DeepVista - Aero Glass Emulation Framework
What you’re looking at are actual resizable program windows running under Windows XP… with the appearance of the Windows Vista (currently in beta testing) Aero Glass mode. Don’t believe me? Try it out for yourself…
Some of you might not know this, but Aero Glass is the hottest snot in the world right now when it comes to coveted interface experiences. All the cool kids are making Aero skins for all their favorite apps, but guess what? Not a single one is resizable! DeepVista features resizable windows that show you the contents of you underlying desktop, your porn sites, the spyware icons on your desktop… everything and anything you can put a DV window over is visible through it’s borders; like glass!
Before the inevitable anti-glass backlash begins, let me set the record straight… I’m only sort of enamoured by the style. I like it a lot, but I don’t love it. If I worked at Microsoft from a position where I could influence the defining Avalon experience I would do something a lot cooler. Like… umm… howabout being able to choose between a set of pixel shaders so that inside the glass/gel you could have grass growing, fur blowing, fire blazing, stars twinkling, vines crawling… hell, roaches scurrying. Alas, my genius in this regard is to remain untapped.
At any rate, I done this here purty transplucent thinger and of course it has a few bugs. Here’s the known bugs list so I can berate and abuse you if you should decide to report something that I’ve already allocated precious neurons for:
- min/max/close buttons: up-state transparency is unreliable, goes pink
- min/max/close buttons: z-order doesn’t behave, shows through windows
- window contents left behind when clicking within overlapping DV windows
- it can tend to look horrible on Win2K, so for now… XP’ers only please
If you find anything not in this list, please email me and describe how to repeat it. Please link or attach screenshots if applicable.
Sooner or later, you might ask yourself… “what’s the freekin’ point?” Why would someone go to the trouble of doing something like this. Truthfully, I haven’t made up my mind on where I want to take it yet. But in the end, there will be some kind of application(s) involved. 
At this point I just want to get it solid and make it featureful. One fine chap on the Neowin forums was kind enough to explain how glass on XP is “useless” and “messy” because it doesn’t blur the underlying contents to improve overall clarity. Since this presents an interesting technical challenge, I think that some form of support for a blur effect is in order soon. Other than that, what can I say? Try it! 
September 7th, 2005 at 10:59 am
Wonderful!!!! Is it coded with Borland Delphi? If yes, may I have a look at the source code?
Cheers
September 10th, 2005 at 11:28 am
What’s the point of this? Showing off that you know how to use a layered window?
I guess I wouldnt be so miffed, and might actually congratulate you if it werent for the fact that youre trying to pass this off as something that’s never been done before. Every widget app out there does this, any app that has irregular/shaped borders with alphatransparency does this. There are examples all over codeproject.com that do this. You’re hardly the first man, and thats not cool even suggesting that you are.
September 10th, 2005 at 3:11 pm
The aspect that has never been done before is the fact that it is resizable w/aero glass look. Right now, there is no widget that does this. Anywhere. Period. Please feel free to consider yourself schooled. Have a nice day!
September 13th, 2005 at 4:40 am
hello,
when using ultravnc and connecting to a client where deepvista runs, the title buttons are pink. can you fix this?
November 8th, 2005 at 4:42 am
This is tre cool, BUT, it only works with your program? Is there a way to install this as default under windows xp foor all windows or is that not possible ?
Sincerely, interface
November 26th, 2005 at 9:15 pm
VistaXP v3 for WindowBlinds 5 will completely emulate AeroGlass, as well as the entire Aero Glass theme. WindowBlinds 5 will be available to everybody on November 29.
November 27th, 2005 at 8:29 pm
Hey, this is a good use of layered windows and chopping up lots of png files and blitting them in to place on resize. I have
recently been doing a similar open source project in C#. The problem of doing layered windows however, the rendering
of the controls in the form’s container. I supose one could spend months writting a container control renderer for each control
that one might come across (text box, label, button etc).. But wait, this is what Avalon does right? So why invest the time
in coding something that’s coming out not far down the road?
If anyone here is interested in really learning how this is done under XP and understing the frustrating limitations of GDI/GDI+
send me a mail at webmaster@style-cafe.com and I’ll be happy to send some code snipets.
Thanks.
February 28th, 2006 at 10:05 am
I am a programmer advance with technology .net 2.0
I have a aplication similar to emulate the GLASS on XP
Please contact me!
August 21st, 2006 at 12:51 pm
If this is a theme it is not very impressive. If it is an extention of the System.Windows.Forms.Form in windows, or the SYS_WIN_FORM in shell32.dll it makes it impressive by extending the use to people without XP (or the theme for that matter) installed.
August 27th, 2006 at 3:48 am
Very good! can i made it to standard on xp?
I mean, all windows are transparent (windows blinds isn’t good…)
sorry for my bad english!
August 29th, 2006 at 6:17 am
I like aero glass
August 29th, 2006 at 6:18 am
i like glass
June 18th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I want ALL windows with this aero. can I want?
June 19th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
Can you publish the source code?
July 9th, 2007 at 11:36 am
Very nice theme.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
Is it possible to have this on all windows?
October 18th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
With it was a militaryschool disney cartoon sex where hell get.
November 8th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
A nice software. isn’t it?