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Xgl for Linux

Increasing Usability of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop

Compiz running on Xgl provides SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop with dramatic desktop effects. In combination with Xgl it opens up a whole world of hardware acceleration, eye-popping animation, separation of hardware resolution from software resolution, and more. As a result, Linux desktops will become more usable, end-user productivity will increase, and Linux is firmly positioned at the forefront of client computing technology.

Under the leadership of David Reveman, Novell® has sponsored and led the development of this powerful new graphics subsystem for Linux since late 2004. Xgl is the X server architecture layered on top of OpenGL and takes advantage of available accelerated 3D rendering hardware. It is designed to integrate well with the composite extension and performs best when a compositing manager is running. Compiz, the new OpenGL compositing manager from Novell, is the framework that enables the development of graphical plug-ins.

Novell is currently shipping the latest version of Compiz (V0.4) with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP1.

Xgl Code

The Xgl project is hosted on www.freedesktop.org. More information about Compiz can be found on the Compiz project web site.

More Information

Videos of Xgl

  1. True transparency .mpg (12MB)| .ogg (3.7MB) | streaming flash
  2. Zoom .mpg (8.5MB) | streaming flash
  3. Desktop Organization .mpg (16MB) | .ogg (5.7MB) | streaming flash
  4. Spinning Cube .mpg (16MB) | .ogg (7.1MB) | streaming flash

Screen shots of Xgl

Novell put significant effort into adding graphics capabilities into the desktop to increase productivity. Through Novell contributions to the open source graphics subsystem (Xgl and Compiz) a new user experience is available in the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Features include:

  • Application tiling, which provides a snapshot of all open applications
  • Alt tabbing, which now includes thumbnail views of open applications
  • 3-D desktop, which provides more desktop space for more efficient use of your desktop

Contact Novell for more information about Linux Xgl in SUSE Linux Enterprise. 

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