Thanks to a nicely written article on GigaOM, and an almost throwaway line at the end, mentioning Windows Rally, we thought we'd have a delve.

Windows Rally is a new set of technologies (which was called Windows Connect Now) , and will mean, in their words: "Connecting a network device to a PC will be effortless, reliable, and more secure." So what does this mean really?

If we look over the Microsoft site, we can find out a fair bit of detail about what Rally will do and there are some interesting pointers:

• Windows Connect Now-MTP - Media Transport Protocol (MTP) Extensions that support more secure configuration of MTP-capable devices on wireless networks.
• Subscribe to, and receive events from, a Web service
• LLTD also enables quality media streaming experiences even on networks with limited bandwidth. Devices that provide audio or video playback or that are bandwidth-sensitive can implement the Quality of Service (QoS) extension to the LLTD protocol to ensure they receive prioritized streams and that changes in available bandwidth have little or no impact on the user experience.
• The Link Layer Topology Discovery protocol (LLTD) operates over wired (802.3 Ethernet) and wireless (802.11) media. Any device that implements LLTD will appear on the Network Map with an icon representing the device, allowing users one-click access to the device's Web UI.

And remember that the idea is for all this technology to be in Windows Vista as well, so it's not a stub thrown out for Zune, but part of the main functionality.

If this is the core connectivity technology for Zune, then the possibilities are actually quite far-reaching. Imagine walking down the street with your Zune on. Wifi enabled, auto-find on. You walk past a billboard for the latest album from some hot new act. BEEP - your Zune asks you if you want to download a album sampler with a couple of free tracks. Now that's neat!