I've been an Ubuntu dilettante for a long, long time. It is not my primary OS but I've always had it on all my laptops and desktop machines for over 8 years now. What I really, really like(d) about ubuntu (or linux, for that matter) was the effects - desktop cube, wobbly windows and other such "cool" effects.

Needless to say, I was heartbroken with Unity. I gave it the benefit of doubt and tried to like it, tried to love it. Stuck with it for over a year. But I recently came to the conclusion that unity is really not for me.

I want my old ubuntu back, with all it's eye candy effects. I tried messing around with ccsm but it only seemed to make the matters worse. Now, I could just install the old version of ubuntu - but getting my bamboo pen and Nvidia to work with it is a son of a.. anyway, the point is, old version of ubuntu is outdated to work with my newer machines.

I'd rather have a new version of ubuntu but without unity- I don't know what the eye candy stuff is called - and so my question is this - Is it possible to rid ubuntu of unity and get all the eye candy stuff and if it is not possible, can you please advice me what other linux supports all the effects, please?

I've searched high and low for unity alternatives but didn't find any satisfactory solutions; so I think my question is mainly about what other linux flavour is better suited for the task - sorry if it is out of topic.