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GNOME KDE Games Linux

The VR Linux Desktop Is On Its Way 79

Posted by BeauHD from the work-in-progress dept.
mfilion writes: Want to use the GNOME or KDE Linux desktops on your virtual-reality headset? A new open-source project aims to let you play games and use your Linux desktop with your VR head-mounted display. Xrdesktop is an open-source project "designed to let you work with traditional desktop environments, such as GNOME and KDE, in VR," reports ZDNet. "It does this by making window managers aware of VR. It then uses VR runtimes to render desktop windows in 3D space. Once there, you'll be able to work on the desktop using VR controllers in place of a mouse and keyboard."

You can find installation instructions on xrdesktop Wiki. The Valve-backed program is available in packages for Arch Linux and Ubuntu Linux. You can also install it on other distributions, but you'll need to install xrdesktop from source.
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The VR Linux Desktop Is On Its Way More

The VR Linux Desktop Is On Its Way

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  • Nope (Score:1, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward

    > Want to use the GNOME or KDE Linux desktops on your virtual-reality headset?

    Nope.

    • Oh look - a 3D desktop. That will be as popular as 3D comic books with h those red/green glasses, 3D movies, 3D TVs, 3D games - all niche items. my question is WHY did anyone think that This was a good idea?

      It's a gimmick. But I understand that some people have this urge to look maximum dork.

    • If Gnome and/or KDE are going to be Linux's VR offering we can expect for Linux to be as relevant to the front-end VR world as it is in the desktop.

  • Fuck Valve. (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward

    They should be making stuff for WINDOWS, which actually has games! Not No Games OS.

    I'm switching to the Epic Games Store.

  • How about Tab Window Manager? Can I run twm in VR?

  • VR is overkill for running a terminal window.

    • VR is overkill for running a terminal window.

      So is a GUI. Why don't you try Slashdotting using an adm3a?

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by That YouTube Guy ( 5905468 )

        Why don't you try Slashdotting using an adm3a?

        I read Slashdot on Lynx when the only Internet i could afford in the late 1990's was a $5/month UNIX shell account. Now get off my lawn!

  • Video with VR footage & developers talk (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 02, 2019 @07:54AM (#59027778)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siYvcs13b9M [youtube.com]

    Includes VR footage & developer talk.

  • I remember seeing Netscape with a rootless X11 window manager in a CAVE back in 1999. The host OS was IRIX, but still.

  • It's a UNIX system! I know this! (Score:5, Funny)

    by cerberusss ( 660701 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @08:37AM (#59027944) Journal

    Finally, we can sit down in front of the system and, with the raptors clawing at the doors, say Its a UNIX system! I know this!

    • Re:It's a UNIX system! I know this! (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 02, 2019 @08:49AM (#59027992)

      Finally, we can sit down in front of the system and, with the raptors clawing at the doors, say Its a UNIX system! I know this!

      Can't help you with the whole raptors clawing at the doors thing ... but you do know that was a real interface on SGI machines, right?

      It was an actual UI, and it ran on an actual UNIX system. Just sayin'.

      In terms of implausible things in that movie, that interface wasn't even on the list.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        Can't help you with the whole raptors clawing at the doors thing ... but you do know that was a real interface on SGI machines, right?

        It was an actual UI, and it ran on an actual UNIX system. Just sayin'.

        In terms of implausible things in that movie, that interface wasn't even on the list.

        It was an actual program, that's it. SGI machines shipped with "fsn" (file system navigator) which that was. It was not the default file browser (Irix has a more traditional window-and-icon system for that).

        And it wasn't ev

  • So... (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Is this the year of Linux on the VR headset?

  • designed to let you work with traditional desktop environments, such as GNOME and KDE, in VR

    Nothing has ever worked trying to shoehorn something designed for one system into another system. I am declaring this a failure.

  • It's useful. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CODiNE ( 27417 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @09:00AM (#59028042) Homepage

    A lot of posts about this being pointless. The real killer app here is essentially limitless desktop space. You could layer dozens of windows all around instead of buying a bunch of displays. Sure the interface will take some time to optimize, but with decent glasses this could be a huge upgrade for certain use cases.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward

      "The real killer app here is essentially limitless desktop space. You could layer dozens of windows all around instead of buying a bunch of displays."

      Except it's not.

      We already have
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_desktop

      And that's far sharper visually and easier to interact with than what VR has to offer.

      Not saying this VR desktop thing isn't impressive technically, and will have some uses, but it's just not the killer app that you describe.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by OzPeter ( 195038 )

      A lot of posts about this being pointless. The real killer app here is essentially limitless desktop space. You could layer dozens of windows all around instead of buying a bunch of displays. Sure the interface will take some time to optimize, but with decent glasses this could be a huge upgrade for certain use cases.

      I think that VR would be doomed to fail in that scenario as people would not want to wear VR headsets all day, every day that isolated them from the real world. In this case I think that AR headsets would be a better choice - overlaying all of those desktops on reality. But I suspect that AR glasses that could do that and provide the same resolution as multiple, physical monitors are a very long way off.

    • So, more monitors = higher productivity? I doubt that. We probably will end up with a cluttered desktop on different levels like we did with the internet browser that use tabs.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by CODiNE ( 27417 )

        Yes, more monitors DO raise productivity, there's been studies on this. Personally I got a big jump going from 3 to 4, then 5 and now 8. It really depends on your workflow, I use dozens of windows all day long at my job and am constantly switching them around. Virtual desktops only help a little as I need all the information available at the same time.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

          Yes, more monitors DO raise productivity, there's been studies on this. Personally I got a big jump going from 3 to 4, then 5 and now 8. It really depends on your workflow, I use dozens of windows all day long at my job and am constantly switching them around. Virtual desktops only help a little as I need all the information available at the same time.

          Or just more desktop space. I went from multimonitors to a single 4K monitor. Haven't looked back (I could have 2 1080p displays or a large monitor that gives

    • The real killer app here is essentially limitless desktop space. You could layer dozens of windows all around instead of buying a bunch of displays.

      Or, you could just use the multiple desktop feature that's been a part of almost every Linux desktop manager since almost forever.

    • Decent resolution would help. I've played with virtual desktop on my Rift and it's kinda hard to read the fine print with screen door effect.

    • Sure the interface will take some time to optimize

      That is the crux isn't it. You need an optimised interface, not KDE or Gnome slapped into a stereo headset with head tracking.

  • could be great when technology improves (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Having unlimited desktop space would be amazing. You could surround yourself in a virtual monitor "bubble", all without actually using any physical desktop space.

    The first limitation of current technology for virtual desktops is simply resolution. With my Samsung Odyssey+ (1600x1440 pixels per eye), you can't read small text on a virtual screen without getting pretty close to the screen. I think you really need about 4k or even 8k per eye for desktop applications to be practical in VR. Even the best GPU

  • Sun Microsystems had started Project Looking Glass [wikipedia.org] just before they sold out. Not that their CDE or OpenWindowsX were good interfaces, but they were working towards that direction. A decade later with better technology and a new perspective hopefully this concept will go somewhere.
  • Does this support streaming VR display output and hand input via wifi to an Oculus Quest?

    It should be easy compared with what they have already achieved.

    Because IMO, the biggest problem of VR and slowing down its adoption are the wires.

  • This is pointless (Score:3)

    by qzzpjs ( 1224510 ) on Friday August 02, 2019 @11:44AM (#59029016)

    I've tried the virtual desktop VR apps on Windows many times. They're all bad and useless. VR sets don't have the resolution to display text well, especially with the font sizes most people use in terminals. You constantly have to pick up controllers to move things around if you're doing some 3D positioning thing and then set them down again to type. And you can't see your keyboard with the headset on, so good luck on that typing... It works to watch a youtube video or two, but not much more than that.

    • I've tried the virtual desktop VR apps on Windows many times. They're all bad and useless.

      You know what's worse, switching between VR and a Desktop. A virtual desktop is required to play games / use apps that require a virtual interface.

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