How about checking your e-mail, program guide for Windows Media Center or checking your flight reservation, even better if you can check top news stories and lots of other information without turning on your computer. This all can be done with the Windows SideShow in Windows Vista. Albeit you need a mobile phone/PDA.

Yes, the new tool Windows SideShow is accessible in Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, and Windows Vista Ultimate. This is the new tool in Windows Vista that supports a secondary screen on the computer and with the supplementary display you can view your important information if your laptop is on, off or in Sleep mode. Windows SideShow extends information from the computer to other device using gadgets (appropriate mini program). Gadgets can be installed on Windows SideShow compatible devices and can update the device with information from the computer. The platform allows for SideShow to be built into other devices as well, like keyboards, phones, display casings and remote controls.

How to locate the Windows SideShow:
- Open Control Panel
- Click on Windows SideShow

Here you can turn your gadgets on or off for each devices. There is no limit to the number of devices that you can install to use with Windows SideShow. And, there is no limit to the number of gadgets that you can turn on. However, the device has a fixed amount of space to store information, and this space is shared by all of the gadgets. The more gadgets that you add, the less space there is for each gadget. To increase the amount of space for a gadget, turn off some of your other gadgets.

Negative Point is that the data viewed on the SideShow display is stored when the main computer is turned off. So it is not actively updating. You will just get a picture of your recent gadgets that is storing the data. You will get the recent and the live data only when your computer is turned on.

SideShow is in the initial stage and implications are solemn for Mobile computing. It is also going to be added to different types of devices, like mobile phones, that will join up with your main Vista computer.

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