Updated Linux Interface Targets Desktop Users
By Eric Lai
Computerworld
02/21/06 5:00 AM PT
Jakob Nielsen, a usability expert at Nielsen Norman Group in Fremont, Calif.,
applauded the transparency and extra desktop features in the enhanced XgI
framework but also noted that some 3-D features are simply gimmicks. These, he
said, offer "a great way to show off graphical horsepower but [are] basically
useless."
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Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) recently unveiled updates to the Linux graphics
subsystem that are aimed at making it a more attractive operating system for
desktop users.
The improvements to X over OpenGL (Xgl), the graphics technology that underlies
Linux, will render images faster and improve 3-D graphics and video for users
running Linux-based desktops, said Charlie Mancusi-Ungaro, Novell's director of
marketing for Linux and open source .
The new capabilities, already available in source code, arrive before
Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) much-ballyhooed Aero graphical user interface in
the upcoming Vista operating system.
Simply Gimmicks?
The updated rendering technology will be offered as an option for Version 10 of
Novell's Linux Desktop software, which is due out this summer, Mancusi-Ungaro
said. The code will be offered to the open-source community, so he expects the
updated XgI to be incorporated into other Linux flavors, such as Red Hat
(Nasdaq: RHAT) or Ubuntu.
XgI is a version of the X Window System developed more than 20 years ago for
the Unix operating system. The subsystem supports Linux desktop environments,
such as KDE (K Desktop Environment) or GNOME (GNU Object Model Environment).
The new XgI version can run on most Linux-based PCs with 3-D graphics cards
purchased in the past 18 months, said Mancusi-Ungaro.
Jakob Nielsen, a usability expert at Nielsen Norman Group in Fremont, Calif.,
applauded the transparency and extra desktop features in the enhanced XgI
framework but also noted that some 3-D features are simply gimmicks. These, he
said, offer "a great way to show off graphical horsepower but [are] basically
useless."
Reputation Suffers
Linux's reputation has suffered for having a less attractive and harder-to-use
interface than Apple Computer's (Nasdaq: AAPL) Mac OS X or Microsoft's
Windows, but the updates could help boost the standing of Linux among PC users,
Nielsen said.
Linux's reputation has been well earned and is a natural result of its
technical heritage. "Linux has always been able to attract great programming
talent but not as many talented usability people," Nielsen said.
He noted that it's often difficult in the freewheeling, open-source culture to
veto new features that add marginal utility at the cost of increased
complexity. "To have a simple, unified experience that is good for the average
user requires someone to say no," he said.
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