Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, and SideShow fans from around the world: I am pleased--no, thrilled!--to announce that the beta version of the Windows SideShow .NET Framework Components 1.0 (aka the managed API) is now LIVE.  That's right, folks, it's here.  I know it has been a long wait for many of you, and I thank you for sticking with us.  Here's the full link:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=06FA2ACE-A42D-4117-821C-BCE80786F1C4&displaylang=en

Now, before you go off and start cranking out a whole lot of gadgets (which you will upload to http://gallery.live.com), a few words of wisdom:

• The documentation is available on MSDN (and in the Windows SDK). However, it's a little old.  We've since tweaked and refined the API to our liking, and will be updating the documentation shortly.  But in the meantime, it should get you started.
• The IntelliSense help file may also be a little out-of-date.  We're aware of this and will be working to update it in the future.
• For development questions, please use the Laptop, Tablet PC, and UMPC Development forum at MSDN Forums.  We'll keep an eye on it to answer any development questions or bugs that may arise.
• We appreciate your feedback on this!  It's still in beta, and we want to make this as developer-friendly as possible, so please send us or post your feedback on the API.

UPDATE: I should have mentioned this the first time, but in addition to this download, you'll also need to install the Windows SDK to get the Simulator for Windows SideShow, as well as a local copy of our documentation (which is also available on MSDN).