Actual Good news for Vista + OpenGL

[Induane]

Windows Vista to support OpenGL ICDs for Aeroglass compositing desktop

Mar 15, 2006

Microsoft has enabled support for OpenGL ICDs that work with the Windows Vista compositing desktop, as of the February preview build.  This is taken from a Microsoft blog:
?Windows Vista ICD?s - this is a new path for 3rd party ICD?s introduced for Windows Vista that will work in a way that is compatible with desktop composition. Essentially allowing direct access to the GPU for hardware accellaration, but then having the final surface that appears to be the front buffer to the application actually be a shared surface that gets composed by the DWM?.
This means that the OpenGL API and the Aeroglass window manager will work in harmony and fully accelerated once the hardware vendors get their Vista ICDs written and released.
Kudos to all developers who contacted their ISVs/HSVs to ensure that OpenGL was fully supported under Vista. You made the difference.

Sounds like they are on track to do some decent things with Vista - as soon as they finish their rewrite of 60% of the code that they pulled the XBOX team to help them with.  I.E. 7 will not be integrated into explorer anymore - like security exerts told them to over 10 years ago, and to make it even better, the worries over OpenGL + Vista are not going to be having a performance hit either... PlaneShifts\' future is SAFE!

[LigH]

Originally posted by Induane
PlaneShifts\' future is SAFE!

 :rolleyes: I don\'t see the relation. Won\'t PlaneShift be supported for Linux and Mac anymore, once Vista is out?    

[neko kyouran]

Having delt with MS and their ways for years now, all I have to say is, \"I\'ll believe it when I see it happen.\"  They aren\'t the most reliable company to actually follow through with what they say they are going to do.

[LigH]

Furthermore, limited OpenGL acceleration was only a matter for the case that you want to use the playful \"AeroGlass\" window manager. But you don\'t need to, you can also take a step back towards compatibility and only use \"Aero\" (similar to deactivating \"Luna\" in XP), and OpenGL had full access already.

[Induane]

I should have said planeshifts future on windows vista is safe.  As windows has a majority of the marketshare, this is good.  Origionally OpenGL was said to be crippled and locked at a static version.

[leji]

just dont switch to vista, switch to linux or osX

[Induane]

I wouldn\'t switch!  Fear not!  I\'m beyond happy with my linux system and probabily won\'t do much with Vista other than to mess with the interface for tech support reasons.

[StarsAndBars_1018]

Correct me if I\'m wrong, but wasn\'t Vista supposed to be \"virus-free\" as well?

Originally posted by Induane
and probabily won\'t do much with Vista other than to mess with the interface for tech support reasons.

Quite honestly, I wouldn\'t even do that.