The Windows SideShow SDK for Micro Framework v4.1 has been released. Among many imprvements such as portrait QVGA (240 x 320), the Micro Framework contains: (this is a cut and paste from the Windows Sideshow Team Blog) ...[Read more »]

Innovative Technology Enables Hybrid-Drive Functionality and Lets Users Instantly Access Hard-Disk Data, Transfer Files and Run Applications While the CPU is Off. A flash-memory vendor Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. and BIOS developer Insyde Software Corp. are partenering to create a new hybrid hard drive technology called FlashMate that Lets Users Instantly Access Hard-Disk Data, Transfer Files and Run Applications While the CPU is Off. ...[Read more »]

Windbond USA, a division of Winbond Electronics released the 2nd generation of Windows Sideshow development boards using the WPCE521L processor. The processor, based on the low cost ARM7 (ARM7TDMI RISC architecture), features integrated an LCD controller, USB 1.1 host and device controller, programmable I/O ports, watchdog, external bus interface with SDRAM/ROM/SRAM and flash memory. ...[Read more »]

Attending the Los Angeles WinHEC conference was definitively a productive and enlightening experience... I was able to spot a lot of new SideShow-compatible devices (stay tuned for more news) and also attend Dan Polivy's "Enriching Devices with Windows Sideshow" excellent presentation. Dan started the session by mentioning that Microsoft has been working very hard at bringing more functionality, value, and much lower device costs. Indeed, Dan was right. I was blown away by the wealth of new devices and new features available for the Microsoft's Sideshow platform....[Read more »]

Often times, applications require visual feedback such as of short messages, system stats, found in headless systems as well as secondary displays for regular PCs. Featuring Windows XP and Linux support as well as Vista Sideshow support, the picoLCD Intelligent 2x20 USB LCD display is intended for innovative OEM applications for a broad range of applications. ...[Read more »]

I-mate just announced a Debugger tool for Windows SideShow gadget aimed to help developers and enthusiasts who want to test their gadgets and to learn how interact with Windows SideShow compatible devices. For those interested in implementing and SCF rendering engine you may use this litle tool in conjunction with Microsoft-provided Simulator in the Windows SDK. ...[Read more »]

A Windows SideShow gadget is a piece of code running on the Windows Vista platfom and sends informtion to a hardware display device. If you running Windows Vista, in the Windows SideShow Control Panel applet, you will see the list of SideShow gadgets and SideShow hardware devices installed on the system. By default, Windows vista ships with two sideshow gadgets and one with Microsoft® Office Outlook 2007:...[Read more »]

We've seen a lot of vista sideshow-compatible boards in development, but how realistic and how hard is it to make your own custom sideshow application. The Microsoft .NET Micro Framework v2.0 is now publicly available and brings a full-featured managed code environment to a new set of applications such as home automation systems, retail displays health care monitors and maybe the most interesting and perhaps the most obvious are vista sideshow applications. ...[Read more »]

In case you forgot, The Optimus mini three keyboard was one of the coolest concepts of 2005 designed by the Artemiy Lebedev studio. If you missed, this is a little 3 Button Keyboard that uses programmable mini OLED display as buttons. Here are the basics functionalities presented by [ThinkGeek/]. The Optimus Mini connects to your PC via USB and features three keys, each with their own backlit OLED screen. Each key can display a static image or full animation. Press the key and a different action occurs depending on what is assigned to it. The bundled Optimus Mini Configurator software allows you to assign various actions to each of the three keys. ...[Read more »]

Ever wondered what’s running under the hood of a Sideshow hardware device such as a Sideshow-enabled remote control or a Sideshow Auxiliary display? To this date, there are few silicon manufactures that provide MCU + firmware solutions, namely 3 companies: Winbond, Freescale and Nvidia. While Nvidia’s platform is currently focusing on the MP3 player market (inheritance from Portal Player’s Preface technology) Winbond and Freescale are concentrating on more generic SideShow hardware platforms and SDKs. Winbond’s platform seems to be the right choice for remote controls and Auxiliary displays. While Freescale decided to provide a Sideshow development platform based on a ARM9 processor (I.MX family), Winbond is running its “ShowMe” SideShow offering on an ARM7 processor (WPCE521L). This will probably imply lower cost per MCU, therefore lower device costs. ...[Read more »]

Dan Polivy, senior SideShow designer, along with Darryl Brown and Teague Mapes were kind enough to sit down with me for about 45 minutes and chat about SideShow technology. Below is an interesting Q&A about the upcoming Microsoft Vista SideShow technology, from the SideShow designers. ...[Read more »]

For developers interested in the powerful SideShow I.MX SDK you might need to wait couple more weeks until the product actually ships. The new scheduled date for shipping is 02/02/07, just few days after Vista's consumer release date. I ordered mine back in Nov 06 and I got an email stating that the product will ship Jan-19-2007, but today I got the following email. ...[Read more »]

PortalPlayer, a leading System on a Chip (SOC) developer for portable media devices has an interesting SideShow development plaftom called "Preface". Read more about PortalPlayer's Preface at this URL:http://www.portalplayer.com/preface/index.html. PortalPlayer envisions SideShow in every laptop or mobile device and calls the SideShow technology "a great idea". Portal player is a sidehow hardware and software platform, targeted at media player companies that want to integrate Vista Sideshow technology from a "one stop solution provider".  Also great about PortalPlayer is the fact that last month, video card manufacturer giant NVIDIA announced an agreement to purchase PortalPlayer for the modest sum of 375 million USD. PortalPlayer's customers include Bang & Olufsen A/S, Inventec , Kaga Electronics Co. Ltd., Philips Consumer Electronics and Samsung Bluetek Co., Ltd. and Thomson Multimedia (RCA).

Freescale introduces the i.MXS Development Kit, a high performance development kit for Microsoft's Windows Vista™ SideShow™ platform and .NET Micro Framework applications. The advanced i.MXS Development Kit leverages Freescale's i.MXS applications processor, based on the ARM920T™ core, a highly integrated IC that has been in production for nearly two years. The integrated development platform, featuring support of Microsoft's .NET Micro Framework for use with SideShow applications, is designed to enable hardware developers to more quickly and easily design applications targeting Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system. Typical SideShow applications include laptop external displays, remote controls and USB dongles, which can run certain applications without powering-up the laptop. The i.MXS Development Kit features a small form-factor reference board that has a 2.5 inch color LCD panel with QVGA resolution. The card includes Freescale’s i.MXS applications processor that provides superb performance and low power consumption, enabling hours of use off a single battery charge. The development kit also includes a USB interface and an expansion connector for add-on modules such as Bluetooth™ technology or the ZigBee™ wireless protocol, creating a comprehensive development platform for a variety of applications. ...[Read more »]

MSDN writes: Want to build your own gadget without having to write any real code? Sure, that may be cheating, but if you just want to get a feel for what it takes to write a gadget (it's not hard), get our Getting Started with Windows SideShow (C++) lab and follow the instructions...This lab will walk you through the important code snippets for a picture viewer gadget; in fact, the functionality is pretty much the same as our Picture Viewer gadget on the Windows SideShow Gallery at gallery.live.com.