Windows Vista: My Favorite Sidebar Gadgets Part 1 of 3

As you know Windows Vista comes with the Windows Sidebar, which is one my favorite new features of Windows Vista. Over time I have collected or rather downloaded several Sidebar Gadgets and out the numerous gadgets I have downloaded I would like to let you know what my top 10 gadgets are and tell you what they do. This will be a continuing series, as I have numerous "Favorites" in my sidebar gadget collection, here is just a taste of my favorite gadgets.

So without further delay let me tell you what my favorite gadgets are.

1.  Media Player (Designed by Jonathan Abbott)

This gadget has to be my favorite out of all of the gadgets that I use on a daily basis. The Media Player gadget is almost a complete replacement for Windows Media Player 11, although you still need to use Windows Media Player 11 if you add more media to your library and than update the gadget accordingly. Nonetheless, this gadget has it all if your looking for a near replacement of Windows Media Player 11.

One really neat feature (which Jonathan neglects to mention, no pun intended) is that if you log off, shutdown or restart Windows and you have an audio track or video playing when you do so, the audio track or video will automatically continue playing from where it left off once you are back in Windows.

However, for the gadget to continue playing the audio track or video you need to have Windows Sidebar startup when you login to Windows or have the gadget running on the sidebar when you restart the sidebar.

Overall I recommend this gadget to everyone who is using Windows Vista. I will give the Media Player gadget a 10/10 and I cannot wait for the next release of this gadget. 

Features include:

• Supports drag/drop from a web browser or the file system
• Plays all media supported by Windows Media Player
• Thumbnails all albums (provided you have album art) and videos (provided the codecs are installed)
• Supports Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger "What I’m Listening To"
• Playlist sorting and reordering
• Set the rating for the current track
• Supports playlist, such as M3U, WPL, PLS
• Videos can be watched within the Gadget or full screen
• Shuffle and Repeat modes
• Shows album/track art of the currently playing track

2. Desktop Wallpaper (Designed by Jonathan Abbott)

Another one from Jonathan Abbott, This gadget is similar to Microsoft’s Slide Show Gadget that comes pre-installed with Windows Sidebar. This gadget offers much more than just transitioning through your pictures, it offers a lot more functionality than the Slide Show Gadget from Microsoft. Ever get tired of having to change your desktop wallpaper the "long way", If so this gadget is for you.

Overall I recommend this gadget to anyone looking for a new way to automatically change wallpapers without user interaction. if you want to have added functionality that you can’t get with Microsoft’s Slide Show Gadget. I give this gadget a 9/10 for its overall usefulness and great features.

Features Include:

• Automatically change desktop wallpaper at set intervals
• Transition through a folder of picture files (like Microsoft’s Slide Show Gadget)
• Preview next wallpaper (from the selected folder of your choice)
• Ability to change pictures when gadget is hidden

3. Remote Desktop Gadget 2.0 (Designed by FrameworxDotCom)

If you are like me and have multiple computers and/or a server at home and use remote desktop a lot or even if you help out a couple of friends with their PCs via Remote Desktop (Windows Vista Business & Windows Vista Ultimate required to use Remote Desktop) this gadget is for you. The Remote Desktop Gadget 2.0 is something that I have been looking for since I started using Remote Desktop. This gadget offers quick and easy access to remote desktop, which means you will be able to help your friends or family faster because this gadget docks right on the sidebar or anywhere on your desktop.

Overall I recommend this gadget to anyone who uses remote desktop frequently and manages several different computers. I give this gadget a 7/10, Nice sleek UI (granted the undocked UI should be smaller), great functionality.

Features Include:

• Design with themes
• Drop down with list of remote computers
• Favorites computers (similar to Internet Explorer Favorites)
• History management
• Quick access to remote desktop
• Ability to choose console (windowed mode) or fullscreen mode via check boxes

Note: This blog entry was originally posted on thewindowsblog.net. View original post