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Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

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Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#11
post #3

I really wish the "Yay, linux on the desktop" crowd would rally around ChromeOS. ChromeOS is literally what the "linux on the desktop" crowd has been wanted for decades now.

Chrome OS doesn't give me the benefits that drive me to sometimes use the Linux desktop, so it doesn't really matter whether it addresses any of the (many, serious) problems that keep me from using Linux for everything.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#12
post #8
post #4

I've been wanting the option of a VR desktop for a while now. Last I looked, it wasn't ready for prime time, and that's still my impression now. I find a small 16:9 screen pretty unacceptable for coding, and the market currently offers very limited options for anything taller in a laptop. I'm eager to see where this goes, and may need to start shopping for a head-mounted display.

The current generation of headsets is unsuited for showing large amounts of reasonably sized text. The display resolution is not there yet. If you map your desktop into a plane in VR space at the proper distance, your UI text shows up heavily aliased and barely readable due to the texture resampling that happens in that process. You need to increase resolution by another factor of two or three to make that actually c…

What's the resolution of the headset you've been using?

I don't think I'd like my desktop to have a lot of 3D features or require a 3D pointing device. What I'm imagining is essentially a giant 2D workspace where I can still use a Trackpoint.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#13
This is going to be another compiz cube. It looks cool, but I doubt it will be very useful outside of showing off some cool tech.

Also Valve tbh have dropped a lot of their more interesting tech. I had one of their steam links which isn't even sold anymore. The steam link was actually pretty useful for steaming anything on your desktop, I am sure you can do the same with a Raspberry Pi and some scripts but it worked pretty well if you hooked up a mouse and keyboard.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#14
post #8
post #4

I've been wanting the option of a VR desktop for a while now. Last I looked, it wasn't ready for prime time, and that's still my impression now. I find a small 16:9 screen pretty unacceptable for coding, and the market currently offers very limited options for anything taller in a laptop. I'm eager to see where this goes, and may need to start shopping for a head-mounted display.

The current generation of headsets is unsuited for showing large amounts of reasonably sized text. The display resolution is not there yet. If you map your desktop into a plane in VR space at the proper distance, your UI text shows up heavily aliased and barely readable due to the texture resampling that happens in that process. You need to increase resolution by another factor of two or three to make that actually c…

> And then there is the issue with holding 3d pointing devices for prolonged amounts of time. This is taxing upper body strength if you do. The weight of the headset itself is also straining the neck muscles.

You could use a real mouse and keyboard, if you're presented with some kind of virtual workstation. And even for navigation outside the workstation, of your broader "environment", 3D video games have been using a mouse & keyboard to navigate complex interfaces & environments for a long time, with more than a little success. Granted that means you still need a surface of some sort, but I think non-touch-typing text input inside a VR space would be kinda hellish anyway, so you're at least gonna want a real keyboard regardless.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#15
post #10
post #3

I really wish the "Yay, linux on the desktop" crowd would rally around ChromeOS. ChromeOS is literally what the "linux on the desktop" crowd has been wanted for decades now.

Can you run a 'normal' Linux desktop application written in C or C++ on a Chromebook? Or is it just Android Apps and Web Apps?

Yes, you can: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#16
post #3

I really wish the "Yay, linux on the desktop" crowd would rally around ChromeOS. ChromeOS is literally what the "linux on the desktop" crowd has been wanted for decades now.

The vast majority of Chromebooks are completely useless without Google services. That's not exactly the "freedom" that the Linux community envisioned when they spoke about "The Year of Linux on the Desktop".

Well, you can install regular linux and run whatever you want: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#17
post #11
post #3

I really wish the "Yay, linux on the desktop" crowd would rally around ChromeOS. ChromeOS is literally what the "linux on the desktop" crowd has been wanted for decades now.

Chrome OS doesn't give me the benefits that drive me to sometimes use the Linux desktop, so it doesn't really matter whether it addresses any of the (many, serious) problems that keep me from using Linux for everything.

You can run real linux as well a ChromeOS: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#18
post #4

I've been wanting the option of a VR desktop for a while now. Last I looked, it wasn't ready for prime time, and that's still my impression now. I find a small 16:9 screen pretty unacceptable for coding, and the market currently offers very limited options for anything taller in a laptop. I'm eager to see where this goes, and may need to start shopping for a head-mounted display.

I care more about vertical resolution, and vertical height, more than about aspect ratio. So with 3k and 4k getting more popular on higher end laptops, the 16:9 doesn't bother me as much. I can keep a code window on one side and documentation (or program output) on the other side of the screen.

The only other drawback of 16:9 is that in order to get an acceptable height, it makes the laptop too wide. My solution is to use clip-on reading glasses over my regular distance prescription, when using a high res laptop screen.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#19
post #17
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrome OS doesn't give me the benefits that drive me to sometimes use the Linux desktop, so it doesn't really matter whether it addresses any of the (many, serious) problems that keep me from using Linux for everything.

You can run real linux as well a ChromeOS: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en

Looks like its hardware support is limited to the point of being nearly useless (under "check what's not supported yet"). Besides, then you've still got spyware under your Linux, so at that point just run Win10.

Re: Moving the Linux desktop to another reality

#20
post #17
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrome OS doesn't give me the benefits that drive me to sometimes use the Linux desktop, so it doesn't really matter whether it addresses any of the (many, serious) problems that keep me from using Linux for everything.

You can run real linux as well a ChromeOS: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/9145439?hl=en

But if one isn’t going to go the supported route, why don’t get a real laptop and install a real distro on it?
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