An overview of modern fancy UNIX desktop systems

If you haven't already, check out Enlightenment...a window manager which has the stated aim of bringing the look and feel of Bladerunner to the desktop.

Check out:

http://enlightenment.org

and the live distro:

http://ELiveCD.org

ttyl
Farrell

Oh regarding hardware requirements Enlightenment beats the pants of all others. And it's modern, fancy, fits the bill here, so yeah.

Still though, it's a nice and simple overview. Nice job!

I am running elive, and it rules. I've also tried compiz/xgl on ubuntu dapper and it sucked - frequent crashes, etc.

recently featured on digg and posted to the freedesktop.org mailing list was the announcement of glucose.

http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2006-August/017527.html

i'm no developer, but it sounds like glucose is bringing AIGLX's features to X without requiring special driver support. i think we'll be hearing more about it in the future.

Thanks for the summary, but alas, I don't get it. Can you add pointers to docs or add clarification?

"Xglx, more commonly known as just Xgl, is a complete X11 server"

What do you mean by complete? in which case would a X server be incomplete?

"using GLX (X11+OpenGL) for communicating with the hardware, like a driver"

Do you mean that there is no more need for a driver with XGL?

"This means that you need 2 X servers running at once whenever you want Xglx"

I don't get why it means that I need 2 X servers, and I don't get why I would two of them. Why can't the X server speak directly OpenGL to the card sometime, and speak to the driver for some others operations?

Cheers,

enlightment looks ugly compared to aqua.

What craches? I am also running compiz/xgl on ubuntu and didn't have a single crash in a month. The major problem that I had with Xgl is that it flickers windows that use XVideo, liek VLC, Totem.

Gah, people grow up. I have had to delete 2 posts because of imaturity.
Maybe this should be either, locked or no anonamous posts?

glucose looks interesting. Thanks for the link. (I admit I skipped the prepartion part on this piece)

explanation on 2 servers:

xglx model:
   device <====[driver]====> X server 1 <====[GLX]====> Xgl server <====> apps
tradiational model (use in i.e. AIGLX):
   device <====[driver]====> X server <==== apps

E17 does look nice. however, if you re-read the introduction, you will see that all these systems have something in common that E17 has not. These systems attemps to beautify and accelerate the whole desktop; E17 (if I understand correctly)

and - yes, references would be a good idea. (see digg.com)

Your use of windows using the capital 'W' confuses the issue when you're talking about drawing windows on a desktop. The word Windows refers to a Microsoft operating system while windows refers to the objects drawn by a window manager.

What a stupid issue. It doesnt make me think of MS Windows Operating System atall...
Is your brother called Billy Gates?

Whats the point of talking about display and desktop tech without showing some screenshots ?

Screw that. The X Window System has been around for a very long time. the WORDS "Microsoft Windows" refer to a Microsoft operating system.

Hey man, he has a valid point there. When talking about windows (as in window managers) and Windows (as in an OS), but not making a distinction of capitalization it can be confusing.

I agree with supporting AIGLX over XGL because of the approach it takes, X.org is a tried and true X11 implementation, wheras XGL is a completely new Xserver. AIGLX will work by ADDING the functionality to the existing X servers, therefore keeping the good, well tested code, and simply adding new code, whereas XGL replaces EVERYTHING with new untested(I'm sure Novell had it tested, but it can't compare to years of being used by end users) code paths.

I'm running cooker right now at work with it on an intel card and it works very well. I'm waiting for Nvidia support so I can run it at home, as well. Hopefully soon...

Enlightenment looks like a pre-OSX build, Raphsody that Apple showed off 8+ years ago. It's ugly as hell, how could I ever get a normal person to use something with terrible UI like that? Windows and OS X exist because they have CONSISTENT UIs (for the most part) I want a linux build with a consistant GOOD UI. Not one developed by geeks but one influnenced by a UI expert.

Its strange to see the few Mac posters in here. Of course it doesn't look as good as Aqua... everyone doesn't wear Apple-Goggles like you.

NOTE: Apple-goggles tend to highlight everything that isn't made by apple as an error in manufacturing/design.

To the Mac trolls: this has nothing to do with Mac's... go away... and take your bigotry with you.

It's perfectly possible to make even enlightenment, which indeed does have a separate GUI engine, have consistent UI. If you use mostly GTK applications then you'd probably want to use qtcurve on KDE apps to make them look very similar or same as GTK apps. Just choose the same qtcurve theme as the GTK theme you use.

Enlightenment mostly does window management so, aside from its special configuration programs and panels, it will pretty much only be visible in window borders and bars. And even enlightenment has themes so if you don't like gold and would like to choose something more consistent with the theme of your programs you can change that.

In any case, enligthenment is not the only GNU/Linux WM. Most of others such as GNOME, KDE and Xfce use either QT or GTK toolkit and both have means of making them look consistent within each other. That said yes GNU/Linux UI can be very consistent. Some distros have even made it that way by default.

I just so happen to use Enlightenment 17 as my desktop but does it follow the topic? I think not.
Here is an interesting page offering 3 desktop demos showing off some eye candy.

http://www.ehomeupgrade.com/entry/2915/linux_xglcompiz_graphics

Does it mean that one is better than the other? Not really. The best demo IMHO is the Linux demo but who's to say that OSX cannot do more than the OSX demo shows. The same is true of Vista. This wasn't a contest with the best demo possible submitted by a hardcore user of each OS. I think the point is that when it comes to eye candy "Linux can do that too". This article was a decent effort to enlighten us on some of the new technologies for Linux. Not Apple, not Windows. Thanks for the explaination.

... and Enlightenment DR17 is due out when? The end of time as we know it? Anyway, Enlightenment has nothing to do with this article, as has been pointed out...

Any live cd's of these systems?
Links?

I know about Kororaa which demonstrates XGL.

http://lg3d-core.dev.java.net/

ah, looking glass. LG3D looks like a brute-force Xgl-like system that depends on proprietary software. I believe that this sort of effect should be possible with AIGLX in future.

To make it clear: the reason I did not consider Looking Glass when having a look around these systems is because it depends on proprietary software (sun's java)

Project Looking Glass is very good. There has been recent moves into the Opensource world for Java.

well...its not even in alpha i think...e16 is released, e17 soon i guess. I feel much better in compiz/compiz-quinn then in e17(e.g)
enlightment fits well with less powerful hardware and its pretty much fun
NIce overview anyway, for example i didnt know about luminocity...