Ubuntu Linux Free Software and Beryl Beat Vista

Linux was founded on the command line. If you look around a little bit and find some of the Linux "old school" guys, you'll find that they tend to shy away from the gui (graphical interface that most work is done on Windows with; the little click-here-to-start screens) and prefer the command line (in Windows, that can be found at Start>Run>type "cmd" and hit enter, then you'll see what a command line is).

I must admit, with the command line you can get right to the heart of the matter. Using the gui, you are basically running a program that then uses command lines to get things done, adding an extra step to straight command line.

So the typical command line Linux user may not find much interest in the rest of this article. That is a shame because Linux has really stepped it up a notch visually.

I have recently upgraded my version of Ubuntu Linux from Dapper 6.06 to Edgy 6.10. For lack of a better comparison, this is akin to upgrading from Win2000 to XP. Remember, Ubuntu Linux is free software.

But with this new version I now had the ability to add a great graphical option called Beryl. Using the extensive forum help available to Ubuntu users I followed a great little how to that told me exactly what to do step by step.

Once Beryl was installed, I adjusted a couple of things according to the forum support and just let the graphical effects flow! Amazing stuff!

Suddenly I had transparencies, screens fading in and out, warps and ripples and spinning 3d desktop selectors. Some of the more advanced plug-ins for Beryl allow for snow storms and water effects creating truly alive desk tops.

Specifically, when I moved my cursor over an icon, I had a ripple-effect fade in for a description. Dragging a window from one side of the screen to the other causes a warp effect on the window. When one window is active over another, the lower window is transparent. And, to switch from one desktop to another (a great feature) the entire desktop basically becomes a spinning cube and rotates to a new desktop for me.

In comparing this to Windows Vista, I should mention, this upgrade required no new computer hardware. Granted, I already had a pretty good graphics card (ATI 800Radeon). But the addition of Beryl did not drain my system significantly as many of the graphic effects will do with Vista. And, if I so choose to add further effects to Beryl it tells me which adds more power drag and what doesn't.

Many have enjoyed the improvements in Vista, so I don't wish this article to sound like a Microsoft bashing article. There are plenty of those on the internet already.

I simply want to point out that the Linux world and it's free software is, at the very least, keeping a significant pace with Microsoft. And, now with the addition of Beryl, many say the eye candy effects have leapt past Vista. On this count, I tend to agree.

On top of the graphical interface, Ubuntu Linux continues to run along as its usual stable self. I have always been impressed with the fact that running multiple programs in Linux never bogged down my computer in the same way that Windows would slow running multiple programs. Because of the design of Linux, stability has never been in question. Adding Beryl to the overall efficiency of Linux, as mentioned above, doesn't bog my system down at all.

So, for graphical, eye-candy effects, give Ubuntu and Beryl a try. Check the forums, learn a little bit, and then enjoy your computer more than you ever have before.