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Maxthon Adds GPU Rendering on Web pages TMCnet Contributor Browser developer Maxthon International recently announced a technical preview version of the upcoming Maxthon 3.0 that uses a computer's graphics processing unit, 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 computer screen. The other code set is Trident, used to optimize older Web pages written for Microsoft (News - Alert) Internet Explorer's vintage display standards. Maxthon's rendering engine switches automatically between the two code interpreters based on the Web page type. Jeff Chen, CEO of Maxthon said that the current implementation of GPU rendering is an initial step. Chen said that the final version will be more powerful and supports more features. GPU rendering is widely used in Windows applications, but it is new to Web browsers. Internet Explorer 9 and Firefox are other browsers known to use GPU rendering. The technology uses the power of the graphics processor to display Web page graphics and text using, respectively, the Direct2D and DirectWrite Windows APIs. As a result, the Web pages look better and load faster. A year after the initial release of Maxthon 3.0 Alpha, Maxthon recently 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. Maxthon International is a company that focuses on new Internet browsing technology to deliver to users an easier and yet more productive surfing experience. The company is a community made up of Maxthon's own staff, outside developers who donate their time and code, and enthusiastic users who run websites dedicated to Maxthon. Carolyn John is a Contributor to TMCnet. To read more of her articles, please columnist page. Edited by Marisa Torrieri |