Talk:Windows Desktop Gadgets

Desk Accessories
Desk Accessories were in no way a widget engine. Even the most stone-cold Mac fanatics I've ever met have said this. Why is it mentioned here? --69.148.208.172 05:50, 6 October 2006 (UTC)

Mixing your bars and trays
This article currently states (note the destination of the link):
 * Interestingly, Sidebar was originally designed to replace the notifcation area or Quick Launch bar in Windows, but these plans were scrapped after the Longhorn "reset" in mid-2004.

This appears to be muddling no less than 3 different features: I suspect - but am not 100% sure - that it is the last of these that is actually meant, but for all I know the sidebar was actually going to replace more than that? Is that "or" actually meant as "it was meant to replace one or the other", rather than as "also known as", which is how it currently reads to me? Anyone fancy doing some unmuddling? - IMSoP 23:54, 25 March 2007 (UTC)
 * 1) the taskbar (where the link points), which is the whole bar at the bottom (by default) of the screen
 * 2) the "Quick Launch bar" (what the link says), which is an embedded toolbar of program shortcuts (managed as a folder, just like the Start menu) on the left (normally) of the taskbar
 * 3) the "notification area" AKA "system tray" (spelt wrong), which is the area next to the clock where running programs put status icons, easy access menus, etc, on the right (normally) of the taskbar


 * The original sidebar had 'gadgets', if you will, for notifications and Quick Launch. While the notification 'gadget' was displayed, the notification area was not visible. These were removed in the reset. The current sidebar is not part of the shell, as the original was, and thus cannot control the display of notifications. -MarkKB 11:40, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Screenshot?
Can someone please upload a screenshot of the sidebar with its original gadgets or at least with less gadgets. it looks messy! iDosh! (talk) 19:23, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Hello iDosh,

I'm going to try my hand at editing in the screenshot of my computer I just uploaded. I think I got it just the way I like it in Photoshop.

Wish me luck.

Kind Regards,

SideBar Add-In
I couldn't place where I wanted to put the picture so you guys can move it as needed. If you want to remove it completely that's OK too, but you might want to delete the Sidebar Picture too.

Kind Regards,


 * Hi Everyone,
 * As a note, the reason why I reverted back to my default image was because it was more aesthetically pleasing compared to that of the newly inserted one. I didn't add the Caption because it makes the image pixelated. If anyone would like to propose different reasons supporting the image change, I'm open to discussion.
 * Kind Regards, --blurpeace (talk - contributions) 23:34, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

64-bit
Worth mentioning that 32-bit version is included in 64-bit OSes? - xpclient  Talk 08:47, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Move
Why was this moved to the name Windows 7 uses, and had its focus shifted to Windows 7? We should go with the current version of the software. - Josh (talk | contribs) 02:14, 27 March 2009 (UTC)
 * By the way, Desktop Gadget Gallery is just the name of a new(?) shortcut to Gadget Gallery. The process for the gadget engine in Windows 7 is named Windows Desktop Gadgets. - Josh (talk | contribs) 22:32, 31 March 2009 (UTC)

Widgets sllloowww down your system.
I think that potential users should be warned of the possibility, nay, probability that using a widget will slow, at least, the startup of their system, and that using more widgets will slow the startup, and possibly web browsing, considerably. I like to be on top of weather conditions and changes, and at first, I thought the widgets were just so cool, until I realized that the time I was spending waiting and waiting for my computer to start was due to these little toys. Now, I prefer to just go to the National Weather Service website when I want the latest weather. I have the time in the system tray. I don't need another clock. And, for RSS feeds, well, that's what the lovely Windows Live is for. Futhermore, I don't have an archaic system. It's a dual core with 4 G's of memory. I'll take speed any day. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stalkedinpink (talk • contribs) 02:06, 14 April 2011 (UTC)

Gadgets being discontinued
I think this article should be edited to include this information:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/looking-for-gadgets

It would seem that Microsoft is not planning on using Gadgets in their next version of windows. A large majority of the Gadgets on the Microsoft website have been taken down, and attempting to search for them yields the above page. What do you guys & gals think? Zootboy (talk) 16:19, 11 October 2011 (UTC)


 * I think Windows 7 Start and Explorer are totally screwed up (eg, the crazy file / directory display in explorer). I'm sticking with XP until the computer can no longer be repaired. HOWEVER, the ONE thing about Windows 7 that I found of any interest at all was ... yeah, you guessed it ... desktop gadgets. LOL It figures. The one thing they did to Windows that seems to be working nicely they kill off and they keep the stupidest Windows user interface to date (BoB notwithstanding). It just goes to show that as long as one can maintain the monopoly, one's c*** won't stink. A sad state of affairs indeed. 96.238.197.226 (talk) 20:49, 17 December 2011 (UTC)

Security summary
From the Shkatov-Kohlberg : Gadgets "are just as dangerous as any other piece of software" (meaning in the desktop app model)... Gadgets are "HTML running locally with a lot of extra features"... and there are "LOTS of malware claiming to be gadgets". The more serious/unusual vulnerability was that you could sniff & inject arbitrary code in some of the gadgets' web install process (i.e. the defunct "Get more gadgets online" feature) because the default install method didn't use SSL it seems. They actually cheated on the demo a bit, because the Piano gadget whose install process they attacked doesn't actually come with Window 7. It was a third-party gadget made available locally prior to the attack, though it might have worked on first web install as well, except those don't work anymore. So, MS has given the world the super secure Windows Store instead. And more recently in the news we have : "Microsoft has announced this week that it will be removing Windows Phone apps that the company deems to have critical vulnerabilities. Microsoft notes in a TechNet blog post that developers will be provided 180 days to patch the issues in their app or their work will be pulled from the store, preventing consumers from accessing the app from their smartphones or via the web."] Oh, wait, so security still depends on the app devs? Who'd have thought that would happen? 86.121.18.250 (talk) 09:06, 2 January 2014 (UTC)