Wave Systems Corp. (fka WAVXQ)

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Windows Vista Section - The State of Windows Vista (November 2005)


http://www.activewin.com/winvista/thestateofvista.shtml


Two years ago, Microsoft intrigued Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2003 attendees with visions of dancing windows, an interface that cast off its ties to pixels and scaled to the highest resolution displays, and seamless integration of 2D, 3D, video and animation that would greatly enhance users' experiences without taxing their CPU. Later that year at the Professional Developer's Conference (PDC), Microsoft offered developers an updated view of Windows Vista and discussed its proposed featureset in great detail, asking the developer community for feedback that would help shape the new OS and directly contribute to the product's direction. This was the start of a long dialog that resulted in many changes to the original product roadmap. Previously Windows Vista-only technologies such as Avalon have made their way to down-level platforms due to direct feedback from the developer community. Likewise, WinFS has been separated from the Windows Vista roadmap so that customer-requested capabilities may be added without delaying the operating system's release. Several builds of the OS have since been distributed to developers, each build containing changes and improvements to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), largely based on feedback.

With WinHEC 2004 came a new build, more details, and more enhancements to the codebase. The WinHEC 2004 build also offered (with minor tweaking) users the opportunity to personally experience the accelerated Window Manager and Compositor on their own hardware. Since WinHEC 2004, early versions of Avalon and Indigo were released via the WinFX SDK Community Technology Preview (CTP) for Windows XP/Server 2003, further extending the evaluation and feedback loop to the general public. The expanded availability of several Vista technologies to down-level platforms has prompted some people to contemplate just what Windows Vista will offer that makes it a compelling upgrade compared to current platforms when they are equipped with WinFX. The short answer is that while down-level platforms will receive WinFX, it will only be a subset of the WinFX APIs offered in Vista. Windows Vista will also include many new features and enhancements from the kernel up that will be exclusive to Vista. For those that remember, think of down-level WinFX as analogous to Win32s which allowed partial API compatibility between Windows NT and Windows 3.1. With Win32s, developers could create 32-bit applications that ran on both Windows 3.1 and NT. However, while Windows 3.1 received some application compatibility, it did not receive the platform or user interface enhancements contained within Windows NT or Windows 9x.

At WinHEC 2005, Microsoft announced the completion of the Windows Vista driver model. Beta 1 was released in July 2005 and contained roughly 1/3 of the features expected for the final release -- mostly developer-oriented. The release to manufacturing (RTM) is scheduled for 2006. In this article, we'll cover some of the features that make Windows Vista a worthwhile upgrade based upon currently known details about the platform. This is by no means a complete listing of expected Windows Vista features. Look to this section for future updates and to the ActiveWin.com homepage for the very latest in our continuing coverage of Windows Vista.

-- Jonathan Tigner


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