> The transparent console app [1] is doing something more complicated which I haven't tried to fully understand, (..) If apps draw themselves, and transparency

> The transparent console app [1] is doing something more complicated which I haven't tried to fully understand, (..) If apps draw themselves, and transparency is involved, this could need: a) Save background which is overwritten ("damage areas" is a modern description, I think?). b) Alpha blending - calculating a weighed average between background & what you're overwriting it with. c) And maybe some kind of text-buffer -> bitmap conversion (if not done ahead of time). Enough pixel massaging right there.