Maxthon Adds GPU Rendering for Smoother Text on Web Pages
International this week announced a technical preview version of the upcoming
Maxthon 3.0 that uses a computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU), a
microprocessor on a PC’s graphics card, to display smoother text on Web pages.
GPU rendering will be used in conjunction with Webkit, one of two code
sets that make up Maxthon 3.0′s hybrid rendering engine. The engine translates
a Web’s page’s HTML code into text and graphics displayed on the PC’s screen.
The other code set is Trident, used to optimize older Web pages written for
Internet Explorer’s vintage display standards. Maxthon’s rendering engine
switches automatically between the two code interpreters depending on the type
of Web page the browser is opening.
http://blog.maxthon.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/1.jpg
The accompanying illustration’s enlargements show that fonts are
noticeably smoother and cleaner with GPU rendering enabled, particularly on
curves and diagonal lines.
rendering is merely an initial step. The final version will be more powerful
and will support more features, Chen said.
GPU rendering is widely used in Windows applications, but it is fairly new
to Web browsers. The only two other browsers known to use GPU rendering are
Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox. Essentially the technology uses the power of
the graphics processor to display Web page graphics and text using,
respectively, the Direct2D and DirectWrite Windows APIs. Web pages look better
and load faster as a result.
Almost a year after the initial release of Maxthon 3.0 Alpha, Maxthon has
just released the final Alpha version and will soon officially move to the
Beta stage. Chen said Maxthon had not rushed features during the Alpha stage
but focused on the foundations supporting the program and worked on various
aspects of Webkit, including the implementation of GPU rendering.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
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SOURCE Maxthon