Windows SideShow
Encyclopedia
Windows SideShow is a technology introduced in Windows Vista
that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC. These devices can be separate from or integrated into the main PC (e.g., a display embedded on the outside of a laptop lid), enabling access to information and media even when the PC is (mostly) turned off. SideShow can also drive the display of PC data on mobile phones and other devices that are connected via Bluetooth or other wireless network protocols.
SideShow display devices can be updated with a number of different kinds of information, such as contacts, maps, calendar appointments, and e-mail messages. They can then be consulted when the PC is otherwise powered down. Since the underlying platform is so power-efficient, SideShow displays integrated into laptops can run for hundreds of hours without draining the laptop battery, while still providing always-on access to data and multimedia content.
SideShow is coupled to the Windows Sidebar (Microsoft Gadgets
) and can easily be extended to be compatible with SideShow secondary displays. However, hardware and silicon providers can also provide native abilities to allow for richer multimedia applications such as text, image, audio and video decode/playback. For example, a notebook with an in-lid display could be used as an MP3 player while powered down, with the notebook battery providing hundreds of hours of playback time because of the low power footprint that the SideShow platform maintains.
(API), a native COM-based API available with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. A managed API for .NET developers was also released, and includes Visual Studio 2005/2008 templates to demonstrate how to write gadgets.
Devices for Windows SideShow have different hardware traits than devices such as cell phones or PDAs. The former have their own processor; they need not rely solely on the connecting computer for processing tasks. There are online and offline abilities that allow the device to run larger components on the connecting computer. The following list contains typical device display types and technologies.
Hardware-specific, native applications that provide rich-media experiences like audio and video playback that can be accessed through the SideShow user interface require the SDK from the specific platform vendor. For example, PortalPlayer, Inc. provides the Preface platform that includes abilities like MP3, AAC, MPEG-4 encode-decode and other digital media formats.
In 2007, Asus annonced the W5Fe, a laptop with a full-color, 2.8-inch SideShow display on the front cover.
On February 1, 2010, Ikanos Consulting announced Threemote, a suite of Windows SideShow compatible products for embedded platforms including Windows Mobile
, Google Android, and Kopin Golden-i. Threemote appears unsupported and had been unavailable from the Android Market for some time , nor was it available for Windows Mobile. In a blog posting in April 2010 the technical director of Ikanos consulting said that Sideshow was not dead and Threemote was "bubbling along".
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
that enables Windows PCs to drive a variety of auxiliary display devices connected to the main PC. These devices can be separate from or integrated into the main PC (e.g., a display embedded on the outside of a laptop lid), enabling access to information and media even when the PC is (mostly) turned off. SideShow can also drive the display of PC data on mobile phones and other devices that are connected via Bluetooth or other wireless network protocols.
SideShow display devices can be updated with a number of different kinds of information, such as contacts, maps, calendar appointments, and e-mail messages. They can then be consulted when the PC is otherwise powered down. Since the underlying platform is so power-efficient, SideShow displays integrated into laptops can run for hundreds of hours without draining the laptop battery, while still providing always-on access to data and multimedia content.
SideShow is coupled to the Windows Sidebar (Microsoft Gadgets
Microsoft Gadgets
Microsoft Gadgets are lightweight single-purpose applications, or software widgets, that can sit on a Microsoft Windows user's computer desktop, or are hosted on a web page...
) and can easily be extended to be compatible with SideShow secondary displays. However, hardware and silicon providers can also provide native abilities to allow for richer multimedia applications such as text, image, audio and video decode/playback. For example, a notebook with an in-lid display could be used as an MP3 player while powered down, with the notebook battery providing hundreds of hours of playback time because of the low power footprint that the SideShow platform maintains.
SideShow APIs
A Windows SideShow gadget is written by programming for the Windows SideShow Platform application programming interfaceApplication programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
(API), a native COM-based API available with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. A managed API for .NET developers was also released, and includes Visual Studio 2005/2008 templates to demonstrate how to write gadgets.
Devices for Windows SideShow have different hardware traits than devices such as cell phones or PDAs. The former have their own processor; they need not rely solely on the connecting computer for processing tasks. There are online and offline abilities that allow the device to run larger components on the connecting computer. The following list contains typical device display types and technologies.
| Device type | Description |
|---|---|
| Enhanced display | Renders full color content including text and images, e.g. a device running Microsoft's rendering code for the .NET Micro Framework. |
| Single line display | Can show one or two lines of text, but supports no images. |
| Attached display, lid top | Located on the body of a PC (notebook, desktop, or server), e.g. on the top of a laptop's lid, or a media center's front panel. |
| Remote display | Located off of the PC, and talks to the PC through a wired or wireless network protocol. |
Hardware-specific, native applications that provide rich-media experiences like audio and video playback that can be accessed through the SideShow user interface require the SDK from the specific platform vendor. For example, PortalPlayer, Inc. provides the Preface platform that includes abilities like MP3, AAC, MPEG-4 encode-decode and other digital media formats.
Market acceptance
Few OEMs accepted SideShow.In 2007, Asus annonced the W5Fe, a laptop with a full-color, 2.8-inch SideShow display on the front cover.
On February 1, 2010, Ikanos Consulting announced Threemote, a suite of Windows SideShow compatible products for embedded platforms including Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile
Windows Mobile is a mobile operating system developed by Microsoft that was used in smartphones and Pocket PCs, but by 2011 was rarely supplied on new phones. The last version is "Windows Mobile 6.5.5"; it is superseded by Windows Phone, which does not run Windows Mobile software.Windows Mobile is...
, Google Android, and Kopin Golden-i. Threemote appears unsupported and had been unavailable from the Android Market for some time , nor was it available for Windows Mobile. In a blog posting in April 2010 the technical director of Ikanos consulting said that Sideshow was not dead and Threemote was "bubbling along".
See also
- Windows Sidebar for Desktop Gadgets
- Live.comLive.comWindows Live Personalized Experience was a customizable portal launched by Microsoft in early November 2005. It was one of the first Windows Live services to launch.- Features :...
for Web Gadgets - Windows Live ToolbarWindows Live ToolbarWindows Live Toolbar was an browser extension toolbar for Internet Explorer. It superseded MSN Search Toolbar. Windows Live Toolbar provided a simple search interface that starts to list results as the user types in a search query, and uses Bing as its search engine...
for Toolbar Gadgets