window flicker for a short time after switching workspaces

thanks for the bug report. Is that still an issue in Ubuntu 11.10 final upto date?

[Expired for unity because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Expired for unity (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

From time to time I still see windows flicker, If I switch workspaces.

compiz:
  Installiert: 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu6.1vv1
  Kandidat: 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu6.1vv1
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu6.1vv1 0
        500 http://ppa.launchpad.net/vanvugt/compiz/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu6 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates/main amd64 Packages
     1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu3 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64 Packages
unity:
  Installiert: 4.28.0-0ubuntu2vv2
  Kandidat: 4.28.0-0ubuntu2vv2
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 4.28.0-0ubuntu2vv2 0
        500 http://ppa.launchpad.net/vanvugt/unity/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     4.28.0-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric-updates/main amd64 Packages
     4.22.0-0ubuntu3 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64 Packages

a video to show the problem would be really helpful.

I wasn't able to catch this bug with a screen recorder, so I made a video with
my mobile phone. At the 10th second you can see the Evince window flicker on the top left workspace,
although the window is on the top right workspace.

You can also see that firefox seems to be »active« (Top left workspace is bright) although it is minimised.

Please make sure yo test that in Ubuntu 12.04 and let us know if it happens still, it mostly looks related to the expo the one of the few visual plugins that we are still using from compiz.

I'm seeing this on my Precise install on my desktop using the Nouveau driver. It's interesting to note that if I'm switching between two workspaces with maximized windows using Ctrl+Alt+Arrow keys, I don't see it, but in all other cases I do.

Hey Omer,

I installed beta1 of precise and the problem is still present.

compiz:
  Installiert: 1:0.9.7.0~bzr2995-0ubuntu5
  Kandidat: 1:0.9.7.0~bzr2995-0ubuntu5
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 1:0.9.7.0~bzr2995-0ubuntu5 0
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
unity:
  Installiert: 5.4.0-0ubuntu2
  Kandidat: 5.4.0-0ubuntu2
  Versionstabelle:
 *** 5.4.0-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

This bug sounds like bug 868121. It looks like we might have "lost" that fix... ?

Recently 876198 was added as dupe, how is it possible the heat decreases from 616 (dupe) to 280 (orig)?

This bug seems to be about the flashing in expo which does happen in 12.04. Some of the duped bugs are about cube/rotate so hopefully that that is being taken into account
At least here cube/rotate broke well before expo

note comment here
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/874862/comments/14

My issue is very similar to this but it deals with viewport switching (via the control+shift+arrow combinations). I see the expected workspace flicker on screen, then disappear, then the sliding animation happens. See the vid. This behavior happened after a compiz update to van vugt's PPA (quite a long time ago, don't remember which vv version).

Should this be a new report, Mr. Vugt? It almost seems like the root cause could be the same.

This bug should cover all bugs related to viewport/workspace switching or moving of windows between them causing unwanted windows to briefly appear (flicker) and disappear.

Chauncellor, if this bug does not fully describe your problem it's possible you might also still have bug 876575 on oneiric. Though my fix for that bug was no explicit fix at all. It just went away with the introduction of the new frame timing code in compiz 0.9.7.0. It's possible even that bug should have been a duplicate of this one.

HI All, my bug https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/937740 is not fixed with latest update. Is it not then a duplicate of this issue?

This bug appears to be fixed when I tried porting:
    lp:~smspillaz/compiz-core/compiz-core.work_923683
to precise.

Still not fixed for me in precise when I do:
          bzr branch lp:~smspillaz/compiz-core/compiz-core.work_923683

Only thing that has changed is that with the 'wave' animation activated for when the windows is focused, it goes blank... I had to disable the animation.

i also have the problem..nothing changed

The fix for this bug has not yet been released. Please be patient.

Thumbs up Daniel and many thanks for taking the challenge to fix compiz.

Maybe this should be a new bug, but as this seems to be a catch-all for flashing -

In 5.8.0+bzr2252ubuntu0+677 (unity team ppa) there is now flashing when returning windows to the Desktop using the 'Show Desktop' icon or keyboard shortcut

Extra datapoints for brave bug hunters...
  Switching face of the cube via Super-S (Expo plugin) does not flash,
  switching via Super-W (can't remember which plugin) does flash, but seemingly not always.

this bug also affects me, I've been meaning to add myself.

With workspace-switching (CTRL+ALT+ARROW key) i don't notice it much, but when moving windows around in expo - from workspace to workspace, i get flickering.

I hadn't used expo in quite some time, but obviously for now (until the bug is fixed) i've disabled expo.

I noticed that the window flickering seems to happen only if I use the mouse in Expo mode. If I summon Expo mode and then switch desktop using the arrow keys and Enter, there is no flickering.

compiz:
  Installed: 1:0.9.7.6-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1:0.9.7.6-0ubuntu1

compiz:
  Installed: 1:0.9.7.6-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1:0.9.7.6-0ubuntu1

This bug only appears on my 12.04 desktop, with has a GeForce 8600 GTS. I mention it because this flickering does not happen on my 12.04 netbook with Intel graphic.

Even using the keyboard I get flicker.

Further, my intel graphics laptop is also affected (as well as my proprietary nvidia driver gtx560)

The flicker/flashing issues in expo & rotate/cube have already been fixed though you'll likely not see new packages till after release of 12.04
How long after may depend on when that branch gets merged which would depend on when it stops getting revised & then hopefully approved

From a user perspective the current compiz (0.9.7.6), unity-5.10 & r-3008 do work pretty good with only a few minor visible 'glitches' on some occasion
There may be things still wrong 'under the hood' but that's nothing new

this bug is not fixed in oneric 11.10, is it possible to upgrade to compiz 0.9.7.6 with a ppa ?

rapha, the fix for this bug will probably not be backported to oneiric unless an entirely new fix is designed that is simpler and more compatible with older releases.

I've now seen the flickering happen even with Intel graphic. My bad.

At least thru r3008 which is the last I've used this bug was also fixed, thought I'd mention because it's not specifically mentioned
Bug 965577

Just note.
in my U12.04 on Intel graphic:
- on default wall+expo there is no flickering but
- on cube + rotate yes (+expo)

-> see my original report at https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/980679

AND - next Bug:

I can't move window to another viewport with CTRL+ALT+SHIFT.
It seems to be moved but at the and the window disappears (it jumps back to source viewport).

Fix committed into lp:compiz-core at revision 3110.

kapetr - Yes I have exactly the same

same problem with 11.04 (64b) on Lenovo T520 with "Intell SandyBridge Mobile" Controller,
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 09)

there is even a youtube video on this issue at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNjS92fP1aU

This bug just appears for me today after I performed the automatic upgrade from Oneiric to Precise.
I didn't have it when I was running Oneiric.
Compiz version : 0.9.7.6
My NVIDIA card is a GeForce 9600M GS and I am running the 295.40 nvidia drivers.

This bug has been affecting me since Ubuntu 11.10. I currently have 12.04 (64bit) with the latest update.

System: Dell Studio 1558
Graphics card: ATI Mobility 5470M running ATI's proprietary driver (v12.1)
OpenGL version: 4.2.11627
Compiz version: 0.9.7.6
Unity version: 5.10.0

Affects me:
compiz 1:0.9.7.6-0ubuntu1
unity 5.10.0-0ubuntu6
VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)

Thank you for your reply. I had already read the whole thread including comments #111 and #132. I also had already installed your 0.9.7.8-0ubuntu1vvpreproposed2 Compiz version but I suffered too much from bug #1011923 (white menus). I therefore came back to the last Compiz version available in precise but I got rid of the Cube and Cube Rotation plugins to only work with Viewports. This is presently the less buggy way I have found to work with Compiz. I however did not find a way to send a window in another viewport just using keyboard shortcuts. It is a bit boring to use the mouse for such a simple task, but that is not a drama.

I had worked with Compiz for several years (Berryl, Compiz, and Compiz Fusion) but I stopped using it about one year ago because it had become too bugged for my taste. I tried several desktops for months but none gave me all the features that I was looking for. I guess I had been too spoiled with Compiz :-) I tried Compiz again this summer but I was very disappointed. Your answer and what I saw during the last couple of Months give me hope back.

I am happily surprised that there are only 3 regression bugs left for the correction of the bug described in this thread. If I remember well, there were a dozen of them in August. I must say that I am amazed by the Compiz team and by yourself for the number of bugs that had been corrected during the last couple of months for Compiz 0.9.8, period over which I have followed this thread. I am very impatient to try it. You all deserve the congratulations several people have expressed here.

> or more likely you are forced to update because these packages are unmaintained and eventually it breaks the apt-get dependency chain, undo the hold with these commands...

It happened. I did a dist-upgrade, Unity updated, Compiz didn't. I ended up with a Desktop with no Unity. Compiz errors showed...

compiz (core) - Error: Couldn't load plugin '/usr/lib/compiz/libunityshell.so' : /usr/lib/compiz/libunityshell.so: undefined symbol: _ZN10CompOption7setNameEPKcNS_4TypeE
compiz (core) - Error: Couldn't load plugin 'unityshell'

until I...

echo compiz install | sudo dpkg --set-selections
echo compiz-core install | sudo dpkg --set-selections
sudo apt-get upgrade

No more Cube again... It's only being a year now, look at the first post. At this point the options for a user are, no-dist upgrade, or set unity on dpkg hold, or no cube. I'm surprised things worked this long with the unmaintained repo. For the impatient, well, be patient, eventually we will all move on to something else and not care anymore.

Okay from post #159 I understand the issue has been solved for Ubuntu 12.10. Can we now please apply the solution to the 12.04 LTS (read Long Term Support) version as well? Thanks!

I am writing to confirm that after allowing Ubuntu 12.04 to upgrade I experience exactly the
same error as mia1dolfan (mia1dolfan). When this took place Unity did not work correctly
and all of the menu bars, etc. were not visible. I can also confirm that mia1dolfan (mia1dolfan)'s
suggestion for resolving the problem does return Unity to a usable state. However, now I am
back to the flickering screen that takes place when I run the Expo plugin in Ubuntu 12.04. Note
that I can no longer correctly use the unmaintained PPA that previously solved the problem.

At this point, is the only way to resolve this problem to upgrade to Ubuntu 12.10?

What is the timeline for having the fix appear in Ubuntu 12.04?

I just want to say that upgrading to Ubuntu 12.10 resolved this issue for me. As well a issue on [nvidia] where windows appear white at times. [not related to the white windows caused by the patch here] (there has been alot of different white window issues with Compiz). XRandR now works for the first time for Nvidia users, meaning Nvidia Binary users can use Ubuntu's tools to reconfigure monitor settings, the Nvidia tool still works, as well as Disper Indicator.

I have been using it all day stable, switching between single and dual monitors. The install went smooth. I suggest to 12.04 users to upgrade, I think most will agree 12.10 is what 12.04 should have been, the complete opposite of 10.04 -> 10.10.

Maybe if I donate or click some Amazon links, buy software from the Software Center, use it's cloud services they can grow to one day be able to focus more on LTS bugs because they will have a larger install base.

NVIDIA GPU NVS 5100M (GT216)

This may be a dumb question but I don't understand what's going on with this bug. The status says "fix released" but 1:0.9.7.8-0ubuntu1.4 still contains the bug and I don't see any update in precise-preproposed, the vanvugt repository is no longer available and in the meantime my eyes hurt because of some pretty violent flashes after a desktop rotate. Can someone please explain to me what to do now?

Soos,

If you were willing to use a PPA then I recommend maybe you should upgrade to Ubuntu 12.10 instead where the bug is fixed already.

For 12.04 precise, look at the Compiz Core line which says "Triaged", meaning no fix has been applied to precise.

Thank you Daniel for your response, I did not know what that triaged ment. I tried upgrading, but unfortunately 12.10 had several bugs that made my laptop unusable, one of them was that fglrx did not work. So I reinstalled 12.04 (because I need this laptop for my every-day work) when I noticed that your ppa threw http 404 messages at me. Can you make it available again? For me it was a usable version.

I think there is something broken in the Ubuntu upgrade policy regarding Compiz. Ubuntu 11.04 was so bugged and unstable that it triggered rage from many experienced Linux users. The answer from several Ubuntu forum managers defending Canonical was that we (the angry users) were stupid because if work and production was our main goal, we should have stick to the LTS version. The other 6-month cycle versions were supposed to be more adventurous and should be reserved for non-important usage.

Precise Compiz version (0.9.7.8) is so bugged that it is simply not usable for intensive work. Now we are told that if we want a stable release we should upgrade to Ubuntu 12.10, i.e., a non-LTS version. So:

  1. What is the purpose of an LTS version if we should leave it for a more stable version?

  2. What did make the Compiz team to decide that Ubuntu 12.10 was more important than the 12.04 LTS version ?

I am not an English native speaker and I cannot write as I want. This is not an angry post or a post full of reproach or resentment. I am just curious because I would like to keep the LTS version but with a good Compiz version. Unfortunately I do not know how to express it without seeming harsh. Excuse-me for lacking the nuance necessary for this.

@michel-pitermann: I agree with you that this fix (and many others ;)) should be backported to Precise and Compiz 0.9.7.x as soon as possible...

I agree with #177 above as well. It seem that 12.04 LTS will never be stable which is strange to say the least. This is not a minor bug, as it renders 12.04 LTS more or less useless for many users.

I agree 100% with #177 comments, and I would like to see some responses from ubuntu. (I know this is not the right place to discuss, but seeing no progress at all in a supposedly long term supported version is very annoying)

I think that in order to success in gaining some market share, they need to focus in getting stable versions, rather than changing things that annoy a substantial part of their current users. Getting stable versions means to fix bugs after release too, and not only for the next release, at least for the LTS versions.
I am not going to change to another version which may solve some serious compiz bugs, but introduces a lot of unwanted features and probably lots of different bugs.
So, my chosen alternative has been to stick to LTS, but I have changed to Cinnamon Desktop.
It doesn't use Compiz, so no bugs, and you get a modern desktop with the classic gnome functionality, and some useful effects similar to compiz (except no cube).

I do agree with some of the stuff that had been said in the previous comments (mainly because the bug report is more than 1 year old and affects two releases) but let's not forget that life is not that simple. If you take the time to check it you can see that a lot of bugs must be fixed before 0.9.7.10 can be released, and most of them already are. In the meantime we just have to be patient and maybe use the vanvugt PPA, which is by the way up again (thanks Daniel). Others can do what s.ray did, and use something else. I myself have never liked gnome. I stick with KDE+Compiz+Emerald which is sometimes hard to put together but imho it's state of the art.

Enough philosophy. The reason of my comment is that some time ago we were talking about holding packages to a specific version to prevent upgading to a version that still has the bug. While that works, it's not the best solution, so I thought I should prioritize the vanvugt PPA. Because I'm no expert it took me quite a while to put these few lines together so I thought I'd share it with anyone who's in the same boat as I am:

/etc/apt/preferences :

Package: *
Pin: release o=LP-PPA-vanvugt-compiz-preproposed
Pin-Priority: 1001

You've gotta love APT! I work with RPM based systems too but nothing beats debian.

>>177-181

This is the dark side of the LTS coin. The plan is to continue security updates and minor bug fixes so long as nothing requires redesign, causes bugs, or adds new features until the next LTS; unfortunately, that includes the DE. I haven't looked through all of the code, but it seems this fix is part of a major change in compiz's rendering method, and even results in other bugs.

I think the real problems are compiz's (missing) roadmap and scattered community.

Take a look at the bzr where "Compiz has 210 active branches owned by 24 people and 10 teams. There were 311 commits by 11 people in the last month." It's good to see activity, but it's beyond me how this gets organized into a stable release whenever it does--particularly because there's no published discussion of the various tests being done or options being explored. If you want the latest news you'll have to get on IRC.

There are no blueprints for compiz. The last blueprint for compiz-core called for splitting it into 0.9.7.x (precise) and 0.9.8.x (oneric and beyond), which was done. The only published information about where compiz is going can be found in the targets for the next milestone (0.9.7.12 for precise), where this bug has been pushed up once again.

Last I checked, only Dainel and Sam work on compiz full-time, so handling all the bugs on a reasonable schedule is more than somewhat challenging. Still, I think the project would benefit from a revival of the compiz web as I pointed out in bug 880649. If we can bring back the forum, update the wiki, and get more volunteers interested in contributing to compiz then we can probably get better releases on a better schedule.

quequotion:

Your comments are certainly valid but are off-topic in this bug. The website issue should be discussed in bug 880649. As for everything else, Compiz lives in Launchpad now so the place to go is always:
    http://launchpad.net/compiz

All proposals are welcome. We love it when people contribute fixes and even enhancements. And Launchpad is an excellent medium for discussing all such things.

If you want to know what has been changing then the most detailed info available is the NEWS file in each release tarball (URL as above).

If you want to know what is going to change, then always look at the next release:
    https://launchpad.net/compiz/+milestone/0.9.9.0

If you want to change what goes into the release, please log bugs (including enhancements) in Launchpad. Or even better propose code changes directly, targeting branch "lp:compiz".

I cannot contribute code but I can contribute money. I will donate $100 to Ubuntu via the download page and the Compiz team (I need a donation link) if this is pushed as part of normal updates to 12.04 by Feb 28th.

So, that is $200 contributed to the larger effort if this is in by Feb 28th!

This is a really nasty bug, in otherwise pretty and usefule desktop of Precise Pangolin. So, to get this bug fixed also in Ubuntu 12.04, should it be add to the bug description that it affects (the project of) "precise-backport", too?

As there seems to have been several fixes to this bug already, I am just trying to make sure that a fix will be deliverd to Precise Pangolin, which is now already at version 12.04.02.

Maybe this is going to happen anyway, but I was not sure what does the Milestone: Compiz Core 0.9.7.14 "SRU-3" actully mean. As the compiz version in 12.04 is still at 0.9.7 series, does the SRU-3 then refer to the 12.04.03 LTS-backport which is due in August 2013? (meaning that, 12.04.1 was the SRU-1 and 12.04.02 was the SRU-3?)

Do you, Sam (to whom this bug is assigned) or anyone else, have any additional information about this, and the schdeule of the backport?

This bug still affects ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS, compiz-core 0.9.7.12-0ubuntu1.
I've lost any hope to get a real solution for this during the LTS lifetime. But at least can we get a workaround, even if it breaks unity?
There are ubuntu users who don't use unity, and the idea to lock compiz to unity is causing a lot of trouble and IMO, in the end, will cause compiz to die with no real alternative (with every other existing alternative to compiz you lose functionality)

I can confirm that the bug is still in 12.04.02 LTS and there has been no progress to get ist resolved in compiz-core 0.9.7.14 and the status has been "Triaged" for many months for this milestone (SRU-3).
So, I am also waiting for a some kind of a workaround to this display flickering during the 12.04 LTS lifetime. There has been some fixes in other compiz branches (and Ubunut releases) to this bug, with some regressions, but I'd be willing to accept them in order to get this bug fixed. It seems also that this affects the Cube plugin sometimes, so that the whole display freezes for while, and compiz does not respond at all., but after waiting for a while, the graphical display starts to work again (but the fickering stays, no matter what).

But there is a workaround. See comments #150 and #181 .

Will there be a port of the fix to 12.04?

I tried to install compiz from the ppa, I did:
    sudo apt-add-repository ppa:vanvugt/compiz-preproposed
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade

Result:
    0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

Is it expected? I'm using Ubuntu 12.04 LTS with raring kernel backport.

For some reason the /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vanvugt-compiz-preproposed-precise.list sources file has the sources commented out, so you'll need to remove the # at the beginning of the two lines in that file.

After today's update the compiz from the vanvugt repository has stopped working.
compiz-plugins-main and compiz-lugins-main-default was updated which are not provided by the ppa.
A lot of plugins are not loaded, all of them complain that a symbol is missing: _ZN10CompOption7setNameEPKcNS_4TypeE
Here is an example.
compiz (core) - Error: Couldn't load plugin '/usr/lib/compiz/libanimation.so' : /usr/lib/compiz/libanimation.so: undefined symbol: _ZN10CompOption7setNameEPKcNS_4TypeE
compiz (core) - Error: Couldn't load plugin 'animation'
The "normal" compiz is already at version 0.9.7.12, I'm guessing the plugins miss a symbol from that version. Fortunately I could downgrade, the old pkg is still there. What should I do? Should I forbid the update? Will there be a fix?

Sorry to chime in so late in the game.

1. Installed xubuntu 12.04 on 7/4/2013,and latest updates (I'm set up for LTS releases only).
2. Installed compiz from synaptic, no special PPA, just the one available in synaptic.

Switching workspaces via mouse-based or keyboard-based cube-rotation flashes the window(s) from the previous workspace for a splisecond on the new workspace as soon as the cube stops.

Rotating with these same methods between two empty workspaces does not show any flicker at all (each of my workspaces has a different wallpaper, if it matters).

The ehavior was still present in Raring 13.04 when I experimented with it only a week ago.

Switching via Expo does not show the problem at all (at least on my end).

Given sogerc1's message above, about the version in vanvugt's ppa, I don't see a point in downgrading. Will patiently wait for 14.04, assuming this will ever be fixed.

Another sru is coming & will likely not contain a fix for this.
So with some trepidation will provide a link to a ppa.

Important to note:
*this is a complete & utter hack
*only works on rotate/cube, is not for wall or expo
*the ppa is Not to be enabled or have it's packages installed, full instructions on ppa page
*this by No means fixes anything, it only reduces the chance of flashing when rotating, probably by 95% or so.

I've used it without issue since 12.04 dev (except for occasional flash here & there
https://launchpad.net/~mc3man/+archive/precise-testing

Doug, I just tested your solution and it well works for my 12.04.
Thanks a lot for your great job!

I have tried Doug's fix on my 12.04 install, but I am not experiencing any improvement. I am pretty sure I followed the instructions correctly, which were basically to extract libcube.so from compiz-plugins_0.9.7.12-0ubuntu2+mc3man1.1~hack_amd64.deb from his ppa and place it in ~/.compiz-1/plugins.

Gregory and Doug, are you on i386 or amd64?

I followed the instructions for the amd64.
I created the directory ~/.compiz-1/plugins, copied the libcube.so file into it and restart computer.
Don't forget to remove the vanvugt ppa (if you installed it) and update the compiz packages to have the last version 0.9.7.12.

Thanks for posting back Gregory. It looks like my earlier problems with Doug's fix had to do with having a second monitor connected. Now that I'm home with just the laptop screen there's no flicker. I'll confirm this tomorrow when I reconnect the second monitor, in the mean time I'm really enjoying the lack of flicker, it's like 10.04 all over again! Thanks Doug!

Following up, it is the second monitor that makes the difference. The laptop monitor does not flicker after installing Doug's fix, but the second monitor still does. Definitely progress though, thanks Doug!

Well done Doug (https://launchpad.net/~mc3man) !!

your fix/hack/workaround or whatever you wish to call it is perfect, haven't had that awful flickering in my Ubuntu 12.04.02 compiz cube since installing it.

This is fantastic.

This bug has been reported here nearly two years ago, and it even got fixed (partly) by Ubuntu team, but never released (because of regressions etc) in such a form that it simply could be installed in stock Precise.

And now, just by copying that one libcube.so to home dir's compiz plugin dir, and after login, everything is smooth and non-flickering. In nearly two years time I had got so used to this cube flickering that hardly remembered anymore what an relaxed and still and smoothly moving cube and windows felt like.

Thanks one more time, Doug, I owe you a beer or two for providing this simple hack for us ;-)

-jukka

The hack works for me too. I can't see flicker at all (Ubuntu 12.04 with Gnome classic session).
Finally, 2 year later I can use the cube again.
Thanks a lot Doug

Not certain if this applies to other users but this fix worked for me:

In ccsm, choose the composite plugin under the general settings area.

"Unredirect Fullscreen Windows" is checked.
"Unredirect Match" includes a list of window classes.

Click the "+" button to add a match. I then used the grab tool and added the fullscreen windows which had been experiencing flickers. Virtual Box is the one which has annoyed me the most because I consistently have multiple vbox instances open on different workspaces. When I grabbed a vbox instance it added "& !(class=VirtualBox)" to the "Unredirect Match"

Now vbox doesn't have the screen flicker any more! It would be nice not to have to manually add exceptions but this has worked for me so far.

Also, I don't know what undesirable consequences (if any) this fix has.

It works for me too:now cube is back,I just followed the instructions,dropped libcube.so in ~/.compiz-1/plugins,logged out and then in again,and it works-with just the slightest hint of flicker maybe,but it could be my ATI card as well,or the AMD proprietary driver,who knows.
Thanks a lot Doug:another great fix,some people may say Compiz is dead but IMHO it still is the nicest window manager around.

People considering Compiz as dead think that nearly two years to see a hack which is not a real fix for such a terrible bug is not a sign of a healthy piece of software, specially for an LTS version which is suppose to be rock solid. Two years of this flickering made Compiz something very far from the nicest window manager. As long as a real fix is not provided for the LTS version, Compiz will be considered as a poor window manager by many.

12.04 being an LTS is the reason why this bug will not be fixed. If you read the older posts the developers say that fixing the bug would require a major change in compiz's core which would compromise it's stability. But compiz is an eyecandy, if it doesn't look good it's nothing. IMHO the problem is the not caring. 12.04 is a really old version and Cannonical cares only about the next version and since this is not a security issue don't expect that it will ever be fixed.
BTW also don't expect many compiz improvements in the future because with the replacement of xorg compiz will become outdated. It's a shame though, compiz indeed used to be the best looking, most configurable window manager and it had the best multihead support (which is unfortunately also considered outdated).

Soos Gergely,

Thank you for bringing the issue of compiz support (of lack thereof) in future versions of Ubuntu to our attention. I admit I have not even considered the possibility that compiz may become unavailable in future versions. This is alarming and upsetting. I like Ubuntu, it has been my favourite OS for years. However, when compiz becomes unavailable I will have to switch to another distro. Losing compiz will be too much for me.

Val, may I suggest Cinnamon ? I think it's a very nice replacement.
As well as Linux Mint to which I switched since the Ubuntu spyware episode.
But it's a little sad for compiz which was a very good piece of software.

Please create a question or a different bug if you wish to have discussions
like these. They are off the topic of this particular bug report and
causing lots of mailbox clutter for other developers who may be subscribed
to bug mail on this bug due to their past involvement with it.

On Wed, Dec 11, 2013 at 1:59 PM, Val <email address hidden> wrote:

> Soos Gergely,
>
> Thank you for bringing the issue of compiz support (of lack thereof) in
> future versions of Ubuntu to our attention. I admit I have not even
> considered the possibility that compiz may become unavailable in future
> versions. This is alarming and upsetting. I like Ubuntu, it has been my
> favourite OS for years. However, when compiz becomes unavailable I will
> have to switch to another distro. Losing compiz will be too much for me.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are a bug assignee.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/862430
>
> Title:
> window flicker for a short time after switching workspaces
>
> Status in Compiz:
> Fix Released
> Status in Compiz Core:
> Triaged
> Status in “compiz” package in Ubuntu:
> Fix Released
>
> Bug description:
> Affects 11.10 and 12.04 (beta 1)
>
> 2) The version of the package you are using, via 'apt-cache policy
> pkgname' or by checking in Software Center
> compiz:
> Installed: 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu1
> Candidate: 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu1
> Version table:
> *** 1:0.9.6+bzr20110929-0ubuntu1 0
> 500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
> unity:
> Installed: 4.18.0-0ubuntu1
> Candidate: 4.18.0-0ubuntu1
> Version table:
> *** 4.18.0-0ubuntu1 0
> 500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ oneiric/main amd64
> Packages
> 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
>
> 3) What you expected to happen
> If I switch workspaces windows should not flicker.
>
> 4) What happened instead
> If I switch to another workspace the windows appear (flicker) on the
> next workspace for a short time.
>
>
> A demonstration video:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/compiz/+bug/862430/+attachment/2724193/+files/video-2012-02-08-18-05-38.mp4
>
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 11.10
> Package: unity 4.18.0-0ubuntu1
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.0.0-12.19-generic 3.0.4
> Uname: Linux 3.0.0-12-generic x86_64
> .tmp.unity.support.test.0:
>
> ApportVersion: 1.23-0ubuntu2
> Architecture: amd64
> CompizPlugins:
> [core,bailer,detection,composite,opengl,decor,mousepoll,vpswitch,regex,animation,snap,expo,move,compiztoolbox,place,grid,imgpng,gnomecompat,wall,ezoom,workarounds,resize,fade,unitymtgrabhandles,scale,session,unityshell]
> CompositorRunning: compiz
> Date: Thu Sep 29 16:06:33 2011
> DistUpgraded: Log time: 2011-09-24 10:32:25.138728
> DistroCodename: oneiric
> DistroVariant: ubuntu
> GraphicsCard:
> Intel Corporation 4 Series Chipset Integrated Graphics Controller
> [8086:2e22] (rev 03) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])
> Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device [1462:7521]
> Subsystem: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd. Device [1462:...