***Story of the Issue
Microsoft Commits to 3D User Interface
In a striking development from WinHEC Microsoft publicly
announced its commitment to a 3D User Interface.
Jay Torborg announced GDI 2K as a new GDI which is COM3 based.
It will be included in Windows beyond NT 5.0. Further,
Microsoft has committed that beyond NT 5.0 both Windows 9X and
NT will converge to the NT code base, thus the foundation OS
will have 3D GUI. GDI 2K is the integration of Direct Draw and
Direct 3D. Surfaces of the windows can be arbitrarily shaped,
3D and video will be fully integrated, all surfaces will be
anti-aliased, alpha blended and composited. Bill Gates,
proceeding the disclosure in Jay Torborg’s talk, also stated
that the U/I will be in 3D in the release after NT 5.0.
WAVE Report Comments
At the WAVE Report we feel this will be as significant as the
2D GUI in pushing the PC platform forward. Already there are
100m 32 bit Windows operating systems running. If we assume at
the 3D GUI is 3+ years away this could put the installed base
of potential users who would experience 3D every time they use
the PC at 400+m.
The 3D industry bemoans the fact that there are too few
business applications of 3D, however, making the interface one
which is founded on 3D will be best driver in adoption rate.
Pushing the GUI to 3D will also present new challenges to the
3D chip companies. For example, the screen, which we associate
with our interface to the computer today, should be seen as
just a texture map. Thus, one measure of the performance of the
3D accelerators would be how many large texture maps it would
support. We foresee that this could drive the storage and use
of 100’s of full screen dynamic texture maps which are
surfaces. There are immense possibilities for the integration
of multiple screens, i.e., multiple monitors, many forms of
content and opportunities for integration of content when the
interface is seen in such a general context. That is, every
surface is an interface element and every 3D object can contain
any surface.
We have only one observation for Microsoft – the earlier the
better for GDI 2K.
As an industry we need to go beyond making 1998 the year of 3D
but focusing on the year that 3D is everything in the user
interface. When this happens it will drive everyone’s
perception of what the computer is.
Wave Issue 9804 3/27/98 Article 2-01