Always wanted something new on the Linux user interface, something similar to Aero on Windows Vista?

Well then here comes XGL, according to the offical statement

Xgl is a new Xserver architecture layered on top of OpenGL.

As XGL improves, i guess it would put Windows Vista far behind. The best way to install XGL if u are using Open SUSE 10.2 is open up Yast Package Manager and search for XGL and Compiz (Window Manager, that works great with XGL)

some of the  features of XGL include:

• Decouple window resolution from display resolution. Applications may render windows at a particular resolution, but may be seen on-screen at a different resolution. Consider a background/root gradient. Such a window (texture) may only be a few pixels in size but appear at 1600×1200 or larger.

• Fast, simple screen rotation/flipping/panning/magnification.

• Advanced font rendering, including on-the-fly outline font rendering using textures and fragment programs (see http://www.loria.fr/~levy/publications/papers/2005/VTM/vtm.pdf).

• Simulated hardware overlay planes. This long-time workstation graphics feature could be implemented with texture compositing.

• Full-screen color manipulation, including gamma correction, contrast enhancement, dimming/brightening, etc.

• Mixed pixel depths on one screen. Redirected, top-level windows could all have different color depths (8, 16, 24, 32bpp). For example: XTerms may be created with 8bpp (requiring 1/4 the texmem of a 32bpp visual) and displayed with a color-lookup table (fragment program texel lookup).

• Arbitrary per window colormaps (fragment program texel lookup)

• Alternate window color spaces. "video" windows may be stored as YCbCr (smaller than RGB) and converted to RGB on the fly when displayed using texture hardware.

• Window image compression: Use S3TC texture compression to compress windows whose contents seldom change. Best use would be the desktop background stored in the root window. Potentially big memory savings.

• New opportunities for antialiased X rendering with OpenGL multisampled surfaces.

You want to try out XGL and dont have Open SUSE installed? try out DreamLinux  (http://www.tuxmachines.org/node/8358)
run the Live CD version of DreamLinux 2.0 XGL Edition to check out all the EyeCandy of XGL.

There goes Vista..and here comes XGL!…hail Open Source! 

Some Links:

http://en.opensuse.org/Xgl
http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/17174.html
http://www.dreamlinux.com.br

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Well after a long time of inactivity, which was the result of lots of things goin on with me including a new job and relocating to singapore. I am finally back into maintaining the blog. I have been doin a lot of interesting projects at Singapore Press Holding (http://sph.com.sg , the company that i work for)  including playing my part in the upgradation of Business Times (http://business-times.asiaone.com ) and a totally new project which includes a Newsletter System using (Apache Velocity, Apache MyFaces and Spring Framework) , more on that later. Its been interesting to know that there are really people who come across my blog eventhought there is not much in it, which i assure is goin to change, and contain a lot of usefull articles about the work that i do, and part of which can be helpfull to someone in need  

hmm…too much talkin and a long way to go

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