The 7 Best Windows 7 Gadgets FOR YOUR DESKTOP

No one really liked the Windows Sidebarwhen it arrived with Windows Vista. Most enthusiasts saw it as nothing more than cheap rip-off of Mac’s Dashboard with less overall functionality. In response, Microsoft polished up the concept and introduced a proper gadgets platform in Windows 7.

Unlike the sidebar, gadgets in Windows 7 are actually very useful. Unfortunately many people overlook this feature, instead going or a platform like Google Desktop. Having used both Google Desktop and Windows 7 Gadgets, I have to say that gadgets have some advantages. They feel much smoother than Google Desktop’s alternative. The selection is more limited, however, so let’s take a look at some great Windows 7 gadgets.

Three Useful Meters

System monitors are nice to have on your desktop. They offer you the ability to keep an eye on your computer’s resources in real time, which lets you keep an eye out for any strange spikes in the usage of your computer’s resources. These spikes are usually no problem, but on occasion they can alert you to the existence of malware or simply a program that you installed and then later forgot about.

There are three great, related system monitor gadgets available for Windows 7. These gadgets are called CPU Meter, Network Meter, and Drive Meter. CPU meter monitors processor usage by displaying a graphic of processor usage and also status bars for each processor core. This gadget also monitors RAM usage. The network monitor displays IP addresses and keeps track of both uploads and downloads. The drives monitor displays all connected hard drive and their capacity.

Of course, there are many system monitor gadgets you can choose from. What makes these things stand out from the crowd, however, is their interface. Each has a very clear, easy to understand aesthetic that conveys maximum information in minimal space. This aesthetic is the same across all three gadgets, as well (the gadgets are made by the same developer) so your desktop doesn’t look like a hodge-podge of unrelated gadgets.

Facebook and Twitter Explorer

Facebook and Twitter Explorer are, like the monitors above, two related gadgets created by the same developer. In this case, however, the gadgets deal with the most popular social networking websites.

The purpose of these two gadgets is the same. Both Facebook and Twitter are frequently updated by users, and you may also add messages to both. Facebook and Twitter explorer act as simple desktop interfaces for this functionality. This means that you don’t have to have a browser window open in order to keep up to date on Facebook and Twitter updates.

The Twitter Explorer is functional enough that you may no longer have much need to visit the Twitter website. The Facebook Explorer gadget is also functional enough when it comes to status updates, but it doesn’t let you browse or add friends, play Facebook games, or access any of Facebook’s other pages.

SkypeGadget

If you use Skype a great deal you may, like me, become a little bit frustrated with the program’s interface. I personally find Skype’s interface to be far larger than it really needs to be, and while the new ability to access Skype status through a Jumplist in Windows 7 is nice, it doesn’t address the fundamentally bloated interface.

Because of these complaints, I found SkypeGadget to be very useful. SkypeGadget serves as a more compact front end to Skype, making it possible to use Skype without having to deal with the normal Skype interface. SkypeGadget lets you view your contacts, make calls, and begin IM conversations with them. I love having the ability to view my contacts without a huge Skype window on my desktop.

My only complaint with the gadget is the inability to place Skype phone calls to “real” phone numbers due to the lack of a numberpad. Hopefully this will be addressed in a future release.

Doppler RadLoop

Weather gadgets are a bit played out, but that is mostly because they all tend to do the same thing, displaying estimated current weather conditions and perhaps a forecast of some kind. That’s alright, but the problem is that the information isn’t always useful. Let’s say, for example, that you want to ride your bike down to a coffee shop. A weather gadget that simply says the forecast is for scattered shows doesn’t help you much because it can’t tell you if a shower is really near your area or not.

For that, you need to take a look at a weather radar, and that is why Doppler RadLoop is so useful. Doppler RadLoop provides real-time radar information for your current location. This lets you actually take a look at the current weather conditions and make a better decision. If a big blob of red is showing up in your area, you best stay home.

There are a few weather gadgets for Windows 7, but Doppler Radloop works the smoothest. IF you need to keep a track on current weather this is the best way to do it.

Get Your Gadget On

I think some people shy away from Windows 7 gadgets because of the poor taste left in their mouth by Vista Sidebar. Give them a second chance! These are some very useful Windows 7 gadgets, and the often times work better than gadgets available on other platforms.

How to Make Desktop Gadgets Invisible in Windows 7 ?????

Unfortunately, the minimum value available is 20%. Although the gadget becomes barely visible, it’s still not fully cloaked and appears to take up space. It’s time to bend the rules and make its opacity whichever value we want! Here’s an overview of the steps:

1. Set the gadget’s opacity to a distinct value.
2. Kill the Windows Sidebar task.
3. Open the settings configuration file.
4. Change its opacity to 1%.
5. Start the Windows Sidebar task.

Step 1: Set the gadget’s opacity to a distinct value.

Simply change the opacity of the gadget to a value different than all other running ones. This will make it easier for us to identify it later on in step 4.

Step 2: Kill the Windows Sidebar task.

In order for us to be able to save changes made in step 3, the “sidebar.exe“ process shouldn’t be using the file. Hence, the fastest way to end the process is to copy and paste the following in the start menu’s search bar and press Enter:

TaskKill /IM Sidebar.exe

Step 3: Open the settings configuration file.

The user’s storage profile (found in: C:\Users) contains special folders like “My Pictures” and settings for installed applications. These applications include the “Windows Sidebar”, which is the widget engine for the desktop gadgets. The gadgets’ settings are stored in a file called “Settings.ini“. This file holds information about each gadget such as its coordinates on the screen, opacity and any specific settings (e.g.: “Location” for a weather gadget). The fastest way to access this file would be to type the following in the start menu’s search bar, replacing {username} with your username:

C:\Users\{username}\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Settings.ini

If you are having trouble finding out the {username}, type “%LOCALAPPDATA%” and then go to “Microsoft\Windows Sidebar\Settings.ini” from within Windows Explorer.

Step 4: Change its opacity to 1%.

When you open the settings configuration file in Notepad, you might see similar to this:

The settings for each gadget are found under its section (e.g.: “[Section 3]“). Because we’ve set a distinct value for the opacity of the gadget in step 1, you can easily find out its section by searching for (press CTRL + F to display the “Find” window):

PrivateSetting_GadgetOpacity="{n}"

… Where {n} is the value you’ve chosen. For instance, if I set the opacity as 60%,{n} should be replaced by “60″. Now that we’re no longer constrained by the available choices in the GUI, we can set whichever value we want. Want the opacity to be 47%? Just type “47″ in place of {n}. It’s as easy as pie!

You: Well then, let’s set its opacity to 0% to make it invisible.
Me: Not so fast. If you set it to zero, it will become completelyinvisible and it won’t appear when you place the cursor over it.
You: Aha! That’s why you said almost invisible.
Me: Yep, we’re going to set it to 1%.

Unless you’re blessed with extraordinary sight, you won’t be able to see it. Here’s a quick demonstration of different levels of opacity:

Step 5: Start the Windows Sidebar task.

To restart the Windows Gadgets Platform process again, type the following the Run command (press Windows Key + R to display it):

Start Sidebar.exe

eNjOy!

Ever wanted to check your Computer’s Hardware Components? WITHOUT OPENING YOUR PC WITH THE SOFTWARE

Well, Windows itself has a shortcut tool allowing you to peek inside the box.

1. Press WinKey + R.
2. In the Run box, type msinfo32.exe
3. Click the Ok button.
4. The System Informaton windows opens.

Note: In the left hand section clicking the + button opens additional details.

Taking a Peek!

The Device Manager contains a lot of useful information but lacks detail. For example suppose you want information on the RAM installed on your computer, whether you have any free slots how do you find out apart from opening up the computer itself.

The answer to this is to download a useful little tool called Speccy. Speccy is a sophisticated System Information tool for your PC.

It is available from this WebSite: http://www.piriform.com/speccy/download/standard

Speccy will give you detailed statistics on every piece of hardware in your computer. Its opening screen displays a Summary of all components in the right hand side of its screen. On the left is a list of individual components. Clicking on each one opens a new windows detailing information on the component selected.

Here is the opening screen for Speccy.

Summary of My Computer's Hardware

In the next screen I checked on the RAM on board.

Details of the RAM on my computer

This is a very handy little tool one worth adding to your collection. As a matter of interest, the same website Piriform has other goodies – Ccleaner (Optimization and Cleaning), Defraggler (Disk Defragmentation) and Recuva (File Recovery).

As yet I haven’t checked these other applications!

Check out EVERYTHING on Your Computer!

Recently I wrote article aboutSpeccy, a handy little application that checks out all aspects of your hardware. See my blog –  Ever wanted to check your Computer’s Hardware Components?

Well, here’s another useful application which I’ve used in the past. It is called Belarc Advisor. This is what its website says:

“The Belarc Advisor displays a detailed profile of your installed software, hardware and vulnerabilities in your Web browser. Click here to download a free copy for personal use. . . . The Belarc Advisor is not permitted to be used for any commercial purposes.”

It analyses the following Operating Systems –Windows 7, Vista, 2008, XP, 2000, NT 4, Me, 98, and 95. Both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows is supported.

It lists all Hardware Devices and installed software applications providing you with Software Licence Registration Numbers and other details.

If you wish to download this useful little tool, use this hyperlink for its website:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Installation

Once you download the Belarc’s installation file go ahead and install it. Following installation, Belarc commences analysing and checking your computer system, hardware and software. It prepares a report within your Web Browser.

Note: Belarc is compatible with the following browsers – Internet Explorer,Firefox, Safari, and Opera. When it finishes you can print the entire report.

Belarc adds its shortcut icon to your Desktop so whenever you make changes to hardware and software you can get it to run a new check on your entire system.

Screen Reports

Here are two screen pictures showing Hardware on my computer and Applications running.

Operating System & Hardware Report

Software Report

Belarc is very thorough and comprehensive. I commend this program to you!

Remove Those Stubborn Files From Windows 7

Every so often you download a file, and when your finished with it, you go to delete it and then you get the famous error message. ” Windows was not able to remove the selected file because it is currently in use” this just drives me nuts when I see it. Ok, right so I just go and close whatever window I had open that caused the file to be in use and try again.

Nope still doesn’t work. Right then, I’ll close every single window and program, that should do the trick. Try to remove the file again, but nope still you keep getting that error message.

You’re getting worried at this stage, is this a virus or what? So you go and reboot your machine, then you go once more to delete the file, but still no luck, error message yet again.

So what do you do? Are you stuck with this file forever? Well not anymore, now there is a program called “Unlocker” which will solve all your problems.

It works with both Windows 7 32 bit and 64 bit (there is a different version for each so be sure to download the right one) and even better it’s free.

It works out which processes are running and causing the file to be in use, and kills them which then allows it to delete the file. What’s more, you don’t even have to reboot your machine unlike other file removal programs.

Just a word of note though, because of the nature of this program, several antivirus programs mark it as a false positive and think it’s malware. But rest assured, it’s not and there’s proof of that on the developers blog

You can download the

32 Bit version here

64 Bit version here