Announcing the Universal Driver for Windows SideShow 1.5!

Last week, we quietly released to Windows Update a new version of the Universal Driver for Windows SideShow!  This new release includes support for additional transports, bringing the complete list to:

  • USB
  • Bluetooth
  • TCP/IP
  • TCP/IP with SSL

In addition to powering devices built using the Windows SideShow Device SDK for .NET Micro Framework v1.4 (and later), and perhaps the most exciting part of this release, is the protocol documentation which explains how you (yes, you) can implement your very own Windows SideShow-compatible device without having to write any PC code at all.  That's right, no more writing a PC driver when you build a SideShow-compatible device; we've done that work for you.  And did I mention it's free?  Yes, that's right: there's no royalty, license, or any other legal documents you need to sign in order to get access to, and use, the documentation and driver for your device.

This driver even has a few more tricks up its sleeve, including the ability to support custom icons for devices.  When your device shows up in Windows, it actually looks like your device (instead of the generic Windows SideShow-compatible device icon, and assuming you provide your own).  Hey, it's all the little things that count :)

We're extremely excited that the universal driver and documentation are now available, and hope that this helps make it easier for you to add SideShow support to your devices.  As always, if you need any assistance getting things going, head on over to our Windows SideShow Development forum on MSDN and post away!

- Dan