It seems Microsoft is continuing to play footsie with Windows Vista's features as the deadline looms in less than a half a year. Having said that, there is good news and bad news from the Microsoft fiefdom.

DirectX10 will be integrated with Windows Vista, and will include new shader technologies that will significantly increase the detail of a game's physical environment. This includes almost 100 percent accuracy for water ripples, sun rays for sunlight environments and the ability to display changing expressions on a character's face while in game-play, not just body language. It will be a significant leap for PC Windows gaming, as the Microsoft OS continues an astonishing edge over Mac and Linux for gaming. However, DirectX10 will not be for Windows XP or previous Windows versions. Only Windows Vista will be supported,and to boost Windows Vista sales, Microsoft will not release Halo 2 for PC for Windows XP and earlier. The catch for Halo 2 PC is a feature in the game that will let you build your own custom map for multi-player games.

WinFS is now a gonner. The new advanced file system that would have allowed Windows Vista to index the contents of all of your files will not happen. Ever. WinFS will only support data servers, which is sad for PC consumers looking forward to take advantage of the new file system for quicker performance.

So, what are we to do with NTFS? Looks like that is the file system for Windows for good, unless the next version of Windows, due out around the time my unborn kids walk in to their first grade class, supports the coveted file system. ReiserFS anyone? Anyone?