Re:I don't get it (Score 1)

Desktop effects are easily disabled, and like any debian based system they are easily removed. If you look at the new unified appearance menu, for all of gnomes visual components, there is a desktop effect tab. It has an option for three levels of effects; Ranging from 'None' - 'Normal'(as in the ones that help usability like dragging, expose, and desktop wall) - and 'Extra' (which includes all the flashy non effective plugins). You can access the appearance menu by via System->Preferences->Appearance or by Right clicking on your desktop and selecting 'Change Desktop Background' then selecting the effects tab.