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47 Comments
- Sagags, on 10/12/2007, -7/+44then why did you even bother to comment or look at the digg?
- SgtBeavis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+23I've really come to like OSX since I purchased my MacBook back in November. However sideshow appears to be on kickass innovation. Those Redmond boys should be proud of that one.
- flag564, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12If we put an Apple logo on it, will you change your mind?
- ricodued, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I think nVidia is making a USB module or something that you plug into the back of your computer for Sideshow. This would be better than it being built in as you could put it on your desk top, for those of us with computers below the desk :)
Anyone want to correct me on the nVidia thing? - headband, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7if you could run microsoft bob on the alternate display would it be sideshow bob?
- 7of7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5There's a built in model already in new Asus motherboards. They connect by USB I think, but I also think wireless is in the works.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/24/asus-intros-sideshow-ready-motherboards/ - Harmutt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I agree, finally some different thinking from MS. That said, I personally would have little use for this, but others may. So, it will be appealing to some and not so much to others; one thing we can all probably agree on is it's no Microsoft BOB which was a ludicrous attempt at innovation.
- ZeroLogic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4@captjc
How is that different then what you can do with dual displays? - evilspoons, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This article isn't "everything you wanted to know", it's just stuff that we've all seen before. I was hoping for more in-depth information on what capabilities sideshow devices will have (access to wifi/lan? sound?) and how the interface will work and how third parties will develop modules for it, etc etc. At least it would have been nice to see an actual device instead of the same few pictures we've already seen paraded around countless times.
- TravisG5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Wow, the sideshow feature looks really really useful with the laptop bag. I never thought the feature would be anything special... but that actually looks really good.
- captjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3God I am sick of that. Every time someone creates something out of the ordinary, someone shouts GIMMICK! Wii is a gimmick. Sideshow is a gimmick. Touchscreens are gimmicks. Wireless peripherals are gimmicks. Even the mouse was labeled a gimmick.
Seriously STFU. - dreamlayers, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This shouldn't be motherboard-dependent. The only reason I can see is that the motherboard can power the SideShow device constantly (unlike other USB devices which aren't powered when the PC is asleep or off) and so they can avoid having an external power adaptor.
- EvilBaby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2A usb device that can take advantage of this would be great.
- phogasmic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3wow!, that is one feature that gives me Vista envy. I hope Apple puts it in Leopord.
- 7of7, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This is really cool. I especially like the part at the end. Microsoft always goes as far as it possibly can in allowing people to develop for its software and hardware. Given that, the number of things that innovative people will be able to do with Sideshow is almost infinite.
- ZingMan, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3I think he doesn't even know what Windows SideShow is. It is one the best features in Windows Vista but yet to be thoroughly explored. Watch the video and read here and it'll change your opinion:
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11166 - captjc, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Forget about the laptop. Think about the desktop. Having a secondary device next to your monitor or at your keyboard can spawn some interesting ideas.
* media display - shows information of current song without having to stop what you are doing, or added information within videos (such as podcasts).
* system and status displays - Progress reports (downloads, file transfers, media burning, system scans, etc) without having to switch applications to check it
* Games - a secondary display to show stats, inventory, a small map, etc. Use your imagination.
*Chat - show your current IM chat or even buddy list. This would be nice for in-game chat.
There are plenty of ideas for those who are willing to implement them. Many people never thought that widgets (or gadgets, or whatever) would never take off. Now most operating systems implement them. This has the potential to really kick some ass. - nhassan, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6well, that would be good, to have a screen on the front of the desktop.
- zdiggler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Good thing I decided to wait until Vista comes out before going shopping spree at NewEgg for upgraded PC. I don't want to be like last system, 2 week after I got my system running PCI-Express comes out!
- zenerdiode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It wouldn't be useful to everybody, but it would be useful to me. I have an MCE2005 HTPC where all my music is located. My HTPC is connected to a plasma...and for most of the day, it's on suspend and only comes on to record tv shows or for live viewing. I actually like NOT having my computer on 24/7, thus the Sideshow would allow me to access my mp3's without having to turn on my computer OR plasma. It is a seemingly minor thing, but if it saves me a few seconds here and there PLUS uses less energy/electricity overall, I see that as a positive.
- captjc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@ZeroLogic
It is mostly in cost and implementation.
A dual display setup is expensive and requires a special video card (or dual video cards) and a second monitor. Ideally, a Sideshow setup would only require a USB powered Sideshow device that is (ideally) cheap.
A sideshow device is small, can work when the computer is asleep, and only displays widgets. A second display is big but increases ones desktop real estate twofold. - zdiggler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I want me a Small USB Sideshow monitor it be nice to have small 5" sub display to display information via SideShow.
- tigerjk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1i would find it useful if in the future they came out with a wireless screen 5" or 7" that you can pair via wifi or bluetooth and use it to control your goods whether the computer is on or off.
i leave my desktop on most of the time and it would be great to have a little screen that i can use from my bed in the morning to check on weather, turn on some music, check my RSS feeds, etc all without getting out of bed. when not in use it can sit below my monitor on a dock to recharge, maybe display some pictures in a slide show and sync with my computer.
but thats just me...other then that i'm pretty excited about this feature. - evilesttoast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I saw a laptop with Sideshow built in. It looked like more than just usage stuff. You could scroll through your files and looked pretty cool.
- Tsen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It looks really cool, honestly. Useful? Maybe not really useful. But playing my music with my computer off would be nice. However...I don't feel it justifies the $300 price tag on Vista plus the cost of a sideshow device. So I think I'll pass for now. When I get around to dual-booting Vista and Ubuntu, I'll think about using it...
By the way, something that would be cool--if they built a SideShow cell phone (like hinted at in the article), and use it to stream music to your phone. Not an iPod killer, but for those of us with abnormally large music libraries, it would be quite useful. - Fordi, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5... but will it run Linux?
OR, more accurately, how long will it take for someone to bake up some Linux drivers for it.
... cos I won't want one until then. - bdefrogg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How do you get (updated) weather info, if the computer is off? Open it for a sync up? Or maybe the laptop wakes every few hours automatically? (how long before the battery dies?)
Instead, how about a snap-in dock for a specially designed PDA might be more useful. It could recharge off the laptop battery and wake to sync via its WiFi (when laptop is off), or bluetooth or direct connect (with laptop on). iPods show that a pda could be thin enough. And you could undock and carry it around, as desired.
The PDA could even double as a remote control to the laptop. - Altotus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1While it's clever, there's not much documentation on it that I can find. The utility of it is not that great since it's intentionally low power, with limited interactivity. It's not a PDA. It seems like a way to inflate margins on hardware to me.
I'd guess the Mac's sleep mode would obviate much af the argument for having such a feature (and, presumably, Vista addresses some of Windows slow sleep recovery issues, and PC hardware will eventually match the Mac on power-sipping in sleep).
So, it's cute and all, but it's probably not worth the money. - BaxterG4, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3I agree. Can someone point out an actual useful reason for this to exist? I really WANT to like it, but I just don't really get it.
CPU meters? Come on. Email without turning on your laptop? Marginally useful at best (confusing for users at worst!) since it's just showing a cache of the emails that had been received before the computer was turned off. Scroll through your files on your laptop while it's off or on the side of your desktop PC? Why? Look through photos? Why use this tiny screen and cursor keys when I've got my big high-res screen with my full keyboard and mouse right there?
So what are we left with... checking on weather? I guess I just can't think of a reasonable usage. As a user of a laptop as my primary machine, the last thing I want is all the extra bulk of a second (unprotected!) screen. And since that laptop goes into and out of sleep mode in about the time it takes me to open or close the screen, I don't ever turn it off, I just put it into sleep mode when I'm going to be moving. (This is a Mac; I'm honestly not sure if this is standard now on PCs or not.)
(I've not read much about Sideshow, so if there are features I'm missing or misrepresenting, please inform me.) - Naga10, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1OHMYGOD
That's AMAZING
This would make me want to buy Vista just a liiiiiiittle bit more. - BaxterG4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Thought of one -- finding and playing music while the machine is off. Kinda useful. Not enough for the bulk and cost to be worth it, but a start.
- tugger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1so now you can get the blue/green screen of death when the pc is turned off..?
obviously antispam can't run either.. D'OH! - TeagueM, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For the in-lid type devices such as the Asus W5fe, the main scenarios that provide value are:
- Checking your calendar appointments. This is very useful for people who are trying to get to their next meeting and don't want to have to power up their laptop to figure out where and when it is.
- Checking email. While it's true that the data available on the SideShow display is only as current as the last time that the PC was on, there is a feature in Windows SideShow called Auto-Wake that helps with this. You can configure your laptop to turn on periodical at intervals that you define and get the latest data, such as emails. The laptop will then turn itself off again after about 5 minutes. This will allow you to be current within a couple of hours with such things as your email. This feature is off by default, so as not to be intrusive, but it's simple enough to turn on and configure.
- Getting quick access to glance information for things such as stock quotes, weather, eBay auctions, etc. - tugger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1If there was an apple logo on it, it might work properly.. (sleep/hibernate, that is)
- Dracos, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4Vista comes with a sideshow?
Who are the freaks? Gates and Ballmer? - ZingMan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Sorry for posting the wrong link:
http://www.winmatrix.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=11166 - zdiggler, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I bet they been watching the Serial and Parallel Serial LED display system case modders been using. But this is way more advance thought.
Let see, have apple open up ITMS to other MP3 Players yet? - LarryOn10, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0More eyecandy here if you're interested: http://www.on10.net/Blogs/larry/new-sideshow-announcements/
- nesstheking1, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I'd like to see Darcell Jones in a slideshow
Boosh! - nzhamstar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Oh please god some open source group make an alternative to this...
- Scott2, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4Enh. Seems marginally useful at best. Unless if you can put porn on someone else's device unexpectedly.
- ricodued, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2EDIT: 7of7 beat me to it.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+0GIMICK.
- JimmyDushku, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1What do you mean? I can do this on my macbook too...well, that's because I just installed Vista on it. Mac fanboys need to embrace both OSs
- Nightspark, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2I think this feature is doomed. None of the examples given on that page seem practical or desireable. What you can do with a computer when it's off is extremely limited. What you can do with a computer when it's on can be accomplished without SideShow. There just isn't a demand, even if some digg users come up with a clever use for it.
- NickMilne, on 10/12/2007, -17/+9He was just trying to make an easy joke, I guess, even if it was a dumb one. I actually don't really care about SideShow either, but that doesn't mean I get a free pass to troll the topic just because it doesn't interest me personally.
- RyanDaRin, on 10/12/2007, -95/+3But... I dont want to know anything about vista's Sideshow.....Bury:Lame.
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