3D Desktop for Linux: Metisse

Today I experienced Linux's 3D (or more accurately 2.5D) window manager Metisse for the first time. And I was impressed by what I saw! Instead of taking the "eye-candy" approach used by other 3D desktops like XGL and Beryl, Metisse tries to make the desktop more usable, apparantly "increasing productivity", as Mandriva says. Although I'm not sure that you could justify this to your boss, it certainly does offer strong alternative to Vista's Aero Glass interface.

Sure Boss, I really do work better when all the text on the screen is back-to-front...

Metisse offers quite a few features, including X, Y, and Z axis rotations, scaling, transparency, and the much-touted "two-fold desktop" feature. I've got a few photos below of just some of the features that Metisse sports:

Tilted windows

A useful layout in 3D

And here is what you get when you run Metisse with an inbuilt graphics solution:
Is this the Linux BSOD?

At present, Metisse is only available for the Mandriva version of linux, although it is sure to be ported sooner or later. For more information on Metisse, visit the links below:

Metisse links:
In Situ's Metisse site
Mandriva's Metisse site

General links:
David's "Images of Nature" Gallery - Nature Photography
WOWebbs blogs