DirectX 11 - the one sure thing you'll want as soon as Windows Seven ships to shelves a few years from now. Revealed back in Gamefest 2008, DirectX 11 turned heads with its venture into multithreaded computing territory and support for using shader processors as additional processing power. Today, however, Microsoft's Kevin Gee detailed what the software engineers at Redmond had planned for the API, and we've compiled a summary at the full story.

Developer mopx0 recently released a video demonstrating Windows Vista being emulated on the PlayStation 3 console. Details on how the developer managed to load Microsoft's latest OS on the Sony console are available in the full article.

Yes, we do say, and it's backed by Microsoft's own words. Hot in the higher layers of IT smack talk is the recent bomb that the army of programmers in Redmond already have planned an operating system platform - an offshoot of the Singularity project, mind you. Can't keep up with the specifics? We'll prime you on all things techy, and what Microsoft envisions as their first OS to signal the beginning of a "cloud computing" future.

Sometimes possessing the bleeding edge in consumer graphics isn't enough. Having cards dancing at the knife edge is also a quest for some. Its this fact in a hardware enthusiast's life that news of the official Beta drivers from NVIDIA ring like angels' voices in their ears, and you can be sure that the first few hundred thousand downloads are the guys with rigs to boast. Learn what's cooking with NVIDIA's latest official "test" drivers at the full story.

To play Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, you will need skill, determination, finesse...but more importantly, a system that can run the game. The developers from Mythic Entertainment have finally released the minimum PC specs needed to run the game and list of the video cards the game supports. To find out more, check out the full article.

We know - releasing Games for Windows LIVE for free looks something short of a desperate plea to get the platform running. But on top of that, it looks like Microsoft wants to take control of download content distribution on the PC as well. That's right - there a Windows LIVE Marketplace announced as well. But the biggest news we get from the XNA Gamefest 2008 is the fact that Windows LIVE Gold services are now completely free. Get the primary details at the full story.

Even though the army at Redmond has just started to layer the icing on DirectX 10.1, plans to revamp Microsoft's popular application programming interface (API) to the next major level hasn't been held back. DirectX 11 appears to be Microsoft's answer to the growing use of multi-core machines, as well as NVIDIA's looming CUDA technology. Got to know more? Read more to find out how DX11 aims to leave Windows XP and Xbox 360 gamers back in the Ice Age.

It looks like Microsoft and Remedy Entertainment are finally getting ready to spill more details about their upcoming psychological action thriller, Alan Wake (Xbox 360, PC). The game will apparently be present at this year's Tokyo Game Show according to a Vista gaming contest. More in the full article.

Here's where Stardock's "Microsoft can't help PC gaming" theory takes a weird turn. Microsoft Game Studios considers both the Xbox 360 and the PC as the same gaming platform, though lately, some of the PC's big hitters didn't arrive due to their efforts. We all know Jack Keane, Sins of a Solar Empire, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. surely didn't come from them. What are coming from MGS are Xbox 360 games. Where is Microsoft's true gaming drive? We'll tell you, it's likely not on the PC. Full story. Now.

Plus we've got the PC version's official system requirements down pat, but we know that's just after you've decided to acquire another SecuROM-ified game. We're told through official means that Atari and Eden Games' Alone in the Dark for the PC will be coming with similarly robust digital rights management security as BioShock and Mass Effect, and like them, will require an online connection to play the game. We've got the skinny at the full story.