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Korora Novell XGL - some of the new Leopard features?


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Hi,

 

they took much from Apple, like the Cube effect and Exposé. But they brought it to the 'next' level.

 

 

Looks amazing imho. Can't wait to see Leopard. :)

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That is Xgl. Nothing at all to do with Apple. Apple has put a very smooth feeling on their windows when they do all their whizzing around and such, but Xgl is a little unstable and very glitchy.

 

Hm, lets derail this thread; what kind of effects like these do you want to see (either on OS X or Xgl)? Frankly, I want to see if I can make a Compiz plugin that shatters windows when you throw them hard enough :)

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Actually, all the "eye candy" is provided courtesy of compiz.

 

One serious benefit of Xgl that isn't eye candy: if you run Xgl on your NVIDIA or ATI binary drivers, you don't have to deal with the "OH MY GOD MY WINDOW LEAVES TRACES OF ITSELF ON OTHER WINDOWS WHEN I MOVE IT" problem that OS X has not had and Windows users still have to put up with. Of course, if you use open-source drivers and enable "EXA" you'll get that, too (only if the driver supports it), but at the moment neither NVIDIA nor ATI has released drivers that support EXA.

 

Had it running pretty well on a GeForce2 (don't remember what kind, but it did take the latest NVIDIA drivers; not all GeForce2's can do that), and have it running like {censored} on an integrated graphics card. Don't think there's enough disk space on my MacBook, unfortunately, so no testage there.

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That is pretty impressive, but it looks more like eye candy than actual UI improvements.

 

However, eye candy has it's place... and linux could use some!

 

After using it for awhile I have found that XGL does add functionality rather than just eyecandy. We all know how the expose feature (f-12 on XGL) is useful. Also being able to just hold control and scroll the mouse wheel controls the transparency of the window which is very useful if say you wanty to remain on one window (to type for example) while being able to read what is underneath.

 

But the best way XGL adds to the UI is making it very easy to utilize the multiple workspaces (desktops) that you have. (it does not have to bhe a cube, it can have many more sides.) All you have to do is drag a window over to the side of the screen and it automatically moves to the next 'side'. Also control+'right or left arrow key' switches sides really quickly, and of course control+alt lets you move your cube (or other shape) around.

 

Multiple desktops have been around for awhile but most people never used this idea to its full potential because of the poor UI integration, but with XGL it becomes much more logical making you use it.

 

Here is a short video I made of my desktop:

It will be interesting to see what kind of plugins the community will make for it when it becomes more mainstream.

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Okay, annoying me now. Ever since I got compiz installed back in April, I still havent found a way to capture movies under xgl. What package are you using jc?

 

I agree, it's more than just eyecandy. you can watch 4 movies on different desktops! hmm, and what's so productive about that? I dunno.. But seriousely, linux will never be the same for me without xgl/compiz.

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Okay, annoying me now. Ever since I got compiz installed back in April, I still havent found a way to capture movies under xgl. What package are you using jc?

 

I agree, it's more than just eyecandy. you can watch 4 movies on different desktops! hmm, and what's so productive about that? I dunno.. But seriousely, linux will never be the same for me without xgl/compiz.

 

I used a patched ffmpeg following this guide: http://ubuntu.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/how...cast-in-ubuntu/

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Thanks for the link. The veiwports were already there I think. At least the settings in gset-compiz can be chaged from 4 and above. Another intersting feature to gset-compiz:

 

Changelog (gset-compiz 0.34)

- New sub-tabbed decoration settings to define options for Global, Active and Windows state

- Supports settings for borders, shadows, text and buttons color/opacity

- Added check to enable/disable new decoration customization

- Fixed water plugin delay bug (set minimum value > 0)

- Added Who's gset-compiz icon.

 

http://www.compiz.net/viewtopic.php?pid=11575#p11575

 

PS. I love the way the whole screen nudges when you get new mail under thunderbird :)

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Thanks for the link. The veiwports were already there I think. At least the settings in gset-compiz can be chaged from 4 and above. Another intersting feature to gset-compiz:

 

Changelog (gset-compiz 0.34)

- New sub-tabbed decoration settings to define options for Global, Active and Windows state

- Supports settings for borders, shadows, text and buttons color/opacity

- Added check to enable/disable new decoration customization

- Fixed water plugin delay bug (set minimum value > 0)

- Added Who's gset-compiz icon.

 

http://www.compiz.net/viewtopic.php?pid=11575#p11575

 

PS. I love the way the whole screen nudges when you get new mail under thunderbird :gathering:

 

nice!

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you can watch 4 movies on different desktops! hmm, and what's so productive about that? I dunno.

 

Definitely, this innovation will change the way we work in the office as we know it ^_^

 

but seriously, I like the way how you can move the windows around the cube, but I think the main point is that there is some new kind of competition in trying to find new desktop concepts getting on, far away from that "old" windows system. And leaving vista in the dust, maybe. Harddisks and the amount of data are getting bigger and more complex, and no one wants to do that "start>my folder>my data>documents>./././..."-thing anymore, so everyone seems to search for a new way to handle that.

 

OS X did it with spotlight, but I think that if they combine spotlight with some kinda more graphical interface, it could become even more better.

 

Thats why I am also so excited about the new Leopard features. (guessing that hopefully there will be some) :trumpet:

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i hope to see a Leopard presentation also. There's a new development in another add-on called Compiz Themer available in the Ubuntu repo. There's finally a great way to change the borders the way you like. Shadow effect is better maintained, especially if you like the way Apple correctly implemented it. I'm more partial to the glass effect.

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I wonder how much of this ties in with the new rumored intel GPU on-board that is supposed to give Nvidia and ATI a run for their money?

 

It makes sense seeing how VISTA will be so MEMORY HOGGING!

 

I don't see how Apple will be able to stop PRO programs from running on these chipsets.

 

Glad I built a system for $300....

 

In a few months I think the new systems will be out on the streets and be awsome.

 

Let's see how close we can get them delivered!

 

reminds me of Suns project "Looking Glass" (google it).

 

cheers

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I remember seeing a thread where it explained how to put KDE in OS X...

Can we put XGL in "our" KDE?

 

It would be awesome!

Yes, Xgl runs lots of things just fine. However, Compiz (the program that actually does all the whiz-bang whoosh) doesn't support kwin yet, so you'll have to use the gnome windows for now.

 

I wonder how much of this ties in with the new rumored intel GPU on-board that is supposed to give Nvidia and ATI a run for their money?
None. And the Intel chip isn't supposed to give NVIDIA and ATI a run for their money, it just supports a programmable pipeline and hardware-based Pixel Shader 3 and Vertex Shader 3.0 which puts it light-years ahead of current Intel IGP's and makes them Aeroglass-ready.

 

reminds me of Suns project "Looking Glass" (google it).
Older project, apparently slow (Java) and ho-hum looks. Compiz sort of steals the thunder.
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Yes, Xgl runs lots of things just fine. However, Compiz (the program that actually does all the whiz-bang whoosh) doesn't support kwin yet, so you'll have to use the gnome windows for now.

 

None. And the Intel chip isn't supposed to give NVIDIA and ATI a run for their money, it just supports a programmable pipeline and hardware-based Pixel Shader 3 and Vertex Shader 3.0 which puts it light-years ahead of current Intel IGP's and makes them Aeroglass-ready.

 

Older project, apparently slow (Java) and ho-hum looks. Compiz sort of steals the thunder.

 

Perhaps correct, but the 2nd statement putting the chipset light years ahead is what I mean - from the article I was reading, it stated that this would allow motherboard makers to offer cheaper systems with GPU support, for example, that would support playing Doom, Unreal, etc. This translates to faster OpenGl which further trickles down to faster FINAL CUT pro and intergrated GPU no longer being a problem for intel let along a X86OSX user base with the new mother boards. Depending on what Apple tries or doesn't try to do when Lepord comes out.

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Have you heard of the new chipsets supporting DX10? I know little in that area since i don't game.

 

 

Yes, it will support DX10.

 

You see, Intel has to be ready for Vista as well, this trickles down to better Intel GPU boards. The story, wish I could find the link, went on to say it would take some share from ATI and NVIDIA.

 

This also means iMAC say vs MB vs MBP becomes moot, especially since due to heat, the present MBP's are underclocked (GPU) *Note, this is why the MB beats the MBP in some tests.

 

This should also make for some serious oX86 builds!

 

it will be like going from :happymac: to ;) with a simple motherboard change, not to mention the newer chips will run much cooler which translates to less heat artifacts and the likes.

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