Xgl -- Linux gets a 3D desktop

Windows Vista beaten to the punch by Linux? Unthinkable!

In what will no doubt be a boon for the Linux desktop Novell recently demonstrated its new OpenGL accelerated X server -- bringing with it a range of impressive 3D accelerated visuals and effects.

Novell made a serious entry into the world of open source when it acquired SuSE, the most popular Linux distribution in Europe, in 2003. It has since been putting its corporate muscle into developing the distribution.

Xgl turns the desktop into a malleable 3D environment with features such as  'wobbly' windows that can be stretched and pulled, true real-time opacity, and treating the entire desktop as a multi-faceted rotable 'cube'.

It's a leap ahead for Linux desktops, and brings it up to speed with the type of accelerated 3D features we're already seeing in Windows Vista preview builds. In fact, some of the features in Xgl surpass what we've seen in Vista.

While still in development Xgl is open source and can be installed on any distribution. Ubtuntu and Gentoo users have been having fun trying it out (see the respective forums on www.ubuntu.com and www.gentoo.org), and to see what the fuss is all about we gave it a run on a Gentoo desktop.

It's actually surprisingly easy to install and get running if you're not afraid of the command line. We had it setup and running in fifteen minutes and put it through its paces.

The two videos below are a short demonstration of Xgl's capabilities, recorded using xvidcap. Note the CPU load shown in the CPU meter is xvidcap capturing at 45 frames per second and encoding to mpeg on the fly. The use of Xgl itself appeared to have nelgibile impact on the CPU, even when we spun the cubed desktop into a blur.

Expect to see Xgl being bundled in the next versions of distributions like SuSE and Ubuntu, and soon after perhaps installed as default. If you want to try it now, the Gentoo Wiki has an excellent guide (www.gentoo-wiki.com/XGL).

Look out for more on Xgl and 3D desktops in an up-coming issue of Atomic magazine.

Videos


View the amazing possibilities of Xgl in our demonstration video.

You'll need DivX 5.0 or similarly capable player such as BSPlayer (www.bsplayer.org) or VLC (www.videolan.org) to view these.

High quality - 1024x768, 45 fps, 160M
Low quality - 1024x768, 25 fps, 50M