computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

, Smart Display (originally codenamed Mira) was a

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

initiative to use a portable

touchscreen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is often ...

LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers. Liquid crystals do not emit light directly but in ...

monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

as a

thin client In computer networking, a thin client is a simple (low-performance) computer that has been optimized for establishing a remote connection with a server-based computing environment. They are sometimes known as ''network computers'', or in th ...

for PCs, connecting via

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...

. Smart Display was announced in early 2002, released in early 2003 and discontinued in December 2003, having never achieved more than negligible

market penetration Market penetration refers to the successful selling of a good or service in a specific market. It is measured by the amount of sales volume of an existing good or service compared to the total target market for that product or service. Market pe ...

.Microsoft dumps Smart Display
-

ZDNet ZDNET is a business technology news website owned and operated by Red Ventures. The brand was founded on April 1, 1991, as a general interest technology portal from Ziff Davis and evolved into an enterprise IT-focused online publication. Hist ...

, 6 January 2004

Technology

The Smart Display was a battery-powered 10" or 15" LCD monitor with a touchscreen (similar in size and shape to a

Tablet PC A tablet computer, commonly shortened to tablet, is a mobile device, typically with a mobile operating system and touchscreen display processing circuitry, and a rechargeable battery in a single, thin and flat package. Tablets, being comput ...

), connecting to a PC over an 802.11b WiFi network, with input via ''Transcriber'' (similar to

Graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

) or a pop-up soft-keyboard for text entry, and built-in

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

s. Some models had a docking unit with wired PC,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

and

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

connectors. The display ran Smart Display OS or Microsoft Windows CE for Smart Displays, based on

Windows CE Windows Embedded Compact, formerly Windows Embedded CE, Windows Powered and Windows CE, is an operating system subfamily developed by Microsoft as part of its Windows Embedded family of products. Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, which is base ...

and .NET. The remote technology was based on

Windows Terminal Server Remote Desktop Services (RDS), known as Terminal Services in Windows Server 2008 and earlier, is one of the components of Microsoft Windows that allow a user to initiate and control an interactive session on a remote computer or virtual machine ...

. Smart Display OS 1.0 would only connect to a

Windows XP Professional Windows XP, which is the next version of Windows NT after Windows 2000 and the successor to the consumer-oriented Windows Me, has been released in several editions since its original release in 2001. Windows XP is available in many languages. In ...

host system, although some reported that any version of Windows could be remote-controlled using NetMeeting. ViewSonic was the first manufacturer to bring Smart Display to the market, with the ''airpanel V150'' in early 2003. This included a 15" 1024×768 LCD, a 400 MHz

Intel XScale XScale is a microarchitecture for central processing units initially designed by Intel implementing the ARM architecture (version 5) instruction set. XScale comprises several distinct families: IXP, IXC, IOP, PXA and CE (see more below), with some ...

processor, 32MB ROM, 64MB RAM and 802.11b wireless, and a USB wireless hub for the host PC.

Problems

Analysts flagged the problems with the Mira initiative very early on, as soon as it reached their notice in early 2002. * In Smart Display OS 1.0, the display would lock the host PC to it while in use. Microsoft variously attributed this to licensing issues (that Windows XP Professional was licensed for one user per running copy ) and resource management problems. The requirements of licensing — not to allow the devices to work standalone, not to allow the device to connect to the host PC while the PC's main screen was active and not to allow multiple Smart Displays to control one PC — were widely derided in the press. * Only one Smart Display could connect to a host PC at a time, preventing multiple devices being used in households with access to only one PC.Mira gets rugged and magnetic
-

, 13 March 2002 * Although the devices had similar CPU and memory specifications and operating system to a large

Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile or Windows Embedded Compact operating system that has some of the abilities of modern desktop PCs. The name was introduced by Microsoft in 2000 ...

, weighed as much as a notebook and had similar battery life, they provided no standalone functionality and were not usable without a host PC. Analyst speculation was that Smart Display was crippled so as not to risk cannibalising the

market. * Video streaming was not possible — the connection was not fast enough and

Remote Desktop Protocol Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft which provides a user with a graphical interface to connect to another computer over a network connection. The user employs RDP client software for this purpose, while t ...

contained no enhancements to facilitate video. * Microsoft had intended the smart displays to sell at around

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

500, but the devices eventually reached the market at $1000–1500, whereas comparable notebooks were around $600.

History

Mira was announced by

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

at the 2002 Consumer Electronics Show: The initial announcement mentioned technology partnerships with AboCom,

Fujitsu is a Japanese multinational information and communications technology equipment and services corporation, established in 1935 and headquartered in Tokyo. Fujitsu is the world's sixth-largest IT services provider by annual revenue, and the la ...

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...

LG Electronics LG Electronics Inc. () is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest '' chaebol'' in South Korea, and often considered a ...

National Semiconductor National Semiconductor was an American semiconductor manufacturer which specialized in analog devices and subsystems, formerly with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The company produced power management integrated circuits, display drive ...

NEC is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It prov ...

Philips Consumer Electronics Philips Consumer Lifestyle is a subsidiary of the Dutch multinational electronics company Philips which produces consumer electronics and small appliances. It is the only Philips company headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The Americas ...

, Tatung,

TriGem TriGem Computer Co., Ltd. (, abbreviated TG, also known as TGSambo), was a South Korean personal computer manufacturer and technology company. Established in 1980, TriGem was the first Korean company dedicated to manufacturing computer systems. ...

, ViewSonic,

Wistron Wistron Corporation () is an electronics manufacturer based in Taiwan. It was the manufacturing arm of Acer Inc. before being spun off in 2000. As an original design manufacturer, the company designs and manufactures products for other compani ...

and

Wyse WYSE (970 AM) is a radio station located in Canton, North Carolina, that simulcasts WISE's sports format from Asheville, North Carolina. Owned by the Asheville Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications, the station is licensed by the Fede ...

. Smart Display OS 1.0 was supported by several monitor manufacturers, including

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

, LG, TriGem, Philips, ViewSonic, Fujitsu and NEC. Products included the Fujitsu FMSDP-101, the NEC PK-SD10, the Philips DesXcape, the Trigem Play@PAD and the ViewSonic airpanel. Smart Display OS 1.5, scheduled for the end of 2003, was intended to allow a PC to connect simultaneously to a monitor and a smart display. Microsoft later changed its timetable to include a release of Smart Display OS 2.0 in late 2004 with additional functions such as mobile

image processing An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

Cancellation

After having signed up several LCD manufacturers to work on the initiative, some of whom (such as LG) had Smart Display 1.5 products ready for early 2004 release, Microsoft finally announced the cancellation of the initiative on Monday 22 December 2003. LG stated it would persist with Smart Displays even without Microsoft's assistance, although no products eventuated. It has been suggested that the

Ultra-Mobile PC An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this d ...

(UMPC), code-named Origami, is the evolution of the Smart Display. Smart Display evolves

Sources

Footnotes

External links

* {{cite web , url= http://www.microsoft.com/windows/smartdisplay/default.mspx , title= Microsoft Windows Powered Smart Display , publisher= Microsoft , url-status= dead , archive-date= May 7, 2004 , archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20040507150855/http://www.microsoft.com/windows/smartdisplay/default.mspx Computing output devices Microsoft initiatives Smart devices Windows CE