Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

[zzillezz]

Hello,

I just installed Kubuntu Feisty Fawn, and I was wondering how I can enable the desktop effects mentioned in all sorts of articles about the Feisty Fawn release. If anyone could help me, thanks!

[dibl]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

"Desktop Effects" is Ubuntu/Gnome jargon. For Kubuntu, it is "Beryl" (I hear "Compiz", but I don't know anything about it -- I think maybe that's what you get with Ubuntu Desktop Effects).

If you have Feisty installed, open the Adept package manager (Kmenu > System > Adept), which will ask for your admin password, and then scroll down to the Beryl package, and mark it for installation, and also the Beryl Manager package. Click "Apply" at the top of Adept and these packages will be installed.

Then open a console window (System>Kconsole) and type

sudo beryl-manager

.

Now observe the output from that command, and you will find out if your graphics card and xserver can handle the 3D effects. If so, a red Beryl icon will appear on your taskbar and you can start exploring Emerald themes, window decorators, and all of those good things. If you find "issues", rest assured that there are at least 999,000 posts here, on Ubuntu Forums, and at Beryl's wiki site, 100,000 of which address YOUR issue.

[zzillezz]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

Thanks for the reply. But I'm confused about the difference between 'compiz' and 'beryl'.

[dibl]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

Compiz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compiz

Beryl: http://www.beryl-project.org/features.php

The relationship between them: http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1424

[MoonRise]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

Beryl was an offshoot of Compiz but they just recently merged back together. From what I read they will maintain the two versions but under one central core.

[mitchhobbs]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

When you install the package "desktop-effects" your actually installing compiz and a few other dependent packages. I actually had compiz and beryl installed to Feisty release 2 with both working. I like beryl better, it just looks cooler and the settings manager to me is a lot more user friendly. This was on my laptop using AIGLX. I've been trying to get beryl working on my desktop which has NVIDIA without success so far. I just can't seem to get the NVIDIA driver setup correctly.

[dibl]

Re: Desktop effects on Kubuntu Feisty

mitch, have you tried the Envy installer script on your Feisty system? If your Nvidia driver is wrong already, and "nvidia-glx" or "nvidia-glx-new" doesn't work for you, maybe there's nothing for you to lose by downloading and running Envy:

http://albertomilone.com/nvidia_scripts1.html

Mr. Milone does not say it will work with Feisty, but I saw a post on Ubuntu Forum that said it did, and I'm curious (but not curious enough to break MY system with it!).