Vista vs Beryl video
- Thread starter D3B
- Start date
I think we won't agree on what "better" means in terms of the GUI.
Having useless gimmick effects (be it Aero or Beryl) is hardly better in my book.
And loosing around a sec just to 'restore' a window doesn't sound the least appealing.
That said, it's a nice demonstration of technology.
Having useless gimmick effects (be it Aero or Beryl) is hardly better in my book.
And loosing around a sec just to 'restore' a window doesn't sound the least appealing.
That said, it's a nice demonstration of technology.
Of lot of these effects are really just lipstick on a pig.
There's a recent article about desktop innovation at the Inq
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/02/linux-innovation-missing
The author maybe over-eggs the pudding a bit but he does have a point that a lot of the Linux desktop development seems to be aimed at putting a Windows GUI on top of a UNIX-like operating system. Hooray, my windows dissolve in a cloud of bubbles. Well done. Not exactly pushing the desktop in a new direction though.
There's a recent article about desktop innovation at the Inq
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/02/linux-innovation-missing
The author maybe over-eggs the pudding a bit but he does have a point that a lot of the Linux desktop development seems to be aimed at putting a Windows GUI on top of a UNIX-like operating system. Hooray, my windows dissolve in a cloud of bubbles. Well done. Not exactly pushing the desktop in a new direction though.
I just went over to vista. Some effects like transparency are nice like windows blinds, but all the fade in fade out animate bs it crap. I cannot stand waiting for an animation when I swap windows. I cannot believe people are excited by this whether they are linux, osx, or windows users. I was actually looking yesterday to see if I could mess with vista to make it look snazzier, so I like eye candy, I don't like eye candy that wastes time.
I actually turn off Aero because I just don't really care for it.
I haven't liked OS animations since they first appeared in Windows 95. They just make things take longer and feel slower.
So you drag window outlines? (Technically dragging a displayed window is a window animation)
I love fancy GUIs. I remember when I got my Win95 machine I was very disappointed with how simple the GUI was. My impression of GUIs had been shaped by the fancy GUIs I saw computers have in movies. Vista has finally given me a GUI that I am very happy with. Although Beryl does look very nice too I've been meaning to give Linux another try.
Btw there's an app for for Vista giving you that Beryl multiple desktop cube functionality called DeskSpace it's very neat. Although I see in Beryl when the desktops are in cube form they are still operating in realtime. With this app it's a still screencap of the desktops.
Btw there's an app for for Vista giving you that Beryl multiple desktop cube functionality called DeskSpace it's very neat. Although I see in Beryl when the desktops are in cube form they are still operating in realtime. With this app it's a still screencap of the desktops.
I find the animations in Aero to be generally less obtrusive than the ones in win95. Heck, compared to gimmicky Beryl in that video Aero looks professional
compiz-fusion/beryl is extremely customizable. There is no need to be as gimmicky as the video. I use some transparency and the cube workspaces (much nicer to drag a window to an alternate workspace than right click an hunt for the move to workspace menu item, plus I can set it between workspaces which is quite useful when running to large apps and cut/pasting from a third) and I just, for some odd reason, like some of the window effects too. Doesn't slow anything down on my system either.
YMMV
Blazkowicz
Legend
So you drag window outlines? (Technically dragging a displayed window is a window animation)
I do that (on XP and before) as I don't like the typical jerkyness or tearing on moving windows. I'm looking for the settings in gnome (ubuntu 7.04) but didn't find it in the GUI, it's annoying. (3D stuff deactivated, there are some problems with it when running 3D games..)
Some effects are quite useful, actually. For example, the window flip on Vista (Mac and Unix has similar features) - you can see all windows and navigate conveniently. I also loved the "edge-draging" on compiz, where you could "pull" an edge of the fullscreen window. The Glass on Vista is just beautiful, simple and with style. Actually, I would be happy if MS would allow plugins creation for the DWM.
And to the comparison: Vista GUI is simple and elegant, it doesn't have much tricks but looks nice. Compiz has lots of effects but most of them are just for show, so I won't call that "better". Still, Windows has IMHO far better font rendering then Linux or Mac, and that is one of the reasons why I still use it (besides, I get it for free )
And to the comparison: Vista GUI is simple and elegant, it doesn't have much tricks but looks nice. Compiz has lots of effects but most of them are just for show, so I won't call that "better". Still, Windows has IMHO far better font rendering then Linux or Mac, and that is one of the reasons why I still use it (besides, I get it for free
)
I would say that many linux distros have closed the font display gap to essentially nil unless you're using some older proggie. I haven't run Vista but my biggest beaf with XP is that it's so frickin' slow and gets slower with time. I took a crawling Fujitsu notebook and put Gutsy on it and it's snappy with compiz-fusion running...no WAY it could run Vista.
the problem with compiz/beryl/compiz-fusion is the state of linux graphics drivers. Vista's windows drivers tend to be equally good (or bad depending on your take), and using slower gpus doesn't hinder performance. On the linux side, fglrx still sucks. for the growing population of linux users who have laptops with ATI igp, Aero still performs leaps and bounds better than the linux counterpart, although when running on a battery I don't think running effects to be a very bright idea.
The newest ATI drivers are actually pretty decent (they run compiz-fusion pretty well on my x1600 mobile latpop) though the were a PAIN to install under 7.04 ubuntu. I'm going to fire up ETQW on it at some point today (when I'm more caught up on work) to see how it runs.
[Edit]:
Ewww. With ETQW @ 1280x1024 (my external LCD native rez) and all settings at "normal" (not low) my HP nc8430 (CoreDuo no Core2Duo) with ATI mobility 1600 is a slide show. Didn't downgrade to low yet since I hate waiting for reload. Shame. At least my Q6600/8800GTS/320 plays it nicely at home under linux.
[Edit]:
Ewww. With ETQW @ 1280x1024 (my external LCD native rez) and all settings at "normal" (not low) my HP nc8430 (CoreDuo no Core2Duo) with ATI mobility 1600 is a slide show. Didn't downgrade to low yet since I hate waiting for reload. Shame. At least my Q6600/8800GTS/320 plays it nicely at home under linux.
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So you drag window outlines? (Technically dragging a displayed window is a window animation)
No, I let it drag the full window. Window outlines don't bother me that much though.
I've found that a number of apps really don't like Aero. Aero turns itself on and off. DOSBOX screws with it. Some old games such as Bridge Commander.... I'm sure there are more.
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