Future of DirectX becomes clearer

Microsoft revealed its plans for future versions of DirectX--includingversions 7.0 and 8.0--at its annual Meltdown Conference for games andmultimedia developers this week. Even though DirectX 6.0 has just releasedrelease candidate stage (it will be released late this month, according tothe company, though at least one component will be late), Microsoft says that future versions of the multimedia programming libraries will come fast and furious.

DirectX 6.0 was originally intended to be made available as part of thefirst Windows 98 service pack. Microsoft had a change of plans, however,and will now release DirectX 6.0 separately for Windows 98. DirectX 6.0was also originally slated to appear with Windows NT 5.0, but that OS'late delivery almost guarantees that DirectX 7.0 will be ready by thatpoint. Mark Kenworthy, a program manager for DirectX says that DirectX 6.0speeds 3D applications by about 60%.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, not all of DirectX 6.0 will be ready for the lateJuly launch. DirectMusic 6.0, for example, will ship with DirectX 6.1 thisFall and, Kenworthy says, with Windows 98 Service Pack 2. This is thefirst mention of a second service pack for Windows 98.

In the meantime, Microsoft is moving ahead with plans for DirectX 7.0, which should be ready for beta by September. DirectX 7.0 will supportnon-Pentium/Pentium II architectures, suggesting some Windows CE compatibility. This would coincide nicely with the release of the WindowsCE-based Sega Dreamcast game console, which is expected in time forChristmas. DirectX 7.0 will also support the so-called MMX-2 features foundin Intel's next-generation "Katmai" extensions for Pentium II chips.

"The current plan is to release [DirectX 7.0] in Q2 of next year," saidKenworthy.

Meanwhile, DirectX 8.0 plans are also coming together. DirectX 8.0 will beco-developed with graphics wizards from Silicon Graphics and HewlettPackard, who will work with Microsoft to combine the DirectX and Open GLApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs) into a single library