OCTOBER 2005 MA XIMUMPC 29
Controller—the shared Xbox 360 and
PC gamepad—as well as the basic
Windows mouse- and keyboard-input
APIs. DirectPlay is no longer necessary. It
was originally designed for peer-to-peer
gaming over a serial connection, and
most multiplayer games today use more
common Internet protocols. DirectMusic,
which was used to create dynamic MIDI-
based music in games, never really took
off, and is being removed.
The biggest addition to DirectX 10 is
support for geometry-shader programs.
The geometry-shader units will sit in the
rendering pipeline between the vertex
shader and the pixel shader, and allow
programmatic manipulation of every
vertex rendered. The geometry shader
lets developers manipulate primitives
(connected groups of triangles that make
up more advanced shapes) using shader
programs. This should help alleviate
memory-bandwidth bottlenecks, especially
when rendering things like fur, hair, and
shadow volumes.
We’re especially excited about
Microsoft’s promise to lay out an
extremely specific set of hardware
requirements, which must be met for
a GPU to be considered DirectX 10-
compliant. Unlike DirectX 9, DX10 cards
will sport consistent bit depths and share
a common base level of functionality.
WINSAT
The last thing anyone wants is a laggy
3D interface, which is a possibility
now that drawing your desktop will be
dependant on the performance of your 3D
card. To prevent the Aero interface from
being a negative rather than a positive,
Microsoft has implemented performance
instrumentation throughout the OS. In
Vista, the WinSAT system measures tons of
performance indices, from the time it takes
your system to boot, to the time it takes to
open the Start Menu, to the time it takes to
resize windows.
Of course, measuring performance
doesn’t do any good if WinSAT doesn’t
help end users track down the problem and
fix it. When you first boot your Vista rig,
WinSAT benchmarks the entire system, and
saves those numbers. If WinSAT detects
a performance dip in any of its tests
later on, it’s smart enough to associate
that slowdown with other changes to
the system, such as software installs or
driver updates, and provide the user with
possible solutions.
In order to keep your operating
system minty fresh, Vista automati-
cally measures the performance
of crucial Windows tasks. Should
your perf numbers drop too low,
the WinSAT will first let you know
there’s a problem, then give you
several possible solutions to fix
your problem.DRM TECHNOLOGIES
Vista will be the first version of Windows to ship with integrated hardware DRM
technology, although Microsoft still claims it will be an opt-in “feature.” Hardware-based
DRM is not something we’re happy about. Quite frankly, we don’t appreciate anyone
locking our data in a box for us, and not giving us the keys. As Vista is still more than a
year out, and the Palladium-based tech isn’t fully implemented yet, it’s tough to say what
the impact will be. We’ll keep you posted as more details emerge.INTERNET EXPLORER 7
Beta 1 of Vista also includes the first beta of IE7. We’ve not spent enough time to pass
judgment yet, but it’s certainly promising. In addition to some must-have features,
namely tabs, there’s also a nifty anti-phishing feature. When users suspect that a site is
a phishing site, they press a button. That URL is then sent to a central server, and when
enough users label it as a phishing site, all visitors using IE7 receive a warning.AERO GLASS
We didn’t forget about the most exciting new tech in Vista, we’ve devoted an entire page
to it. Turn the page for a closer look at Aero Glass, Vista’s new 3D-accelerated UI.Vista Beta 1 also includes the first beta of Internet Explorer 7. Key additions
include anti-phishing tech, RSS support, and Firefox -style tabbed browsing.ODDS AND ENDS