OpenGL and the Linux desktop
LIFE IN 3D
New technologies will change the way you view the objects on your Linux desktop.
The X graphics system has been at the heart of the Unix GUI desktop since 1984. Of course, its horizons expanded slowly. In the early years, no one knew they even needed a graphics subsystem, and if anyone did venture out to try X with one of the few applications that supported it, they needed to be ready for late nights of tinkering. But the X system kept getting better, and the X protocol, with its surrounding technologies, served a key role in the evolution of Linux. When graphic desktop systems came into vogue with the appearance of MacOS and a Mac clone known as Windows, Linux could build its own equivalent graphic desktop upon the foundation of X. Today’s Linux graphic desktops are every bit as powerful and far more flexible than the Apple and Windows equivalents, but the simple fact is, developers and hardware vendors – for all platforms – have gotten a bit restless with the ordinary, garden variety X.
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Keep Android Open
Google has announced that, soon, anyone looking to develop Android apps will have to first register centrally with Google.
-
Kernel 7.0 Now in Testing
Linus Torvalds has announced the first Release Candidate (RC) for the 7.x kernel is available for those who want to test it.
-
Introducing matrixOS, an Immutable Gentoo-Based Linux Distro
It was only a matter of time before a developer decided one of the most challenging Linux distributions needed to be immutable.
-
Chaos Comes to KDE in KaOS
KaOS devs are making a major change to the distribution, and it all comes down to one system.
-
New Linux Botnet Discovered
The SSHStalker botnet uses IRC C2 to control systems via legacy Linux kernel exploits.
-
The Next Linux Kernel Turns 7.0
Linus Torvalds has announced that after Linux kernel 6.19, we'll finally reach the 7.0 iteration stage.
-
Linux From Scratch Drops SysVinit Support
LFS will no longer support SysVinit.
-
LibreOffice 26.2 Now Available
With new features, improvements, and bug fixes, LibreOffice 26.2 delivers a modern, polished office suite without compromise.
-
Linux Kernel Project Releases Project Continuity Document
What happens to Linux when there's no Linus? It's a question many of us have asked over the years, and it seems it's also on the minds of the Linux kernel project.
-
Mecha Systems Introduces Linux Handheld
Mecha Systems has revealed its Mecha Comet, a new handheld computer powered by – you guessed it – Linux.