Aero & Longhorn

A closer look

Friday, March 25, 2005 by Frogboy | Discussion: Aero

This seems to get tossed around quite a bit in terms of what Aero will require.

First off, Aero is the code-name for the user experience for Longhorn.

In Windows XP, we had "Luna" to describe the new user experience. It's a combination of the overall "look" of the OS along with basic usability details.

There are currently 4 different experiences planned depending on your hardware requirements. 3 of them are Aero-derivatives:

Level 1: Classic Windows. This is the same as Classic mode in Windows XP.

Level 2: Aero Express. This is akin to the Windows XP style. It'll be pretty basic but have the new general look and feel.

Level 3: Aero Glass. This will require a decent video card that supports DirectX 9. This will probably be the most common look we'll see with Longhorn initially.

Level 4: Aero "Diamond" (not sure if this will be the final name). This is the ultimate experience and you'll need a pretty good video card (i.e. 128 meg at least with very good LDDM drivers).

Any Longhorn-like skins you've seen so far would be, at best, close to Aero Express.
WinSuperSite has a screenshot of an Aero-Express look and feel showing off the new Explorer look. It's just a prototype but it gives an indication of where Microsoft may be going.
thomassen
Reply #1 Friday, March 25, 2005 3:57 PM
Interesting. I never heard about Aero "Diamond". I think my computer will be up to spec when Longhorn hits. Got an ATI RADEON 9800 128mb. All though, I might have upgraded the graphicscard by then since I work so much with 3D.
monusen
Reply #2 Thursday, March 31, 2005 2:28 PM

"Level 1: Classic Windows. This is the same as Classic mode in Windows XP."

Will it be rendered by directx as well? Will it be vectorized?
Frogboy
Reply #3 Thursday, June 30, 2005 11:53 AM
Probably done in the classic way (i.e. GDI).
Hikaru_2006
Reply #4 Friday, July 1, 2005 4:36 PM
BTW I think that Longhorn 'Diamond' is only going to be seen in the Longhorn Media Centre. I think that my comp will be up to specs, even though I won't be upgrading (at least not yet) but maybe when I finish high school and get a laptop then I will get longhorn

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