Aero is the codename to the user experience in Microsoft’s next version of Windows (codenamed Longhorn). Microsoft plans to have several different levels of Aero based on the hardware of the user’s machine.

There are currently four different experiences planned depending on your hardware requirements. Three of them are Aero-derivatives:

Level 1: Classic Windows. This is the same as Classic mode in Windows XP.

Level 2: Aero Express. This is akin to the Windows XP style. It’ll be pretty basic but have the new general look and feel.

Level 3: Aero Glass. This will require a decent video card that supports DirectX 9. This will probably be the most common look we’ll see with Longhorn initially.

Level 4: Aero “Diamond” (not sure if this will be the final name). This is the ultimate experience and you’ll need a pretty good video card (i.e. 128 meg at least with very good LDDM drivers).

It’ll be interesting to see how Aero is able to take advantage of the latest/greatest hardware. Stay tuned…