Windows Desktop Gadgets

Windows Sidebar originated in a Microsoft Research project called Sideshow (not to be confused with Windows SideShow). It was developed in the summer of 2000, and was used internally at Microsoft. Windows Sidebar was rebuilt and began to appear in Windows Vista builds in the second half of 2005. Some reviewers and Macintosh enthusiasts have pointed out the Sidebar's similarities in form and function to Konfabulator (later Yahoo! Widget Engine), which appeared several years previously, and the Dashboard widget engine first included with Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X v10.4, which had been released a few months earlier. In Windows 7, Windows Sidebar was renamed Windows Desktop Gadgets, and the sidebar itself was removed in Windows 7 since build 6498. Windows Desktop Gadgets was included in all beta builds of Windows 8 up to build 8432 (fbl_loc) and did not make it to the final release. Instead, on July 10, 2012 (which is in the intervening time between the last beta of Windows 8 and its final release), Microsoft issued security advisory to disable Sidebar and Desktop Gadgets on Windows Vista and 7 because of a security vulnerability that could allow remote code execution. == Overview ==

Windows Desktop Gadgets is a feature of Windows Vista and Windows 7 (excluding the Windows Server family of the operating system). It hosts mini-applications or "gadgets" which are a combination of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code. Their use cases include displaying system time or calendar date, downloading and displaying RSS feeds, controlling other software such as Windows Media Player, placing useful tools like Sticky Notes, and more. In Windows Vista, gadgets can run docked in the sidebar, or float anywhere on the desktop. The sidebar also has multiple pages for lots of gadgets, and pages can be switched using the arrows at the top. It is also possible to run multiple instances of a gadget simultaneously. Windows Sidebar also works on Windows XP. In Windows 7, the sidebar was not included, but gadgets can still be placed on the desktop, and a desktop context menu was added. In Windows 7, gadgets can snap onto the edges of a display or on other gadgets, and gadgets now have an option to change its size on the desktop from small to large. Windows Vista is preinstalled with eleven gadgets: Calendar, Clock, Contacts, CPU Meter, Currency Conversion, Feed Headlines, Notes, Picture Puzzle, Slide Show, Stocks, and Weather. Several other gadgets available during the beta such as App Launcher, Feed Viewer, Number Puzzle, Recycle Bin, and Egg Timer never made it to the final release. Windows 7 adds a Media Center gadget and removes the Contacts, Notes, and Stocks gadgets. Originally, Microsoft provided a link to a web site called Windows Live Gallery where additional Sidebar gadgets that have been created by third-party developers could be downloaded. The site was officially retired on October 1, 2011. == See also ==