Last Edited: 01 May 2008 by superuser
Importered from old WiKi -- 30/04-08 18:04.
Contents
      Window Managers with Special Effects
         Understanding these Effects
         Beryl
         Compiz
         Compiz-Fusion
         Metisse
          Project Looking Glass
         Xfwm

Window Managers with Special Effects

Window managers∞ (WM) control the placement & appearance of windows. The default WM in Puppy is JWM, a very light and basic but effective WM. However there are many other window managers (& windowing systems and desktop environments) available and some offer special effects like transparency & 3D. Primary examples are:

  • Beryl
  • Compiz
  • Compiz-Fusion
  • Metisse
  • Project Looking Glass
  • Xfwm

Understanding these Effects

To get an idea of the difference these effects can make to how to use your computer, static pictures alone won't help.

  • Watch some videos. Here's a short one∞ (1 min 11 secs) showing Beryl, Metisse & Looking Glass.
  • Try them out for yourself

See below for some info, links, videos etc to find out more.

Beryl

Originally a fork of Compiz. Now officially re-merged into Compiz to create Compiz-Fusion. Some people still prefer Beryl.

Compiz

Now merged with Beryl into Compiz-Fusion, but still available as Compiz Core, without Fusion additions.

Compiz-Fusion

The "hot" special effects window manager, with many plug-ins to add different effects.

Metisse

A somewhat different concept from straightforward 3D WMs like Compiz-Fusion. Apparently lighter on computer resources than the Compiz family.
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Project Looking Glass

3D desktop environment using Java3D.

Xfwm

Xfwm is the default WM of the Xfce desktop environment, capable of true transparency & shadows. While not as flexible as Metisse or Compiz-Fusion, it is very stable.

See Also



CategoryApplication