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Microsoft Makes Direct X 11.1 a Windows 8 Exclusive

Posted by Unknown on from the year-of-the-linux-desktop dept.

BluPhenix316 writes "Microsoft has made Direct X 11.1 a Windows 8 Exclusive. I think this is merely an update to make Direct X more integrated with Windows 8. Is this going to be the trend? To lock you into the OS updates so Windows 7 doesn't last as long as Windows XP has?" The update is pretty minor, but it does add Stereoscopic rendering, and there seemed to be an implication that no new DirectX updates after this will be made for Windows 7.

17 of 553 comments (clear)

  1. Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by e065c8515d206cb0e190 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    and we won't have to put up with this anymore.

    1. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by jiriw · · Score: 1, Interesting

      What do you need a good [b]desktop[/b] OS for to play a game? It's only useful for support features as a console menu is useful to console games. As long as the graphics drivers are stable, featurefull and fast, there is enough support in your OS to start the game, do some configuring and maybe some support apps on the side, you should be good to go. Both Windows OS and a fully kitted out X are overkill.

    2. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by humanrev · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Sounds like a lot of time and effort expended into getting what you were already used to with Windows.

      I tend to agree with him. I have yet to find a Linux DE that has the right balance between having too many options (KDE) or too few options (GNOME), while still having a modern GPU accelerated desktop which looks slick (Windows 7). Besides, the advantage is my wife can use my computer efficiently because it looks pretty much the same as her computer (and no she could never run a Linux distro - she's a teacher, schools use Microsoft Office, and I don't want to cause added stress by making extra work for her).

      --
      Most people on Slashdot are fucking idiots.
    3. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by epyT-R · · Score: 4, Interesting

      1. It's just that she's used to a particular toolset. Linux offers competent toolsets to do what she does. They're just different from what she knows. This is different from not having the tools at all or even having less adequate ones. In the latter context, there are plenty of examples where all operating systems need work.

      2. Aesthetics are subjective. I find aero to be gaudy and ugly. The older win2k/nt4 look was much cleaner and faster. Layout wise, it was far superior as well. Windows 8 borders on useless except for extremely simple tasks. I also find OSX and linux gpu accelerated desktops to be slow and ugly too. Seriously, I don't want all these needed fades and transisions and other stupid shit. I want it to respond. Instantly. That's just me.

      3. microsoft is making 11.1 exclusive to windows 8 because they know that gamers panned it and they're trying to force them. Vendors need to realize that if their old products appeal to consumers more than their new ones, forcing their hands isn't going to make people rush out and buy. It makes them resentful.

    4. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by ozmanjusri · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Stick with being a prisoner of Microsoft.

      A lot more people are choosing not to do that.

      Even Microsoft knows Windows 8 is shit. They've just sacked Sinofsky over it.

      "REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 12, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that Windows and Windows Live President Steven Sinofsky will be leaving the company and that Julie Larson-Green will be promoted to lead all Windows software and hardware engineering."

      http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/Press/2012/Nov12/11-12AnnouncementPR.aspx

      --
      "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."
    5. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by erroneus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Wow! Is it still the 1990s?

      In case you haven't noticed where things are and where they are going, we have specialized computers everywhere. Your smartphone is the most obvious, but also, your DVD player, your TV and lots of things are specialized computers. And so yes, you do want a separate device for most every task. That is, unless you carry a laptop around instead of a phone.

      And things are only getting worse...or better depending on how you look at it. Before long, you will carry your computer and data with you all the time. The interface will depend on the application. In the car, it will be what you want in the car. At home, it will be what you want in the home.

      And when you get down to it, most people only do a rather limited set of things with their computers. If they are mostly internet, then guess what? It doesn't matter which OS you use. This Microsoft-proprietary internet is just about dead. The internet+flash is going away too.

      And here's a prediction:

      Windows 7 will be the last loved OS by Microsoft. Windows 8 will be rejected in an unprecedented manner. It will be rejected by users... that has been done before. Windows 8 will be rejected by developers -- the people Microsoft has most depended on. At the end of the day, what keeps people using Windows is the applications. And when people start coding for other platforms instead of Windows 8, that'll be the end of Microsoft's reign. After that, it's all coasting downhill under its own weight.

      And just as hard as it was to imagine IBM not making type writers, it is certainly hard for people to see PCs go. But we've seen it all before. The exit of the floppy... both 5'25" and 3.5" were OMG!! It caused fear and panic for a while. A lot of things are changing. Get used to it. Most of the time it's better. But heaven help us when storage is on the cloud with no option otherwise. That will happen when applications will no longer store data locally... just "cached" locally with built-in limits. Welcome to computing 2.0. Applications and data as a service.

    6. Re:Let's hope Steam on Linux gathers... steam by freman · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I use linux because I can make it do everything I don't want to do - windows sux for automation...

  2. I still can't tell the difference betwen DX9 and10 by Hadlock · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Supposedly the big draw for Vista was the coming of DX10 and all that entailed. Side by side comparisons of DX9 vs DX10 were so minor the magazines (yes, those still existed in 2006) had to draw red circles around the detail, they made wireframe renders of DiRT so you could see all the extra triangles in the flags and water... that you couldn't see without the help, along with paragraphs explaining how what you couldn't see was so high tech.
     
    I certainly can't tell the difference between DX10 and DX11, and 11.1a has got to be so minor as to be ignored by developers -- why would you want to alienate your customer base like that? Like microsoft, they're in the business to make money too. Whatever gains were had with the tessellation improvements in DX10 were offset by the improvements in technology; it's just too hard to tell the difference between DX versions these days.
     
    Has rendering technology finally matured?

    --
    moox. for a new generation.
  3. Re:ALL GAME DEVS! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    WE WILL NOT BE USING WINDOWS 8!

    I'm already using Windows 8. Yes it works fine you luddites. Speak for yourself, thanks.

  4. Re:Well there's 11.1 reasons to use OpenGL by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Yeah the only problem is getting developers to support it, and after the 3.x fiasco, with all hands on the tiller plenty of developers are still swearing it off. Though it does seem to be changing with the 4.x version. But it has it's own image to repair among the community first.

  5. How to get rid of all Windows boxes, forever? by h00manist · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Linux sucks as a desktop os

    Microsoft always does this bait and hook game. Already XP can't run IE9, and sites are stopping support for IE8. There's no option, accept Microsoft doesn't maintain support for their OS without forced upgrades, or just don't use it. There are some options.

    The thing many people are waiting for I think is some simple way to stream win32 API suport to run any win-app you want, on demand, from one single box sitting on the network. Then get rid of every Microsoft product in sight.

    --
    Build your own energy sources from scratch. http://otherpower.com/
  6. Re:Mod parent up by Nikker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    As someone who has been using Win8 RC since about August, throwing the whole desktop on the GPU isn't quite as good as I had hoped. My example is as follows. My hardware specs are AMD FX-6100 @ 3.7GHz, Radeon HD 7850, 16GB RAM(1600). When running iTunes/Winamp visualizations on one monitor (windowed or full screen) the GPU usage skyrockets (as per Open Hardware Monitor) and the entire UI on both screens becomes less than a slide show. CPU usage rests at about 10%. Now whenever you run a mildly GPU intensive task in a window your system basically becomes completely unresponsive. My GPU is not the best out there but the majority of systems out there ship with much less, I can't feel a bit less then ambitious that this won't effect most people negatively overall.

    As for your claim that it would require a "kernel rewrite" I have to say I'm impressed. Apparently you know the implementation of the system which apparently up to now was believed to be closed source. I am curious how you know how the kernel would have to be "re-written" when according to the version numbers they just went from 6.1 to 6.2.

    --
    A loop, by its nature, continues. If that didn't make sense, start reading this sentence again.
  7. Re:What do you expect? by number6x · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I use Linux so I'm no longer an authority on Windows, but why switch? Can't you just use Windows 7 for a few years? You don't have to get a new computer or update your OS just because something new has come out. If Windows 7 works for you keep using it.

    In Linux land gnome 3 was a terrible interface. However each month developers came out with tweeks, applets and extensions that made it useful for users. I just kept using XFCE, but the point is don't worry about Windows 8. Either it will become workable, or it will be replaced by Windows 9.

    Windows XP didn't hit it's stride until SP2, so relax. Use what you are using and wait it out.

    It could also be that this version of Direct X is Windows 8 specific. I don't use Windows, but is it common to have that small 'a' subscript in a release. It sure seems odd to me. Like it is some kind of sub-release targeted ad a specific sub architecture of Windows.

  8. And in other news...Steve Sinofsky is GONE. by bmo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Steve Sinofsky, the "brains" behind Windows 8, has just been given the boot.

    Gee... one wonders why.

    http://allthingsd.com/20121112/breaking-windows-head-steven-sinofsky-to-leave-microsoft/

    Windows unit president Steven Sinofsky is leaving the company, effective immediately, AllThingsD has confirmed.

    The move comes less than a month after Sinofsky presided over the launch of Windows 8 and Microsoftâ(TM)s Surface tabletâ"products seen as key to the future if the PC software pioneer is to retain its position amid a market increasingly dominated by phones and tablets.

    Sources have said the move came amid growing tension between Sinofsky and other top executives. Sinofsky, though seen as highly talented, was viewed at the top levels as not the kind of team player that the company was looking for. The move is likened by some to the recent ouster at Apple of iOS head Scott Forstall.

    Maybe it's because 8 is a stinker and they have to deep discount the so-called upgrade to 15 bucks just to get people to try it?

    --
    BMO

  9. Re:New WDDM version is the reason by SplashMyBandit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    OpenGL has had support for stereoscopic rendering *forever*. OpenGL works on Windows (XP to 8), Linux, Mac, Unix and almost all embedded devices (eg phone; athoguh that is the OpenGL ES variant). Requiring an O/S upgrade for a trivial feature increase in DirectX shows just how borked the designs of DX and Windows are.

  10. Re:I still can't tell the difference betwen DX9 an by Z34107 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was actually excited when I first saw DirectX 10 screenshots. You actually get foliage with DirectX10, especially in the third set. (Check out the mountains in the back.) Pity that Vista's poor uptake meant nobody besides Crysis or Hellgate: London did much with with it.

    DirectX 11 was even more impressive--tesselation essentially gets you a hojillion transformable polygons for free. Check out the crowd animated entirely in GPU hardware.

    If you really can't tell the difference, just rejoice, quietly, that all of your gaming needs were met nine years ago. You'll never be tempted to buy a new video card for that XP rig.

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    DATABASE WOW WOW
  11. Years later ... by Taco+Cowboy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just like what happened to IE 10.

    Initially Microsoft only let users of Win 8 to enjoy IE 10, shutting out millions and millions of Win7 users.

    Only now, rumor has it that M$ gonna let Win7 users use IE10 - http://slashdot.org/submission/2350635/ie-10-for-win-7---would-it-be-a-little-bit-too-late- - but it would be too late.

    The same thing may happen here.

    Only after Linux gathering massive Steam (pun intended) Microsoft gave up and allowing DirectX 11.1 to run on Win7 - and it will too, be too little, too late.

    --
    Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !