Only one thing surprises me a bit - the assertion that there is some problem getting Compiz effects to work with Unity. I haven't found any that DON'T work as yet - although after 'checking them out' again, I disabled the 'fire and rain' options and simplified the animations for open, close, minimize etc. I kept the cube and gears though - just so used to the visualization of my different workspaces...

I don't know about its future, but the present is pretty good still.

BTW - Unity just ISN'T so bad as all that - it gives a fast and easy to follow workflow. Finding customizations is still tougher than it needs to be, though!