Hmmm, snappy: Windows CE for Smart Displays

As Microsoft's Mira technology gets ready to hit the shelves, the software has been given the snappy name of Windows CE for Smart Displays.

Although devices using Microsoft's Mira technology are still a few months from hitting shelves, the software giant said on Wednesday that it has settled on its name for the software that will power the Web-surfing tablets.

Microsoft says that the software technology previously known as Mira will now be known as Windows CE for Smart Displays. The tablet devices themselves will be known as Windows-powered smart displays.

Mira, which was first unveiled in January, lets LCD screens act as a portable screen in conjunction with a nearby desktop computer, enabling people with the device to surf the Web or play music that is stored on the desktop PC. The devices themselves run software based on Microsoft's Windows CE.Net operating system, while such tablets require an 802.11b wireless connection to a nearby PC running Windows XP Professional.

That's because Mira devices take advantage of the terminal server features that are in XP Pro but not the home edition of Windows XP. Microsoft has not decided whether people who have XP Home Edition will have to pay for the software upgrade in addition to the cost of buying the Mira device itself.

News source: ZDNet UK