One of the delight (or curse, depending on your point of view) of using Ubuntu is the availability of Compiz Fusion by default. When I first got hold of an eeePC 900, I was dismayed by the default Xandros installation which attempted to copy Windows XP theme. For instance, the appearance of the window decoration in the Xandros mirrored that of a Windows XP. Fortunately, it was relatively painless to install Ubuntu, which I promptly did within the first hour.
Once Ubuntu was comfortably installed, the question became how far could I pushed the eeePC to run Compiz Fusion? How many effects can be enabled without sacrificing UI responsiveness?
Onboard Intel graphics
Of course, the eeePC 900 onboard Intel graphics cannot be compared in performance to NVIDIA or ATI. Thankfully, Compiz was relatively lightweight and many of the effects plugin could be enabled with Intel graphics.
Output from lspci for the eeePC 900:
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller (rev 04)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation Mobile 915GM/GMS/910GML Express Graphics Controller (rev 04)
Enabling advanced desktop effects
After Ubuntu (Hardy Heron 8.04) was installed in the eeePC, Compiz Fusion would have already been enabled. However, the default effects were limited. This is fine in most cases; in fact some people preferred to turn off Compiz, and instead use the previous Metacity window manager. But, I am one of those people who find Compiz to be mostly beneficial.
Compiz would really shine with advance effects. For the unfamiliar, the way to do this is by installing compizconfig-settings-manager.
sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager
Once installed, you get a new icon “System > Preferences > Advanced Desktop Effects Settings”.
A minor problem
When you opened the “CompizConfig Settings Manager” (CCSM), you would notice the main window is larger than the eeePC screen. This is a minor but irritating problem. Use ALT+left-mouse-button to move the window around when you need to access items beyond the screen.
Desktop Cube
The first thing I enabled was the Desktop Cube effect. This is not because I dislike the default Desktop Wall. However, a bug in viewport switching meant that only the “Viewport Switcher” plugin properly handle the mouse scroll wheel. This problem is compounded by the inaccurate two-finger scroll on the eeePC touchpad. If you have been trying in vain to make the desktop switching behave properly via the mouse scroll wheel, you would understand what I meant.
Despite the less powerful graphics, the Desktop Cube worked smoothly in the eeePC. The only thing I cannot enable is full cube transparency (which would result in a sluggish UI).
3D Windows
This is purely extraneous effect, but it made a nicer rotating cube.
Animations
I like to have random animations when opening and closing windows. Again, the eeePC graphics are more than capable in handling the effects, with exception of “Burn”. In fact, “Burn” effect is a difficult one that even my desktop PC’s integrated NVIDIA graphics is unable to handle smoothly.
Paint fire on the screen
Maybe a less than useful plugin, it is nonetheless quite impressive. Write a fiery message on your screen to show off the power of the Ubuntu/Linux desktop.
Window Decorations
The Window Decorations plugin is used to create shadows around a window. However, the Gnome-panel is also a window and I think the shadow around the panel looks funky. To remove this, go to the Window Decoration settings, add the following line under “Shadow windows”.
(any) & !(class=Gnome-panel)
Cube Caps
Enable Cube Caps plugin if you wanted the top and bottom of the cube to be other than a simple black surface.
Shift Switcher
The Shift Switcher plugin provides a nicer application switching compared to the normal Application Switcher plugin. Also, I avoided the Ring Switcher plugin because it is too slow.
Final words
Compiz does work well in the eeePC 900 running Ubuntu Hardy. Though still a little rough around the edges, I have not faced any major issue. Enabling it is a few mouse clicks away. The majority of plugins worked very well despite the underpowered graphics, and is extremely stable.
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