> 4) The zenith of affordances is reached with Windows Vista/7 "Aeroglass" where windows could cast translucent drop shadows on the desktop. Effects like that r

> 4) The zenith of affordances is reached with Windows Vista/7 "Aeroglass" where windows could cast translucent drop shadows on the desktop. Effects like that required heavier computation such as "alpha channels". Hardware-assisted (premium graphics card) was required. Desktop computing power (both cpu and graphics chip) to deliver all this GUI effects was not a big deal. This was the time period before "skeumorphism" became persona non grata. I would say the introduction of hardware-accelerated translucent UIs was a blessing and a curse for usability. The ability to cast shadows added a useful visual cue to the ubiquitous "2.5D" floating window manager. Simultaneously, this new rendering ability allowed application windows to become translucent; undermining the 2.5D concept and sometimes making content illegible. Another technical capability was added to "fix" this: blurring the transparent sections, when IMHO it would be better to avoid transparency other than for shadows.