing the breakage, i.e. Ubuntu, a patch of Ubuntu's, Compiz itself, window decor etc.

diesch
October 15th, 2009, 02:34 PM
I'm a coder and terminal junkie :-)

A few month ago I switched to Compiz after using Fvwm for more than 10 years because I found it can increase my productivity. I'm a bit excessive about using virtual desktops (I have 25 of them). Expo and Desktop Wall are exactly what I was dreaming about for years.

matthew.ball
October 15th, 2009, 02:45 PM
I'm a coder and a terminal junkie.

I cannot live without compiz (though I turn off everything except for expo, show desktop and show applications, my system could handle the defaults, but they're pretty useless to me).

The idea that when gnome-shell comes out I can't use compiz (should probably be compiz's expo) anymore, makes me strongly consider going to xfce + compiz.

I haven't noticed any problems on Karmic, but I had a strange problem in Jaunty where expo would sometimes not work (I guess compiz died? Though the show desktop and show applications would still work, so I'm not so sure compiz did die, this was pretty rare, I had been running Jaunty since beta [up until Karmic beta] and this had occurred maybe twice the whole time, and daily computer usage here).

RiceMonster
October 15th, 2009, 02:50 PM
I'm not a "compiz hater", but I don't use it. I do coding and I guess you could say I'm a terminal junkie. Most of the effects the make compiz what it is are just too over the top or distracting for me. I like compositing, but I like very subtle effects, like shadows, a bit of real transparency here and there, and maybe some subtle minimizing effects. That way it looks nice, but I don't find it distracting. I use KDE, and Kwin has a number of the most popular compiz effects, but I don't use any of them. I just stick with the default effects, because they feel very sane to me.

CarpKing
October 15th, 2009, 08:22 PM
I don't really fit any of your categories, and I don't use Compiz. I wouldn't call myself a "hater," and I did enjoy it while I used it. I just stopped due to some technical issue and discovered that Metacity's new composite support was adequate for my needs and felt much better-integrated.

quinnten83
October 15th, 2009, 08:42 PM
Expo and Desktop Wall (or cube with elevated windows) FTW.
The only reason to use compiz, I don't need all the fancy animations, just a way to quickly and clearly access all my windows.

Redundant Username
October 15th, 2009, 08:47 PM
I have an integrated GMA950 and it works just fine. How old is the hardware that people are trying to run it on?

SomeGuyDude
October 15th, 2009, 09:00 PM
I have good hardware so not #1. I'm not a coder or terminal junkie so not #2. I do not find the unessential eye candy "useful" in any way, so not #3.

It's the development focus on the eye candy as a priority rather than UI usability that bothers me (as per a desperate attempt to gain the 'market share' by persuasion of a 3d effect on the desktop). IMO, we still haven't reached the Windows 95 level-of-ease yet. 95 specifically, things only got intrusive after IE4 and Windows 98 when the commercial opportunity of dominating the desktop was discovered. :/

Actually this is proof you ARE #3, as you neglect to realize how many useful plugins exist that aren't just "eye candy".

:popcorn:

K.Mandla
October 15th, 2009, 09:17 PM
I am numbers 1, 2 and 3.

blur xc
October 15th, 2009, 09:54 PM
I have an integrated GMA950 and it works just fine. How old is the hardware that people are trying to run it on?

Ask the folks in this thread: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1185362

My statement about 10yr old computers is more of a generalization- and I think it's more to do w/ combination of old, slow, and/or poorly supported hardware rather than specifically 10yr old laptops with integrated video.

BM

jwbrase
October 15th, 2009, 10:07 PM
Heh. I hate Compiz because it makes a hypocrite of me. After all the time I've spent lambasting games, OS GUI's (I'm looking at you, Vista Aero...), etc, that waste system resources (not to mention man-hours of development time) on flashy graphics that could be better spent on other things, somehow I've become addicted to Compiz.

Grrrr...

tuahaa
October 15th, 2009, 10:18 PM
what are you talking 'bout! wobbly ******* pwnt

undecim
October 15th, 2009, 10:24 PM
I run it because I show off my desktop to a lot of people. I can't count the number of people who run Ubuntu now because they've seen my Compiz effects. It's the first thing that prompts them to switch, and after they get bored dragging their windows around, they realize that their new system is a lot faster than their old one.

My computer can more than handle it, and most windows users have the hardware for it too (Most XP capable and all Vista capable machines can run it). It never slows me down, and some of the features are even useful.