DirectX 6.0 due this summer

During a Thursday keynote address at the Windows Hardware EngineeringConference (WinHEC) in Orlando, Microsoft's Jay Torborg, the director of graphics and multimedia for the company, announced that DirectX 6.0 wouldship this July. Torborg said that a beta release could be expected in May,while Windows NT 5.0 Beta 2--due in June--would also include a beta releaseof the multimedia programming interface. DirectX 6.0 will ship as an upgrade for Windows 95/8 and as an integrated part of Windows NT 5.0 whenthat operating system becomes available in late 1998 or early 1999.

Torborg confirmed that some planned features will be dropped from this release so that it can stay on schedule. One new feature, "DirectMusic", will not definitely make the cut. Direct3D in DirectX 6.0 has beenoptimized for Intel Pentium II systems, Torborg said