Programming the Today Screen, A Rant

I find the Today Screen APIs (and lack thereof) to be one of the great failures in the design of the Windows Mobile framework. Many times in my mobile computing research, I have looked enviously at the Today Screen as prime real estate for ambient display of information and novel interactions. From an HCI perspective, it should be one of the most configurable components on the WM platform--it is, after all, a part of the display that the user glances at nearly every time they open/use their phone be it to check the time or simply to make a phone call. That is why, of course, Microsoft themselves include Today Screen plug-ins for calender information, text messages, emails. Microsoft has also recently recognized the value of ambient information on the desktop--Vista now ships with the Gadget Bar, which displays information about stocks, weather, email, traffic, etc. in an ambient manner.

This same functionality should be available on WM. Unfortunately, not only are these plug-ins difficult to develop for Windows Mobile (e.g., they hook into a rather archaic Windows messaging scheme, cannot be C#/VB, and cannot easily be animated) they also require that the user modify their Today Screen settings by selecting a new configuration XML file. This latter point sounds harmless; however, it requires some effort to allow the user to maintain their current Today Screen look and feel with the addition of the new plug-in (even if this plug-in is a one line text output). They must copy over the XML into each of their existing Today Screen profiles--otherwise the plug-in will not be visible. I've seen some developers simply ship their plug-in with a fresh Today Screen XML file that is meant to overwrite the user's existing profile; however, unless the XML file has the exact same plug-ins specified, the user may miss out on a plugin they've previously installed (or a layout they've established via Settings->Home Screen->Home screen layout).

Note: I speak only out of my own personal experience and watching others in my lab attempt to play around with Today Screen functionality. Though I haven't used WM6, it does not appear that this functionality has been improved with that release--perhaps WM7?