Ars was at FOSSCamp this weekend. Think of FOSSCamp as an "un-conference" without a set agenda where the minds behind open source projects get together and plot world domination (and, err, ways to improve their code). One fascinating session (and one that shows how FOSSCamp works and why it's so productive) was given by Mirco Müller, who discussed using OpenGL in GTK applications. Müller—the developer behind Cairo-Clock and the LowFat image viewer—talked about the state of OpenGL support in desktop applications and described various techniques that developers can use to make OpenGL content integrate better with conventional GTK user interfaces.

At the start of the session, Müller explained the reasons why developers might want to use OpenGL in GTK applications. Although Compiz offers some significant aesthetic improvements for desktop environments, it doesn't do much to improve the visual appearance of application user interfaces.

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