Can Xfce plugins work outside of the xfce panel -- or a better way to compiz?

[Roberto J. Dohnert]

On 03/26/2008 10:50:18 PM, Henk Boom wrote:
> On 26/03/2008, Roberto Dohnert <rjdohnert at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Why is it desirable?  What technical functionality do you get out 
> of
> it
> > besides that it looks cool.  Nothing at all.   I have never run
> across
> > anyone that has told me that Compiz makes them more productive.
> 
> Compiz makes me more productive.
> 
> There is a lot of junk in Compiz, and the features people show off
> tend to be the eye-candy ones, but it does also have features that
> increase productivity and usability.
> 
> The Scale plugin completely obsoletes the taskbar. I see all of the
> windows at once, rather than me having to read all the titles on the
> taskbar, letting me switch between windows much faster.
> 
> The Desktop Wall/Expo plugins give you proper workspaces (much nicer
> than the cube, which is pretty useless). You can zoom out to see all
> your workspaces at once. I find it much easier to keep track of many
> workspaces (6 or 9 usually) when I can see visually how they are laid
> out and can "feel" (through the sliding effect) how they correspond
> spatially to each other.
> 
> The Negative plugin is useful when a program doesn't let you specify 
> a
> light-on-dark theme.
> 
> In my experience it uses more memory, but is _faster_, than using a
> regular WM. I agree, though, that Compiz is fairly buggy, and is not
> always supported well. I had to stop using because I was developing
> OpenGL programs, and Compiz does not interoperate well with OpenGL
> applications on my integrated graphics card (For other OpenGL
> applications I get redirected drawing _or_ hardware acceleration, but
> not both).
> 
> Sorry for branching a little off-topic, but it aggravates me when
> people say that compiz has no practical advantage.
> 
>     Henk
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> 

Well, I have tried Compiz and I found it mostly annoying.  Saying that 
its faster than a WM is at best flawed.  Neat effects does not = 
superior.  And I stand behind my statement that it has no practical 
advantage and having used it I found no practical advantage of it.  the 
only thing I see that Compiz does is for Linux users to point to 
Windows and Mac users and say "look, mine does it too".

The the originator of this thread have you looked at the compositor 
that comes bundled with XFCE.  Its a lot more subtle, better on the 
resources, and offers a better experience.  If compsiting effects are 
your cup of tea do give it a try.