Apple has quietly changed the name of its Rendezvous networking protocol for Windows users, giving it the same Bonjour moniker as the Mac version. Known as Rendezvous before it was changed last month as the result of a trademark dispute, Bonjour is a zero-configuration protocol that enables a computer to automatically find devices, other computers and services on a network without requiring an IP address or a DNS server configuration. It was first made available to Windows users last June.

Appleis Web site notes that Bonjour for Windows includes an Internet Explorer plug-in for finding advertised HTTP servers, such as local area network (LAN) devices with embedded HTTP servers. Also included is a Printer Wizard that finds and prints to networked printers that use Bonjour; Apple notes that "every major maker of network printers has adopted Bonjour" since its introduction in 2002.

Bonjour for Windows is a free download from Appleis Web site. Windows 2000/2003 or XP, a 300MHz processor and 128MB RAM are required. Apple also recommends the installation of the latest Windows Service Pack. In addition, the company offers a software development kit (SDK) for developers who would like to incorporate Bonjour in their applications.