Community Video: Fun with WiiMote and Compiz Fusion

Since I won't have time to make videos over this holiday, I've decided to look over videos I enjoy or find interesting and post them here as "Community Videos." Of course, they will all remain about Compiz Fusion and related topics!

This was made by our very own SmSpillaz, whom you should know by now:

This video demonstrates how you can use a WiiMote along with Compiz Fusion to do some pretty cool stuff.

Note that it is done all with the inbuilt accelerometer, and I'm using the 'Hack' WiiMote driver via uinput. There is an actual driver being developed by the freedesktop guys as we speak (And it works with MPX too :))

I didn't use the IR pointer because it's a pain to use with plugins that warp the pointer (Such as cube) and puts your pointer out of sync.

More info at smspillaz.wordpress.com

My observations: It looks like an interesting way of manipulating Compiz Fusion (and a desktop in general) but certainly not something that would be useful or have a purpose other than impressing people with your 1337 h4x0r skillz :P. Still, good work Sam!

Please note that I did not make this video, or any others in the future labeled "Community Video." Refer to the Youtube page to give the author feedback.

Video: Practical Uses of Desktop Effects

I hope you enjoy this silly video parodying Compiz Fusion's effects. :) This is all I will do for the next few weeks, since I will be busy on vacation :D

High Quality MPEG file here

Thanks for answering the poll by the way.

Episode III

Original MPEG added.


As a special treat, I present episode III of FusionCast. It's a no-talking episode, but it features Freescale, Shelf, and Freewins, and a few less known features of these three new(ish) plugins.

Hope you enjoy, and don't mind if the quality is a little below my usual standard--I made this in a few hours.

All three plugins are available through the GIT repository.

Notes
=======

Freescale is a simple hack by SmSpillaz that changes Freewins so that it scales windows instead of rotating them. It has a few bugs, and is a hack, so the code is less polished.

Shelf, on the other hand, is based on the miniwin plugin from long ago. The name was suggested by me in the forums, when I had the same sort of idea. Since it's coded by KristianLy (he made many plugins and is a member of the team), and has been made from scratch, it will most likely have less bugs and be under longer development. Also, the point of Shelf is more useful than Freescale is, since Freescale is what its name says--free-scaling. It has about as much use as Freewins. Shelf, however, should be useful as a sort of replacement to minimization.

The bugs at the end are just a little example of silly things you can do. If you make all your windows at the same 3d angle as the desktop, it can look sort of like you are working on a 3d table. Of course, you can't use your windows while using Freewins, but.... it looks cool. :D


Original MPEG here.

Please email me at fusioncast at gmail dot com!
I am on IRC frequently under the nick of gavintlgold.
Also, comment by clicking on the link below.

Clarification about shelf

Some folks were confused about the use of shelf, so I decided to post my idea right here on the blog. Kristian (the developer working on it) doesn't want to do the group integration, because he doesn't feel that it's good to have a dependency on it. But other than that he's going to base it on the following forum post (and how miniwin was in its old stages):

Another Plugin Idea: Shelf Plugin

Now, I wish i could code this, but I don't know anything about it. But here's my idea.

We have a new plugin called "Shelf". It requires the group/tab plugin to work (and integrates well with it). The basic idea: When you initiate the event, the plugin scales down to a small size that sits on your desktop (with a nice reflection). Here's a mockup: Ok, now we have a mockup of a mouseover (of course it would look slicker, i just drew this with the pencil tool):

Here's another idea: A different mode called "card" mode that would look like this (and enable rotation, etc): [this was added before freewins was invented, right now we might be able to just have freewins do this]

For more, and the discussion, click here.

Note to self...

NEVER USE NTSC MODE IN KDENLIVE.

The audio won't work.

That is all.

By the way, I'm exporting a nice quick video now. Look forward to it very soon!

Resolution!

So, finally we find out what happened to the webspace. Our friendly host fsckr found a notice from 1and1 saying that there was pornography on his page, and that they deleted it. He then asked them to remake it, since he had no knowledge of it.

Well, it was my forum's spam gremlins that did it. So now we know what was up.

In this very very late update, I may as well add that I have ubuntu and compiz fusion git back, and have all those mouthwateringly cool new plugins installed.

So..... I think I'll see if I can make a silent (Since audio takes a lot of work) new fusioncast vid featuring those (think Shelf, freewins, freescale, atlantis2, snowball... all those good things).

Sorry for being the typical bad vidcaster and leaving you all alone without an update.

Luckily SmSpillaz has done nothing of the sort, and remains faithful with his Community News. Read that for now.

Bye Bye Webspace?

I am not sure what happened to fsckr's hosting space, but it seems to have disappeared--so the site looks a bit bad without its background image, and anything I had hosted like the mpegs are not available. Youtube is still up of course.

Bear with me, my install is currently broken for Compiz Fusion to run so I can't make any videos, when I get a Gutsy CD I'll fix that.

fsckr, if you see this please email me: fusioncast@gmail.com ... thanks. :/

Don't worry though, I'm still here and interested in doing fusioncast. I need to fix my install, get up to date, and do lots of schoolwork, etc.

Sorry that nothing has been coming out recently :)

(also the forums are gone since that was on fsckr.net too :P)

How To Install Kiba-Dock SVN

So, I've been very busy at school, but since people have asked, here is a short howto for Kiba-Dock. I hear the AWN instructions are easier to find...

First, install Subversion to download the source code:

sudo apt-get install subversion

Then visit this page, and install the dependencies (using Synaptic Package Manager, and including the names with -dev).

run:

svn co https://kibadock.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/kibadock/trunk/ kiba

and then:

ls

and then take a look at the list. There should be about five blue items. You'll want to go into each of these with the cd command:

cd akamaru

for example. After you cd into it, run:

./autogen.sh
make
sudo make install

and then when those commands are done, run:

cd ../insert_next_directory_name_here

and do the three commands again.

Once all of that is finished, you should be able to launch kiba-dock from your menu. Good luck!

New Feed Service

I've just switched to FeedBurner, and you can subscribe to the video with a "watch now" link on your feed. So I would suggest unsubscribing if you have a subscription now, and subscribing to the feed link on the sidebar.

[iTunes still doesn't work, but no one uses iTunes anyway.... right?] ;)

FusionCast Flash Episode I

This episode gives a quick picture of the latest development versions of Kiba Dock and Avant Window Navigator, the two most popular Linux docks which require Compiz Fusion or Beryl to run.

Links:
Avant Window Navigator
Kiba Dock

There are basic installation instructions on the two websites. However, I am going to make a howto right here for both eventually, probably on Sunday, and post that here. I hope you enjoy this episode!

Find the original MPEG file here.

Please email me at fusioncast at gmail dot com!
I am on IRC frequently under the nick of gavintlgold.
Also, comment by clicking on the link below.

Check out the FusionCast Forums

Cancel that.... Instead, a plea for help!

I have decided not to do the dock special, since the docks are under too much development currently. There would end up being bickering over features I didn't know about.

Instead, we thought a troubleshooting episode would be good, with common problems and places to get help with them.

Please discuss this here: http://www.fusioncastforums.fsckr.net/viewtopic.php?p=30

I need ideas on which errors and problems to feature. Thanks! The less I have to spend working on putting together the episode, the faster I can get this out. What with school, I've been very busy with homework and the like. I even have SAT class on Saturdays now, adding to my homework as well as taking away another day of the week.

So if you guys (I know you're out there, I have a hit counter) can give me ideas, we can get this thing rolling again. You helped me with the theme music, now let's get some content!

Video delayed due to school, etc.

I can't release the video about kiba-dock and a-w-n as soon as I expected since I just started school again and also there were a few things I discovered about a-w-n that require re-voiceovering, since what I said is now inaccurate.

Better late than inaccurate, I suppose! :D Expect something on Sunday or Monday, ok?

PS: I added a hit counter to the site, and that's made me realize how many visitors I have here. For instance, today I have had 51 unique visitors so far (though you who are reading this may make it higher ;) ) I get on average 68 unique visitors and 113 visits per day.

I consider that to be quite high, considering there's almost nothing on this site right now. I believe the majority of visitors come across this after googling something, and I hope to be more useful soon, with more videos! And all new visitors please see the archives, there are two videos posted so far.

Enjoy!

Infobyte: Emerald Themes and Skydomes

If you want some neat Emerald themes and Compiz Fusion Skydomes, try http://compiz-themes.org . They have lots of different things on there.

I Found Music!

I found some awesome free music to use as background music! Thanks to Puthali in an email, I have discovered this webpage: http://www.blackstratblues.com/ with an entire free album. Please donate money (via Paypal) to this guy. He's letting people have his music for free, but wants new equipment.

Check out the music, and expect it to be in the next episode!

Background or Theme Music Wanted!

If anyone has a piece or knows of a piece of great upbeat-sounding Creative Commons music that would sound good as the background or theme track to FusionCast, PLEASE write a comment or an email (fusioncast AT gmail DOT com) to me. I need some free (as in beer and freedom) music for FusionCast.

Alternatively, if you are an aspiring band or artist who thinks one of their tracks is worthy, let me help with your publicity by allowing me to use it as my theme! I'll mention that it's done by your band, and give a link if you have a website.

I'm still picky though, so make sure it really sounds good and is appropriate. The fewer vocals, the better, since it won't interrupt my talking so much if I play it during a speech. An instrumental would be ideal.

Let me know. Thanks!

Infobyte: How I record my desktop

I installed xvidcap for ubuntu, and then used the terminal version with the following command:

xvidcap --file filename.mpeg --fps 15 --cap_geometry 1680x1050+0+0 --rescale 25 --time 200.0 --start_no 0 --continue yes --gui no --auto

That will capture 200 seconds of video at fullscreen 1680x1050 resolution, but scaled down 25 percent, with 15 frames per second.

Hope this helps prospective videocasters!

Fix for new compiz git

The new version of compiz in the git repos requires xcb, something that ubuntu doesn't have. You will need to do this: http://forum.compiz-fusion.org/showpost.php?p=22332&postcount=4 if you are running ubuntu.

These instructions are only valid if you are compiling compiz from git with the old get-git script or with fyda's OLD instructions. Her instructions now work without this fix.

Those using repositories will NOT need to follow these instructions.

Check out the Wiki

While you're waiting for me to finish that special short videocast I'm working on with a comparison between Avant Window Navigator and Kiba Dock (oops, i wasn't supposed to tell you that! :D), why not check out the new Compiz Fusion Wiki? Parts that may be most useful to you:

• The Hardware guide -- for setting up your video card to run compiz fusion
• The Distributions guide -- links to instructions for your distro
• The Troubleshooting guide -- informs you what you should see on startup and how to check for problems
  

I'm proud to be the owner of the desktop displayed in the Welcome page's screenshot, as well as the shots in the Animations section.

Extremely easy way to install Compiz Fusion

While there's no FusionCast episode yet, I have managed to get kdenlive working again! I made a page for those who need help installing Compiz Fusion. Check it out, there's a video on there too.

Look forward to something new, now that I can make videos again.

http://fusioncast.fsckr.net/newb

Waiting a bit...

I think I'll wait a bit before making the next cast. Sorry folks, but kdenlive is not working, and I'm gonna be kinda busy in the next days (school's coming up!).

I do want to continue this, though! Stay subscribed for now.

By the way, how do you like the new look? Since Compiz Fusion has a logo now, I'm using it instead of mine.

This post should have been called "Episode III" :(

Well, it happened.

After the latest kdenlive update, video export has broken, so that the video is not synced properly. This means that, sadly, I will not be able to present episode III to you. I promise that I finished it. I worked a week on it. It was going to be good, informative, helpful even.

Sadly, I am going away tomorrow for all of August, and so even if there is a fix in a couple of days, I will not be around to try it out.

So all you subscribers can only sit tight, and wait and see what the NEXT few kdenlive updates bring. And I suppose all my work will have been for naught.

*sigh*

Anyway, I'm happy, I'm leaving for Austria to visit my girlfriend tomorrow! (well today actually, but that's 'cause it's 1 AM.)

/me tries to forget about the futile work he spent on it, then realizes that the "/me" tag only works on IRC.


ANYWAY, you can still catch updates on http://smspillaz.wordpress.com , and visit the OpenCompositing forums at http://forums.opencompositing.org . And if you want videos, you can search youtube, i'm sure there are other folks who actually can export videos who have already.

Also, say hi on fusioncast forums (see post below).

I'll probably be around the forums occasionally, and in September I'll see what I can do about kdenlive... as for today, there's no time left. I have to pack!

FusionCast Forums Launched!

Hello. I haven't written much, but I'm still here. Expect a new episode by Saturday evening :)

What is new, is I've started FusionCast Forums! I'm sure there will be next to nothing on it, but why not join and talk about stuff?

The link is fusioncastforums.fsckr.net.

I'm having problems with the url, which may get fixed later, but for now you may have to add www. to the beginning of some links.

If you are reading this just after I've made it, the link may not work. Hold on, I'm still making it!

And don't forget to look on the opencompositing.org forums, too.

Sorry about all the broken links!

Hello all, thanks for voting!

You might have tried to click on the links for the get-git script, only to find them broken! This is thanks to uploadingit.com, which, though often good, is never perfect.

Luckily, fsckr on irc donated his domain to me for all my server needs! Thank you very much, once again.

Isthatall had donated a server already (for the videos) but it turns out it ran out of space after only about 140MB or so!

With my new server, I have about 300GB available. So no worries! And no more dead links!

:)

Episode II

UPDATED!! Some instructions were incorrect, due to Blogger mistaking comments for HTML. Please read again. Also, the get-git script link was fixed. Bear with any broken links, I am transitioning over to another server, thanks!

In this episode...

1. A git howto!
2. A get-git script howto!
3. The first n00bs section, where we talk about compiz running (or not running) on Windows, as well as mention the benefits of using the Terminal!
4. A demo, and instructions on how to install, the Screensaver Plugin!
5. Tips section, including nvidia black window bug problems and Avant Window Navigator!
6. The Plugin Idea of the Week!

I hope you enjoy it.

Notes for this episode...

GIT TUTORIAL NOTES:
=======================

The Compiz Fusion Git Repository
Click on a plugin, and look for the url on the resulting page.

Git commands:

• git clone: create a new folder with the package
• git pull: update an existing package.

Syntax:

• git clone git://anongit.opencompositing.org/....

Sequence to get a new plugin installed:

• cd /home/[username]/compiz (assuming that's the compiz fusion gitweb folder)
  
• git clone git://anongit.opencompositing.org/...
• ls
• If the result of ls contains "autogen.sh", run:
• ./autogen.sh
• make
• sudo make install
• Otherwise, run:
• make
• make install

Sequence to update:

• cd /home/[username]/compiz/[plugin]
• git pull
• (add the rest of the commands above, starting with ls)
  

GET GIT NOTES:
==================

To install via Get-Git:

• Follow the instructions in Step 1 here: Fyda's Forum Post.
• Download either the original version here, or the updated version here (updated just includes fyda's addon and the extra repositories I use).
  
• If you are using the updated version, run the command:
• sudo apt-get install x11proto-scrnsaver-dev libxss-dev (to get screensaver to work)
  
• Create a new folder called compiz. Then place the downloaded get-git file inside.
• Open up the get-git file with Text Editor.
• Read the top lines, and follow the instructions on the comments. If you use the updated one, you shouldn't have to do anything, if you are running Ubuntu Feisty Fawn, or another gnome-based install.
• To add another plugin package, use this syntax:
• ITEMS="$ITEMS users/crdlb/...."
• Save the file, and close it.
• run:
• cd compiz
• ./get-git
• Wait for all packages to download and install. Enter your password when prompted.
• Start compiz with the command fusion-icon, or open it from Applications>System Tools>Compiz Fusion Icon.

INSTALLING SCREENSAVER PLUGIN:
==================================

If you used the script above, then do nothing. You have it already!

Otherwise, run the commands:

• sudo apt-get install x11proto-scrnsaver-dev libxss-dev
• cd compiz
• git clone git://anongit.opencompositing.org/users/pafy/screensaver
• cd screensaver
• make
• sudo make install

AVANT WINDOW NAVIGATOR
=============================

To install, run these commands:

• sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
• Add this to the end of the file:
• ## Avant Window Navigator
• deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/ feisty avant-window-navigator
• deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/ feisty avant-window-navigator
• save, close.
• wget http://download.tuxfamily.org/syzygy42/8434D43A.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
• sudo apt-get update
• sudo apt-get install avant-window-navigator-svn
  

To get reflections and 3d effect, run the command gconf-editor and navigate to the />avant-window-navigator>bar folder. Then change bar_angle to 45, and icon_offset to 15. Restart AWN.

EDIT: Thanks to a comment, we've found a better way to add launchers.
To add launchers, don't use the dialogue with the "add" button, since the add button is broken. Instead, drag stuff directly from your Applications folder into AWN.

Enjoy!

PLUGIN IDEA OF THE WEEK
==========================
Click here.

Find the original AVI file here.

Please email me at fusioncast at gmail dot com!
I am on IRC frequently under the nick of gavintlgold.
Also, comment by clicking on the link below.
Search the forums first if you have a problem!

If you enjoy this, please digg it (see the digg button in the sidebar).

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

On IRC, we decided to open as many windows as possible with loose-binding enabled without it getting the black window bug.

This is the limit (the screenshot window was black). 65 windows, with 256MB VRAM

SUPERB news!

I have my audio working perfectly now. Sadly, I have to say that Jokosher does no longer work. This, however, is just until the small bug is fixed. Although I have to say, Audacity is much more stable :)

So from now on, my casts will by MUCH better, with no popping between audio segments.

Page Design: Before and After

I changed the look around a bit ;)

MPEG links added + header

I just added a header and a link to the original mpeg file of episode one. Thanks to isthatall for the free hosting!

Take a look to the top right...

Episode I

First off, I want to apologize for the bad audio. It's very hard to record audio under linux, and I'm using the best free software available to users to do it. It will continue to improve over time. :)

In this first episode, I review a few plugins, new and old:

• Enhanced Zoom
• Negative
• Color Filter

Then, I let you know how to install compiz fusion, via either Trevinho's repository or gitweb.

Here are the instructions I talk about in the video. They are generally for Feisty Fawn users, but can be adjusted to fit others' needs:

INSTALLING VIA TREVINHO'S REPOSITORY:

• Paste the following two lines into your /etc/apt/sources.list file. Open the file by running the command sudo gedit /etc/apt/sources.list
• deb http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy
• deb-src http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb feisty eyecandy
• Save the file, then close. Type:
• wget http://download.tuxfamily.org/3v1deb/DD800CD9.gpg -O- | sudo apt-key add -
• run sudo apt-get update
• run sudo apt-get upgrade
• Open up Synaptic Package Manager (System>Administration) and search for compiz fusion.
• select for installation:
• compiz-fusion-plugins-extra, compiz-fusion-plugins-main, compiz-fusion-plugins-unsupported, compizconfig-settings-manager, emerald, emerald-themes
• Install them. If you get an error, click apply again. It should resolve itself. If not, head to IRC.
• Go this page and locate the fusion-icon .deb package that ends with i386. Download and install it. This will give you fusion-icon, the starter panel applet.
• Install it.
• Run fusion-icon (applications>system tools>Compiz Fusion Icon)

INSTALLING VIA GITWEB:

• Follow the directions on this forum post by Fyda.

NOW...

• Compiz Fusion should be up and running now!
• Check out Getting Started with Compiz Fusion, a video I made which helps you get configured correctly once you install and launch compiz fusion.
• Any problems, please go on IRC (as explained in the video).
• Have fun!

After that how to, I show you how to log in to #compiz-fusion on IRC if you're having problems. IRC is a form of instant messaging.

Finally, I show you how the Colorfilter plugin works!

I hope you enjoy this episode. I look forward to continuing with these video casts.

Links:
kdenlive
jokosher
xvidcap
ubuntu
compiz fusion

Find the original MPEG file here.

Please email me at fusioncast at gmail dot com!
I am on IRC frequently under the nick of gavintlgold.
Also, comment by clicking on the link below.

FusionCast: Possibly a new Videocast about Compiz Fusion

I might start the FusionCast: a videocast featuring the best from Compiz Fusion. It may even be a part of SmSpillaz's blog, as well :)

Subscribe for an update on this... We'll see what happens!