Why you would want to do that? Because it uses less resources and it may run better for old or incompatible video cards (including Intel). You don’t even need accelerated graphics to run Metacity with compositing and it even works well inside VirtualBox.

Compiz is one of the first compositing window managers for the X Window System that is able to take advantage of OpenGL-acceleration. The integration allows it to perform compositing effects in window management, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace. Compiz conforms to the ICCCM standard and as such can substitute for the default Metacity in GNOME or KWin in KDE.

Don't have a graphics card capable of running desktop effects with Compiz on Ubuntu? By enabling compositing in GNOME's default Metacity window manager, you get some eye candy and can run applications that require or benefit from a compositing window manager.

There is this fairly new program called Closure. It's not brand new but I have only seen it mentioned and talked about on the AWN Forum. Closure to be used does need a composite manager, so you will need to be using; compmgr, beryl, compiz or the new Compiz Fusion.[...] Basically Closure is just an updated look for the log out menu.

Compiz is a compositing window manager that uses 3D graphics acceleration via OpenGL. It provides various new graphical effects and features on any desktop environment, including Gnome and KDE. Compiz Fusion is a collection of plugins and a configuration system for the Compiz compositing window manager. It was created from the remerging of Beryl into Compiz.

Yesterday we shared that Compiz++ and Nomad would be merged back into Compiz and today there are even more announcements coming out of the Compiz camp. With Compiz not having a clear road-map, a Compiz council has been established to begin charting the future of this compositing window manager.

Cairo-Dock is an animated application launch bar for the desktop, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for Windows). It is compatible with Compiz, but it can also run without a composite manager . Cairo-Dock can run under GNOME, KDE and XFCE.

Glx-Dock/Cairo-Dock is an interactive dock (like the one you know from a Mac) that provides easy access to some of the files, folders, and applications on your computer, and more. You can use it with OpenGL (to use your graphics card) or without, and it is compatible with Compiz, but it can also run without a composite manager. It works under Unity, GNOME, KDE, and Xfce.

I'd like to ask the Ubuntu developer community to consider freeing up valuable CD space by removing Compiz and just using Mutter (Metacity 3) compositing in the default installation for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, Lucid Lynx.