Microsoft and older Direct X

The latest DirectX SDK doesn't support Direct 3D 8 & Direct Input 7.

Word?

Reason number 672 why graphics engines should use OpenGL.

So what?

DX 8 is 8 years old...

DX9 works fine for XP, DX10 works fine on Vista.

Darkheart

Microsoft have no standards - they are exactly the same with Internet Explorer... and also their business methods ;-)

most computers that where built 8 years ago dont run many of todays games anyways so M$ are looking at that probably thinking its not worth the hassle supporting old hardware.

If anything Microsoft should be doing more of this kind of thing, they should drop a lot of old legacy code and innovate. Certainly Vista is crippled by the fact that it's trying to have a foot in every camp and doing a poor job of it. They should have gone the same way they did with NT4, bare minimum of support for the old tech and streamline and pack in new features and methods.

Also make it clear to customers what you are doing and why.

They should make some big real changes to their architecture and then stick to them, all this incremental messing about is just annoying people and they get hit from both ends.

It's not like they haven't got the money or don't spend on RnD.

They had the balls to do it for Office 2007 and it worked, although I'm sure there were plenty of naysayers for that. MSO 2007 is the first real evolution in the Office Suite for years and it really is better.When people first move to MSO 2007 they hate it because it's different and they can't find things. If I offer people to back to their old version of Office after a few months with 2007 they always want to keep 2007 even if they still have a few small gripes about MSO 2007. So why not take the same approach for their OS?

Darkheart

What Darkheart said.

What picklesworth and darkheart said.

Although does this mean DX7 & 8 stuff is detined to no longer run or does it simply mean you can no longer code for it? Because any loss of compatibility for actual support/emulation would suck (esp. for b3d).

Course not. That would mean everything older than about six or seven years old would not work any more on any operating system.

DirectX SDK isn't the same as DirectX runtimes (which is what Average Joe will have installed).

What, and have everybody crying foul because "Micro$oft are forcing - yes - FORCING me to upgrade!"?

there is always things like VirtualBox for emulating the older windows platforms on newer systems, its not like its not available. Hell even Dosbox can run loads of old dos games.

Thought so. At first i was thinking wether the actual directX layer itself was going to be dropping v7/8. That would be a horrible/stupid thing to do. :)

People do that anyway, so wouldnt make much difference.' Problem is MS need peoples dependency as it one of the main things that gives them such a hold in the OS market. If it wasnt for dependency they would be in -real- trouble now that there are better/as-good alternatives.

That quote sums M$ up entirely, they are renowned for doing stupid things.

Aaahhh,

Again with the MS hate. Some people ...

Where as... I hate water. Everyone seems to "have" to drink it. There are no other options. Darn I hate water. I truly wish some smart nerd would make a better water so that I wouldn't have to drink and complain about this crap water. Next thing you know they'll carbonate my water and I'll have to moan about that as well. When will the dudes who make my water ever learn? If they'd just do what I want I'd be happy. I want turd flavored water that is sparkly clear, but turd flavored. I would love it. When others complain that the water they made at my request tastes like crap, they will 100% correct. After all, why should they make a water that appeals to everyone. I am special and I demand my turd flavored water. I am sick of this monopoly on fresh tasting water that appeals to almost everyone. Give me my fresh, clear, turd flavored water and I'll never hate water again. You might never drink it(because of the flavor) but, what do I care, I got what I want and isn't that what's really important?

Allan

Yes. But if you like the sound of your own voice and can't think of anything intelligent to say, might as well jabber on about Micros... er... I mean, water, some more.

Maybe you should call it 'wat€r'? Seems to be the in-thing.

dont get me wrong I dont hate M$ but after Windows ME, and a load of other failures they do tend to attract criticism.

As well as highly original "M$" comments, which have absolutely, never, ever, got old.

Bless windows 98 se

it was the best os ms ever released.

(Boy Ghoststoft Ghost was my savier that time)

Why should the DX SDK include DX7?
Vista is the current platform. Anything lower than DX9 gets translated to it on Vista

So there is defacto nothing lower than DX9 anymore.