[geeks] MaXX Desktop - an evolution of SGI's IRIX Interactive Desktop

[from@fu3.org]

I've snipped some points from their website and RoadMap:
(http://5dwm.org/maxxi/home.html)

The MaXX Desktop is in a nutshell an evolution of SGI's IRIX
Interactive Desktop found on IRIX based systems. The end-user
front-end provikes an efficient icon-oriented interface to the
Operating System underneath. The most important component of the MaXX
Desktop is the file manager  which assist the end-user in all
file-related operations with a very intuitive environment. User can
copy, move, delete, edit and print files by simple clicking or
dragging them. It's even possible to access secured remote system with
the same icon based interface.

At the heart of the MaXX Desktop, are proven technologies, a robust
and extensible architecture design and two decades of pioneering high
performance computer graphics expertise.

The result is a rich, intuitive and interactive Desktop Experience
where users enjoys advance features that were previously available
only on high-end expensive workstations. Several years of Research &
Development were put in optimizing key components of the Desktop
Experience.

The 5Dwm window manager is an enhanced version of the Motif Window
Manager or Mwm based on Motif version 2.1.30. 5Dwm works and behave
like its brother, 4Dwm found on IRIX system. In order to allow GNOMEa
and KDE based application to well behave under the IMD environment,
the window manager will be made GNOME and KDE friendly.
The 5Dwm window manager supports SGI's landmark look & feel, colorful
icons and advanced features like overlay planes which enhance
application graphics performance and responsiveness. The 5D window
manager capabilities are extended by external GUI applications
allowing the end-user to interact safely with the X Window System and
to perform complex task with yet just a few clicks of a mouse. An
OpenGL based Application and Workspace Selector is already in the work
allowing smooth and very fast application and workspace selection.

In order to maintain a true SGI Motif look & feel of applications
running under MaXX the standard Open Motif 2.1.30 rendering code has
rewrote and optimized to support multi-screen, overlay plane and of
course the schemes. The result is amazing and close to the original
implementation at a pixel close.   Also a new set of Motif widgets
specific to SGI will be created to provide a true IRIX Interactive
Desktop environment and to facilitate IRIX applications to be ported
to MaXX more easily. One example would be the advanced file selection
dialog box with a built in history list found in SGI's implementation.

Here are some of the advance features that elevate the MaXXDesktop
into a class of its own;
* 64 bit computing support
* Ultra slim hardware accelerated OpenGL GUI
* OpenGL based FX Composer (multi layers alpha blending special effects engine)
* Resolution independent graphical user interface
* Interactive Vector icons
* Modern Workspace manager
* GPU co-processor computation
* Smart CPU affinity
* Solid multi-head display support
* Low-level X Window hardware acceleration
* Overlay Planes making the Desktop snappy, super responsive and very
lightweight on production applications
* Consolidated system and resources monitoring

Part of the mission is to work very closely with hardware vendors such
as NVIDIA, 3DLabs, AMD and Intel in order to provide the best
optimized environment for 32 and 64 bit computing that leverages all
the capabilities of the underling hardware.  The end result is a
highly tuned Desktop Experience that fosters creativity and
productivity by giving you back control over your system's resources
and  helping you and your production class applications being at there
best.