Comments on: Compiz shouldn’t be enabled by default on Ubuntu

By: Fabrizio Balliano

Fabrizio Balliano — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:09:48 +0000

@Peter Gasston: I also think compiz is really important and I’d like to see it enabled by default but it should be much more stable than now. We all know that many problems are due to the graphic cards drivers and the community can’t solve all until the ATI/NVIDIA etc will provide better/open drivers anyway we’ve to deal with this situation and take a decision… my opinion is to provide stable and robust software, that’s why I wrote about disabling it :)

By: Peter Gasston

Peter Gasston — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:39:06 +0000

When I try to activate Desktop Effects on my Ubuntu machine at home, the screen goes completely white and I have to reboot; if Ubuntu had Compiz by default and that had happened when I first installed, I would never have converted to Linux.

However, when I try a Knoppix live CD with Beryl, it tells me that my graphics card doesn’t support the effects, and that it is reverting to a 2D desktop – after that, it works as usual. If that were the case, I think Compiz by default would be fine.

So really, it just depends how they handle it.

By: Fabrizio Balliano

Fabrizio Balliano — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:59:40 +0000

@sam: i agree with you but i continue thinking that “by default” can’t mean “1/10 possibilities that it would work out of the box” cause graphic card, driver and serious or non serious bugs lower the possibility to something like 1/10

By: sam

sam — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:49:00 +0000

when they say “compix enabled by default” they mean that as gnome starts it checks if it can run compiz. if not it falls back to metacity.

currently in the gutsy betas with an nvidia card, when you first boot after install the nv driver is used which has no 3d acceleration, so no compiz. then you can install the nvidia driver with the restricted-driver-manager. on the next boot you have 3d acceleration, and compiz starts automatically.

the main objections raised in the list are about serious bugs in compiz, and anoying differences between compix and metacity.

it is easier to read the thread at http://news.gmane.org/gmane.linux.ubuntu.devel