Longhorn and RSS
I’m really impressed at what the guys at Microsoft are doing with RSS in the next version of Windows (code-named “Longhorn”).
There’s a great video at Channel 9 where the “Longhorn Browsing and RSS team” take you through the new platform-level suppport for RSS. You also get a peak at IE 7 running on Longhorn.
If you don’t feel like watching the video there is a good article on MSDN that explains RSS support in Longhorn.
The short of it is:
- RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is currently used primarily to publish/syndicate website content - especially blogs, and more recently, podcasts.
- The addition of a new “enclosure” (or attachment) tag in the RSS spec supports a host of exciting new publishing and subscribing scenarios.
- In Longhorn, RSS feed services will be offered at the platform level. Applications won’t have to worry about the plumbing, they can just tap into the RSS content feed mechanism provided by Windows. This will free up developer time and enable the creation of creative new applications that leverage the power of RSS.
So, RSS will be the mechanism though which we will be able to publish and subscribe to various things. What are they? Examples include:
- You can publish your calendar, and your partner can subscribe to it. You will be able to see each others schedules in the PIM of your choice (mine is Outlook).
- Publish your photos, and your friends and family will automatically receive new pictures as and when they are posted.
- Subscribe to your friend’s Amazon wishlist and you will always have an up-to-date idea of what to buy them for birthdays/Christmas.
I think a lot of cool stuff is going to emerge from this. It is based on an open standard and as such will capture the imagination of developers regardless of platform. This is a good model for subscribing to services and I’m sure it will have more legs than its predecessor - anyone remember Hailstorm (or .NET My Services)?