I always thought that the Windows Vista sidebar was nice to look at but not very useful. It uses system resources to display a clock or some other gadgets that have pretty much no value at all in my daily routine. I did not want to just remove the sidebar without researching if there were gadgets that were actually that useful that I decided to keep the sidebar and use at least some of the gadgets all the time. Space is limited and I run some all of the time and some only if I need that information.
While browsing the Windows Live Gallery website I noticed that the best rated gadgets hat only a rating of 3 stars out of 5 possilbe which is a little bit strange to say the least. I'm using the Ebay sidebar tool, the Gmail gadget, the run gadget and the app launcher all the time while I use the battery monitor only if I'm using the notebook on the road.
While browsing the Windows Live Gallery website I noticed that the best rated gadgets hat only a rating of 3 stars out of 5 possilbe which is a little bit strange to say the least. I'm using the Ebay sidebar tool, the Gmail gadget, the run gadget and the app launcher all the time while I use the battery monitor only if I'm using the notebook on the road.
- Ebay Sidebar Tool - May display information about current sales, the watchlist and items that you bid on. Includes a quick search as well. Works with all localized eBay websites.
- App Launcher - Add icons to the app launcher box which can be used to start software that is installed on your computer. Similar to a quick launch function.
- Battery Monitor - Vista is running on my Toshiba notebook and it is nice that I can use the Battery Monitor to keep an eye on the battery level of my notebook. Pretty useful.
- Run - Launch applications,open folders or open urls by typing their names in the run box.
- Binsearch Sidebar - Binsearch is a great site that spiders Usenet posts on their site and makes those posts searchable. Now you can search using the sidebar gadget instead of going to the site first.
- Gmail Reader - notifies you when you have new mail in your inbox. Can also display a summary of the 20 latest messages.