What is the purpose of "eye candy"?

[IsaacKuo]

Some specific examples of the general ones I already gave above:

I use URW Palladio instead of Sans Serif.

I use the kore-black gtk2 theme instead of the default.

I use the Umicons icon set instead of the default.

I use the IceNine icewm theme instead of the default.

I use a custom edited desktop background image instead of the default.

I'll change any or all of the above, depending on my mood for a change. Also, the various themes and fonts and colors tend to be different on my different computers. It's a little refreshing compared to just having the same boring desktop on every machine.

[techieMoe]

Some specific examples of the general ones I already gave above:

I use URW Palladio instead of Sans Serif.

I use the kore-black gtk2 theme instead of the default.

I use the Umicons icon set instead of the default.

I use the IceNine icewm theme instead of the default.

I use a custom edited desktop background image instead of the default.

I'll change any or all of the above, depending on my mood for a change. Also, the various themes and fonts and colors tend to be different on my different computers. It's a little refreshing compared to just having the same boring desktop on every machine.

Yes, changing your fonts and themes is a pretty low-impact way to enhance your experience. I guess I just don't consider that "eye candy". To me, fonts are necessary, basic functions of the GUI. You can't read text without fonts.

"Eye candy" to me is by definition functionally useless. It's just there for style. But I don't want to argue semantics. I get your point.

[hazel]

Sounds like a Slackware and/or Debian user to me.

No, actually I've been using old versions of Red Hat for the past two years and I've just started with Ubuntu Dapper Drake on a new (second-hand) computer. I wouldn't dare mess with Debian; it sounds to me like an experts-only distro.

[techieMoe]

I wouldn't dare mess with Debian; it sounds to me like an experts-only distro.

Actually, that would be Slackware.

[smolloy]

It is true that eye-candy is useless by definition, so the answer to the question, "What is the point in eye-candy?", is "Nothing!".

However, in my opinion, some of the features of Beryl that are commonly referred to as eye-candy are not, as they do increase productivity and make for a smooth user experience.

Of course, some of the features of Beryl are pure eye-candy. They are entirely useless except for making my computer look pretty. But since I have a fairly powerful computer, the performance impact isn't noticeable. So why not use them?

[techieMoe]

It is true that eye-candy is useless by definition, so the answer to the question, "What is the point in eye-candy?", is "Nothing!".

However, in my opinion, some of the features of Beryl that are commonly referred to as eye-candy are not, as they do increase productivity and make for a smooth user experience.

Of course, some of the features of Beryl are pure eye-candy. They are entirely useless except for making my computer look pretty. But since I have a fairly powerful computer, the performance impact isn't noticeable. So why not use them?

Not to nitpick but you seem to be contradicting yourself there. You say features are "entirely useless" and then ask "why not use them"? To me, you just answered your own question. I would choose not to use them because they serve no useful purpose.

What features of these 3D desktop environments have you found that increase your productivity? I'm genuinely curious.

[smolloy]

Not to nitpick but you seem to be contradicting yourself there. You say features are "entirely useless" and then ask "why not use them"?

I meant that some features are useless from the point of view of productivity, but are useful from the point of view of making my computer pretty. I wouldn't accept prettiness for a hit in productivity, and there are some features that do that that I have turned off, but if it doesn't affect the way I work, then why not have extra prettiness?

What features of these 3D desktop environments have you found that increase your productivity? I'm genuinely curious.

I like being able to middle click on the desktop and have it go transparent to see the other side of the cube. This allows me to see if the code I'm running on the opposite face has finished, or if I should keep on working on whatever I'm doing on this face.

For similar reasons I like being able to turn the desktop into live thumbnails of all my windows with one mouse gesture to see how far each of my simulations (or whatever) have got, and then focussing back on the primary window with a click.

I like the visual bell. This "ripples" the screen behind the window I'm working in if some application sounds a bell. This allows me to know if something has errored out, or completed compilation, without an audible bell that disturbs others (and, frankly, gets on my nerves).

There are probably more features that I've started using that cannot be found on standard desktops, but have left my head for the moment.

I'm sure you will disagree with some of these, and may find them all to be useless and uninteresting for your work, but I honestly find these features to be quite useful.

[techieMoe]

I wouldn't accept prettiness for a hit in productivity, and there are some features that do that that I have turned off, but if it doesn't affect the way I work, then why not have extra prettiness?

I agree there. If it doesn't get in the way I can see why someone wouldn't mind a little extra prettiness. I'm just the kind of person who lives in an apartment with bare walls though. Haha.

I like being able to middle click on the desktop and have it go transparent to see the other side of the cube. This allows me to see if the code I'm running on the opposite face has finished, or if I should keep on working on whatever I'm doing on this face.

For similar reasons I like being able to turn the desktop into live thumbnails of all my windows with one mouse gesture to see how far each of my simulations (or whatever) have got, and then focussing back on the primary window with a click.

I like the visual bell. This "ripples" the screen behind the window I'm working in if some application sounds a bell. This allows me to know if something has errored out, or completed compilation, without an audible bell that disturbs others (and, frankly, gets on my nerves).

There are probably more features that I've started using that cannot be found on standard desktops, but have left my head for the moment.

I'm sure you will disagree with some of these, and may find them all to be useless and uninteresting for your work, but I honestly find these features to be quite useful.

Well, you're actually the first person to give some concrete examples of how these features help you out. I don't often hear anything more than "these are a great boost in productivity!" It's good to know there's something substantive to them, even if they don't apply to me.

[budman7]

mmmmm eye-candy, mmmmmmmmmm

I just like the way when I minimize a window how it will seem to go down a drain.
I also like to see a decent-sized window when I place the mouse over the minimized window.
No functionality involved whatsoever.

[oz]

Yeah, I went ahead and installed Beryl to see what all the fuss is about.

It installed and worked just fine on my machine, but I quickly found all the special effects overly annoying. It's pretty much like I suspected... once you get past the wow-factor, there's really not much to it. That said, I've removed it from my machine because there's nothing there that warrants keeping it (in my opinion), but at least now I understand what people are talking about when they refer to Beryl.