GPU-Accelerated Windows For Windows 8?

Microsoft has just been granted a patent that describes a compositing desktop window manager (CDWM) that uses GPU-acceleration as the preferred method to render windows. Could this CDWM debut with Windows 8?

Microsoft patent application for a “compositing desktop window manager” was filed in November of last year, but dates back to another patent with the same title that was granted about a year ago (#7,839,419) and filed back in October of 2003 – or long before we considered general-purpose GPU application an immediate opportunity. However, Microsoft envisioned already back then a technology that “draws the window to a buffer memory for future reference, and takes advantage of advanced graphics hardware and visual effects to render windows based on content on which they are drawn.” In fact, some references in the patent indicate that Microsoft may have intended to use this technology for Windows Vista’s graphics-heavy Aero Glass UI.

Today, leveraging GPU acceleration for drawing a desktop surface and windows is a very important trend as software makers are trying to create richer interfaces without the restrictions of a legacy graphical subsystem. The latest revision of the patent application, which was approved as a patent (#8,059,137), enables application software to directly access the CDWM via an API, which connects the application to a subsystem programming interface as well as an interface object manager and theme manager. A legacy subsystem is provided as a fallback option.

The CDWM is tied to the unified compositing engine (UCE), which acts as communication module between the CDWM and a 3D graphics interface, such as OpenGL or Direct3D. The patent further explains the hybrid-display of windows where the main content may or may not be delivered via legacy (non-accelerated) sources, while the window itself will be entirely GPU-accelerated and could include a texture that is applied to a 2D or 3D mesh. Microsoft explains that a rich interface would feature “advanced textures, lighting, and 3D transformations.”

Could Microsoft be using such a technology for Windows 8? The timing suggests that the technology is not explicitly tied to Windows 8 and the patent mentions window ideas that are long gone – such as window shapes that combine different geometric shapes such as rectangles and ovals.

However, the deployment requirements of Windows 8 surely create a business case for GPU-accelerated windows in the new operating systems. It could help Microsoft lift the performance of the OS especially in ARM systems. The need for GPU-acceleration has, since the original filing of the patent, expanded to the content of Windows as well and it is likely that Microsoft has adjusted this technology accordingly. So, even if the window frame is less important today and content has the priority, GPU acceleration would be a beneficial feature for Windows.

Google recently revealed that it is also working on a GPU-accelerated windows manager called “Aura”.

 Wolfgang Gruener in Business Products on November 17