I don't think the point of the article was about versions of DirectX. The point was, MS was being typical MS, abusing its OS monopoly. In this case, OpenGL, a competitor with an arguably better product was the victim. When hardware vendors and developers give mroe support to a lesser product because "that's just what everyone else uses," we as gamers lose.

But of course, this is business. MS just happens to be one of the most aggressive ones out there in terms of stamping out competition; I think more than any other company MS values marketshare.

But if you read the article, you'd understand nVidia not supporting OpenGL as well is only because MS basically forced everyone to use DirectX.

they do somewhat actually, if you have a qaudro graphics card you can use OpenGL for 3D gaming. The problem with qaudro is that its made for development and not gaming itself.....they're really damn crappy for actual game play.

They're saying they will use openGL on all there cards eventually but until then i tend to avoid openGL games. Nothing really against it it's just trust me once you start playing your games in 3d,  you don't really want to go back. If openGL worked for my 3d then i would be fine with it, but that's pretty much the one and only reason i prefer not to use openGL.

Both 3d vision and iz3d support OpenGL. I don't know where people get this stuff from.

Read the OP it might give you a clue

This as always been the case that OpenGL is better, unfortunately developers will not sacrifice a lightly easier life for our benefit.  Same with Nvidia and ATi, the more frequent updates in OpenGL might give them more work on driver support to do so they'll prefer the slow and steady aproach by Microsoft.  Props for taking the time to write this up to inform others though.

actually, OpenGL is more comparable to Direct3D, not direct X altogether

Sorry for my previous post, now here is my serious answer:
Well, I agree with you that opengL is slightly better, but Direct X is not going to lose because it is bundled with Windows 7, and not many people know of OpenGL even as it is an open source application.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done about it right now. Developers have to do what their bosses tell them to do whether they like it or not. If a company has millions invested into directx reusable code they are not going to switch to opengl without some sort of benefit in the form of more profit.

The current state of PC gaming is truley abysmal. We have easily been retarded by about 10 years because MS want to capitalize on software royalties which is hard to do on the PC. They want the XB to succeed because they can easily control that platform whereas any advances in the PC will more than likely eventually be free for everyone on other OS's. They are a business after all so I dont think their stance is surprising. Sony is 100x worse with their draconian tactics to control formats.

That said, there is only 1 way PC gaming will take off again and its actually very simple and will probably happen soon due to the pressure being felt in the PC world. Intel, AMD, Nvidia, HP, Dell and every game developer, PC maker, & hardware maker on earth needs to sit down in a room and create a friggin gaming standard using common PC hardware! Basically, what we need is all these companies agree that a certain EXISTING video card, along with a specific mobo, CPU, & memory will become the defacto setup for a brand new open source console.

They will need to pool their money and hire a Linux developer to create an OS specifically for the hardware and make sure it behaves like a console not a PC in terms of speed & ease of use. Make installation on hard drive optional (game runs from media like consoles). Once complete, give the OS to PC makers and let them help you market the product.

Create backward compatibility for your popular old games so that they work on the system to instantly give yourself a huge starting library of games to tone down the costs of making new games until the system becomes a little widespread.

Lastly, every 2 years, revise the standard to new hardware to spur more sales for everyone.

Thats it. Its actually just an open source console based on PC hardware.

This would make money for almost everyone in the PC hardware arena. Nvidia and AMD will start selling masses of video cards again. HP, Dell and other PC manufacturers will cheer as they enter into a market that they never dreamed to be a part of on top of their normal PC sales. Some lucky developer will become very rich making and maintaining the new OS. Game developers will not have the technical problems that are plaguing their games on the PC and they dont have to pay royalties or rely on anyone but themselves for sales saving tons of money. Devs will not have to make cross platformers since this console wille eventually trump all the others over time (being perpetual in nature). The "rugulatory group" itself can also sell ad space and other stuff for revenue.

For the consumer, you get a low/mid cost console with tons of games almost instantly as soon as you buy one. No more technical problems with hardware or software! Cheaper games. You will never have to worry about backward compatibility because the hardware is standardized and builds upon itself like most PC hardware. Being a PC, any techie will be able to fix it easily. No more draconian policies from MS, Sony or Nintendo limiting your enjoyment although some sort of protection will be understandable. Perhaps an internet requirement or a new type of media that is hard to copy or cirumvent (perhaps a custom USB stick).

Yea I know... im dreaming but I think the PC companies are being pushed into this if PC sales do not recover.

You are right marc,

The reasons for OpenGL's advantage in the professional market is partly historical. Many professional graphics applications (for example, Softimage|3D, Alias PowerAnimator) were originally written in IRIS GL for high-end SGI workstations, then ported to OpenGL. Even long after SGI ceased to dominate the market, many professional graphics cards only supported OpenGL.

The many extra features of OpenGL that were previously mentioned as not useful for game development are also a factor in OpenGL's professional market advantage, because many of them are useful in professional applications.

The other reason for OpenGL's advantage is marketing and design. DirectX is a set of APIs that were not marketed towards professional graphics applications. Indeed, they were not even designed with those applications in mind. DirectX was an API designed for low-level, high-performance hardware access for the purpose of game development. OpenGL is a much more general purpose 3D API, so it provides features that aren't necessarily exclusive towards any particular kind of user.

That was an interesting read.