Microsoft cuts Windows 7 features - already
Bye bye DX11
By Charlie Demerjian: Thursday, 07 February 2008, 9:21 AM
THE 'SHORTHORNING' of Windows 7 has begun, features are being shed left and right. The latest one is graphics a API, DirectX 11 in this case.
From what we are told by reliable sources. MS was keen on having DX11 be part of Windows 7. DX10, which while technically pretty nifty, is saddled with Vista as an arm twist mechanism, so it is taking off like a water buffalo with bunions and a weight problem.
For Windows 7, MS basically pulled the mandatory DX11 requirement at the behest of one company that basically whined a lot. History tells us that if you throw a hissy fit, MS will screw itself over and cave in, look what they did to neuter DX10 when NV got all pouty. Now DX11 is gone, and the debate is about DX10, and whether it will even be mandatory.
If this sounds so absurd it borders on the surreal, think about this. Computers need to run Windows, and if MS specs the minimum reqs so high that the low end can't run it, well, they will turn 7 into MeIII just like Vista is becoming MeII. About half of PCs are sold with those crappy integrated graphics, and there is one company that won't make the cut there, so they cried to MS.
With three GPU vendors out there, this means that if DX11 is mandated, at least a quarter of the PCs won't run it, not to mention laptops, and that can't happen. The DX9 vs 10 as standard debate is also about the same thing, one company doesn't think they will have enough horsepower by then, so they moan.
In the end, it basically says that 7 is going to be an unlucky number. If they are already hacking at the few expected features now, imagine how much more is going to be cut when they are facing real deadlines? µ
