For those unfamiliar: Longhorn was the precursor to Vista. It promised a revolutionary UI based on the Avalon engine (WPF). The Aurora effect was a key part of this "Aero" vision, meant to be rendered procedurally without hitting the CPU too hard.
In the leaked Build 4074, the effect was technically broken/hidden because the default "Jade" theme didn't support it, and the BAML (Binary Application Markup Language) files used a deprecated format that the system parser couldn't handle properly.
I took the original XAML definitions and logic and ported them 1:1 to modern HTML5 Canvas shapes and animations. It’s a tribute to the Microsoft pioneers who were working on "Liquid Glass" aesthetics 21 years before it became a trend again.
It runs entirely in the browser. Added some nice toggles as well
The code is open source, enjoy the nostalgia trip!
Github: https://github.com/brainvine/longhorn-aurora
Live demo: https://longhorn-aurora.dannydekruijk.workers.dev/