What's so 3D about Windows Vista?

[Cat]

Many advertisements say that Windows Vista has brand-new 3D desktop
enviroment called Aero, and they always contain one screenshot--the
Winkey+Tab task-switcher.

I've heard that the entire desktop graphics are accelerated by DirectX
when we use Aero, but I can't find anything in 3D except the Winkey
task-switcher, which I don't use often because I'm rather accustomed
to Alt+Tab. Live taskbar previews, glass effects, fade-zoom window
effects... they all look like 2D effects to me. So what's so 3D about
Windows Vista?

PS: Except the 3D chess game.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Any app written to run on the desktop can use the 3d effects. The reason
that there isn't more of the desktop that looks like flip3d is because it
becomes a distraction for users. MS did usabilty studies that showed that
too much of good thing is very distracting. You will see many apps release
from third parties that leverage 3d effects.

 

[Paul Smith]

Any app written to run on the desktop can use the 3d effects. The reason
that there isn't more of the desktop that looks like flip3d is because it
becomes a distraction for users. MS did usabilty studies that showed that
too much of good thing is very distracting. You will see many apps
release from third parties that leverage 3d effects.

On that note I recommend checking out a project the British Library has been
working on http://ttpdownload.bl.uk/ it runs in the browser but could
equally run as a desktop application.

If you're in Windows XP you'll get a basic Flash version instead.

Previously you'd need to code for OpenGL or Direct3D to get the same sort of
thing. With the technology in Windows Vista its much easier and can be done
in a markup language, very similar to stuff used to make web pages, called
XAML.

So the fact that 3D is now much much easier to do on the desktop (even I can
do it now, before I'd have to be a hardcore developer guy) is one of the
reasons Microsoft and so vocal about it being 3D.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

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[Paul Smith]

If you're in Windows XP you'll get a basic Flash version instead.

Scratch that seems they've updated now so on Windows XP it'll point you to
download .NET 3.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

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[Synapse Syndrome]

Scratch that seems they've updated now so on Windows XP it'll point you to
download .NET 3.

I wonder what happen when viewing on a Mac or on a Linux machine?

ss.

 

[Paul Smith]

I wonder what happen when viewing on a Mac or on a Linux machine?

You'll get a Flash version, so I'm told.

--
Paul Smith,
Yeovil, UK.
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User.
http://www.windowsresource.net/

*Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail*

 

[David Hearn]

I wonder what happen when viewing on a Mac or on a Linux machine?

ss.

Won't work yet. If they can convert it from using WPF to WPF/E (when it
comes out) then it'll work on IE, Firefox, Safari etc.

D