[compiz] Compiz 8.6 on openSuSE 11.0 -- Success! But need help with a few issues.

[David C. Rankin]

Dominique, cc: compiz,

  Dominique, you wanted the feedback, and List, I need your help. I have
installed and fully configured (kicked the tires) on compiz 8.6 on openSuSE 11.0
and on balance it is great. There are a few weird things going on. Most notably,
the number of options in ccsm that now uncheck themselves. In the past (compiz
0.5.6 - 0.8.2) there may have been one or two that would stick on some weird XGL
issue, but I have a dozen or so that will not 'activate' for lack of better
words. (you check -> they uncheck 1-5 secs later)

	My Hardware:

Toshiba 205d laptop, AMD Turion-58, 4G of Ram, 640G sata drive,
gpu: ATI Technologies Inc RS690M [Radeon X1200 Series]
driver: ATI fglrx 8.532 (ATI 8-9 Release)

	My Software:
	
OS: OpenSuSE 11.0, x86_64, 2.6.25.20-0.7-default
Desktop: Gnome 2.22

20:20 alchemy:~/.config/compiz> rpm -qa | grep "compiz\|fusion" | sort
compiz-0.8.6-46.1
compiz-branding-openSUSE-0.8.6-46.1
compizconfig-settings-manager-0.8.4-3.2
compiz-emerald-0.8.2-2.2
compiz-emerald-themes-0.6.0-16.1
compiz-gnome-0.8.6-46.1
compiz-kde-0.8.6-46.1
compiz-plugins-extra-0.8.6-5.2
compiz-plugins-main-0.8.2-100.1
compiz-plugins-unsupported-0.8.2-100.1
fusion-icon-0.0.1_080201-7.1
libcompizconfig-0.8.4-3.2
python-compizconfig-0.8.4-9.2

	The compiz config generated during testing:

http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/bugs/compiz/compizconfig-8.6.tar.bz2

  Strange, 8.6 intentionally ignored my existing config in
~/.config/compizconfig and created a new configuration in
~/.config/compizconfig-1, which was fine because it left my 8.2 config as a
reference. If interested, the 8.2 config is here:

http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/bugs/compiz/compizconfig-8.2.tar.bz2

  The first issue I notice with compiz 8.6 was slow rotation when using the
mouse to rotate the cube, cylinder, sphere and that the aspect ratio of the
cylinder was more hockey puck like than usual. There were blurs or pixelations
around the top edge of the cylinder that were noticeable as pixelation of the
top 2 lines of the screen when switching faces with the keyboard and were
readily visible in the screenshot of the cylinder:

(45k - previously posted to the compiz list)
http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/ss/compiz/topPixelation-crop.jpg

  The slow rotation was noticed when I initiated the rotation, and swept my
mouse all the way to it's normal left range of motion and only had 1/2 rotation
of the cylinder. What I did was to adjust 'Timestep' to try and correct the
issue and had some success. Details:
	
    Setting: Rotate Cube -> Timestep = 1.8 restores default rotation speed, but
causes overrun on keyboard 'Next/Previous Desktop' (ctrl+alt+right/left)

    Setting 'Timestep = 1.2' is a workable compromise.

  This was somewhat similar to the 8.2 issue where rotation with the keyboard
looked as if it was in slow motion. In 8.2, it was about a 2-3 second process
for ctrl+alt+left, zoom cube, flip to desktop (wiggle a bit), unzoom, then
wiggle into place to complete the flip. Similarly playing with the settings
(endlessly) got it as close as it was going to get. As mentioned in my earlier
post, the 8.6 response in this area is MUCH better.

The Non-Working Features (I set, then magically they unset)

  Here is where I need the most help. In 8.6 there are a LOT of features/options
that don't work. Here is a summary of what won't stay set for me. This came from
my run-through of the settings and is probably 90% complete. Some I couldn't try
because it would have disabled others like 'Show Desktop' and 'Fade Desktop' or
Viewport Switcher which I don't use. I did try all but about 3-4 options. These
were all working this morning on my box with the same hardware/software config
in compiz 8.2:

    Accessibility (non-working): Opacify, Show Mouse, (mouse polling)

    Desktop (non-working): Expo  (I really miss Expo)

    Effects (non-working): Analglyphs, Animations, Animations Addons, Cube 3D,
Cube Atlantas, Snow Globe, Photowheel   (likewise -- I really miss Photowheel)

    Utility (non-working): Resize Info, Scale Addons, Work Arounds

    Window Management (non-working): Put, Ring Switcher, Shift Switcher, Static
Application Switcher, Tile

  What I can't figure out is how can 'Cube Gears' work, but not 'Photowheel'?? A
screenshot of the current 8.6 setup:

(64k)
http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/ss/compiz/cmpiz-8.6-rot_03.jpg

  Compiz 8.2 with everything working in a similar config (taken yesterday):

(102k)
http://www.3111skyline.com/dl/img/ss/compiz/dcrBlueDarknessLight.jpg

  Also, how can I get the aspect ratio of the cylinder back to what it looked
like in the 8.2 screenshot above. IIRC, the aspect ratio setting for the sphere
also controlled the cylinder in 8.2. I've tried that in 8.6 and it doesn't any
more. Any thoughts?

  Guys, where I really need your thoughts and help is with all the options that
won't stay set. My hardware/software config is the exact same as in 8.2, but
now, the settings outlined above don't want to play nicely anymore. What should
I check? What about the 8.4/8.6 package mix?

  Lastly, great job Dominique with getting 8.6 built for openSuSE 11.0 and Sam,
All, great job with compiz 8.6. Like I said at the beginning, 8.6 is working
beautifully in all aspects accept what I've outlined above. I know the issues
probably have something to do with the 8.4/8.6 mix of packages I have installed
or a setting or compile option that just needs to be ironed out. But if these
are the only issue to deal with, and no white or black screens, etc., it looks
like 8.6 is a home-run!

P.S. Dominique, even though emerald wasn't built as part of this set of rpms,
the 8.2 version continues to work great!

-- 
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.
Rankin Law Firm, PLLC
510 Ochiltree Street
Nacogdoches, Texas 75961
Telephone: (936) 715-9333
Facsimile: (936) 715-9339
www.rankinlawfirm.com