New Alternative to DirectX?

Many graphics and sound businesses are working in partnership to develop a new cross platform equivalent to DirectX. Companies such as 3dfx 3Dlabs, ATI, Compaq, Discreet, Evans & Sutherland, IBM, Intel, S3, and SGI have formed a group dubbed 'Khronos' to design a new API for graphics, video, and audio. This new API could boost Linux's gaming capabilities immensely.

Khronos is described as "a new Special Interest Group formed by a cross section of media software, hardware, and platform vendors. Its purpose is to develop a specification to effectively integrate and synchronize video, graphics and audio across platforms, operating systems, hardware devices and software applications."

As of now, the Khronos group has plans to release the first OpenML compliant products in the first half of 2001. Some anticipated components in the eventual specifications of the product are: an abstraction layer that provides an API for applications and an interface for devices to interact at a common reference level, I/O model based on the foundation of Digital Media Software Development Kit (dmSDK) from SGI, OpenGL extensions, incorporation of data file types such as QuickTime, AAF, and MPEG. Also, Glueware will be implemented to integrate graphics, and video, and audio operations in software. Khronos also stated that more components will be added if necessary.

You can visit the Khronos site for more information.