Poll: Wobbly Windows?

As some of you may have read in the Ubuntu MATE G+ community, I’ve spent the last couple of evenings adding MATE support to upstream Compiz.

It is working very nicely. The question is, should Wobbly Windows by enabled in the MATE Compiz profile?

  • Yes, wobble me some windows
  • Nah, no wobbles for me

Just in case anyone didn’t see my G+ post, Compiz will not be enabled by default in Ubuntu MATE. But starting from Ubuntu MATE 15.04 it will (possibly) be installed by default with a control center applet to simply switch between window managers etc.

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Meaning wobbly windows will be in the default “on” position, when Compiz is enabled?

Not a biggie either way to me since it’s so easy to turn off… but if I just have to vote, no… I’m not a fan :smile:

Yes, I’m asking if Wobbly Windows should be in the default on position when Compiz is enabled in Ubuntu MATE.

I have no intention of ever using Compiz over Marco because well it’s Compiz BUT if someone were to choose to use Compiz I would think they would only do it for the extra effects and at that point it makes sense to enable Wobbly Windows as well as any other “common extra” like the cube.

My feeling is to enable wobbly windows and here’s why. Back in the very early days of Compiz the wobbly windows demos are what got everyone excited. When Ubuntu started shipping with Compiz (on GNOME2) I am sure that wobbly windows were a big attraction for people to give Ubuntu a try, and some of them stayed.

Would wobbly windows still attract new comers to Ubuntu MATE? Does having wobbly windows in the default MATE profile stay true to recreating a classic Ubuntu desktop experience?

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Does having wobbly windows in the default MATE profile stay true to recreating a classic Ubuntu desktop experience?

I think the answer to that is yes, it was one of the things I turned on back in the day and I showed it off a lot.

Personally I’m not so interested, and what I look for on Mate is an elegant and essential functionality, but for total newcomers actually it could be different, even if not so new. For people coming from an older Ubuntu experience: sure it would, I guess. So if these are 3 possible categories, the answer (despite my personal opinion :slight_smile: ) could be YES…

Yeah, I don’t really see it as a biggie either way. I personally don’t use them, but it’s trivial to turn off the effect.

As long as they don’t start adding dashboards, docks, mandatory hardware compositing and make my PC look like a jumped up cell phone, I won’t squawk :wink:

Sorry, definitely not for me – the road to hell is paved with gratuitous eye
candy :slight_smile:

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As you will have learnt from the polls on G+, I do go with community opinion. So keep the votes and feeback coming :smiley:

My current Compiz profile does not have wobbly windows, based on the current feedback. I’ve created quite a custom Compiz setup, all themed and coloured to match the new Yuyo theme.

I have to say, I can see me running Compiz full time now. I’m really liking it.

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Any way we might get this to drop into 14.04 at some point? or will it be 15.04 only? :smiley:

I have backported to 14.04 and 14.10, but not tested them yet. When I’ve finished tweaking the Compiz profile for Ubuntu MATE I’ll post how you can snag it all :smiley:

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Outstanding! Thanks Wimpy :slight_smile:

I guess we have to ask ourselves whether the OS is a means to an end or an end in itself. Do we boot it to do work, or to pimp and tweak?

The intention is that Ubuntu MATE is for getting stuff done but with the flexibility for power users to adapt the desktop to suit their work flow.

The Compiz profile I’ve created is designed to be genuinely useful, yet attractive, and blend in with the Ubuntu MATE and Yuyo look and feel. It is not heavy on fancy transitions but those I have used help give Ubuntu MATE a modern feel. I’ve tweaked the animation parameters to keep Ubuntu MATE feeling responsive even when running Compiz.

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Another potential advantage of Compiz is that because rendering is pushed to the GPU battery life might be extended on laptops. I’ve heard this claim but never tested it. Anyone care to test this theory or know of some existing benchmarks?

I agree with electragician. I prefer an empty and unpretentious desktop feeling and therefore a wobbling window is not my priority. But who knows, perhaps I would be surprised with it?! Further I trust you Wimpy to handle it careful with compiz. :relaxed:
Your intention make sense for me.

I have a MATE aware Compiz for 14.04, 14.10 and 15.04. I also have updated MATE Tweak for 14.04, 14.10 and 15.04 that can live switch between Marco and Compiz. No logging in/out to active the change, just select the window manager and it changes immediately :slight_smile:

I vote no too. I prefer to keep MATE understated out of the box. Right now MATE feels professional and productive.

It was novel back in the day but for me I’m happy to leave it in 2007. That said each to there own. Make it easy to toggle.

As for marco vs compiz, I don’t have much of an opinion. Marco is stable and it performs well but if compiz gives me that plus better battery life (on Intel haswell graphics) then I’m all in.

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