Windows SideShow

Infobox Software
name = Windows SideShow



caption = Windows SideShow executing on Windows SideShow Simulator
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developer = Microsoft
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operating system = Windows Vista Windows Mobile Windows CE
platform = .NET Framework .NET Micro Framework
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website = [http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/sideshow.mspx Windows SideShow]

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 capabilities 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.

ideShow APIs

A Windows SideShow gadget is written by programming against the Windows SideShow Platform API, a native COM-based API available with the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system. A managed API for .NET developers has also been released, and includes Visual Studio 2005/2008 templates to demonstrate how to write gadgets.

Windows SideShow devices have different hardware characteristics than devices such as cell phones or PDAs. Windows SideShow devices have their own processor; they do not have to solely rely on the connecting computer for processing tasks. There are online and offline capabilities 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 capabilities like MP3, AAC, MPEG-4 encode / decode and other digital media formats.

ee also

* Windows Sidebar for Desktop Gadgets
* Live.com for Web Gadgets
* Windows Live Toolbar for Toolbar Gadgets

External links

* [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=42f2f862-9987-406c-92a3-6523cf0eb3b3&displaylang=en Windows SideShow Managed API 1.0 SDK Download]
* [http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms744202.aspx MSDN link for Windows SideShow]
* [http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=193721 Windows Vista SideShow] — Channel 9 interview with SideShow developers
* [http://blogs.msdn.com/sideshow/default.aspx Windows SideShow Team Blog]
* [http://gallery.live.com/default.aspx?pl=7 Windows SideShow Gallery] - List of already developed SideShow Gadgets
* [http://linuxdevices.com/news/NS3641622443.html Article in linuxdevices.com] - Linux and Sideshow.

Hardware and platform resources

* [http://www.portalplayer.com PortalPlayer, Inc.] - Provider of the Preface(tm) auxiliary display platform
* [http://www.clubimate.com/t-WINGADRV.aspx i-mate SideShow Debugger (ALPHA)] - Software debugger to assist gadget developers
* [http://www.controlthink.com/thinkremote/ ControlThink ThinkRemote] - SideShow support for Windows Mobile, iPhone, Nintendo DS, etc. Also a platform for Z-Wave SideShow-enabled remote controls