Asturix On: New Comer Desktop Environment with the Power of Web

So far, we already know many kinds of desktop environments such GNOME, KDE, LXDE, XFCE, Unity, Openbox etc. But, have you ever imagined such a web based desktop environment? Now, there is a new project which try to create web based desktop environment for Linux called Asturix On. The key features of this desktop environments are:

Web based
All of the Asturix On user interface is programmed with only web technologies. Yes, just HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. That's pretty cool! Cool for the developer because we can build and extend all the desktop components easily. And cool for the user because the interface results in a highly animated and fresh experience!

Beautiful and simple
With a small top panel (only 24px height!) you won't be distracted. There aren't oversized docks or tool bars to reduce your display's usable space. With the top panel you can switch tabs, access desktops or monitor system information thanks to indicators. When you are on the desktop, swipe your mouse to access applications, widgets or places. Just work.


Graceful degradation
Don't worry if you don't have a super-computer with 3D effects. Asturix On will automatically default to a 2D window manager. The user experience is unaffected, so don't hesitate to try Asturix On on an older system.

Tablet capable
The desktop is based on Qt and the UI uses Sencha, two libraries that are touch capable and can be ported to a lot of mobile devices.

For a brief demo, please take a look at this video:

Future plans
Asturix On is still in Alpha stage and have not completed yet, but it will be completed and announced in a month with features additions such as ability to access desktop via cloud, localization, more widgets, etc.

Well, if you have any questions or feedback, please visit Asturix On homepage.

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Enable WebGL in Google Chrome

For those who doesn't know what WebGL is:

WebGL (Web-based Graphics Library) is a software library that extends the capability of the JavaScript programming language to allow it to generate interactive 3D graphics within any compatible web browser. WebGL code executes on a computer display card's Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), which must support shader rendering.

WebGL is a context of the canvas HTML element that provides a 3D computer graphics API without the use of plug-ins.[2] The specification was released as version 1.0 on March 3, 2011.[1] WebGL is managed by the non-profit Khronos Group.

via: Wikipedia

WebGL is required to play some games or run some applications on Google Chrome e.g. SKID Racer game on Chrome Web Store. WebGL should be activated by default in Google Chrome, if you are unsure about it, please check the WebGL capability by visiting this site and choose whatever test you want. If your Google Chrome supports WebGL, the above picture should appear on your browser.

In case, Google Chrome doesn't activate WebGL capability because unsupported graphics card (such as Intel GMA), you can force it to enable WebGL by executing Google Chrome with "--ignore-gpu-blacklist" argument. Here's is the example:

• google-chrome --ignore-gpu-blacklist

If you want to add the "--ignore-gpu-blacklist" argument to Google Chrome shortcut on menu or launcher, please open file "/usr/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop" with your favorite text editor (root privileges needed) and change the "Exec" value with the following:

• /opt/google/chrome/google-chrome --ignore-gpu-blacklist %U

Please see the figure below for more details:

Once edited, save the changes and do a WebGL test.

Regards :)

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