Windows Vista - Aero Glass for high-end hardware: And what do owners of old hardware do?

Click here for a large version of the Vista screenshot

Note from 7.7.2006: How www.microsoft-watch.com reported that the design team has completed the final version of the Windows Vista basic interface. The criticism of the testers (see below in the original report) has been increased. The basic interface is very reminiscent of Aero Glass, but offers no effects such as transparency or elaborate shading. On the official Blog of the Windows Vista Team to find out more. This is what the surface will look like:

Note from 3.6.2006: On Friday, June 2, I spoke with Tjoerd Hoek, Director for UI, after his presentation at the Windows Vista Lab (Amsterdam) and explained to him the issue of the relatively ugly Basic interface. He assured me that by the time the final version of Windows Vista is released, the Basic interface will be drastically improved and will look much more like the glass interface (Aero).

More information about the Windows Vista Lab in Amsterdam can be found in my coverage on WindowsZone.de!

Original report: The look and feel of Windows Vista is more than outstanding shortly before the Beta 2 release: Transparency effects, dynamic shading, lighting effects, 3D animations when opening/minimizing/closing windows, 3D views for windows, brand new screensavers, freely scalable icons and many other features characterize Microsoft's latest offspring and XP successor.

The price of this beauty - Aero Glass

However, as in real life, beauty has its price. Vista requires a fast DirectX 9.0 Graphics card of a GeForce 6 or Ati Radeon 9800 in order to display this chic Aero interface. On one of our test notebooks with a GeForce 5200 chipset, Aero could only be switched on by hook or by crook. But what if your computer has a (very common) Intel 915g graphics chipset and therefore Vista does not have access to the DX 9.0 capabilities? What if your graphics card is a GeForce 4 or earlier, for example? In this case, Windows Vista will automatically use one of the lower interfaces:

Windows Vista Basic is reminiscent of the Quality Windows XP and dispenses with all glass effects and many animations in Vista from the outset. Unfortunately, Basic doesn't even come close to XP Luna or Royale (Energy Blue) interface but presents itself in a simple, milky gray/black tone. Since the earlier builds 4074 or 4051 (beginning of 2004), hardly anything has changed in the two-dimensional design for weaker computers. The team has definitely done a great job with Windows Vista Aero, but Vista Basic is simply unacceptable.

Vista Basic is simple and not very popular with beta testers. Only conventional animations (such as the stripes in the middle of the screen) are still displayed. The two lower designs, Standard and Classic, reflect Windows 2000 and Windows 98.

Vista Classic transforms the beautiful swan Windows Vista into Windows 98, which is almost 9 years older. modern Standards adapted: Microsoft's design team seems to have focused on Aero Glass for 95% and in the process PCs with weaker graphics chips or people with other preferences.

It seems strange how inflexible the 3D performance of Vista is: Graphics chips have been comparatively flexible since the first GeForce generation. efficient and place most modern effects in games or 3D applications. The fact that Windows Vista relies on a DirectX 9.0 card for relatively simple effects borders on wastefulness. We can of course understand that there may be visual differences between a GeForce 7800 and a Radeon 9200. However, the current difference is too serious and is divided into beautiful and ugly as hell.

We hope that the user experience team at Microsoft will make some changes to the lower graphics levels in the coming months before RTM (Released to Manufacturing) - otherwise there is a chance that many users will be reluctant to switch to Vista. After all, you also eat with your eyes...

NOTE FOR NEW PUBLICATION: This article was produced by Sandro Villinger and comes from the Windows Tweaks archive, which has been built up since the late 1990s.