Join the Syndicate

If you’ve read some of my earlier posts, you’ll know that despite the vast majority of people taking a dislike to Windows Vista, I have been a firm supporter of the “unloved” Operating System. One aspect of the OS I’ve always overlooked though, so far, has been the Sidebar.
I remember seeing screenshots of the “Longhorn” OS showing off the sidebar and thinking that it was a cool addition to the desktop. A place where information can live and breath on the desktop and display useful ‘gadgets’ or ‘widgets’ to bring the most important information for each particular user directly to the forefront of the desktop.

The hot topic on most IT company’s radar, since Google exploded, has been “Search”. Everyone wants a slice of that market and the advertisement revenues that accompany it. Whilst ‘search’ is important, the sidebar got me thinking about how it delivers information directly to me, rather than me going searching for it or having to plough through the Windows menu systems or control panels.

A major element to this, especially when receiving data from the outside world is the use of “RSS feeds” (Really Simple Syndication) that uses a form of XML to push data directly to those who ‘subscribe’ to the syndicated feed. The most popular version of this is news reports or blog articles delivered directly to you without the need to search or visit sites regularly for your fix of the latest. Podcasting uses a similar syndicated feed, to alert users to download the latest copies of the audible delights.

There is little doubt in my mind that RSS will continue to expand and the services and types of data that it will “push” to subscribed, ‘opt-in’, users will increase as more ‘services’ are migrated onto the internet space and information is delivered to users electronically…all without having the user search or leave the desktop’s sidebar.