XGL and Compiz GUI effects

Anyone who loves cool gui effects needs to try this out. Presently has far has I know SUSE 10.1 and Ubuntu are the only distros that support it, however that will change with new releases if it hasn't already.

XGL is a new graphics engine offering hardware acceleration and a platform for Compiz to run, though it is in the works for it to run on xorg has well eventualy.

The gui effects are controlable via key strokes.

most notably are the "cube" desktop switcher, transparency, and an OSX expose like feature.

Adjustable transparency

Cube desktop switching

wobly effect

Watery cursor effect

Almost forgot.

Expose effect

#401889

yeah, the kororaa live cd has xgl. fun fun fun!

#401895

Really nice... Just needs to become a bit easier to setup.

#401898

not has hard has you might think, at least no harder than installing and setting up your graphics cards driver.

Dosen't seem to be any more resource hungry than a normal desktop either.

#401900

A couple of weeks ago I downloaded the Kororaa liveCD and after previewing it I wanted to install, and it was really hard to figure out what to do. That same day I switched back to WinXP.. :slant:

I still want to have it but I need to have a manual or something, with a step-by-step on how to install it.

#401910

Nice to see someone whos running XGL/Compiz too (Ubuntu 6.06)

Heres mine:

#401947

not has hard has you might think, at least no harder than installing and setting up your graphics cards driver.

Dosen't seem to be any more resource hungry than a normal desktop either.

Um yeah. I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one. I spent quite a while trying to get XGL and Compiz running on my computer and finally just gave up. I'll admit, I am still new to Linux, but that was a hellish experience. I even formatted and reinstall 2x. I'll stick with GTK

#401953

is there any kind of easy install deb package for this? i've unsuccessfully installed this twice (linux **** here)

#401955

@shockme17 : to my knowledge no. You can only make / install via the tar's. However, if you use Suse 10.1, it comes packaged.

#401958

For compiz you got Quinns deb packages, XGL thought still needs to be installed trough terminal (apt-get, portage)

#402016

in SUSE 10.1 XGL and ompiz are installed via Yast after your graphics card is installed.

#402027

Ubuntu do have Installation packages as far a I remember.

You first need to install Xgl-Server then Compiz, You'll find them in repositories. And then a little modification in gdm-config file and its done. Ubuntu forum have a very nice tutorial on this:

http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=148351

If you have a NVIDIA card everything should be fine. but ATI users might have trouble cause they don't have a decent driver for Linux. Blame ATI for that.

#402056

Um yeah. I'm gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you on that one. I spent quite a while trying to get XGL and Compiz running on my computer and finally just gave up. I'll admit, I am still new to Linux, but that was a hellish experience. I even formatted and reinstall 2x. I'll stick with GTK

i think you're a bit confused. maybe you want to stick with Xorg?

you can't expect ease of install with alpha software. its not yet at that stage. believe me, when it starts to develop further it will become easier

#402057

No real trouble for me in SUSE however ati cards can be a bit troublesome, nvidia works better for linux. For those who either can't or do not want to bother with xgl or compiz they can have a few similar features with xorg or free if they install 3ddesktops; available in .deb, .rpm, and source. I think it might be available on debian's and ubuntu's universe sources has well. If you use kde you can have transparent windows and also cool, run xscreensavers has a background instead of a picture.

3ddesktops on SUSE

You switch between desktops via the arrow keys, turning them in a carousel fassion, hitting the space bar launches the desktop you desire. You can also assign a hot key to launch the desktop switcher has well.

Glmatrix xscreensaver on Fedora 4 running kde

The screensaver is set so that the matrix code runs in a sparse maner that uses little resources.

The dock at the bottom is ksmoothdock a yzdock type for kde.

Nice to see someone whos running XGL/Compiz too (Ubuntu 6.06)

Heres mine:

Cool desktop, I need to spend some more time in Gnome it is a great window manager. However Kde has always been my fancy I find it has more features and is a tad more customizable. But then I am not has familar with Gnome. I guess personal preference is the most important factor.

#402108

i think you're a bit confused. maybe you want to stick with Xorg?

you can't expect ease of install with alpha software. its not yet at that stage. believe me, when it starts to develop further it will become easier

confused about what? I was able to get the ATI drivers installed (even though they are a previous version). I just really got sick of trying to get compiz to work.

#402115

Nice to see someone whos running XGL/Compiz too (Ubuntu 6.06)

Heres mine:

//cut//

im in love with ubuntu 6.06 + xgl/compiz. ive pretty much fully switched from windows.

#402121

confused about what? I was able to get the ATI drivers installed (even though they are a previous version). I just really got sick of trying to get compiz to work.

a) confused about the difference between gtk and Xorg. Xorg is what you'd want instead of XGL

gtk is just a toolkit used by GNOME and XFCE

#403208

i Absolutly adore XGL. Great effects, Smooth as hell. We need more developers on this thing to get out some snappy stuff. Already alot of work is being done for some cool VIsta effects such as Blur effects like Vista.. Reflection maps, Mac os X docks or.. just dock bars with nice effects, ohman the list goes on!!! *installs latest CVS lf Compiz*

Also to Jhorner saying its hard to get XGl/Compiz tow ork, i dunno what your trying to do with your Distro, but on mine, as long as Xorg is configured i can just type a few commands, it downloads, installs and its done.

-Bolero

#405812

It depends on the distro and you hardware. I tried at least a month trying to get compiz + xgl running with different how-to's, cvs, deb, etc. and no matter what I did it never worked.

But 4 days ago I tried again with a how-to that I'm sure I tried before and suddenly it was working so I guess it's also that the code is more mature an stable. or I didn't have luck

#405819

I managed to get Xgl going on a desktop pc , looks awesome. The ***** is that i can't get it to run on my laptop. Probably because the ATi driver sucks and can't seem to cope with compiz so just get borderless windows.

#406871

Try this http://www.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=168618 if you use Ubuntu.

It's the only one that works on my laptop, ATI Radeon Mobility 9600.

#406880

just installed xgl on Dapper, looks beautiful. For anyone with an ATi that's having problems finding a good tut for it:

http://www.compiz.net/viewtopic.php?id=389

this one is perfect, the only one that has ever worked for me

#411508