What we will do is bring you the inside scoop - -news you can use -- on the technologies you're grappling with every day. Things like MMX, Proshare, Winsock, InstantON and ActiveX. When possible, we'll also include Web links so you can access design information of immediate utility. In sum, we hope to enable you to better anticipate the sudden technical twists and turns that the overseers of the Wintel platform regularly inflict upon us.

This week, we'll focus on DirectX, Microsoft's application-programming interface for games developers. First, a major word of warning: If you're working with the DirectX version 3 software development kit (SDK), you must upgrade immediately to version 3a. There were problems with the DirectX 3 installation process; in some cases, existing display drivers were replaced, leading to system crashes further down the road. Incompatibilities with other types of drivers have also cropped up.

This points up the par adox of DirectX, which is that it is both hugely important and a minefield strewn with dangers for software developers. The allure of DirectX is that it includes Direct3D, which functions much like a tool kit for creating 3-D for games and other multimedia applications. Another key component is DirectPlay, which supports the communications functions required by multiplayer games that connect to Internet-based servers.

Like baking a good souffle, building a successful DirectX application requires a careful gathering together of just the right ingredients and subsequent handling with tender loving care (and even then, the whole thing can easily cave in on you).

The first order of business is to download the SDK and scan some of the online documentation.

Next, consider subscribing to the games-development mailing list. Few of the 50-odd messages that will clog your e-mail box each day have significant technical value, but the list serv es a valuable role as a sort of a developers' anonymous (as in "Dear Microsoft, please help me to accept the software I cannot change. . .").

Before plunging in, I suggest perusing the mailing list's archives. If you wish to subscribe, send an email to "listmgr@panorama.poly.edu" and include the words "subscribe gamedev" in the body of the message.

Finally, take a trip down to your local computer bookstore. Many of the DirectX books that have hit the streets recently are little more than gussied-up documentation. One partial exception is Rob Glidden's new "Graphics Programming with Direct3D," from Addison-Wesley.

The first half of the book offers a concise tutorial on 3-D hardware and on the fundamentals of real-time rendering that tops anything I've seen anywhere. On the downside, the book is backfilled with a superfluous refe rence on Direct3D methods and functions. In addition, the book's CD-ROM contains the older and problematic version 3 SDK.

Another title of interest is "Cutting-Edge Direct3D Programming" by Stan Trujillo from The Coriolis Group. This book doesn't boast much in the way of "Graphics 101" background material, but there is a wealth of source code and demo programs that could serve as useful templates for your development efforts.

That's all for this initial installment of "Wintel Watch." What's your take on this new column? What topics would you like to see in the coming weeks? E-mail your comments to me at awolfe@cmp.com .

Have an opinion, comment or question about the Wintel platform? Explore next-generation design challenges -- things like MMX, DirectX and Univeral Seria l Bus -- with other EE Times readers on our new Wintel Watch forum.

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