Compiz Update

Just spotted that customizable window shadows has just been added to compiz. :)Also, a few updates ago, they added the "Novell" logo to the top of the cube as the default slide, if you don't set any up.(If you didn't know, in XGL/Compiz, you can switch desktops in 3D as they're mapped onto the 4 outer sides of a cube. On the top of the cube, Compiz can display SVG images. The Novell logo on the top is now the default... Beats having just a white box if you're lazy like me.)...

Read more »

Quake3 in XGL

I've finally figured out how Novell ran Quake 3 in that demonstration video. All you need to do is launch Quake 3 (or any Quake 3 engine based game) like: quake3 +set r_GLdriver "/usr/lib/nvidia/libGL.so.1.2.xlibmesa"(The key is telling the engine specifically to use NVIDIA's libGL.)While this fixes the missing texture problem, it still suffers from the performance loss that's incurred from running XGL. (We're still waiting for new NVIDIA/ATI drivers that feature complete hardware acceleration for XGL.)Note: This was based off these UT instructio...

Read more »

Get Excited for SMART

EDIT:I've removed this article due to inaccuracies in it.(Apparently I didn't research SMART enough... Thanks to my readers for pointing it out!)I'd like to apologize for this mistake and any misinformation I may have spread. I'll do my best to triple check my facts in the future. ;)If you're still curious, here's some links to the software's site:SMART Package Manager HomepageSMART Package Manager READMESMART Package Manager ...

Read more »

Dapper + 1 is the "Edgy Eft"

Mark Shuttleworth (Ubuntu project leader) has just announced that the next version of Ubuntu will be codenamed "Edgy Eft".Why should you be excited?So dream a little about Xen for virtualisation, Xgl/AIGLX and other wonderful wobbly window bits, the goodness of Network Manager, a first flirt with multiarch support for true mixed 32-bit and 64-bit computing on AMD64, the interesting possibilities of the SMART package manager... and other pieces of infrastructure which have appeared tantalisinglyon the horizon.Read the rest of the announcement he...

Read more »

XGL and Compiz: Where we're at

If you've been following the latest developments in the Linux world, you'll undoubtably have heard of XGL and Compiz. If you haven't, XGL is a new X server written by David Reveman (at Novell) that uses OpenGL to accelerate all sorts of graphics rendering. Compiz is a window manager that features "compositing", allowing for things like window shadows, but also cool 2D/3D effects that use OpenGL. In non-technical terms, XGL uses your graphics card to make things snappier, and Compiz uses your graphics card to create very slick graphics for your desktop.The key idea here is that it all uses your graphics card, which means it's not very taxing on...

Read more »

2 Things I'd like to see in Dapper

Live chat support - This just sounds like a pretty good idea to me. It'll let new users get the answers they want quickly, and it'll be another way for the Ubuntu community to support itself.MP3 Codec Auto-detect/Installer - You can spot this about half way down the page in the link. It's a plugin for Rhythmbox that automatically alerts you that you don't have the MP3 codec installed (or rather, the proper gstreamer plugin) when you try to play an MP3. It then gives you an option to install it straight from the repository. Now why didn't anyone think of this before? (The number of posts on the Ubuntu Forums relating to MP3 playback is a hint...)In other news, I've finally got NetworkManager behaving now. For some reason though, when I connect to a wireless network, I have to do it twice in...

Read more »

Dapper Ramblings

I've been using Dapper Drake for a couple of weeks now, and she's actually doing OK for an operating system that's still in development.Here's some thoughts that have crossed my mind in the past few weeks:Woohoo! The eject button on my DVD-Rom works now! Wait a second - it only works on ONE of my drives... doh!XGL hotness is... uhh... hot. The beerorkid.com repositories host packages of the latest development version of XGL and Compiz (instructions). It's a treat to get a Compiz update every week. (There's always new features... sometimes stuff breaks, but very good progress is being made)Gnumeric does many different types of regressions now! (ie. it can do other fancy fits to data points other than line of best fit.... Yes, it takes a special type of person to appreciate this.) ;)There's...

Read more »