Linux Desktop news

[Sasq]

This should go in the alternative lifestyles forum, but well ya know, I'm allowed to break rules.

Novell have released something called Xgl for nix.

http://www.novell.com/linux/xglrelease/

Live CD http://getkororaa.com/

nice gentoo wiki http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_XGL

I have it running here, and all I can say is 'Wow'

[Tjalfe]

so will you have the iso of the live cd hosted somewhere hidden on murc? .. the official site took it offline

[Sasq]

The mirrors have it, which is where I got it from, or the torrent file works so I am told.

[Tjalfe]

I don't know how I missed the mirrors section

downloading from Japan now.. 10X faster than the states

[Nowhere]

Hmmm...they don't even mention Matrox. I wodner if G-series (with good Linux drivers after all...) is supported...anyone tried?

[TnT]

rant mode on

While I'm well aware of the uses of better compositing and a gl based desktop, all that people seem to continuously demand is drop shadows. I don't get it. What's the huge frikkin deal with drop shadows that people find so fascinating? When OS X came out people keep saying it's got drop shadows! On Linux forums people keep asking how to get composite running so they can have drop shadows.

They are the most worthless visual effect on the desktop. Do people think their windows are stuck together? Does the drop shadow make them realize that the windows are on top of each other?

rant mode off

[Jon P. Inghram]

You left out meaningless window transparency in your rant.

[Mikko]

Are you saying that those features are even more useless than Matrox HeadCasting??

[Jon P. Inghram]

Extrapolating upon the current trends in operating system GUIs, I forsee a future where the GUI will have evolved to the point where it is an exact simulation of a real desktop, at which point people will suddenly realize there's no point to the expensive computer on their desk when it's just simulating what they'd do with the desk if the computer wasn't already taking up space on it.

[Nowhere]

I think the thing that it tried to mimick desktop so much now is...well, I suppose it could be better.

BTW, this use of transparency is...almost usefull

http://home.rochester.rr.com/artcfox/GhostIt/

And I guess shadows help to "raise" (not talking about visible aspect of it...but focus of the user) active window for some...

PS. Nobody tried running it on G-series cards yet?!

[Jon P. Inghram]

Tried it, but it crashed a lot and wouldn't connect to the internet. Plus the goofy rubber window effect got old quick. And the constant fading in and out effects too. Gimme nice snappy windows that close instantly when I hit the X button please.

[Nowhere]

Ahhh, so it is worth downloading (it can take time or be a bit complicated in my case...) if one wants to simply see the nice effects, running on live cd distro? (with the computer having Matrox G-series card)

[Sasq]

ok couple of things to note.
the wobble of windows anyoys me,
it is only a tech demo, and both compiz and xgl are still getting themselves sorted.
I am running it on suse 10.1 beta8, most/all of the windows effects have settings so you can turn off/tone down individual things (of course still being new, not all the settings are actually obeyed atm)

The two main things I like.
The ease at which you can access other desktops, in my day to day work, makes life easier.
the snap to window function, it will snap to another window/screen border, but if you keep dragging, it will 'give way' and allow you to position it where you want.

[Jessterw]

Just a few things to add.

XGL and Compiz are both results of a desire to make the Linux desktop more attractive to the average user and expansive usability testing by Novell and others. Obviously most of the effects that are being demonstrated are being done so in the extreme so that it's readily apparent what is possible.

That said, from a usability perspective, things like drop-shadows, transparency, and so forth have been proven to have a positive affect on how users interact with the "desktop". Yes, these effects can be applied in a manner that becomes more distractive than not. For instance, the wobbly effect seen in the demos, which again, is more of a "hey, we can now do this...". Doesn't mean it will show up as a default later on (either in presence or in the intensity of the effect). The window snapping effect, on the other hand, is a perfect example of one that has the possibility of improving usability and the tactile feel of using one's OS/computer.

Most everyone can remember the initial releases of OS X and how gaudy the GUI was, especially in terms of the drop shadow and other effects. Those effects are still present; however, they've been toned down to an acceptable level over time as the rest of the interface has also been refined. The same will apply to Compiz/XGL on Linux (or potentially any OS that uses X).

The nice thing is... in the end you can always turn the effects off. That and at this point it's all beta level and everything so far has been a demo (save for the incorporation into SUSE).

[Sasq]

warning large file

http://sasqs.net/pics/Screenshot.png

thats what my desktop resembles atm