How Do I Get Cool Desktop Effects in Linux?

Dear Lifehacker,
I'm loving Linux, but I keep seeing screenshots and videos of these tricked-out, super-customized interfaces with things like the desktop cube and I'm not sure where to find them in the settings. How can I customize my Linux desktop like this?

Sincerely,

Confused Customizer

Dear Confused,

Like many things Linux, the solution is not always as obvious as it would seem. Many of the things you see—like that fancy desktop cube—come from the Compiz window manager and its advanced settings panel, which doesn't come installed by default. Here's how to get that stuff installed and how to enable some of our favorite cool effects.

Note: Many of these effects can be pretty graphics intensive, so you'll need a decent video card to handle some of them. Make sure you're running a somewhat newer machine, and that your graphics card's drivers are properly installed before continuing.

Installing The Compiz Settings Manager

How Do I Get Cool Desktop Effects in Linux?To get most of these effects, you need to be using the Compiz window manager. We've talked a bit about what a window manager is before, so I won't get too deep into it here, but what you need to know is that, by default, Ubuntu should use Compiz by default just by installing the Compiz Config Settings Manager, also known as CCSM. Other distros and desktop environments may vary; we'll just focus on Ubuntu today.

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