error Composite extension not found

[Hemal Pandya <hemalpandya@gmail.com>]

Good morning all,

I am new to linux so please pardon if this a dumb question or I have
failed to look for the solution in some obvious place.

I have installed debian testing (etch) and after some effort was able
to get kdm and KDE running on start-up. I did some configurations,
details of which I do not remember, but since then after start up I
get the two error pop-ups.

The first says Composite Manager crashed twice in one minute and has
been disabled for this session. The second pop-up says:
Composite extension not found.
You must use XOrg ≥ 6.8 for translucency and shadows to work.
Additionally, you need to add a new section to your X config file:
Section "Extensions"
Option "Composite" "Enable"
EndSection

My questions are as follows:

What is composite manager?
How do I find out which version of XOrg I am using?
Can I upgrade to XOrg ≥ 6.8> How?
How do i turn off Composite Manager.

I am not a member of this list. I will monitor the archives, but will
appreciate if copied on the follow-ups.

Thanks in advance,

- hemal