The Windows version of iTunes has tremendous strategic value for Apple. iTunes for Windows promotes the iPod, provides compatibility with AAC audio files, invites Windows users to buy from the iTunes Music Store, and installs the latest version of QuickTime.

But that's not all. As John Markoff notes in his latest column, iTunes for Windows also includes Rendezvous -- Apple's brand name for zero-configuration IP networking technology.

Like AppleTalk before it, Rendezvous works behind the scenes to provide "it just works" connections to electronic devices. In iTunes, Rendezvous makes it easy to share playlists with other iTunes users (Mac or Windows) on the same local network.

In the Mac world, Rendezvous also makes it easy to share other devices. For example, I can "zap" a document from my PowerBook to the HP printer upstairs because the printer is "shared" using Rendezvous. Whenever I select "Print" from any program, the HP printer is automatically detected, and I can print from anywhere within range of the wireless network. There's no need to install new printer drivers on the PowerBook. It just works.

Another small example: Mac users can share their Web bookmarks using the Rendezvous-aware Safari browser.

So What?!
Rendezvous in Windows is a Big Deal because Microsoft promotes another, competing technology called Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). Perhaps Apple hopes to avoid the mistakes that led Intel and Microsoft to promote USB 2.0 instead of FireWire.

The analogy of the Trojan Horse is overused in tech and business writing, but it seems to apply here. With iTunes for Windows -- and the recent alliance with HP -- Apple has succeeded in bringing several Apple-only technologies to the Windows world without going through Microsoft or Windows.

Related links:
- zeroconf.org
- dotlocal.org
- Rendezvous (Apple)
- UPnP Forum
- What's the Big Deal About UPnP? (Microsoft)
- Understanding Zeroconf and Multicast DNS (O'Reilly)