Gaming revolution or a hoax?By Theo Valich: Monday 23 April 2007, 09:28MICROSOFT HAS BEEN talking about DirectX 10 being an integral part of Vista, saying that DirectX 10 could not be implemented onto any other operating systems. The reason for this is the approach of DirectX 10 inside the Vista kernel, with a more console-style approach to hardware. However, that was before the Alky Project came to light limelight.A chap called Cody Brocious from San Diego, California, claims to have started to create an wrapper for Windows executables so that they can be ran on another operating system, with no prejudice about that operating system. A year in, the Alky Project has gone live under the cover of a company Falling Leaf Systems. Members of its Sapling Program will be able to get the wrappers for DirectX10 applications and run them not just on DX10 hardware under Windows XP, but with some DX9 hardware as well. Although this sounds like a fairytale, Cody claims he reverse-engineered the Geometry Shader code, and that users will be able to run Windows games intended on the Mac OS X on x86-based Macinteltoshes as well as Linux. While we are waiting for the wrappers so that we can show DX10 running under Windows XP - or not - you can check out the claims yourself. µ
DX10 is do-able on Windows XPMicrosoft backpedals for Nvidia, you loseBy Charlie Demerjian: Wednesday 11 July 2007, 08:56EVER WONDER WHY MS refuses to release DX10 for XP, forcing users to Linux, and barring that, Vista - also known as Me II? It is easy, there was a technical reason, but it shot that down when Nvidia couldn't cut it. Now it is simply arm twisting.The original reason was that DX10 required graphics memory to be virtualisable, a laudable goal. You can see hints of it here and here among other places. This was a good thing, perhaps a really good thing, and Microsoft was clamping down on requirements with the usual subtlety of a convicted monopolist.This would not work with XP, and that was fine and dandy. It was an honest technical reason why you could not backport DX10 to XP without a major rip and replace operation. Microsoft wasn't going to bend on this one at all.Then something odd happened. Nvidia had about as much success implementing this required feature as it did with it Me II drivers, that is to say, none. It couldn't do it, but it was required for DX10. What's an arm twisting Vole to do? Backpedal obviously.So, MS threw NV a life preserver and made GPU memory virtualisation completely optional. ATI, which had implemented a dandy memory virtualisation scheme got screwed, or at least got what everyone who partners with MS got. Oh wait, I said that.In any case, in doing this, MS removed the only impediment to backporting DX10 to XP, it is now, and has been for quite a while, completely possible. MS is screwing its customers to force an upgrade and you are a pawn in their revenue generation scheme.Sadly, I will admit that I did upgrade. I went from XP to Ubuntu and bought a Wii. Life could not be better now, gaming is fun again, and spyware is a distant memory. µ
Windows Live, DX10 looking up for XPGears of change for Gears of War?By Wily Ferret: Friday 13 July 2007, 07:59WE'RE HEARTING rumours out of sunny Santa Monica that the Windows Live programme isn't quite as Vista-centric as Volish operatives would like us to think.See DX10 is do-able for Windows XP.With Gears of War being announced for PC, creator Cliff Blezinski has been telling journalists that the game is coming to Windows XP as well as Vista, complete with Games for Windows Live integration for multiplayer and achievements.G4WL!, as it is snappily abbreviated, is currently Vista-only and supported in Microsoft showcase titles Halo 2 and ShadowRun. Gears is, like these two, a Microsoft Game Studios title, but it seems like the playbook may be torn up at the behest of the rock-star developers. Meanwhile, Microsoft is issuing press releases left, right and centre announcing more XP G4WL! titles, including Viva Pinata. Confusion reigns in California.Will this also mean an appearance for DX10 on XP? The odds are getting shorter by the day. µ
