Recommended Posts

In my quest to find out the truth about Aero Diamond, I got the official word from a Microsft manager who worked directly with or overlooked the codename "Diamond" project.

Diamond was the codename for the Media Center functionality in Vista. Aero is the codename/feature name for the 3D desktop. Looks to me like someone jammed them together.
Technically, Aero Diamond did not exist. Aero did, and so did Diamond, but not as Aero Diamond. So what the ATI presentation slide was referring to was only to the Media Centre experience. Someone along the way must have combined the terms Aero and Diamond to describe the UI in Vista's Media Center, but that mislead many Vista community members.

From that point onwards, people labelled Aero Diamond as an UI experience a tier above Aero Glass and began to speculate what it looked like. Of course, during the few years as a rumour, no one could ever discover what it looked like. This lead some to believe it was Microsoft's secret theme for Vista, but no one could prove it. And now we now why.

Aero will ship.

Diamond will ship.

Aero Diamond did not exist and will definetely not ship with Windows Vista

From my blog: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20060810/aero-diamond-doesnt-exist-is-not-coming/

There was much more than just the ATI slide that discussed an "AERO Diamond" "theme". One of the more notable being when it actually showed up in the WinSAT help file. It most certainly did exist at one point. Perhaps it wont ever see the light of day, but it was discussed and worked on for a while. If he claims that it doesn't and never did exist, then he's just trying to cover it up now.

That's inaccurate.

Aero Diamond did exist and it's well documented. It was ment to be the highest tier of Aero but since the Diamond name was being used as a codename by the ehome team it was scrapped. It was just a codename they threw about which was then put into documentation and that's how ATi picked up on it originally.

Trying to prove that Aero Dimond does not exist by quoting MS officials is pritty pointless.

The whole argument of Aero Dimond is that it's a secret suprise, still to come, late in the Vista development.

If there is indeed a Aero Dimond coming (which there may or may not be), it's going to be denied, by all MS employees, until it shows up.

I'd speculate it could eventually surface as an additional theme to Vista for those who use MCE. Like Royale in XP.

But Tom, Media Centre is no longer an additional SKU. In Vista, Media Centre is just another application. How would Microsoft provide an additional theme just for users who install this application? Would people who purchase Vista Ultimate but choose not to install Media Centre get this theme too?

I don't think Aero Diamond is an additional theme. True, it was internally documented, but it could have just been used to codename the UI for the Media Centre application. Since obviously it wasn't Glass, but something that reflected the aesthetics of Aero. And one guy thought it might have been smart to combine "Aero", the general UI aesthetics with "Diamond", the codename for Media Centre.

May I remind you all of Vector Glass? Aero Diamond is Vector Glass, Vector Glass is just the codename, Aero Diamond is the true name. Here is a video at a Microsoft demo of what vector glass is(link1), but this is an old build of Longhorn, Aero Diamond will look way better, and here is a video of how to trigger Aero Diamond in Vista but fails to begin all the way(link2)!

link1: http://winsupersite.com/files/winhec2005_glass_demo.wmv

link2: http://www.aeroxp.org/board/index.php?show...amp;#entry37356

I don't think Aero Diamond still exist. We have Aero, Windows Basic and Windows Classic Theme. So what the heck should be Aero Diamond? It should be the highest of those three. So Aero Diamond is our Aero. And there won't be any vector glass. Just my thought...

But Tom, Media Centre is no longer an additional SKU. In Vista, Media Centre is just another application. How would Microsoft provide an additional theme just for users who install this application? Would people who purchase Vista Ultimate but choose not to install Media Centre get this theme too?

I don't think Aero Diamond is an additional theme. True, it was internally documented, but it could have just been used to codename the UI for the Media Centre application. Since obviously it wasn't Glass, but something that reflected the aesthetics of Aero. And one guy thought it might have been smart to combine "Aero", the general UI aesthetics with "Diamond", the codename for Media Centre.

What Tom said is possible, don't forget MCE functionality is not included in all versions of Vista. The "Aero Diamond" could possibly be an additional theme that is only available in "MCE enabled" versions of Vista, just a thought.

considering it was an idea throwen around by ATi god knows considering they maybe dissolving into amd..

maybe it was an idea for beta 1 but never showed up at winhec 2005. just like others probably a dropped feature

traces are probably still in it like alot of things are but dosent mean they will ever work like they were planned to. so the registry modifications arnt that much proof and considering what you have in your sig i think you sound just like a religious preacher for a thing that dosent exsist a.k.a aero diamond. and i dunno when you done your sig but windows vista by default for a long time now has DirectX 10 installed. so i dont see why you may think its a directx 10 hidden feature or somthing because it isnt.

May I remind you all of Vector Glass? Aero Diamond is Vector Glass, Vector Glass is just the codename, Aero Diamond is the true name. Here is a video at a Microsoft demo of what vector glass is(link1), but this is an old build of Longhorn, Aero Diamond will look way better, and here is a video of how to trigger Aero Diamond in Vista but fails to begin all the way(link2)!

link1: http://winsupersite.com/files/winhec2005_glass_demo.wmv

link2: http://www.aeroxp.org/board/index.php?show...amp;#entry37356

That has been dropped, we're approaching 2 years after that idea was brought into the product. You'd see it in betas by now if it was going to ship for RTM!

the image in your sig is a blowen up concept image done obviously with photoshop or along-the-lines of program the same and dosent show any proof or anything, the background image in ur sig is the default wallpaper in 4074 figure how old that is...

Ahah!

If you think MS will add a large feature like "vector glass" you must be dreamin man. The development process is near completion, and MS wants to test every bit so that the OS is as much bug-free as thay can. Do you think they will add a complex feature on RC1, and shop it without proper testing?

The thing we can see is a new theme, but even that I doubt, because MS is polishing the current Aero. Why would they polish it, if it was to be dropped? Also, current Aero is everywhere in Vista site and keynotes.

And even if they introduce "vector glass", who gives a damn if it looks the same as current Aero? The thing is that it can scale to large resolutions, being resolution independent.

But you know, we still don't pay taxes for dreaming.

What Tom said is possible, don't forget MCE functionality is not included in all versions of Vista. The "Aero Diamond" could possibly be an additional theme that is only available in "MCE enabled" versions of Vista, just a thought.

They've already added a premium theme for MCE+ editions of vista, its called Aero Glass, and its not available in Home Basic.

Aero Diamond is coming, look at my sig, thats what Aero Diamond is. Compare that to the current buttons in the titlebar! :)

Yeah, I was wondering about that picture, too... But it was originally from here. And from that page, you can basically see that the picture was included only to demonstrate transparencies in Windows Aero. Here's the caption under the picture:

Windows Vista Aero provides spectacular visual effects such as glass-like interface elements that you can see through.

considering it was an idea throwen around by ATi god knows considering they maybe dissolving into amd..

maybe it was an idea for beta 1 but never showed up at winhec 2005. just like others probably a dropped feature

traces are probably still in it like alot of things are but dosent mean they will ever work like they were planned to. so the registry modifications arnt that much proof and considering what you have in your sig i think you sound just like a religious preacher for a thing that dosent exsist a.k.a aero diamond. and i dunno when you done your sig but windows vista by default for a long time now has DirectX 10 installed. so i dont see why you may think its a directx 10 hidden feature or somthing because it isnt.

By "DirectX 10 installed" he means the computer has a DirectX 10 graphic card. Right now, nobody owns one of those. 'Aero Diamond' was supposed to use DirectX 9 to render anyway.
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • My father still uses a programme written in dbase3. Still manages to work with a little help from dosbox. 
    • Microsoft hides these secret Windows 11 performance boost settings available on every PC by Sayan Sen Windows enthusiasts often look for ways to extract as much performance out of their systems as possible, and it's often the case that they try and do so while trying to minimize the heat and power consumption. This is especially relevant in the case of mobile Windows PCs since laptops and notebooks tend to get hot and management of that heat and power is harder in such a form factor. As such users often turn to techniques like under-volting which can be used to squeeze out the maximum capabilities of a chip while also maintaining lowered power levels. There are official apps from AMD and Intel with the likes of Ryzen Master and XTU (Extreme Tuning Utility). While these are quite handy, most enthusiasts probably prefer to dig into the BIOS and play around with settings there like Curve Optimizer on Ryzen, which lets users set various frequency-voltage scaling values. These are essentially called P-States. If you are not familiar with them, Processor Power Management is done through Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) P-states and C-states. While P-states or performance pwoer states handle CPU voltage-frequency scaling, C-states deal with CPU sleep states so that some of the CPU functions, which are not necessary at that moment, can be disabled. The P-states and C-states work together to make the processor run more efficiently. It helps the OS and apps determine which cores can be parked and which should be boosted. Of course not every user is an enthusiast or knows the technicalities and integrities of how things like overclocking or undervolting work. Thankfully for them Windows itself offers something pretty cool, though it is hidden by default on all systems. By default, Windows only has two P-States, "Minimum Processor State" and "Maximum Processor State." However, this can be changed with a Registry trick to expand the options under a secret "Processor performance boost mode" dropdown. This essentially enables the HWP or hardware P-States available on a device, and these are not controlled just by the OS itself as the underlying hardware gets involved too. In total there are five Processor Performance Boost Mode profiles that control how Windows requests and allows CPU turbo/boost behavior under the different power policies. They are: Disabled: In this mode, processor boosting is effectively turned off. The CPU will avoid entering turbo or boost frequencies and instead operate closer to its base frequency ceiling. This can significantly reduce power consumption and heat output, but at the cost of reduced burst performance and responsiveness in short workloads. Enabled: This is the standard behavior where boost functionality is allowed under normal conditions. The processor can opportunistically increase frequency when workload demands it, balancing performance gains with power and thermal constraints as managed by the system. Aggressive: Aggressive mode favors performance more heavily, allowing the CPU to enter higher boost states more readily and sustain them longer. This should in theory improve responsiveness under bursty or heavy workloads but increases power draw and thermal output compared to the default enabled behavior. Efficient Enabled: This mode still allows boosting, but with a stronger bias toward energy efficiency. The system attempts to use boost more selectively, avoiding unnecessary frequency spikes when the performance gain is marginal. Efficient Aggressive: This is a hybrid approach where boost is still performance-responsive, but the system continuously weighs efficiency more heavily than in Aggressive mode. It aims to deliver noticeable performance improvements while reducing wasted power in less demanding scenarios. Here's how to enable the Processor performance boost mode: Open Registry Editor: Press Win+R, type regedit, and click OK. Go to: HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Power\PowerSettings\54533251-82be-4824-96c1-47b60b740d00\be337238-0d82-4146-a960-4f3749d470c7 (where HKLM stands for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE_) Modify the value of Attributes from 1 to 2 (you can find modify option by right-clicking) After that, exit Registry, you should now be able to see the new "Processor performance boost mode" dropdown menu: As you can see there are now five new P-States or CPPC states or power profile available that help define the boost mode processor setting on your PC. Wrapping it up here's a quick run-down of the settings as defined by Microsoft itself. Setting Description Disabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is disabled. Collaborative Processor Performance Control (CPPC) behaviour is disabled. Enabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is enabled. CPPC behaviour is Efficient Enabled. Aggressive The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is enabled. CPPC behaviour is Aggressive. Efficient Enabled The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is Efficient. CPPC behaviour is Efficient Enabled. Efficient Aggressive The corresponding P-state-based behaviour is Efficient. CPPC behaviour is Aggressive. Aggressive At Guaranteed Windows calculates the desired extra performance above the guaranteed performance level, and asks the processor to deliver that specific performance level. Efficient Aggressive At Guaranteed Windows always asks the processor to deliver the highest possible performance above the guaranteed performance level. In the next part we shall be comparing these settings to explore how much of a benefit or regression they can provide in terms of performance and power efficiency. If you decide to change the values on your system and are experiencing problems like crashes or an overheating PC, make sure to revert the steps back to the original state.
    • I think he means you haven't reviewed previous UFC games. Of course it doesn't matter... Every time you just report on something that involves the President even if just simply what happened you guys usually get accused of being anti-Trump. We live in fun times.
    • So how did you solve the problem? Disabling Secure Boot isn’t a solution.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      Leroy Jethro Gibbs earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Conversation Starter
      flexorcist earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • One Month Later
      AndreaB earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      agatameier earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      agatameier earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      518
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      198
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      147
    4. 4
      ATLien_0
      93
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      77
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!