Windows Longhorn (3D interface, etc)

[Asher]

A ton more information is out on it now thanks to WinHEC:

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1072787,00.asp

There will basically be 3 settings for the GUI:
Windows 2000 compatibility mode (standard, 2D GDI)
Tier 1: DirectX 7 minimum, hardware accelerated but Windows XP-style effects
Tier 2: DirectX 9 minimum (AGP 8x minimum, 64MB video RAM min, 128MB recommended)

Tier 2 looks frickin' awesome. You can do everything with it.

They've got some samples of what can be done with it on this pre-Alpha milestone.

3 short videos from ExtremeTech: ftp://ftp.extremetech.com/pub/extrem...WaveWindows.rm
ftp://ftp.extremetech.com/pub/extrem...ec/StarWars.rm
ftp://ftp.extremetech.com/pub/extrem...inhec/Dizzy.rm

Longhorn will also have the new Database-based filesystem, a "My Games" subsystem to simplify game installs/reinstalls/uninstalls, the new SideBar, far faster installs (~20 mins), etc.

Massive preview is here of build 4015: http://www.winsupersite.com/reviews/longhorn_4015.asp

It's due out at the end of 2004, or most likely early 2005.

Aiiiii!

Trivia: Windows XP (WinNT 5.1) was codenamed "Whistler", after the BC ski resort.
Windows Longhorn (WinNT 6.0) is codenamed "Longhorn", after the name of a club/bar that skiiers frequent between Whistler and Blackcomb (another BC ski resort).
Windows Blackcomb is the version after Longhorn.

[St Leo]

a "My Games" subsystem to simplify game installs/reinstalls/uninstalls,

I use "app" and "games" instead of Program Files and "leo" instead of "My Documents". There is no chance in hell of me using "My Games" instead of "games" as long as installers let me specify a custom directory while installing.

What is it with Microsoft and giving directories mixed-cap names that are a pain to cd to in Command Prompt?

[Asher]

You can always rename them with TweakUI

BTW, they're also completely redoing the CLI either in Longhorn or Blackcomb, supposedly it's far more powerful and closer to *nix than anything else.

[St Leo]

I wonder how much code they are going to life from *nix this time around. IIRC, the entire WinXP TCP/IP stack is lifted from BSD Unix.

[Asher]

Originally posted by St Leo
IIRC, the entire WinXP TCP/IP stack is lifted from BSD Unix.

NT BSD sockets are (surprise!) from BSD.
NT sockets are not from BSD.

Yes, there are two types. You can pick and choose!

IIRC, the only reason BSD are in there was so MS could claim POSIX compliance. But I'm not sure on that one.

[Az]

RealMedia?

[Ted Striker]

dude like Winblows sux get Linux but not Redhat they are sellouts

[Asher]

[Ted Striker]

Hey Asher do you remember a movie about sexual harassment starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore? They were using an interface that looked kinda like that!

[JohnT]

Disclosure.

[Ted Striker]

That's the one thanks JohnT

[Kaak]

ummm...yes, longhorn looks nice. I have "seen" it in action, and it looks like it is going to be pretty cool. The version that is out now though is still heavily reliant on XP

[Az]

screenshots, please?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kaak
ummm...yes, longhorn looks nice. I have "seen" it in action, and it looks like it is going to be pretty cool. The version that is out now though is still heavily reliant on XP

Yeah, these builds have been leaked publically and are available on stuff like eDonkey.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Azazel
screenshots, please?

Screenshots wouldn't do it justice, the main part is how fluid everything is on the screen.

In the first video, the windows kinda "wave" as they're dragged.
The second video is playing a Star Wars DVD, show on ~5 different parts of the screen with various effects applied, and all of the screens are moving fluidly like tiles.
The last video just shows that all of the Windows components and windows truly are in 3D, and they're all slowly flying around the screen in a random fashion.

It's all possible because the screen literally becomes a 3D scene. You can push back windows, pull them closer, flip them around, animate them in virtually any way, etc. It's all done with DX9 pixel shaders in real-time.