Enabling the desktop cube in Ubuntu

To make Ubuntu more attractive to the end user, the Ubuntu developers have included some eye-candy 'desktop effects' with the recent versions of Ubuntu. These are actually done with external plugins, such as the Expo plugin. Ubuntu comes with some pre-installed visual effect plugins but only a few of them are active by default. A one feature that most people ask for but seems not available is the Desktop Cube. The Cube is also already installed but not enabled. This article will guide you to manage the plugins and enable the cube.

In this article I assume,
That you have a working Internet connection.
That you have a faster graphics card with at leaset 64 MB of memory.

We need to follow the steps below.


Install CompizConfig Settings Manager
Enable the Desktop Cube
Using the Desktop Cube
Configure Desktop Cube

Install CompizConfig Settings Manager

These plugins I mensioned are actually components of a software package caled Compiz Fusion. By default, the configuration tool for Compiz Fusion does not come with Hardy. So the first thing we need is to install that configuration tool. This tool is called CompiConfig Settings Manager.
To install, type the following command in the Terminal.

sudo apt-get install compizconfig-settings-manager

Press y and then press Enter when it asks to confirm installation. Exit the terminal after you have successfully installed the Settings Manager.

Enable the Desktop Cube

First, you need to enable the desktop effects if you have not done so. To do this, go to the System menu and then Preferences --> Appearance. Click on the Visual Effecs tab. Select the Normal option or the Extra option. Then close the window.
However if it displays a message saying 'Desktop effects could not be enabled.' that means your graphics card is not supported or video memory is not enough.

Now we are going to use the CompizConfig Settings Manager to enable the Cube. To start CompizConfig Settings Manager, go to the System menu and then Preferences --> Advanced Desktop Effects. That is the CompizConfig Settings Manager.
On the left side pane, under the Filter, type cube.
Cube and related plugins will appear on the other side. To enable, just mark the check box in front of each you prefer. When enabling Desktop Cube, it may ask to disable Desktop Wall (or something like that). To avoid collisions between plugins, it is necessary to disable the Desktop Wall. So disable the desktop Wall and enable the Desktop Cube.
Now you have successfuly enabled the Cube.

Using the Desktop Cube

To see whether all are working properly, press Ctrl + Alt + -> or Ctrl + Alt + <- to rotate the Cube. Configure Desktop Cube

In the CompizConfig Settings Manager, if you click on the plugin name instead of the check box, you can configure the plugin as you prefer. For example, the key bidings to enable/ disable plugin, effect appearance and etc.
After you finished working with CompizConfig Settings Manager, close it.

Congratulations!