Comment 16 for bug 371585

Got the problem sorted for me, hope this sorts it out for others too:

To get Metacity working, the dirty hack is to add:

metacity --replace

to the list of startup applications, which seems to work fine if you’re set against compiz.

I was, but after trying it a bit the last two days it’s much much better than when I last tried it a year ago, so I’ve taken most of the gee whiz out and kept some of the usable stuff.

So to use compiz, I’ve installed all the relevant Compiz packages in synaptic, as well as “Compiz Fusion Icon”, which actually turned out to be the missing link, as well as adding:

fusion-icon

to the list of startup apps. So now I have the Fusion Icon in the Notification area next to the volume applet, but most importantly my windows have decoration / borders, I can alt+tab, and switch between workspaces (each one has a diff purpose for me).

ref:
http://www.oneafrikan.com/archives/2009/05/19/jaunty-jackalope-upgrade-issues-evolution-window-decoration-workspace-switcher-alt-tab-not-working/