Microsoft unveiled its new XNA game development platform yesterday.  The platform and tools act as a common programming environment for PC and XBOX games.

Hopefully by paying attention to what's going on here, I'll find some idea of the direction of DirectX.  I haven't found much public word on DirectX and how much 3D functionality will be made available in Avalon.  I'm guessing they are still trying to figure out what features if any can be done by the initial ship date.

Make sure to check out the demo videos on the XNA site and imagine half of the programming work done for you by Microsoft.