SideShow Devices
Windows Vista includes a very cool new feature called SideShow that allows manufacturers to add a secondary display to devices like laptop computers. Vista supports Gadgets (mini-programs) that it run on these displays such as media player, an outlook mailbox display or RSS reader. The very cool thing, is that these second displays can run with the computer off! The potential is for you to read recent email, address book information and play media files without the need to open up and power on the computer. Asus looks like they will be first to market: View an image here, or click here for a close-up...
When a notebook with SideShow is turned off, the data shown on this secondary display will be limited to cached information. It is not updated in real-time when the computer is off, but when powered on, it will. For example, when powered off you can still get access to the most recent contents of your inbox or contents but for new mail you’ll need to power up. SideShow preferences are available in the Control Panel (View image).
Asus has a notebook due out soon (see a video) and reportedly on the way are...
* An electronic picture frame (from A Living Picture)
* Keyboard (Logitech – seems the G15 gaming keyboard can be modified to support it)
* Remote Control (Philips (out now), Ricavision, Interlink, Logitech, Exceptional Innovations) http://www.exceptionalinnovation.com/
Eventually, we should see this technology in keyboards, desktop computer cases, remote controls and cell phones. For information on developing your own Gadgets to support SideShow, have a look at the Windows SideShow Team Blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/sideshow. Looking for Gadgets that support SideShow? The pickings are slim at the moment, but here is the place to go: http://gallery.live.com/default.aspx?l=7
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