SAVE BERYL, please, I need your help..

A lot of words has been said about this Beryl-Compiz reunion. And a lot of words has yet to be said. I believe Beryl is a very ass-kicking brand, name, logo and so on. It is famous, far more than Compiz and it is loved, far more than Compiz.

People love and know Beryl. Geeks and Gurus alone knows about Compiz but it is not said that they love it.

So my pray is simple: save Beryl. Not as a standalone project but as the NAME for future compiz expansion packs. There’s no reason for changing this great name and brand. Compiz willnever give up its name after all.

KDE4 is near us and it has got a very good name too, Plasma. It is right with Aero and Aqua for Vista and OSX. Beryl is right for GNOME, since it represents the element “Earth” and it is related to the real fairy Gnomes too.

I’m having a discussion about this facts in the CompComm forum. I hope it will lead to something and it will bring some light in this very struggled composite community now that the name poll has failed its mission (Luckily).

Please, if you think I’m right, fight with me to make people think about it. Trowing away Beryl would be THE GREATEST error the community could ever make. This is my Post in the CompComm Community, please read it and visit the link.

Boys, look, I don’t want to look as the always present ball-breaker guy but… I don’t like Compiz Fusion because there is the word Compiz into it. Compiz is the core and not a lot of people actually knows or uses compiz. The great majority of users uses Beryl and that’s a fact. Magazines, journals and blogs, all always wrote about Beryl. In a little squared box, occasionally (Only in some magazines) you can read that originally there WAS Compiz, as if it was dead by a long time. Now, since everyone knows only Beryl (And just to point this out, in the compiz information dialog, you can read “Compiz is not Beryl!”… very sad. And that’s because they actually know that people are aware of the existence of Beryl alone) or appreciate/use much more Beryl than compiz, and also, since Compiz is really a bad name (In my hunble opinion), it is really a bad choice to insert compiz into the name of the reunion.

Again I’ll say it: if we whant to compete on the market and spread of 3D desktops or, generally, of composite desktops, we need a strong and charged of meanings name. Fusion is ridiculous, it only refers to the fact that Beryl and Compiz are reuniting. Nobody out there cares about that. Users (Not developers) only want a working and kicking composite desktop. With a great fascinating name. They don’t care about compiz or beryl or a reunion… they only want a final product. And that’s what we have to give them. So Fusion is absolutely not the right name. Think about it.

Then again: OSX has Aqua (Water), Vista has Aero (Air), KDE4 now has Plasma (And it can be considered a sort of element, say it is Energy, lighting, thunder and so on. Very good name indeed, I love it even if I’m a GNOME user). We are talking about elements. Gnome had Beryl (Earth, beryl is a stone after all). And it was a veeeeery good name. Also remember that Gnomes are magic little creatures linked to the earth. So the element of choice for this reunion should be related to the earth. Sorry for saying it but Beryl was really just perfect. Also because Gnomes are known for hiding under the rainbows they’re treasures. And in this cauldrons of treasures there always is gold and also gems… and Beryl is a very precious gem. Not to say the other very strong fact that everything related to Beryl is a gem. Aquamarine, Heliodor, Emerald…. do you really want to throw all of this very strong merchandise in the junk?

It would be a veeery big error, believe me. Now I’ll say what I think we should JUST DO. Compiz remains compiz and Compiz Extra becomes Beryl. That’s all. Beryl should become the extension and completion of Compiz. that makes sense in every way you look at it. Compiz as it is is just a composite manager with some very nice looking features. Then you add the gem, the Beryl. And it becomes a treasure, the strong point of Gnome. And the name is absolutely related to Gnome, to the earth and so on. All of the things I already explained. Everyone in the world now knows and loves Beryl. Don’t throw it away, please. Search in youtube, you already know what you’ll find. There should not be a reunited name. Composite Community is OK for representing the union of ex-beryl and Compiz. But the expansion pack should really be called Beryl and that’s all. Please, try to think about it. No one looses its name and we’re all happy with it. But beside this stupid point, remember: I don’t think there’ll ever be a better name than Beryl around. Don’t let is run away it would be the biggest error in the community history.

This is just the first and most important part of my posts in this CompComm thread about the name poll. Please read also the others posts I made and the answers I received. A lot of people agrees with me.

If you think too that I’m fighting for a right reason, please, support me. Post your opinion, it IS REALLY NEEDED. The Open Source Community always does what the majority of people want to do. So, please, post in this discussion, say something, participate. Don’t stay in a corner, fight for our future.