Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk
Posted on October 28th, 2008 by Barry Collins
Windows 7: device management
Windows 7 debuts a new feature called Device Stage that has the potential to be unbelievably handy… or a complete disaster.
Plug in a supported media player, digital camera, mobile phone or printer, and you’re presented with the Device Stage screen, which allows you to manage tasks specifically tailored to that very model.
Microsoft is essentially handing control of the Device Stage screen to the hardware manufacturers, allowing them to embed links to their online services and client software. A printer manufacturer, for example, might include a direct link to buy new ink cartridges for that specific printer from their website, or a link to a PDF of the device’s manual.
Phone manufacturers could include a facility to record your own ringtone, synchronise contacts, or perform specific tasks using their dedicated PC software.
On the one hand, it’s a perfect opportunity to make life easier for consumers, by opening their eyes to features and services that apply to their particular model. On the other, it could be used as little more than a cheap form of advertising, with manufacturers attempting to lock consumers into their own proprietary software and services.
It awaits to be seen how enthusiastically manufacturers will take to Device Stage, but this is definitely one we’ll monitor carefully.
Tags: Device Stage, Hardware, Windows 7
Posted in: Windows 7
Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
11 Responses to “ Windows 7: device management ”
Leave a Reply
Categories
- About the bloggers
- Green
- Hardware
- How To
- Just in
- Microsoft Office 2010
- Newsdesk
- Online business
- Random
- Rant
- Real World Computing
- Software
- View from the Labs
- Windows 7
Authors
Archives
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
advertisement
October 28th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
But
is this an API (something as simple as, say, an agreed HTML filename on the device which will just be displayed) which any supplier can “just use”
or is this a service which Microsoft will provide for vendors that subscribe to it, hence becoming a revenue stream for MS rather than a service for users?
October 28th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
This sounds like a powerful new virus distribution channel.
It’s ‘autorun’ for mobile phones.
When will computer and software manufacturers learn to stop running untrusted software on my computer just because I inserted some media into my computer?
October 28th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
How is this autorun?
Obviously we don’t have the technical details but it would seem to me the easiest solution would be to look at the device ID and present a user with a menu of options customized to this “supported device”. The use of “supported device”, along with Microsoft’s past history, seems to indicate, at least to me, that this “menu” will reside on the computer. The only risk I can see as a virus entry point is if the manufacturer screws up. This is pretty much the same boat we are in today and isn’t inherently Microsoft’s fault.
Now, I’ll agree that I’m basing my opinion on assumptions that may or may not be true, however, a statement like “it’s autorun for mobile phones” is completely unsubstantiated and you provide absolutely no evidence to back this claim up.
October 28th, 2008 at 7:09 pm
Looks like just a re-skinning of the Mobile Device Center that’s in Vista now. All those same options are there, just buried in different menu options depending on the device you have connected. Yet another Windows release that is nothing more than a paint job.
October 28th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Well, I work for a hardware vendor and can clear up a couple of things:
1) The code/description for the Device Stage screen for your device goes in a device’s drivers – so, if you don’t install the drivers, you’ll get either nothing, or a generic one from Microsoft depending on what kind of device it is. It’s definitely not “autorun for devices”
2) There is no charge for vendors to make use of this – it’s just extra stuff we need to code when we write the drivers.
3) We’re fairly free to do what we like to the UI, but Microsoft do have some “recommendations” that if you don’t follow, you won’t get your driver bundled.
4) We plan on doing a fairly generic one for most of our devices rather than customising it a great deal for each device. We fully expect most manufacturers to do the same sort of thing, so don’t expect too much glare and glitz with fifty different looks for the 50 devices you’ve got around (thankfully).
October 29th, 2008 at 2:13 am
This is more ‘value-added’ drivers, its the reason why drivers are 200mb these days instead of like 50k which is what the real driver takes, why cant hardwre vendors admit that their hardware is boring. ITs about what i can do, not who i bought it from, its about the content and quality software, something microsoft has never really understood.
December 21st, 2008 at 11:51 am
titan poker bonus code…
titan poker bonus code…
February 9th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
how to make a folding table…
Yeah, I see the case. Id feel very troubled in such a situation….
February 14th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Cheapest Ink Cartridges…
An interesting post by a bloger made me at http://inkjetinksaleblog.info/?p=506 ……
February 21st, 2009 at 5:16 am
erotic pictures of black pussy…
Its quite complicated. Try turn to professionals….
April 2nd, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Device Stage does not require any new driver code to be written, nor does it require anything to be packaged with the device drivers. To look custom, it does require some new XML and graphics, these get packaged, signed and posted on Microsoft’s web service or they can be installed like other software/drivers.