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In the summer of 1999, we released Synapse, an OpenGL-based GUI for Linux.

We got pretty far - Synapse has support for TrueType fonts (via freetype), a complete set of controls (buttons, scrollbars, progress bars, windows, etc.), support for multiple applications running simultaneously (without CORBA), anti-aliasing support (with the right video card), and multicontext rendering (applications can call GL functions directly). We wrote a couple of sample applications: a Macintosh Finder-like file browser, and a text editor. We also received a sound mixer/volume control applet (which uses scroll bars because sliders haven't been implemented yet).

Synapse was released binary-only, so no one paid attention to us. We couldn't release the source code to it until conditions changed later that year (it has been available under the GPL since October 1999).

Our chief mistake was in billing it as a 3D GUI. I thought the 3D aspect would make it more popular.

Perhaps it would be more widely used today had we kept the camera locked, and had the ability to distribute it under an open license.

Even though Synapse hasn't been under active development since 1999, I'd like to pick up where I left off. Send me an email (or reply to this post) if you're interested in using Synapse or helping out with this.

In the summer of 1999, we released Synapse, an OpenGL-based GUI for Linux.

We got pretty far - Synapse has support for TrueType fonts (via freetype), a complete set of controls (buttons, scrollbars, progress bars, windows, etc.), support for multiple applications running simultaneously (without CORBA), anti-aliasing support (with the right video card), and multicontext rendering (applications can call GL functions directly). We wrote a couple of sample applications: a Macintosh Finder-like file browser, and a text editor. We also received a sound mixer/volume control applet (which uses scroll bars because sliders haven't been implemented yet).

Synapse was released binary-only, so no one paid attention to us. We couldn't release the source code to it until conditions changed later that year (it has been available under the GPL since October 1999).

Our chief mistake was in billing it as a 3D GUI. I thought the 3D aspect would make it more popular.

Perhaps it would be more widely used today had we kept the camera locked, and had the ability to distribute it under an open license.

Even though Synapse hasn't been under active development since 1999, I'd like to pick up where I left off. Send me an email (or reply to this post) if you're interested in using Synapse or helping out with this.

Also there is the SynapseGUI for Linux. And who can forget process management using Xdoom?

Syanpse

I remember reading about Synapse on Slashdot before, and it looks somewhat better. I haven't used either of these, though. Still, on the 3Dwm page, it looked like all of the screenshots were just 2-D screenshots horribly distorted to be viewed at an angle. These weren't 3-D applications. Personally, 3-D window managers won't be ready for prime time until there are plenty of decent 3-D applications that people can use.

To go along with that 3D operating system, you'd want a 3D GUI. Give Synapse a try.

But, there ya go.

Sam Jooky

It exits already, umm.. 3dwm was one thing I heard of, don't know its status. Another was Objective Reality, a commercial 3D UI for linnux. And ggi has some nifty stuff of things like putting different X sessions on sides of a cube. Really cool stuff. You can try these out if you wish.. Xfree support will be cool tho...