We’ve downloaded an [cough] unofficial copy of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (Build 7100) here at PC Pro Towers. When compared to the beta build (7000) it appears to be the world’s most difficult “spot the difference” competition, but there are one or two subtle changes.

One notable omission in 7100 is Windows SideShow. It’s completely disappeared from the Control Panel and doesn’t appear when you perform a text search in Windows 7’s magnificent Start bar search. However, as the screenshot below proves, it was definitely there in Build 7000.

SideShow was one of Microsoft’s big ticket items for Windows Vista. It was support for a secondary screen – be it a small display embedded into a lid of a laptop or smart remote control – that displayed information such as unread emails or your music collection. The idea was you wouldn’t have to fire up your PC to find out if you’ve got any new messages or if you wanted to listen to music on the train home.

Unfortunately, it won about as much support from hardware manufacturers as the campaign to put a statue of Gary Glitter on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square.  There was the Asus W5fe laptop and the Dell XPS 420 desktop, which had a small screen built into the case, but not a lot else.  

I was always quite keen on the SideShow concept, but it lacked a killer application. If you’re that bothered you’re missing out on unread messages, you’ll have push email on your smartphone; if you want to listen to music on the train you whip out your iPod (other MP3 player brands are available).

Microsoft won’t confirm that SideShow has shuffled off its mortal coil because our downloaded build isn’t yet an “official” version. But it looks almost certain that this one’s joined WinFS and Ultimate Extras on the list of Vista’s broken promises.