npcompleat - Slashdot User

Submission + - Windows Vista restricts GNU GCC apps to 32 MB

Submitted by Neil Watson on Saturday March 31, 2007 @03:26PM

Submission + - Beryl and Compiz merge!

Submitted by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 31, 2007 @01:17PM

An anonymous reader writes: Beryl and Compiz will merge. annoucement on forum: http://forum.beryl-project.org/viewtopic.php?f=34& t=5484

"Currently, we're in the process of merging our work with Compiz.

We've already agreed on the most fundamental part; the merging of the cores. How this is happening is that we're taking the changes we've made to the core that we like to keep, and porting them to Compiz-core. This doesn't really mean much to the average user yet. The core is not what you really see when you use Beryl or Compiz. There were disagreements in the pasts about changes to the core, there will be disagreements in the future too, but we feel confident that we will be able to work them out together with David.

This merging of the cores is a considerable amount of work, because you can't simply just copy/paste patches. And we're using this opportunity to improve some of our modifications. For instance, our settings system, libbs, will be a plugin now. It also looks like copy rendering will be a plugin. This takes time, but we'll get there. We're not having any real problems working with David on the core.

An other story entirely is everything outside of the core. Let me first remind you that we, the Beryl team, are the ones who brought you Beryl. We made it like this because we like it. We haven't stopped liking it recently, so you shouldn't worry about important features suddenly missing. All though it might take some time to merge/port those important changes. Tools like beryl-settings will still be a focus for us. As will general usability and ease of use.

At the same time, it's not easy to merge two projects that have fought so much in the past. The Beryl team have more or less already discussed the merge and what we want to do before we got this far (See our mailinglist archives, http://lists.beryl-project.org/ ). The Compiz community hasn't. As such, we need to give these guys the time they need to come to terms with what they want to get out of this. What's important to each project. For you, the Beryl community, this means that it will take some time before you see a true beryl-like release. I'm saying beryl-like, because there might be releases that are not as nice as you're used to seeing them. We will focus on being the glue that makes it possible to easily use Beryl/Compiz. Like we always have.

I'm telling you this because we need your help. This is a time when the Beryl community and Compiz community has to come to terms with our differences. As such, there's bound to be arguments. And because of our history of long flame wars, it WILL get nasty. I hope I can count on you, the Beryl community, to help us through this time by supporting us, and not making things worse. Remember that this is a huge step for the compiz community, and it shouldn't be a decision they take lightly. And they need to figure this out for them self. Just like we need to figure it out. And remember that we are not enemies, and that we wish to work together in the future.

Most of the Beryl devs understand each other quite well, and mostly agree on merge-related issues now. But we still want to hear from you what you think is important. Tell us what makes Beryl so good for you, or what you really can't stand. Tell us what you think is important in a merge. Tell us your concerns. But do it here, not on the Compiz forum. I will try to keep you updated on what's happening behind the scenes."