Windows Sidebar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Windows Sidebar is a widget engine for Microsoft Gadgets, which is anchored to the side of the desktop. The Sidebar is included with Windows Vista and is available on Windows Server 2008 as an optional component. Sidebar gadgets can perform various tasks, such as displaying the time and date and showing the CPU usage. Several gadgets ship with Vista, however anyone can develop gadgets.
[edit] Overview
The Sidebar contains mini-applications or Gadgets which are based on a combination of Script and HTML. They may be used to display information such as the system time and Internet-powered features such as RSS feeds, and to control external applications such as Windows Media Player. Gadgets can run "docked" in the sidebar or they can "float" anywhere on the desktop. It is also possible to run multiple instances of a gadget simultaneously.[1]
Windows Vista includes eleven Sidebar gadgets: Calendar, Clock, Contacts, CPU Meter, Currency conversion, RSS Feed Headlines, Notes, Picture Puzzle, Slide Show, Stocks, and Weather. Of these, the Clock, Slide Show and Feed Headlines are displayed by default on a new installation of Windows Vista. Microsoft provides a link to a web site called Windows Live Gallery where additional Sidebar gadgets that have been created by third party clients can be downloaded.
[edit] History
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.[2] It had many similarities to current desktop gadget software, including a clock, traffic reports, and IM integration.
The Sidebar appeared in "Longhorn" (Windows Vista) builds as early as September 2002, and was originally intended to replace the notification area or Quick Launch toolbar in Windows, but these plans were scrapped after the Longhorn "reset" in mid-2004.[3]
The Windows Sidebar was rebuilt for 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 (now Yahoo! Widget Engine) and the Dashboard widget engine first included with Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X v10.4, which had been released a few months earlier.
[edit] Windows 7
Windows Sidebar has been renamed to Desktop Gadget Gallery in Windows 7 Milestone 3 with gadgets being integrated into Windows Explorer and the actual sidebar not visible.
