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I there! I'm a new Ubuntu user and I began with version 11.10. I recently installed Gnome Shell (gnome-shell package in Ubuntu Software Center) after running with Ubuntu 2D. I thought it would be faster but indeed not really (mainly) because (I guess) all the fancy visual effects. However, I really love the interface and so would like to keep running with GNOME Shell (not GNOME Classic).

How/Where can I disable all those fancy visual effects in order to work with the lightest interface I can?

Thanks!

Uri Herrera
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Phen0m
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6 Answers6

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The extension 'Disable Window Animation' don't work any more in Gnome 3.8, so just do this command to disable it:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface enable-animations false
Maxwel Leite
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in general : probably in any distro with gnome:

bash$:gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface enable-animations false

but specifically in some distros such as popos: Settings -> Accessibility -> Enable Animation On/Off

GNOME desktop disable effects:

GNOME desktop disable effects

Maj
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In Gnome Shell you can't disable any effect. Why? Because AFAIK there's not a tool à la CCSM that Handles this for Mutter.

In Unity 3D you can disable most effects with CCSM.

LXDE is fast, and lightweight it uses Panels and is GTK+ compatible so Themes for GTK 3 & 2 will work.

I ran an LXDE+Compiz setup that was fast, responsive, and light even if I didn't need it to be light.

A very light alternative to Compiz is xcompmgr it provides basic compositing, compositing is needed for most Docks (AWN and Docky need Compositing for Transparency).

I wouldn't say XFCE is not light anymore but it's definitely heavier than LXDE.

So if you're looking to save RAM this is not really an Option.

Enlightenment looks just awful and it uses the same amount of RAM and CPU as LXDE.

Totor
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Uri Herrera
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2

It's possible to disable window animations with this extensin from extensions.gnome.org. You may have a look here:

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/119/disable-window-animations/

gemue2010
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GNOME is fat by definition. If you're looking for speed, you'll have to drop it and go with something snappier:

.. or you could build your own classical Desktop Environment using various lightweight components:

  • Window manager: Openbox, JWM
  • File manager: PCManFM, Thunar, ROX, Midnight Commander
  • Dock/Taskbar: Docky, Avant Window Navigator, GNOME Do, SimDock
  • Launcher: Synapse, Kupfer, GNOME Do
  • etc.

For the optimal solution in terms of speed and productivity, you should consider switching to a tiling window manager. Awesome, dwm, and xmonad are the most common ones.

Remember that you don't necessarily have to ditch aesthetics for performance, but you will enter a world with a different definition of eye candy. In that case, you might as well change distros to something more minimalistic such as Arch Linux or Gentoo.

octosquidopus
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don't try to fix anything with CCSM if you're going to run the gnome shell interface since it not compatible... but you can switch to unity and using CCSM (compatible with unity) dismantle most effects... or install LXDE + compiz (CCSM) that way you'll have a light but good-looking interface

Sebastián Gamboa
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