Hi,
Over the past few years, I have promised a new direction for the compiz project. I promised that with the new backing we’d see a revival in development, and increased stability.
I have failed.
I have failed the compiz community.
I have failed the Ubuntu community.
I have failed the previous maintainers.
Despite my best efforts, stability has gotten worse, and I feel as though I can’t even get the simplest things right for the project anymore.
Perhaps things will get better, perhaps things will get worse. I would only hope that the project can attract some of the people it needs in order to keep it alive as it once was, or can solidify on a new direction.
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I haven’t been around much lately, but there are a few things I see as problems for the compiz project:
– Website is unmaintained
– Development seems scattered
– Information is hard to find
– No C++ based stable release
I understand that the ubuntu folks have you busy, but I think that these are real barriers for people to get involved. The website is too big, a window manager doesn’t need something of this size, especially when the community has shrunk so far. Perhaps a github-style wiki/website is all that’s really needed. Following from that, there are too many mailing lists for such a small project. Forums are probably not needed at this point, IRC and mailing lists should suffice considering the vast majority of newbies will be on the ubuntu forums and experienced users will know how to reach the development community. The last thing I think should be rushed out is a stable C++ release. Most people won’t install unstable software just to develop a plugin for it, so getting that out might attract attention.
To summarize: Simplify _everything_, scale down, don’t document each and every option of every plugin with screenshots, and get a stable release out.
I honestly feel like I am coming a bit harsh and unappreciative, I would love to start helping and might take a look at some of the stuff myself soon, but I feel that this is urgently needed.
What he said. Wouldn’t have worded it better.
Great, so help do it if you believe it – because I don’t think Sam has the time to…
Sounds like you know what needs to happen, so roll up your sleeves and start helping.
Don’t be so harsh with yourself. Based on the launchpad stats (that’s the only stats I’ve found [1]) in the last year you’ve been doing more than 50% of compiz development, triaging and stuff, and you’ve been working hard to make compiz better and better, and you’ve used most of your time to improve compiz, not to improve it’s documentation to make easier for new developers to contribute. Remember, the day is only 24 hours long for you too [2]. You are doing a great job with compiz. You should also remember the successes, not only the failures.
[1] https://launchpad.net/compiz/+topcontributors
[2] https://bugs.launchpad.net/unity/+bug/861710
+1
Don’t beat yourself up over distros seemingly at one point, showing their backs on compiz to some degree. So many people wish compiz to go on and be developed, which do not agree quite with neither unity nor gnome3. I wish there was easier sponsorship/funding available so that a team could work on compiz, as I personally left ubuntu when unity came out; left gnome when G3 came and struggled with distro-hopping. I found myself in archlinux and run OB/Compiz under lxde or my own smacked together stuff. You have done truly great with compiz and don’t at all beat yourself over it. I wish I was an able gui programmer as I *do* have the time to invest these days. But I hope you find you way to keep the project alive and even more, funded by a greater group, which isn’t something like unity though
But *Compiz*.
Mali
Sam, don’t be so hard on yourself!
I think both ‘some-guy’ and Roth have made some valid points.
Compiz needs better documentation for developers to be able to work on the project. I think this has been a huge drawback for potential developers.. Canonical needs to invest more into compiz – being as it is the compositor / WM they are using, and the basis of Unity. I would think hiring someone to do documentation would be a smart thing at this point. look at Qt, gtk+, etc … documentation. they are all 100% better than Compiz’ docs. (not any fault of your own!).
I think you have done some great work in compiz, but i think Canonical needs to have a few full-time people working on the project, not just for coding but documentation, and redoing the website, as well. (they could take some tips from Archlinux/gentoo, QT and GTK+ documentation (i say this because Ubuntu Documentation would be a very poor standard to measure against. ie: it is lame).
I hope you don’t give up, Sam and i hope Canonical is willing to do more than they are currently doing for the project. I believe many of the issues facing compiz could be remedied, but it will require many of the above commenters points to be addressed.
I for one, love compiz ~ and it’s the _only_ WM that works well with my tablet. Mutter/GS sucks crap and i don’t use KDE/kwin (way to bloated). Cairo-compmgr doesn’t have enough useful features to be worthwhile for me, either. Compiz also works across DE’s, and you are able to utilize it’s features/plugins – which is awesome. All of the other Compositors either aren’t (as) portable, or they are -> but lack any powerful features that are actually useful to the end user.
Merry Christmas Sam, and don’t let this stuff get you down!
PS: at some point, compiz/master should be fixed – last time i checked ‘compizconfig-python’ fails to compile, and thus compiz won’t build (and master hasn’t been updated since then, maybe something needs to be pushed from bzr that was overlooked?). I’m in no rush though, compiz 0.9.5 works great over here
PSS: if you have failed so badly, why are people porting Unity(compiz version) to other distro’s namely, Archlinux… and why is it that even with the availability of kwin, some KDE users still prefer Compiz… the same is also true of Gnome3 users, as well. (myself included!)
Well, that’s a bit of a depressing post for Christmas :p
Reflection and self criticism is what new years is for.
On a more serious note, I have essentially disappeared from Compiz community so I have no idea how bad things really are for the project, but I do agree with comments above. Especially the idea of moving to github and scrapping the forums….
Good luck
Aww, Sam, don’t feel so bad. You’ve done great things for Compiz. We all go through periods where our “programming drive” dries up, you’ll get through it. I’m trying to get over that “mental hurdle” and resume work on my own pet project now that I’m unemployed, and I can’t say it’s easy, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ll get back on it somehow.
My advice: Read a good book or two. Words in -> creativity out.
Thanks for all your work.
I love what you have done! You are not a failure..Right now Compiz is on and I’m watching my fireball circle the mouse…I am very pleased with Compiz and would not have it any other way.
You do not need to add new features every bloody year,nor do you need to change what you have done.
It’s great!
Man, just keep working. You’ll sort it out. You have to realize how many people you’ve helped. Compiz is an awesome wm and you’ll make it better.
I totally agree. Without Compiz, most Linux distros are insipid
Please don’t give up. Compiz made linux a fun desktop. Once the days get longer it will all be clear again. Thanks for everything. Cheers!
I can’t live without Compiz. In fact, it was Compiz that brought me to use Linux and stay with it.
Compiz has had its fair share of bugs but I appreciate everything you’ve done. If you want to leave the project, that’s up to you. But you have not failed us in any way.
Compiz was also one of the main reasons I moved to linux, and just like to add my thanks and support for the project and say keep at it.
It’s what I’ve used so far on three people to get them to switch to linux. This is literally the best any computer I know of has ever looked. It may crash every now and then, but it’s so worth it. Mine only crashes when I change certain settings though. Anyways, simplify the whole development process and get some help from others. Clearly, people care about you and the project. Thank you for making my computer look better than other people’s computers. :p
Compiz is the reason why I get involved with Linux in the first place. There I said it.
Thanks for the all efforts.
Hey, dude, you’ve failed no-one. Thanks for all your work so far.
It’s great that you care about the project and take responsibility but don’t be so hard on yourself. Thank you for your work.
Don’t be that harsh with yourself. That’s true for most linux software.
As a casual user of Compiz (I install it on friends computers every now and then), I haven’t noticed ANYTHING lame about it. I think it’s really F’ing cool!!! I just don’t understand the fuss!
I have noticed that over the past year, many Linux newbs are always complaining about this or that: GNOME2 is “old” and not good enough. Wayland is the future because X11 is “old” and not good enough. Now we have some a**holes pushing systemd as a replacement for the time-honored init systems and to take over other aspects of system. Now Compiz sucks? I say balderdash!
I have also NEVER understood why development MUST push forward at all costs!?! If the file manager “worker” ever became “unmaintained” would I stop using it? Hell no. Same with XMMS. Same with XFCE. WHY oh WHY can’t excellent software simply “go gold” and be left the hell alone? The OS known as GNU/Linux is changing, and I think not for the better. It’s almost as if Linux is experiencing the dreaded Eternal September. Even high-level developers are taking part in the butchery of The UNIX Way…….
THANK YOU for all you’ve done.
compiz is a monster to maintain and you did great job!
there are “too many” compositing manager out there (Compiz, KWin, Mutter).
and all need love
You shouldn’t feel so bad. It’s not your fault if people are better at complaining than at contributing. Just enjoy your holidays with the people you love, and fuck everything else.
At least you tried really hard. Most of us don’t even do that.
Thanks for all the hard work, and happy holidays.
I remember the days of my college when I have successfully convinced many of my friends to switch to Linux just by showing them Compiz. For me, you have done an excellent job.
Thank you. And all the best!
Compiz is awesome! Cheers for your hard work, happy holidays.
I’ve used Compiz for years. OSS dev can be thankless at times.
Doing is always better than not doing – Thank you for your hard work.
I think Compiz is pretty cool. I don’t understand all the hub bub.
Happy Holidays!
I use compiz and I love it.
Your fire drawing and water effects have filled several hours of boredom with excitedment!
But… Compiz was a revolution for Linux desktop!!! Hell yeah!!!
))))
Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!!!
Noone can be a superman forever.
Take a time off for a break, and hopefully you can come back with a new fervour.
compiz it is an amazing piece of software!! I can’t imaging linux without it!!
You’ve got nothing to apologise for, mate. You voluntarily contributed and kept alive an important open source project.
You have done so far an amazing work, and you are carrying on an enormous endeavor. I for one am really grateful to you and your work. Keep going.
You have done so much work and that what counts in the end. Thanks for all that you have done.
Thank you very much for all of your work! Compiz is very nice and I am sure you can do it even better!
Thank you so much for compiz! I’ve never had problems with it and always make a point to install it first thing on new distributions I use. Don’t be so hard on yourself, you’ve made one of the coolest things on linux, and many people wouldn’t be as involved without your contributions.
It may be failing in your perspective, but in mine its relentless hard work and dedication regardless of the end result, you sir deserve a round of appluase.
I am a web designer and developer. What do you need help with? More than happy to help the project.
I really appreciate your effort, even if it haven’t quite reached your goals. Thanks!
Relax! you’re doing good, what zion said and what NoWhereMan said..
Also when I get done with my degree this summer what cbleslie said.
I hope you enjoyed a Merry Christmas
and you have a Happy New Year.
Dude, Compiz freakin’ OWNS. If you didn’t do anything else, it would stand head and shoulders above everything else for years to come and that includes Quartz extreme, Aero, and Metro. I still remember how much pride I had showing off my desktop back when I got started with Linux in 2007 and how peoples jaws dropped when they saw the cube and the fire effects and how silky smooth it was.
P.S. Nothing’s changed.
just take a break man
even the greatest has to
Agree with all the positive comments here — Compiz is a staple on many users’ desktops, and you should be nothing but proud of that.
I personally find it much more stable on my hardware than it was a couple of years ago, so from my perspective not one single thing has gotten worse.
Canonical may be small by corporate standards, but I also agree with the prior comment that they should feel an obligation to help get you some manpower now that the have created an Ubuntu-specific shell that relies on Compiz so heavily. If you were coasting along feeling no pressure and having no problems that would be one thing, but since you say you are having issues it would certainly be gracious and courteous of them to see if they could help out.
Happy Holidays to you, and you should be feeling proud of how well you’ve done with it, not down in the dumps because you wanted to to better.
The compiz project may have development and code issues (that isn’t for me to judge) but I don’t think you should be taking personal responsibility in this way.
Perhaps (after a rest) you should identify the parts of the compiz code that are causing the most serious stability issues and have the stakeholders review those and propose patches or jointly work on those with stakeholder programmers?
Basically find a way of getting some help and moving forward.
I have used Compiz many times in the past and really appreciate your effort. Keep it up please
Don’t be so down. I know you might feel thiss way, but I just want to say thank you for what you have done. My first experience with Linux ran compiz. I’ve never gone back. So thank you for the work you have done. I would contribute but I am not a programmer
I want to thank you for your hard work and dedication. Don’t feel bad! I have confidence in you and this project . Don’t give up! I don’t code but if there is anything I can do to help out let me know. Thank you again!
Compiz MEANS Linux….You have brought Linux into the lime light with this.
You have helped visually impaired people with scroll zoom.
You have made such a thing of beauty and wonderment.
You rock dude!
Compiz was a real eye candy, that could make us linux users boast in front of all the others. Your work has been greatly appreciated
From a user perspective Compiz is awesome a lot better than W7! Thank you for this great software.
I heard about your apology letter on the linux reddit. I sincerely appreciate not only your efforts for the community but also your candor and humility. You are a shining example in attitude and effort to the foss community. Some tasks are more monumental than others, and fighting for stability in the linux video stack seems Hurculean to me. Keep up your good and noble work. Your efforts are appreciated and the diffuculty of your goals understood. Good luck.
I didn’t notice anything wrong with it untils ubuntu 11.04 so dont be too hard on yourself. Nice of you tough to feel rresponsible to the users. Hang on!
Ok lets help this guy out, obviously he is under some pressure.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. No one does it better than you, and you should realize that. We love the way things play around in Ubuntu nowadays with compiz. Just open up to everyone, and if you need help, just holler to the community.
Gnome 2 and Compiz still provide the most stunning user interface around, even to this day. Just keep plugging away
Compiz was lovely to use, way back when I first came to linux I was wowed by the awesome effects. It’s easy to forget there’s a person behind all that. Keep being awesome.
Thanks for all your work. Please don’t be so hard on yourself.
You did and are doing a great job! Bugs are expected, no biggie. Have a free beer on me when you’re in Sweden next time.
Woo hoo, I love Compiz. Although, strictly speaking, we don’t *need* Compiz, it certainly makes computer work prettier, faster, and more pleasant.
Look back and see what you *have* achieved, and realise — hey, wow, brilliant!
I’m not a developer, but I greatly appreciate what Compiz has become.
Have a fantastic New Year thinking about all the great work you’ve done to bring so much “cool” to the desktop!
There are some details in Compiz that I simply cannot work without. (Keybindings for Desktop Wall that allow me to swipe left and right between workspaces using the left-right tilt on the scroll wheel, for instance.) Also, the Scale plugin is invaluable (screen-bound to a corner), especially when Remmina Remote Desktop decides to pile up my remote sessions on top of eachother. I can think of several different aspects of Compiz that make my Linux experience that much more enjoyable, and in many ways convinced me to switch to Linux in the first place. I just want to say thank you for all that you’ve done with this project. I wouldn’t be using Linux today if it weren’t for Compiz.
Good sir, any and all contributions to the open-source community are noble. The work you do is appreciated, and if you feel it is not adequate, you’ve got a fresh year ahead =)
Thanks for what you have done!
You just live once on earth.
Lots of things suck. Compiz is not among them. It may not be perfect and may be unstable under some specific conditions, but it works here and works well.
I can’t really offer any advice, not having ever made anything as brilliant as Compiz, but I’ll add my voice to the others here saying thanks for your efforts, your work is valuable; it has made my experience of computers more enjoyable since I started using it and I hope that things start getting better soon.
you don’t know sir what compiz mean to me when i started using linux the compiz effect were the reason of joy
have a virtual hug. Thank you for your efforts, your time, your expertise so far. THANK YOU very much. I love linux and and I love all of you guys putting so much hard work into it.
I am using it daily and it has it’s flaws but all those little features make my life easier and more colourfull, e.g. through compiz.
Easy bro, Compiz, as is, runs flawlessly here on Fedora 14.
Were Compiz not an option when I switched to Linux (from OSX) 2 years ago, I would likely still be bumbling about in that fast food Linux distro.
Thank you for bringing Compiz into being! Maintained or not, it is simply an awesome window manager (and more, of course), thank you, thank you, thank you
I don’t know how it is behind the scenes, but as a long-time computer user of any and all systems, I love Compiz. It is my main reason for sticking with Ubuntu; I don’t like the Gnome3 shell at all, but gnome2 with Compiz is great, and Unity is pretty good – although I do think there needs to be a bit more customization options. Customization in Compiz is one of it’s great features, and I think it’s very well done.
I’m semi-retired after 20 years or so of programming (mostly C++). I’m strongest at debugging and GUI programming, although the only non-Windows experience I had was on early Macs. Now I’m doing web programming in Javascript and PHP. I’m wondering how hard it might be to try to help out with something like your project. Perhaps I’ll look into it.
I wish I could contribute something so important! Many thanks.
compiz is awesome, don’t give up! And you haven’t failed anyone!
Thank you for your hard work! I’ve used Compiz for the last year (Ubuntu/Linux Mint) and it’s never failed me. In fact, I love Compiz so much, that it hurts to use Metacity or *gasp* Windows.
You got me into Linux, man!
You’ve done a fantastic job! Compiz is a great WM and you are a great man for sticking with it and using your own time to maintain it. You’ve no reason to be sorry and no reason to apologize, you’ve done great things.
You have 68 comments and not a single one is negative.
Altough I don’t use Compiz for a while now, I can tell you there is not a one single experianced Linux user who haven’t used Compiz to impress their friends to talk them to switch to Linux. That whole 10+ generations of linux users will remember the name of Compiz no matter what is it’s future. You did the compoziting revolution. Without you, maybe KWin would still be stacking. You probably forced Microsoft to develop their own compoziting wm. You did a huge impact on wm development in general.
Your fail, how you call it, is nothing compared to success. That’s huge. Fails just happens.
You haven’t failed everyone. Compiz was part of my first experience with Linux and was one of the things that helped drive me to Linux. I may not use it anymore (more for Window Manager preference than anything else), but every time I’ve used Gnome or XFCE, one of the first things I would grab from the repos was compiz. Thank you for an inspiring piece of work, all the best, and Merry Christmas
Far from failed. With just a spoon full of sugar, things can quickly turn around.
Thank you for all your work. It is very much appreciated.
Your effort is very much appreciated. Compiz has never failed on me.
We get the OS free; we get the applications free and still some of us moan and complain. They are the sad people of Linux.
@smspillaz, may I make a suggestion? This coming year do not set large or long range goals. Set small goals that you can reach. Failure to achieve a large goal can lead to disappointment. Set small achievable goals and go from goal to goal like crossing a river on stepping stones. And praise yourself for each goal you achieve.
Look for the good in yourself and notice that others see good in you.
Regards.
Dude. It’s OK.
I love Compiz. I have all the effects that I want and need. Failure is a matter of perspective and I for one appreciate what you are doing. I didn’t read all the other comments, but I would guess that someone has already said, Don’t be so hard on yourself, Keep up the great work and Thank You.
Compiz was a real game changer for me. It made me switch to Linux for desktop usage, don’t give up!
Compiz was what really, really impressed me with good old Fedora 11 years ago.
The wobbly windows just absolutely blew anything Windows or Mac out of the water.
That’s what really won me over to Linux. The incredible DE experience with Compiz.
Keep up the work, man! The Linux community NEEDS compiz!
Don’t mind it too much. You (and the other Compiz developers) did an awesome job. You started of with a code base which got forked and merged back several times. A code base abandoned by David who seemed to have no interest in writing code in a way that others could continue to work with it (yes I looked at the code in the past, yes I always gave up trying understanding it).
You achieved the port to C++, you achieved the modularization. These are great results and it is impressive what Compiz went through in the last years.
But at the same time that what Compiz delivered was no longer special. Everybody has 3D effects now. And at the same time KWin and Mutter provide an integration level for their desktop shell which makes it hardly possible till impossible for Compiz to be used as the window manager.
I always felt sad when seeing that Compiz does not get new developers while we with KWin have no problems getting new developers and have the backing of the huge KDE community. I guess the same is true for Mutter. That’s just something which is hard to rival for a project now only relevant to one distribution.
I wish you knew how many people finally got to try Linux and considered it as a viable option for their PCs because of Compiz. I’m not talking only about what Compiz was some years ago: As of right now, when you want to showcase a Linux PC to a group of Win users, the thing that catch their attention is exactly Compiz.
Now, beeing in Ubuntu Forums (U+1) as a helper/tester everyday, I tell you helpers are unfotunatelly aware of some instability and eventual crashes, and we try to help users get their setups running again, always promissing that things will be more stable in the next release.
And I’m sure they will. You haven’t failed Ubuntu, the Linux community or anyone else. This is absurd. You just need to make a plan and put things together, the best you can. Software is never perfect, not even commercial software (we all know that very well). Focus on what is doable, possible, and go from there.
Look at the comments here: People like Compiz and respect you for your huge efforts in it. Cheer up!
I use compiz as my wm, with no DE or anything. I really like it and think you have done a great job on it. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Its great IMHO
Don’t get down, you’ve done an amazing job and theres only so much one person can do. When I first saw compiz in action years ago, it blew my mind and I just knew that this was the future of wm’s. Now, I cannot live without it.
I’m sure there are thousands of not millions of users like me
It shouldn’t be all on you either, we need more talented dev’s to step up and take on some of the workload – I’d do it myself if I had the skills
As a compiz user (i run it as a standalone wm now), i don’t feel like you’ve failed me in any way. It seems to me like you’re being too hard on yourself. The thing works just fine, no stability issues whatsoever. I have noticed that there hasn’t been a new releases for a while, but i’m not complaining because i haven’t noticed large bugs, and it isn’t feature-poor. Whatever you did as a maintainer seems just fine on my end.
I don’t see people complaining, and i don’t think there’s much pressure on you to work on it, and even if there was, it’s free software, man – nobody’s paying you, if you’re having problems nobody has the right to breathe down your neck. If you’re hitting a brick wall, step back and take a breather.
Failed? No way! You’ve done a fantastic job throughout these years, and I’m sure Compiz has helped to attract lots of users to a visual desktop that was ahead of its time and that proposed not only fancy visuals, but also usability improvements that have been copied by other platforms.
I can’t imagine how much work you’ve put in this, so please don’t feel bad about the current situation, that doesn’t feel that bad to me. This is a step by step work, and it can grow even more, for sure.
Merry, Merry Christmas, and thank you for an incredible piece of software. That has been a real Christmas present for lots of Linux users everywhere.
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Keep it up!!!!
you have done a great job
Thanks for all your work. Compiz is great !!!
Merry Christmas
Compiz is one om the best things in GNU Linux, and you did a great job, don’t blame yourself for anything, thanks for your work!
I am very happy with Compiz! When I install a new distribution, is the first thing I install. Is awesome, and makes some W$ people try Linux.
Go on with your work, you have done a great job. Thanks for it!
Hey don’t give up.
I want to thank so many hours of work invested in this fantastic project.
Really thank you.
(Sorry for my bad english).
Don’t blame yourself, yo don’t deserve, your work has made many people happy
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
My english is not good, but I want say you something. Your work is amazing. Can you imagine, how many people estimate your work?.
Don’t give up
Compiz is a very important project in Linux, and you did a great job, compiz never failed me. So, don’t be sad, your project is very important and you don’t have to give up, compiz is a fantastic project and it has a beautiful future.
Thank You for all your work is the only thing I can do, but a lot of people has done it!
Merry Christmas!
P.D: I have a bad english, but I use compiz since 2009 and this encourage me to post a comment…
This is the most amazing project in linux. Thank you for your job.
You have not failed, you have won outright, you gave Linux a more elegant, more professional and memories from the military of that boring interface I had in the beginning,
only congratulate you and ask as many users who do not leave the project, I am not a programmer, if not happy have helped in the project.
only give you my support and that of millions of users, many users that I brought from the other side of the force;-), have come to linux for compiz, then have the advantages of linux encontgrado but have always fallen po the dramatic effect of the “cube”.
and the typical question that to me … your windows done??? and already had in linux ..
thank you very much for what you have done for free software, thanks and move on.
excuse my English, but my language is Spanish
Greetings from this remote country called Chile. happy holidays.
Thank you for your job. Compiz is great !!!
Merry Christmas from Sevilla, España.
Thank you for your job. Compiz is brilliant !!!
Merry Christmas from Sevilla, España.
LOL I still use very old Ubuntu 10.10 with my compiz, the problem is not yours but GNOME3 community and / or the Unity of Ubuntu
Cheer up!
I do not speak English and this is translated using Google! sorry!
“LOL yo todavia uso muy viejo Ubuntu 10.10 con mi compiz, El problema no es de ustedes sino de la comunidad de GNOME3 y/o el Unity de Ubuntu
Animo! “
Compiz is awesome!! People of the whole word love it, and it has been a revolution on the computers world. Currently you can see imitations of Compiz in almost anyplace!
You are a visionary!
Compiz wasn’t invented by him. He’s the current main developer but not the initiator.
Compiz logró que pruebe Gnu/Linux y me quede con él.
MUCHAS GRACIAS, de corazón.
Ánimo, Vamos.
Muchas gracias por tu aportación al Mundo Linux
Compiz is the point break on eye candy Keep the good work!
Failed? Not to me! Regards
Compiz es fundamental en linux, animo y mis mejores deseos con el proyecto y con tu trabajo.
Thank you very much!!!!!!!
I guess you shouldn’t be so hard with yourself. It’s true that right now I need to ocasionally recompile compiz from my distro (Debian experimental for compiz) and it ocassionally crashes (nothing that a script in my home can’t fix), but also it’s true that it’s one of the (if not THE) best examples about what a desktop should be (I’m not writting only about Linux
).
Maybe it’s just time to only squash some bugs before you get rid of the X11 mess (yes, we know wayland and you can).
Thanks Smspillaz!
Only two words COMPIZ RULZ!!!
..
I will see a simple, real and personal story; one of my best friends saw “the compiz efects” in my ubuntu 10.04 and change fron win7 to gnulinux
Im sure that story is repited millons times in gnulinux users..
YOUR WORK DID IT!!
Regards…
(sry for my bad english, i spak spanish.. por lo que diré GRACIAS por todo lo que COMPIZ ha dado a la comunidad
)
Compiz is a very important things in GNU/Linux.
No desistas del proyecto, si pudiera ayudar lo haria. Pero solo tu eres el maestro y lo podras hacer bien! Felicidades y que sigas adelante!
I’m in linux because of compiz! I saw the videos of the cube on youtube and I though: “I have to got that cube in my computer” so please keep in the project, is very important I swear, many and many users try linux because of compiz, altought is useful
thnks a lot!
Qué decir de Compiz, para mi es una maravilla, desde la primera vez que lo vi hasta ahora, para mi es un software de gran calidad, se ve que está hecho con tanto amor, con tanta delicadeza, ojalá todo el software que se creara fuera como este, es que es tan liviano y tan rápido, me quedé asombrado lo que podía hacer mi vieja máquina, cómo podía correr tan bien con todos esos efectos tan bonitos, es una de las cosas por la que me gusta Gnu Linux, todo está hecho con tan buena voluntad que simplemente a la hora de usarlo se nota, por eso te digo que por mi tienes todo mi apoyo. Compiz es un gran software, como todos tendrá sus errores, pero también quiero decir que si los ha tenido nunca me he dado cuenta.
Siento no poder haber escrito esto en Inglés. Pero que sepas que usted está haciendo un gran trabajo, que está haciendo con su trabajo a muchas personas felices, su software es una gran referencia para muchos, si viera lo contento que nos ponemos con esos efectos o cuando simplemente nos quedamos con la boca abierta y decimos WUOooo.
Simplemente Thank you.
Pienso lo Mismo que Vos. Vamos Compiz!!!!!!!!!!!
Failed? This is the most fucking amazing desktop enhancement ever!!!
Compiz is the best of the best is a great application, I have always installed on my favorite distro is Linux Mint now uses to mate, and it really works very well, the project page you can see my desktop capture course using the link http://www.matsusoft.com.ar/projects/mate/ compiz
You have not disappointed anyone, I personally admire you, and I would like to support projects like this, but no programming, because my profession is a pharmacist, I encourage friends, I send you blessings for today and every day of your life. Happy New Year 2012 from Colombia.
Hello;
We do not know personally, and I doubt you know my distribution ComFusion (formerly known as Uberyl, when there was a fork of Compiz).
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/ComFusion
ComFusion, the name derives from
Com = Compiz
Fusion = Fusion with Ubuntu.
Only I will say that you have created, along with Ubuntu was one of the reasons to like the Linux world and I pursue it more seriously creating my own distribution now spends much of the world, so please do not think that your contribution is not important for me and for millions of people is one reason to continue using Linux.
Marco A. Pollolinux
Hey Man don give it up, compiz has been pioneering in desktop animations for years, I bet all projects existing today had taken a look to compiz code and inspired in them. And I think it still runs even better than any other compositing animation I ever tried. Heads up!
Compiz was also one of the main reasons I moved to linux I have made life easier to perform tasks quickly apart from its effects, the project continues to not give up, do not have anyone to hand desepcionado thanks for your work … … a slip is not falling ..!!!!
You didn’t fail, come on!
Look back and see all the things you made! Neither Gnome, nor KDE, nor Windows won’t be the same without your work, so you WIN.
Keep making things like that, and if it is not possible to continue with this project, start another that makes you feel good.
And, remember how many users like me says to you, Thank you!
…And sorry if my English is not so good
¿Fracaso?
Si no fuera por usted yo no hubiese conocido el Mundo Linux. gracias a ti
Falla el que no sigue adelante con su sueños, no mi amigo, usted no falló…
Compiz, es una de la razones por las que uso GNU/Linux, si necesita apoyo
cuente con la cominidad:
Abrazos cordiales !!!!
You didn’t fail, come on!
Compiz is great!
I like Compiz very much
I teach compiz windows users to hallucinate, and all of them and they love
Thak you for your work
Sorry for my english
I like Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz Compiz
Corrijo:
Cuente con la comunidad !!!
Hi, I’m very new to the world, and Linux, I’m using Ubuntu since May this year and sought after installing it recommended to install after installing Ubuntu and all recommended install “Compiz” everyone dubs it the best you can switch to Ubuntu after installation, with “Compiz” you can customize and improve much and after using it I can assure you it is true, “Compiz” should come default with Ubuntu, you’ve done an excellent job and I’m sure making sure the millions of people who use Ubuntu in the world we have installed and want to continue using.
Come on, do not give up, that when things get loigran difçiles and solve is when most desfrutan and value, a big hug from Argentina, the land of Maradona and Lionel Messi and have a very Happy 2012.
Gracias a Ti, sin saberlo poco a poco Linux me fue conquistando…y hoy soy un usuario más de la distribución Ubuntu, pero más que un nombre con tu aporte me mostraste que es la verdadera libertad en Linux. Gracias, y pa´ lante.
Compiz, simplemente un software GENIAL
I switched to Gnome 3 and miss Compiz quite a bit. Wish there was some equivalent.
Compiz is the best graphic I see…..
compiz es excelente!!
es el mejor manejador de ventanas
no say deal compiz in the best men don’t down, I hope you working in compiz for do better unity and compiz toggeter i sorry for my englis. compiz mejor mejor
Sigue adelate compis es Genial, me gustaria poder ayudar pero no se programar
Gracias a Compiz tuve curiosidad por el mundo Linux, sin el yo continuaría con mi windows pirata. ¡Gran trabajo!
Compiz is one of the great thing linux have, and you create it
Yo no estaría donde estoy si no fuese por Beryl, Compiz, Compiz-fusion. Anímate que tienes mucho camino por recorrer!!!!
Feliz año nuevo!!!
Qué compiz es un gran trabajo no lo duda nadie. Qué necesita una revisión y mejoras es algo lógico en cualquier proyecto, seguir luchando es de valientes y cuesta…..pero debes sentirte muy muy orgulloso de haber acercado Linux a muchos y muchas.
Ánimo y gracias por tu tiempo, trabajo y sacrificio.
Failed ? your failing when you say ‘I have failed’
Thank you very much for your work, Linux looks better with Compiz.
Keep it on !
Happy new year.
cheer up man
you only failed to know how much you rock
bravo compiz
Hello. Compiz is the anchor that has kept me in the Linux world since the day I started my adventure in this OS back in 2006. I’ve had the time of my life watching the expression on the faces of my friends and colleagues for years, with lots of Wow! Ooohh! Great!…
If Compiz can’t sometimes cope with all the new (useless) “improvements” of the latest distributions, it’s not your fault. Those in charge of those distributions should help you.
BTW, have you ever been given a single penny for all your hard work?? I’m not asking, but DEMANDING that you give me a PayPal account to which I can send a contribution. If you don’t, I will sue you and send you to jail for the rest of your days!!!!
Que el proyecto Compiz siga adelante, desde aquí mi deseos de animo y que compiz siga adelante !!
Your Work is awesome, compiz is awesome!!!!
Come on man. Wake up and walk… Walk to the future… Walk in Gnome 3.. Walk in Unity…. Walk in stability… Lot of Linux users used to love compiz… and love compiz … and will love compiz… Just wake up and walk… ask for volunteers
Compiz es el orgullo de Linux / Compiz is the Linux’s pride
Long live to Compiz!
Larga vida al rey!
Hi!
I’m normally using “Compiz” on my Laptops and I think it was a great idea, because it works in every computer that I’ve had…even if it had a poor graphic card. I hope that you don’t feel sad and keep on working to do our lifes more “friendly and nicer” with this kind of things. Thanks a lot.
Christian
Don’t give up, your work is awesome.
In spanish. Con tu trabajo he ganado a muchos del mundo Windows al mundo GNU/Linux, gracias a los espectacuares efectos, la gente se atreve a probar algo diferente, se dan cuenta de lo grande y rico que es el Software Libre, GNU, Linux…
No te rindas, sigue adelante, busca apoyo de la comunidad….sos GROSSSSSSSSO.
I think your job is very good, is a big contribution for GNU/Linux. strength and much success.
Kudos for putting blame upon yourself instead of just blaming others, but in this case I believe you’re not the one to blame. Even if it were true that you failed us (which I don’t think it is), we failed you just as well.
But the important thing is – what steps are being taken to ensure that Ubuntu Desktop 12.04 will get (at least) the same level of stability as 10.04? Since Compiz will be at the core of the desktop experience, how do we make sure the current issues are ironed out in just 4 (!) months? And IMHO you, SmSpillaz, are not the one who should be responsible for the answer to those questions. Others (Canonical?) should now reach you a hand and help you to get where you perform best.
The last thing we need now is for you to become (even more?) stressed out and eventually burn out. And looking at your post, you’re a long way down that dark path already, my friend. Please don’t go any further.
You need to hit the brakes hard right now (of which this post can be the first step) and demand the help of others to achieve our mutual goal. Not one single man can take on such an enormous task. Stay healthy. And stop blaming yourself until you get the much deserved help you need.
hi, i’m from Argentina. I’m not speak english very well, sorry.
I usually never post on any blog, but you deserve it.
I knew ubuntu thanks to your work. I use linux thanks to your work.
It was 4/5 years ago. I really need to thank you. For all of us that use linux, you made us proud of our computers. You make us fall in love with our PC. you made magic when there was pain and ugliness. I don’t update my ubuntu version just to keep it with compiz working fine.
You don’t fail. And if you need to think that failed, ok, then your fails are awesome.
Keep failing man!!!!
Si en realidad crees que has Fracasado. ARREGLAOS has de Compiz la mejor experiencia para nosotros los usuarios Linux. mejora la estabilidad y agrega algo de sencillez a el producto final.
ANIMO no todo esta perdido. solo es un momento que te da la oportunidad de MEJORAR Compiz para el Futuro. INNOVAR es el secreteo del éxito.
Saludos desde Guatemala.
Desde que uso Linux, desde principio de los noventa, cuando se distribuia en disquetes y era un quebradero de cabeza configurarlo, sobre todo la frecuencia de los monitores de quella epoca… que tiempos… Digo todo esto por que cuando me tope por casualidad con los primeros plugins de beryl, alucine. En aquel momento me di cuenta de potencial que podia ser para los escritorios de cualquier distribucion de Linux; y creo que no me equivoque. Uso compiz desde entonces, y no lo cambiaria por nada; lo tiene todo… es imprescindible para mi.
Epero que puedas traducir este comentario con Google (mi ingles no es que digamos muy decente como para describir lo que me gusta compiz) SIGUE ADELANTE NO LO DEJES…
ANIMO.
A lot of my friends had tried Linux because they had seen me using Compiz!!!
Compiz is a good proyect, a good idea and a good work!!
That’s not a failure!!!
Really no need to apologise dude. Thanks for all your work!
THANKS FOR ALL!!!! YOU’RE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Take heart! Thank you very much for compiz! impressive to see the effects I encourage you to make the leap to Linux and now my pc is free!
Thank you, excuse the bad English am translating from google translate: P
——
Animo!!!! Muchas gracias por compiz!! el ver sus efectos impresionantes me animo a dar el salto a linux y ahora mi pc es libre!!!
gracias
In a world with Linux & Compiz… who needs Gates & Jobs?
You made it possible.
Many many thanks
Votre travail n’est pas un échec, grâce à vous et compis j’ai connu plus de la qualité du monde GNU/Linux. J’ai vu plusieurs personnes devenir utilisateurs de GNU/Linux grâce à compis. Il est necessaire continuer et ne pas laisser mourir un grand et répresentatif project de la communaute du libre.
Merci beaucoup.
Hello, first of all I must say that despite not liking the FX desktops, Compiz turned out to be a product that I enjoy, thanks to the many people migrated to GNU / Linux here in Argentina and in many other countries (in the desktop profile ), the truth that if there are stability issues (I almost did not have), you may be for Unity, and although I’m in the project, see Compiz as a robust and stable software that lets GNU / Linux over all the existing OS and effects on usability, so please go ahead, if you need help you just have to ask, many people are willing to help (myself included) as it is, documentation, programming, etc.
my sincere thanks for ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL your work…
COMPIZ for ever and ever and ever and ever…
Thanks for all your work. Compiz is great !!!
I would just like to say I would have never used Linux if it wasn’t for compiz, and I know that many others too, in fact its one of the reasons I stay in Linux, whatever you decided i just wanted to say thanks.
Thanks for all your work in Compiz its great, but if you feel like that what a great oportunity for stand up and reborn the proyect… thanks again ffor all the work XD
COME ON!!!! COME ON!!! THANKS FROM TO ARGENTINA!!
Hey man, don’t worry. You did a really great job that has revolutionized modern desktop environments. Cheer up and go ahead! Merry Christmas smspillaz
have become one of the best programs to customize your desktop, you have given a special touch to our little machines and why not say? compiz thanks to you and many users we have approached this silent linux, thanks for everything!
I think compiz is a good job for the community. Just wait, when the hardware provide more speed compiz will have a crown.
Gracias por el trabajo que has hecho para la comunidad linux. Has atraído a muchos usuarios al mundo linux, gracias a tu trabajo, yo personalmente fui uno de los que se acerco a linux por sus fantásticas animaciones; gracias a compiz.
Animo, gracias a ti, muchos estamos muy contextos con nuestro S.O. GNU/linux.
Mis mejores deseos; que esos malos pensamientos se conviertan en deseos de mejorar y como he dicho, ¡¡tu trabajo es genial!!…
Thanks for make gnu/linux: more easy, beautiful, simple, etc.
Good luck…
muchas gracias por compiz y feliz navidad y año nuevo
Come on! you are my idol, i love compiz. Thak you for your work, don’t be afraid, and go on, please!
Ánimo, a todas las computadoras en las que he instalado ubuntu, he instalado compiz tambien, yo fui usuario de windows por 9 años, y lo que me animo a cambiarme a linux fueron los bonitos efectos, luego me di cuenta de lo grandioso que era el mundo de linux.
I <3 COMPIZ!
Come Pal get up!!!
For Ubuntu, for Linux for all the User. In this nwe year Compiz gonna be all right.
Ánimo Es un gran proyecto el tuyo, para los usuarios de Ubuntu es imprescindible continua
Animo, compiz fue el primer motivo por el que me pase a linux y es el mejor manejador de ventanas que hay, solo es una pequeña piedra en el camino.
When i first got Ubuntu 8.04 I stood for a week with my laptop outside a cofee shop for a free wireless conection, just to get compiz installed, I was so noob I downloaded each packet at a time manually, had a hand written list and everything. But when I manage to rotate the cube, and make it snow I knew I’ll never leave linux or compiz.
Thanks for all your hard work!
When I started on the linux world, compiz was of the things that made me linux user, now I don’t use it anymore, just because I use other things (kde) and also I preferrer just to keep it simple. But what I want to say is, your software is one of the best I used. Just keep walking (like the drink), and remember you help a lot of people to get in the linux world, thanks from mexico.
I am happy with compiz, I don’t overdo the settings so I am happy
gracias a compiz un amigo vómito mi pc portátil fue un buen recuerdo. Inestimable aun gracias a ti no dejes que muera. mi pc ya no fue un portátil si no uno de escritorio 4 veces mejor así tendrá que resurgir compiz.
Theres no way I could thank you enough for what you did/do.
If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have started using Linux so young, and you wouldnt imagine how good that is/was. And I’m pretty sure there are maaany others that feel the same.
Sorry for my english..
Better times will come!!
Dude, don’t listen to trolls. You are my rockstar, and I’m sure you’re a rockstar for many others. I can not complain your excellent work—triaging, reviewing code, and fixing annoying bugs at the speed of light—. And thanks to your work on Compiz, many friends of mine use Linux. There is no reasons to apologize to.
P.D.: SmsPillaz, make sure you’ve read all comments in Spanish. ¡Te queremos!
Go on!. Users from the world need compiz. We love “the cube” on our desktops. We can not live without those amazing FX. Muchas gracias.
Ánimo, eres un gran desarrollador. Todos los que utilizamos tu fantástico trabajo te agradecemos tu esfuerzo.
Gracias y en hora buena.
Congratulations for your fantastic work!
great job!!!!
gran trabajo!!!
Pingback: genool.ueuo.com» Blog Archive » To Sam, The Face Behind the Wobbly Window
OK, you are exagerrating, you do know that right?
My understanding is that you are still young, studying in college…
I can tell you one thing for sure, every couple of years you’ll get twice as smart and twice as creative untill you turn to your late 40s-50s… that is, if you keep using your brain! If some things look hard for you to solve right now, get over it, they will seem much easier in time…
Oh, and by the way, programmers I know working in very successfull companies (Intel, Google, Samsung) share the same philosophy: “Use 90% of your time thinking, and 10% of your time to programming”.
Now, if you get to be pretty much on your own in a huge project like Compiz, you don’t get the luxury of keeping up with this philosophy, and in the long run, it will come back on you.
Even so, you have done a great job! Keep it up, and lets hope more will jump in to help!
Compiz is the first thing I install whenever install ubuntu.i was completely mesmerized when I saw wobbly windows. Good work man,don’t be too hard on yourself. Every problem has a solution. Cheers.
Failures don’t attract a horde of new users to Linux and shake the stereotypical perception of Linux as being an ugly OS, nor do they make an open-source OS so stellar in customisation and aesthetics that it can compare or even exceed retail ones.
I haven’t moved to GNOME Shell because I couldn’t stand to use Linux without Compiz — without your work, so thank you for making my Linux life that much more awesome. You are a godsend to the Compiz community, the Ubuntu community, and the Linux community; please don’t ever forget that.
new compiz is not that bad of a project either, what it lacks is simplicity..if its features are less and stable it’d be much better(just what I think). It’s a huge project thats hard for even a team to maintain, you’ve kept at it in a good pace. Don’t let yourself down! you’ve already done a great lot. Thank you for all that and good luck on your future!
Thanks Sam. I came to use Linux(Ubuntu) because of the work you done – by seeing the compiz desktop cube effect and I got love with it at first sight. Thanks indeed. All the Best. Have confident – the community with you
Hi Sam, being a developer myself I know this feeling of being overwhelmed by bugreports, users pointing at you and bugs being undiscoverable for ages. But don’t let yourself down by these feelings. You are doing an amazing job and you are working on a very complex topic, so it’s completely natural to stumble into issues.
Get some days off the computer, relax and things will clear up!
Thank you man!
compiz fue unas de las razones por la cual empeze en el mundo de Gnu/linux , tanto yo como muchos amigos ,
animo
Compiz is what attracted me and my office guys a few years back to become Ubuntu converts. Life is a bitch but you have made your invaluable contribution. May your tribe increase.
Linux desktop would not be the same without Compiz. You have done a great job and I hope you’ll keep on doing it. THANK YOU
You did a great job. You’re a young talented developer.
Just don’t give up
I’m not a programmer, just a poor user. But if it serves to something, compiz is the reason I’m still using ubuntu. I had to tweak a lot of things to keep using it, avoiding unity and gnome-shell in the last release. I don’t care about stability, I don’t care about broken updates or other little problems even if I have to set google on fire to solve’m. All my desktop setup turns arround your project. And you’re doing an amazing job. Thanks!
P.D. I also hate christmas xD
gracias a ti buen amigo muchos de nosotros hemos conocido gnu/linux no te deprimas adelante tu espíritu se plasmo en estos grandes y sorprendentes efectos que le dieron un explendor único y que siempre vivirá en los que conocimos tu gran trabajo, ánimos y sigue adelante aun queda mucho camino por recorrer.
Your work as been excellent.
Actually, I’ve just found this post today, when I decided to start messing around with compiz code, looking forward to making some hello-world plugins and see where that gets me. I finally have time to do it, and it has been something I wanted to do since I got into Linux, 4 years ago, thanks to compiz eye-candyness
Keep it up! You’ll always have help.
THANKS FOR YOUR WORK!!!!!
adelante feliz navidad y prospero año nuevo te desea desde chile un amigo
some tips:
Simplify
Clear your mind
Take your time
Relax and rest more
Eat your veggies
Zen and meditate
Good to go !
The same as the others say! k’mon, just check all the work you had with compiz and see how much compiz is great! “we” are the community and we all say that you are making a good job! I love compiz and i should tell that was you and your work that make me choose linux! Please, you have not failed.
Greetings from a huge fan!
Celso Henriques
You don’t have to apology! Your work is legendary! One of the greatest things of Linux, you should be proud!
+1 for you man.
Compiz project have problems, but it’s not like it’s your duty in the universe to make it work.
It’s nice already that you are concerned about it and work on it.
Came here via OMG Ubuntu. Another +1 to all the above comments. Compiz is so integrated into my computer usage that I am automatically and fruitlessly moving the cursor to edge of the screens to switch windows when I go to computers without it
Compiz sucks! KWin and Mutter are far more better. And yes, you have failed!
It’s a fact, Sam. Buy it. You’ll sleep better.
Say something useful or shut up.
Watch out, we got a badass over here!
I’m your worst nightmare.
Only one single negative comment by a stupid troll out of more than 240 positive comments. You should be really proud and stop being so harsh on yourself, Sam! Tons of people appreciate your work!
Please don’t think some stability problems are some kind of failure on your part. I’m sure if you weight all that you accomplished against those things you feel disappointed with, you will feel much better. And if you really failed in something, that’s not your fault. We must realize we are only humans. We can’t do everything on our own and we can’t keep pushing ourselves to our limits everyday. Compiz is a huge software and it’s impossible for one to maintain it all by himself. But it still is a very important piece of software and will continue to be for a long time, so any work is appreciated – mistakes teach us too.
You must be under a lot of pressure right now since Compiz is the structure above which Unity is constructed and it’s probably also going to be on tablets and phones. Canonical really should hire more developers to help you on this huge project, because that’s too much of a responsibility for a single person to bear. They should cut you some slacks on their cruel development cycle so that you don’t burn out. They have a responsibility with you, so demand a vacation to take care of your mind and health. But please, don’t give up! Your work is very important to us and it’s deeply appreciated!
Like a lot of people, I can’t live without Compiz either. IMO, Canonical’s decision to stick with it and develop Unity on top of it was their best one. I love Unity and I feel it’s getting better at every release! And it’s not just Unity: I love using XFCE with Compiz too! I’m very satisfied with Compiz.
Parabéns e muito obrigado pelo seu ótimo trabalho!
Um grande abraço do Brasil!
KWin hasn’t given me trouble, but without Compiz, there is no bling. And bling sells a lot. A transparent hypercube with a Plasma ball inside isn’t part of what either KWin or Mutter can deliver.
Thank you for all what you’ve done for Linux, and for giving us the choice.
Compiz Fusion is great without it there would have convinced the power of Linux on the desktop to some of my friends is certainly a great tool nothing is perfect in this life or even our walk, everything is going to experience, what matters is not is be defeated, “the important thing is falling and rising again”
Hey… Fail? You? Your Work? NO WAY!
It is the milestone that made a lot of people say “Whooooaaaaaaaaa” – And I know, you will succeed as you already did 
Remember – the force is strong with you, young Compizwalker
P.S. An advice: the most simple solution is mostly the best
Pingback: Compiz: Sam Spilsbury si scusa
Compiz has been a very innovation for the Linux desktops. I guess that all the effects that we use in the DEs today are the result of your idea Sam.
Merry Christmas and happy new-compiz-year!
hi,for many years Compiz has worked perfectly,le da vida al escritorio linux,lo embellece y muchos otros sistemas operativos an copiado algunos efectos de compiz,yo se que es duro trabajar en un proyecto pero muchos suarios que se cambian a linux lo hacen por compiz.bueno suerte y no te rindas que pronto mas gente conocera este gran proyecto
Came here from OMG! Ubuntu to say, please don’t be so hard on yourself!
I switched from OS X to Ubuntu only this year, and Compiz made the transition so much easier. I have to admit, I had preconceptions about Linux—that it would be less professional-looking, harder to use, less intuitive, etc. But it looked and worked so much better than I anticipated (seriously can’t work without my hot corners!), I became a total Ubuntu fangirl.
You deserve a lot of credit for helping give Ubuntu cred as a serious alternative to Windows & OS X. Thank you so much for making the user experience that much more awesome.
I humble myself to any Windows user who is with the great effects of compiz … the main “hub” and gelatinous windows
Don’t say that things, I’ve migrated to linux for Compiz, I love Compiz, please, continues with the great work you’ve been doing.
Look, compiz is really great, has some very attractive effects insurance to any Linux user to see only liked him, I know that sometimes projects are not expected, but be patient and see that those errors which information may be solve them. Top Linux and do not get depressed mood, in contrast sees things with optimism
Are you serious? You know why i started using Linux?
I used to be a windows user and i thought linux was ugly and non-compatible with video games.
Linx is still non compatible with video games (Except for some like Savage 2 or wine emulating windows games), but now that i don’t play games i know linux is BEAUTIFUL, and is all thanks to compiz and you, i used to spend hours in the configuration and i ended amazed.
Sorry for my grammar, English is not my native language. But it doesn’t change the point… i want you to the linux side of the force… writing code
Thanks for everything
You haven’t _failed_ you’re just not DONE yet. That’s all.
Totally agree!
Pingback: Sam Spilsbury de Compiz considera que ha fracasado. | Noticias y Actualidad
Have you seen all of the replies to this post? Almost everyone seems to think differently. I believe that for every one person who says something, there are at least ten others who are too reluctant or timid to say the same. If you follow that, then there are 2,000 people on this site alone who believe that you have not failed. Add in 58 comments on OMG!Ubuntu, subtract 7 for negative comments, multiply by ten to follow my belief above, and there are 510 people on that site as well.The post in question was only posted 9 hours ago. That leads to 2,510 people on two sites alone that disagree that you have failed. That is only two sites. However, the posts above do have some good points. I personally cannot critique, as I am not a programmer or developer. What I can say is that Compiz works better on my crappy dying DELL better than any other WM that I have tried; that includes Mutter and KWin. Can not think of a way to finish this nicely… oh well.
http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/543/38622010150479383293360.jpg
remember this sam
Freeze this project. Look to find another motivation for programming and start something new with what you have learned. Do not make the mistakes of the past. It’s hard not to fall, it is really hard to get up
I don’t think his employer (who pays him to develop Compiz) would agree with your suggestion
saludos vamos larga vida a compiz es un proyecto genial
compiz is very goob
Failed my ass. I’m using Compiz 0.8.8 in XFCE 4.8 on Arch Linux. Its stability is solid as a rock. It runs smoothly, I love its configurability, and it’s a great fit on XFCE where XFWM4′s compositor has no effects at all, and external compositors just aren’t up to snuff.
I know that this comment will probably get lost as one more in the endless stream of encouragement taking place here, but do know that you haven’t failed at all.
Sounds like a Déjà vu at first glance,
http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/compiz/2008-December/003238.html
but it isn’t.
Can’t confirm ‘stability has gotten worse’.
Acknowledge that you’ve made millions of users happy already.
Take a break – have lots of wonderful sex.
Leave the tunnel view – make your dreams come true.
You are *not* alone – reach out.
Hi, my name is Ihsan.This is bout compiz, not spam.
I am not sure how many of this kind of message you have received, but I would love to share this story with you.
Today, I just installed Ubuntu 11.10 (remastered version) on a friends lappy, set all the compiz settings, and gues what, he almost shrieked ( he actually done that) when seeing wobbly windows. and windows switcher, and shift switcher. and a lot more stuff that the compiz community had done for linux.
Compiz is the driving force that had moved linux into the IT world, at least for new users. Today, millions of user are happy, proud linux user, and one can never deny that it is because of you sam, it is because of compiz.
Yes, compiz development may appear frozen this few years, but seriously, your effort years ago still have it stings today, even till today my friend.
If you can’t make a more stable compiz, then make a better one. make better wobbly windows, make better effect. Compiz is the core that made us, new users, noob, who had never knew about a liberty in the name of linux, could bring us freedom.
Compiz as I know, had become far more stable then what i’ve used to have in 2009 ( that is the first time I started using Linux).
Keep on the good work sam. seriously, bring more bizzare and crazy ideas. You are changing the world!!! Worry not bout stability. It will follow, eventually
We love Sam, we love compiz!
What iGadget said, and let me add: Ubuntu’s deadlines are not your fault. The six-month-cycle seems okay, when you just do a distribution, packaging already available stuff from upstream. For development (U1, USC, Unity) it just doesn’t seem to have the right pace.
From a user perspective I am (still) happy with 8.6 on Maverick, literally viewing half the internet through the neg plugin. Testing natty and oneiric on a parallel install I noticed stability issues — most of them vanish when I disable the unity plugin.
You are the one with the inside view, so you sure know better then all of us commenting here. But from the outside I’d say: Less deadlines, more “when it’s done”.
Thanks alot for all you’ve done. I encourage you not to risk your health or degree for compiz.
No podría vivir sin el cubo en mi escritorio!!! Compiz es uns de las mejores aplicaciones que cualquier distribución tiene. Compiz no solo hace que el escritorio brille solo, hace que sea espectacular!!!!. Yo lo usé con un livecd en mi pc con una GeForceMX400 y 256mb de RAM y creeme, fué lo mas rápido del mundo.
Creo que sin compiz muchos de mis conocidos no se hubieran molestado por probar alguna distrubución. Así que no te desanimes, THANKS FOR YOUR WORK!!!!!
The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world
Are the ones who do.
me when I tell you something immediately repudiate probe compiz windows, I saw my desktop much nicer, seeing all these fantastic effects that neither dreamed Ubiera windows, I decided to use GNU / Linux I saw the belly of this project is missing some touches to compiz, but it did, I encourage you, we miss, please miss you a lot for others to be able to share your knowledge with others, now at hand to encourage you not dismayed God is always with every creature in the universe, go ahead you’re the best, I give thanks that I did projects like compiz use Linux every day more and be happy with what I had, the project will continue to improve until it reaches its highest point, be patient! encourage salt fenix your ashes
te digo algo yo cuando probe compiz inmediatamente repudie windows, vi mi escritorio mucho mas bonito, al ver todos esos efectos fantasticos que ni windows ubiera soñado , decidi usar GNU/Linux vi la entraña de este proyecto, se que faltan algunos toques a compiz, pero se que lo lograremos, yo te animo, no nos falles, haz echo mucho por el projimo al ser capaz de compartir con los demas tu conocimiento, hoy ante mano te animo a que no desmayes Dios esta siempre con cada criatura en el universo, sigue adelante eres el mejor, yo te doy las gracias por que proyectos como compiz me hicieron usar linux cada dia mas y estar contento con lo que tenia, el proyecto seguira mejorandose hasta llegar a su punto mas alto, ten paciencia, !!!animo fenix sal de tus cenizas¡¡
Com’on man!!!!
Compiz es lo mejor de lo mejor!!!
hola amigo! te escribo desde colombia
donde muchos amigos gozamos del compiz!
no cambiamos el escritorio clasico de gnome 2.x por que nos encanta el compiz!
y para adelante con este proyecto
es algo muy interesante
Hey Brother,
You should be honoured that you have a dream, a vision, and a bright eye that’s keen to know what you are doing. You are my role model as far as developers are concerned! Keep up the Awesome Job,
Don’t be so harsh on yourself, I believe that you Rock! You are probably one of the greatest developers I have ever seen be so productive. I have ideas for projects, but the Ideas and bugs that you stomp into the ground everyday, If I had 10 Million USD I’d pay you that amount. You deserve it dude. I’d love for a developer like you to work for me!
Love Through Christ
Compiz es maravilloso! No te rindas! Todos tenemos alti-bajos!!!
You have done more for the movement of software and user interface than you can imagine and you will only see how you have influenced things in years to come. Keep you head up and be proud of what you started and what you will leave in your wake.
I wish I could achieve as much as a 10th of what you did. Don’t be so hard on yourself!
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Compiz was one of the reasons that encourage me to try linux.
COMPIZ POWER!
Thanks for You works and best regards!
I don’t use compiz.
).
I don’t even use ubuntu (and won’t
But dude, you did a lot.
The life, the wolrd, the nature and us are like a raffle, don’t worry, you did a lot and iam pretty sure, you will do more….
KR
Hey Sam, for me you are one of the linux superheros! Compiz is a great pice of software and i do not wan’t use my linux-desktop without compiz anymore!!!
All what you need is help from the community soon.
Please go on sam !
Dude. Compiz is a phenomenal piece of software and a good deal of that is thanks to you. I can’t imagine using a computer without my spinny cube any more.
THANK YOU for all your hard work – and please keep it up!
Compiz is the most atractive UI Experience…..
dont stop…. your work is invaluable
THANKS…..
=)
Dear son, Compiz was the main atractor trat pulled me back to Linux. A great asset may I be not, but, you see, ‘many littles make a lot’.
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
compiz made thousands of people to give linux a chance, you have done something amazing dude!
Best regards from Venezuela
Sam, thank you so much for Compiz, for me, the best compositing window manager ever.
We love your work!
Best regards from Brazil.
I have to admit, Compiz made Linux on the desktop competitive with the best Microsoft and Apple could throw at it. I add my thanks to so many others, Thank You!!
Sam,
let me join the people here by telling you that you failed NOTHING and NO ONE. Compiz is still the best window composite manager. It’s super smooth even on low gfx, where other WM aren’t.
As someguy said on the first post, compiz just needs to simplify things, that’s all. Nothing that can’t be fixed. Anything you might need, just ask (mainly web development).
..and btw, a BIG THANK YOU FROM ALL OF US!
Compiz is great thanks
Compiz es lo mejor que se a diseñado y no as fallado de nada as creado un estupendo software!!
Hi Sam,
I’m pretty new to Ubuntu and Linux. I’ve been working with Ubuntu 10.04 for a couple months now and just recently discovered how nifty Compiz is. Unbuntu just wouldn’t be the same without it. It’s a wonderful program that makes computing so much more fun (and functional). I’m not familiar with the version written for Unity, but the version you created for Gnome works really well and is a joy to use.
It’s obvious that you do quality work.
Thank you so much for your hard work.
Didn’t read the whole comments, but seen a reference to this post on omgubuntu, and thought that i must at least say thank your for changing my world with compiz since some years now.
For me compiz is what i was missing in term of tweaking my own desktop compiz and easystroke make my computer exactly what i want and what i need to work. So man don’t be to hard on yourself you’ve really done a great job!
This is just a support reply
Thank you for doing such great work. I’ve been using gnome 2 with compiz for three years now and I have nothing but positive things to say.
Hi, Sam!
Greeting.
So, you are the one behind the magical compiz, eh?
See, Sam, I’m so grateful about being able to be creative and productive with Ubuntu. Every day, every second. I am the one who seek for beauty and stability. I don’t even know everything about programming or stuff like that.
Guess what, compiz is one of the most beautiful thing i ever see. I found it astonishing and joyful. Seriously. To me ( and I’m sure, for all of us here) your failure is non sense. You are not fail.
Don’t blame your self. Don’t cry over spilt milk.
Wake up, ’cause you’re gonna kick some a**!
Thank you for your time and dedication.
You are great, Sam.
Hey, Sam!
It takes courage to be as honest as you are about how things are going, and even though I applaud you for that, I would like to join the many comments before me and thank you for what you and others have done with the Compiz project, Unity, Gnome, Ubuntu and all other related efforts. These are really beyond compare. A lot of us are truly grateful to run a free desktop every day that serves the needs of both usability, performance and aesthetics. Thank you for giving us that opportunity.
Are you kidding me?!! Compiz is the best compositor for people with ADD, like me.
At work, I use Windows, but I feel most productive at home, where I use Ubuntu with Compiz ADD plugin enabled, which helps me concentrate better.
… and that is something I’m really thankful for (to you & the Compiz team).
April Fool’s Day?
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Compiz was the reason I turned my head to Linux. Elegant and impressive. Fun and addictive. Functional and easy to use. I just love Compiz, my desktop Ubuntu 10.04 is always shining with joy!
Thanks for your time and patience; your project has changed my life. You haven’t failed!!!
Has hecho un GRAN TRABAJO …. MUCHO ÁNIMO COMPAÑERO !!!!!!!!!
Hey Sam, come on, you haven’t failed: you’re awesome!
~270 posters can’t be wrong when they say you rock!
But probably you’re incredibly burned out at the end of this year: Compiz is driving Unity, the default Ubuntu Desktop Shell for 2 releases now.
With the LTS in sight, the work you are doing on the test harness is essential. I think the Compiz community owes you a lot for continuing to lead and maintain the project, despite all the pressure.
Creating a test harness for a window manager is very hard. Once you’re ready, let the community know how to use it and I’m sure you’ll get a lot of contributions on that front as well.
Sam, I agree with you on one thing. You have failed to:
1) Recognize your own great work and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!
2) Recognize the fact that you are doing this project by yourself and climbing a nearly impossible hill!
3) Recognize that you need a break and some help. People are selfish and complain, but where are the helpers? I’m not a programmer at all, but if I knew how, I’d try to help.
4) Recognize that Linux is a moving target and no matter how good you are (and you are!), bug counts and stability will rise and fall as other packages develop and are deployed on a compiz enabled system. Hell, you’re smarter than me, why am I tell you this.
Thanks for the unbelievably great job you have done!
Wtf man? I just installed compiz yesterday on the distro i am making and i was like “wooow”. It runs SO damn fast on my OLD graphic card that i CAN’T see some effects. But, is this a problem? Of course not! Compiz has a fucking awesome settings manager that let me customize all the fucking stuff!
Seriously man, compiz is some motherfucking great shit. Your support to the linux community and all the software community is [mind exploded]. I can’t find a word for your work, it’s just too damn awesome.
Thank you and all your developers mates frome Spain
(Sorry for my english)
I agree with all positive comments above. What you have done with Compiz is nothing short of mind-blowing – it is light-years ahead of any other compositing engine. The only reason why Compiz hasn’t taken Linux mainstream (on the desktop) is because Microsoft violate anti-trust/competition laws in most countries, forcing OEMs to bundle Windows with off-the-shelf OEM hardware (also, the desktop is dying now – mainstream folks are flocking to tablets/mobile).
I have two Sony Vaio VPCF11S1E laptops, one running Ubuntu 10.10 + Compiz + Emerald, the other running Windows 7. When visitors come over and see both lappies running side by side, it’s the one running Ubuntu 10.10 + Compiz + Emerald that draws ALL the attention and awe. Just imagine, for one second, what a consumer would think walking into a store and seeing two identical laptops running side by side – one with Linux + Compiz, the other with Windows 7.
The only ‘fail’ here is governments not enforcing anti-trust/anti-competition laws that has severely crippled Linux uptake on the desktop.
Thank you for making desktop Linux a pleasure to use.
Actually I have nothing to add to the hundreds of comments above. Just my personal Thank You.
Please add paypal or flattr.
Best wishes from Germany
I agree with many others who have posted – you are absolutely being to hard on yourself. In my opinion, you got squeezed by the machinations of other developers, i.e. gnome, ubuntu, etc. , who have way more resources. This is just simply not your fault, period. Have no doubt that your efforts are very much appreciated by the community, so much so that many refuse to use a linux distribution that is incompatible with compiz. Thank you for your work.
Thanks for all your hard work. I’d really love to see Compiz working with Wayland.
Is there anything the comunnity can do to make things better? I mean people who can’t code but could (try to) provide support on the forums, help triaging bugs, rework the wiki. I think, there are very much people willing to help, just say how!
To little to late, I’m dumping all the compiz packages that I own/maintain for Fedora.
If no one takes over F17 will ship without it.
Wow, how you are with your great project. Compiz was and still is a great fresh wind on Windows manager. I use it every day, natively (alone) and i’m completely happy with it (BSD Box). Thank you so much for this big work. A simple user, v/
Thank you for beautifying my desktop and doing your best to bring beauty to the desktop. Progress is made in leaps, not regular measured steps, and before Compiz, the desktop was boring.
My friends still go “wow” at my Lucid desktop thanks to yours and others work.
What more can I ask?
The world is better for your efforts.
I started using linux, seeing what he could do Compiz. Cheer up!
Its a bit late but thank you. It has never been so stable and I love all the new plugins. Legendary stuff.
I’m a bit late, too. But anyway…
Sam you do a great Job and if I’d be a better Programmer and had more time, I’d really like to help. But my family with wife and two kids and constantly working overtime for nearly three years do not leave much time for that.
My only points of criticism are the website and the forum. Plus I’d really like to see more KDE4 Users here, since KDE4′s window manager is a joke. With openSuSE 12.1 and fglrx it keeps crashing constantly. Compared to that compiz is rock-solid with some minor redraw problems…
You are a GREAAAAT MAAN.
STAY UP
hola
amigo sabes que compiz es un exelente proyecto del cual tienes que estar orgulloso, gracias a este muchas personas usan GNU/Linux, animo y gracias por los maravillosos efectos, por cierto compiz fue lo primero que instale al usar Ubuntu jeje
“hard on” was said 14 times, oops, 15 times on this page.
but yes, doing a great job, don’t be so hard on yourself, oops 16
Success comes from a series of failures…
That means you are on the right way! So keep failing but never quit!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Just set your milestones and try to have a stable release out. That shoud be your top priority.
relax, keep it up, don’t let go…
Great Job!
Easiest way to get a handle on this project is to concentrate on a core set of features that can be a stable release.
cheers…
You haven’t failed!
Due to Compiz I got into Linux!
Time heals all wounds, take time to relax and then go on!
Best regards!
Hey, there is no shame in failing. The same would be, not to learn from it.
Because if you learn from it, then all you need is time. And *nothing* will be impossible.
It is still solvable: The trick is, to have a clear goal, a list of assumptions, what not to do, and of the biggest problems that could deter you from that goal. then try to solve those problems, one after the other, by splitting the tasks needed to solve them into smaller and smaller parts, until it’s easy to do the first part. Then do that one. From there on, just continue with ye olde spiral model, and always split things up until they are nice and fun to solve.
I don’t think there is anything that’s impossible that way. (Money might accelerate things though.
s/same/shame/
First: “I have failed the Ubuntu community.” who cars! Linux is Linux and not a Distro should come before others… If they are using now unity as compiz plugin or not…
Ask Canonical for help…
Second: I really dislike i can not use compiz now – 9.* is for my taste to unstable – But i hope for soon i can use it again
Cheers on your great work – Really u should not search and make preassure to yourself… When u give there comes ever something back!
Ps. What u need? I could help!
Chris
Don’t be so hard on yourself. Compiz was THE reason, I decided to dump VVindow$ and start using Linux.
Dude!
I know you probably won’t read this comment but I’ve been using Ubuntu since 6.06 and if I have to choose one thing that’s always been awesome on it, it’s Compiz! You don’t even have to think to come to that conclusion.
I have a bit of experience in C++ (Qt mostly and little in OpenGL) and I think I would like to invest some time into Compiz development in a couple months, mainly because I’d love to be a part of this awesome revival.
So my question is, how can I help? (As in, where’s the bug trackers, mailing lists etc).
Email me if you want.
Fishes can fly and birds can dive. Deeply appreciate your work!
Please neither deprecate compiz nor ccsm.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-desktop/2012-January/003597.html
Yes, you have failed! Compiz and CCSM sucks!
This is what we call a “troll”. It knows it takes ten positives to outweigh one bad. It actually feeds on that! It thrives on making people miserable, making it a lower species than the hyena (an animal I have the highest respect for.)
You can take any kind of person and let it hide behind any name in anonymity, in this cas (very strange…) “Pussy”.
Personally, I like pussy, but the troll trying to grab this name… Well, not so much. I wouldn’t call it “Anus” even, because the anus serves a purpose.
Suffice to say that “pussy” also called a hammer a stupid tool, the wheel a bad invention, all because of his own in adequacy.
Let Mr Troll’s (well, to be nice I’ll call it “thinking”) just pass by like the trace of a fart from the olden days. I’ll let his own actions speak for itself: (Hey, look at all this empty space!)
Sam, just wanted to say thanks. Really, thank you! You might think your work goes unnoticed but it does not. The work you have done is truly incredible. Compiz has never been a failure. It is responsible for many people getting joy from using Linux and I know people who would never have moved to Linux if it weren’t for Compiz. Thank you thank you, Sam.
First I’M a ubuntu user but unity 3d is totally dead to me.I just don’t think it should have been put as the desktop for ubuntu most people (like myself) can’t even use unity 3d so there forced to use the 2d version and I can still use compiz with it.So i would say you’re doing a great job and I would love to help you out but I don’t know how to program.You’re doing a great job bugs happen.
Great job
Bri
Compiz is the best composite manager.
This a better project.
Compiz Rules!
you are THE MAN Sam!!! keep up the good work
IMHO the problem with compiz is that the code is bloated as hell and has become a nightmare to maintain.No wonder about it, the project has suffered from being the hostage of countless dev fights, a fork and a merging, then later another fork and a merging again!
Think about this: The dev community has gone through so many fights that caused the forking of the project (beryl and compiz-fusion) but later they merged back. Merging projects doesn’t mean the code between the forks will be all compatible with each other. And what’s more important, merging doesn’t mean the devs will stop confronting themselves so easily to work on the project.
Seeing the project like that, is even a miracle that compiz is still alive today.
We should remember that compiz is one of the oldest compositing window managers in the history of gnu/linux. And that has a price to pay. The linux (And more specifically, the mesagl) community has changed over the years and the compiz project has to adapt every time it sees it neccesary.
The project needs to stop this madness of patching something made to be compatible with the now dead 2.4 kernel. More likeable, the project needs a full restart with both blobs and gallium3d in mind. There are desktops like lxde, xfce and mate which can still get a benefit on using compiz.
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I want first to tell you that to me, compiz is reason number one why i got interested in linux, that catched my attention. COMPIZ IS A DIFFERENCIATOR for LINUX!!! One that matters for users, so it deserves all the efforts it takes for preserving it’s whizbang and shinyness. Exposé, when used properly, worth as much as having a bunch of screens. Then I want you to consider you’re not on a failing way, merely a bumpy one and it’s up to us all to help you come back on the highway, because it’s the place a shiny and gorgeous Ferrari race on anyway!!!
I personally don’t program. I end up with a headache with a failed attempts of a simple “Hello world” in command line.
However, if you can rebuild it with C along with a bunch of devoted people (Which you seem to have people to support you as well, me included), you could have a solid foundation. If it’s possible use vendor’s drivers for a source engine as well, then you REALLY could have something solid. Then from all there, it’s bug fixes, updates and new stuff.
I’m not a programmer, but I do know that everything’s possible; it takes TIME, PATIENCE and HELP. You have all this potential. Worst thing to do is rush something…need an example? Look at Windows ME and Vista.
You can’t say you failed because you’re making it worse and worse. If it’s a shaky foundation, then the problem will never get fixed if you don’t redo the foundation. Don’t give up on something users love and want so much. It seems people switched to Linux because of Compiz. I like Compiz too.
You HAVE the potential to revolutionize the desktop environment experience.
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I agree with user Mali’s comment. I don’t really give a shit which distro I’m using, I’m mainly using linux because of compiz. It’s the be-all and end all. I ditched ubuntu a long, long time back, I’m on Arch now with KDE + Compiz and it’s the greatest thing ever.
Thank you for making Compiz what it is today. Wish you all the best!
Vamos smspillaz! No fallaste! un tropezón no es caida, arriba los ánimos! Fuerza desde Argentina.
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For me on ubuntu 11.10 is working fine! dont ever surrender man! greetings from Costa Rica.
I’ll keep using Compiz until other parts of Gnome break. I see no alternative to the vast amount of mouse and keyboard shortcuts that Compiz offers and as a programmer I was stunned by the architecture of it. The swappable configuration backends was a peek into the future, now that gconf is replaced by dconf. And the plugin system and dependency resolution always worked for me. Oh yes, I also liked some of the effects. I use a pentagon desktop, that I view from the outside, so that I can see the windows on the other screens through free areas on the desktop. It gives a great feeling of depth. Even my mama is impressed