The Moth

I've very briefly mentioned SideShow recently here. My first intro was at MEDC and you can watch that session (APP322) for free (note that Viji is no longer with the team).

"Side what?"
SideShow is a new Windows Vista platform. It enables a variety of auxiliary display devices to be connected to Vista so they can display information from applications running on Vista. In some cases from the display you may control applications running on Windows.

For the information to be exchanged between the display and Windows, developers must write a SideShow gadget (note that this actually runs on the OS, not the display!). The gadget can gather the data from anywhere it wishes and then using the SideShow APIs can send it to the display (more on this later).

"What display(s)?"
So what display are we talking about here? The example that has become synonymous with SideShow (to the extent where most people miss the point and think it is the only SideShow implementation!) is the in-lid attached laptop display. This implements SideShow fully, is connected to Windows via USB (even though it is embedded in the display) and the driver for it ships with Vista. For those that are curious, it is actually running the .NET MicroFramework.

Other display examples would be a phone, a remote control with built-in screen, a keyboard with built-in screen, wearable display devices, music players, digital picture frames, insert your own hardware/display here etc. Photos of examples of these you can see in various articles by searching the web. Remember, these can be connected to Vista with any protocol they want (e.g. bluetooth, IR, proprietary etc).

"Why?"
So, previously, to connect a display to Windows you would have to choose a transport, implement the display-side of things, implement some custom protocol for exchanging data between OS and display, and then finally, implement a custom Windows-side application/driver for gathering and sending the data. SideShow, standardises all of this. In particular, as developers, you just need to learn the SideShow API and call it from your gadget and then whatever other hardware becomes available that supports the SideShow infrastructure will automatically work with your gadget!

It’s a bit like those dual display phones. You don't have to flip the phone open to see what you want; you can just glance at the smaller outer display and get the information you quickly need. Your imagination is the only limit to writing great on-line gadgets. SideShow devices can also work when your computer is off (using cached data)! You can even schedule Windows to wake up periodically so the cached data gets refreshed if that is applicable in your scenario. You could control a powerpoint presentation from your mobile phone (and that can be any phone not just Windows Mobile, as long as there is a SideShow driver for it). You could have small displays on the PC towers in a server room, glance at data on the box there rather than having to remote connect. For other ideas, again just search.

Personally, I can see a lot of killer ideas manifesting themselves on the SideShow platform once more devices become widely available. Be one of the first to get there by extending what your application can do, with a companion SideShow gadget.

"Not quite sure I get it, tell me more"
- A short blurb for SideShow from a consumer perspective can be seen here.
- If you have the time, watch this channel9 video (featuring Dan Polivy) that explains all of the above much better.
- Subscribe to the SideShow blog for more info as it becomes available.

"OK, I am hooked. How do I write gadgets?"
First, you can browse the gadgets and SideShow devices you already have on your Vista machine. Simply go to the "Control Panel", select "Hardware and Sound" and then "Windows SideShow": it should look something like this. Then install the simulator which will make your panel looks something like this.

You can very easily write gadgets (essentially just an exe on your Vista machine). Remember, they are separated from the communication protocol and from the actual target display so you only have to do two things:
1. "Design" your screens (they will be represented in XML)
2. From your gadget, call the API that sends the XML to the device

All you need to know is in the SideShow SDK. Soon I'll show you how to build a simple gadget in C#. Stay tuned :-)