Examples of OpenGL-driven X windows.

[drag]

Here is some videos of Linux geeks playing around with experimental 3d desktops.

Running on fairly mellow hardware, too. 2 laptops, one with Intel 830 video and the other with a ATI 7500.

Videos here..
http://www.stanford.edu/~niran/luminocity/

That's a mirror of the videos, running Ogg Theora video, (like Ogg Vorbis, but instead of just audio it's Audio + video)

If you don't already have it, VLC video player can play it. (nice player with versions for Linux, OS X, and Windows)

The original Blog were they were posted is here:
http://www.gnome.org/~seth/blog/xshots

The videos are aviable in other formats, if Theora is to much for you to handle, but the original site is undergoing a very extensive Slashdot'ng. So head to /. if you want to read a bunch of semi-pointless gib-jab.

Basicly XGL window server running luminosity window manager. Expermental stuff, just to show off the technology.. show what is possible.

Eventually it will be integrated into Gnome and you should be able to pick special effects just like it was another Theme.

Something interesting.

 

[n0cmonkey]

I've kepy a loose eye on Berlin, er Cairo for a while now. Interesting stuff, but I'm guessing a lot of it'll be Linux only for a while.

 

[drag]

for a while... (here's hoping O'BSD gets OpenGL like it's getting Wifi)

BTW the luminosity wasn't running on XGL, just regular X.org.

oops...

Cairo should be in Gnome shortly.. Maybe Gnome 2.11 or maybe 3.0 or something like that.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: drag
for a while... (here's hoping O'BSD gets OpenGL like it's getting Wifi)

BTW the luminosity wasn't running on XGL, just regular X.org.

BTW x 2 Cairo is in Gnome right now. If you need proof open up the solitare suite (command is sol) the cards and everything is Vector-based and resize on the fly. Icons are all Vector-based, too.

Hardware accelerated OpenGL isn't a priority for the OpenBSD developers. Network cards are. I'm cool with that.

It's good to see the Cairo guys are getting some recognition.

 

[drag]

Here is Cairo stuff related to GTK..
http://www.gtk.org/plan/2.8/


It's in GTK+ 2.8, at least partially.

Vector based graphics and OpenGL are very complimentary. First Experimental OpenGL backend for Linux was a XRender-replacement for Cario called 'Glitz'.

http://www.freedesktop.org/Software/glitz
http://www.waimea.org/wiki/Software_2fXgl

 

[VirtualLarry]

Wow, cool stuff. Wonder how long before we need to wear those 3D LCD shutter-glasses, just to manipulate our desktop UIs.

 

[Raduque]

That is truely awesome. I love windows, but if this stuff is easy to use and setup, and comes out soon, I just may switch to Linux for desktoppy stuff, and relegate my firebreathing XP machine to gaming duty.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: Raduque
That is truely awesome. I love windows, but if this stuff is easy to use and setup, and comes out soon, I just may switch to Linux for desktoppy stuff, and relegate my firebreathing XP machine to gaming duty.

Well....

This is all guestimation.. No bases in real fact or anything like that.

Ok this Luminocity window manager is a testbed for Gnome's Metacity window manager. Gnome is the project for this particular Desktop Enviroment..

the other major Desktop enviroment is KDE.. and they have their own OpenGL stuff I don't know much about.

Gnome Desktop 2.10 just got released this month. The previous Gnome Desktop (which was 2.8) was released in September '04. So that's 7 months between those two stable releases.

Right now they are trying to keep in sync with distros like Fedora Core, which release a new version of their OS every 6-8 months or so.

GTK+ is the software that most of Gnome is built from. Gnome 2.10 currently uses GTK+ 2.6.. Gnome 2.12 will use GTK+ 2.8.

GTK+ 2.8 will (hopefully) incorporate Cairo, which is Vector-based graphics software, into itself. Including with Cairo support there will be a option for users to use OpenGL hardware rendering for their desktop.

So in another 8 months I expect that you can have the option of having OpenGL (optionally) hardware-rendered Gnome desktop with Vector graphics. Something like that.

However I doubt that that will use all the fancy smancy stuff being shown off in those videos. After lots of users can try out and use OpenGL rendering, then they will start to incorporate more and more of it into desktop and get special effects.

Then they have to make sure and coordinate with X.org (X Window Server Developers) and make sure everything is compatable and that conflicting technologies are kept to a minimal.

It will probably be included in the version after that, or the version after that. Gnome 2.14 or Gnome 2.16.. Maybe or Gnome 3.0 (which means a even longer delay)

So I figure by late summer or fall of next year most of features being explored in those videos will be aviable to the average user using Linux.

It's realy very difficult to tell how accurate I am. I am just guessing, mostly.

So by the next time you build a new rig for yourself be sure to check for Linux hardware compatablity before buying the componates.
Right now you can try out current level of stuff with Knoppix and not have to install anything on your computer. (no fancy stuff like in the videos, of course)