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Thread ID: 16212	2002-03-01 15:50:00	Sloppy CD info (directX 8.1)	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
37585	2002-03-01 15:50:00	Whoever makes the CDs for Pc World and Imag pays little attention to quality or detail. There are posts here as to why the CD says Direct X 8.1 won't load on Windows 95. That's because Microsoft clearly state it won't. Its the same when Internet Explorer 6 came out. PC World said it would run on 95 too. You would think as journos they would check their facts. Problem is, since they don't check their facts, readers get frustrated and misled. Yeah I know the punters should always check their own info - but isn't this the reason for buying the mag - a trusted source of information. You can see this all through the CD and mag. There are many more examples. If you want another - they regularly put versions of stuff that are up to 6 months out of date and don't seem to have heard of windows XP. If you don't believe me - check the dates of the files on the CDs and visit some of the Websites.	Guest (0)
37586	2002-03-01 18:59:00	Ouch, David. As mentioned in another post, there are many versions of Win95, and the later ones will work. Not entirely sure that we deserve too much flak for providing useful patches and upgrades. We can't ensure that the CD contains what you want, and we are at the mercy of some of the vendors in terms of what they will supply. It is a bit of a gift horse you're looking at. Doesn't mean we can't do better, but some part is dependent on what we can get. Also, our deadlines for the CDs are quite early in the production process. If you want the very latest, download it like everyone else does. robo.	Guest (0)
37587	2002-03-03 02:35:00	I know you like to be postive Robo, but the basics of the question were not answered. I was not questioning patches on the CD - only the lack of basic research from PC World which then causes problems for us. IE6 and DirectX8.1 do not run Windows 95, but the CD said it did. Result: people who rely on PC World get into trouble. <P>As I said, this is throughout the CD, not just a once-off. On the subject of latest versions. I don't care if it is am month or two out of date. I assume that it takes time to put together a CD. But how do you explain files that are six months or older and way out of date? There is no reason for this and they are useless.<P> On the subject of DirectX 8.1 - no it won't run on Windows 95. From the DirectX home page 'Users of Windows 95 should continue using DirectX 8.0a. DirectX 8.0a supports the majority of games which run effectively on Windows 95. Applications designed for DirectX 8.1 take advantage of advanced features in computers running more recent versions of Windows, including Windows 98 and later versions'<P>www.microsoft.com/directx/homeuser/downloads/default.asp	Guest (0)
37588	2002-03-03 03:11:00	Caveat Emptor	Guest (0)
37589	2002-03-03 05:37:00	I went to their site and this is their answer for why DirectX 8.1 won't run on Win95. This is because modern games require processor speeds in excess of the fastest processors used by Windows 95. Current and future games that will run under Windows 95 should always work with DirectX 8.0a or earlier. This basically says Win95 won't run on faster processors such as the ones used today. Is that correct? This is the whole loop thing we are going through now. I wouldn't care who's right or wrong. No one is getting their facts straight in any of this. But there was a version of Win95 that did come out after Win98 that supported FAT32. Could this be similar to Win98 and capable of running DirectX 8.1? After all it did come out after.	Guest (0)
37590	2002-03-04 03:49:00	I don't think there is any real problem, David. I haven't looked, but I assume PC World are like the other magazines and say that the *CD* works with Win95 etc. CDs often contain files for Macintosh, Linux, Palm, etc. Those don't work with *any* Windows version. The original post (from Tonie?) mentioned that the setup programme identified the OS and terminated in an orderly fashion. That's fair enough. The magazines have to cater for the majority of their readers. DirectX is intended for games graphics. You don't need it to run Office. Modern games will not run on older machines because they are resource hogs. DirectX8.1 won't run under W95 because there will be hooks in the newer Windows which don't exist in W95. It doesn't mean that W95 won't run on the new hardware -- it will, just faster. But it won't run programmes or things like DirectX which rely on components which exist in the new OSs but not in W95. Software is like eggs in one respect -- it breaks easily -- but it should not go off in six months. If David wants the latest bugs, there are online sources. But the lead time for the magazine CDs must be at least two months; finding the stuff and getting permission to include it takes time too, so the February CD will not have software versions dated Jan 31. Anyone who runs W95 must expect *most* of the stiff on a magazine CD to not run on their computer. The real world is like that.	Guest (0)
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