Gizmo's, Gadgets, and Widgets Oh Bleh!
Call them what you want Gadgets, Widgets, Gizmo's … but what they are is stupid. I have not found a single gadget that is anything but annoying. None of these little eye candy toys do a thing to enhance my computing experience. On the contrary, they annoy me and eat up valuable computer resources that could be spent on more productive computing. When I first installed Vista I think I played with it for 5 minutes then got bored.
And why does Microsoft tout these as some revolutionary technology to bring us into the next century? I remember downloading a program called Desktop Sidebar back in 2003 for XP. This program did basically the same thing albeit not as graphically elite. At the time it was a pretty cool thing … I think I had that installed for 5 days before growing tired of it.
The Clock… yeah we have all seen the clock!
The CPU Meter… For some reason it reminds me of the racing game from back in the 80's Pole Position.
I will admit I have found one gadget out of the bunch that is actually fairly interesting at times Multi Meter (Dual Core) V1.24
Well now that you know my position, how do the rest of you feel about "gadizmogets"? Am I the only one who dislikes them? Am I missing out on some that actually result in enhanced productivity? What are some of your favorites?
Daily Email Updates
You can get our how-to articles in your inbox each day for free. Just enter your name and email below:
I use that same gadget on my desktop, pretty cool.
It's not your father's Desktop Sidebar anymore:
http://www.desktopsidebar.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8088
There is a Vista version in the works.
Sorry to report, but I like the postit notepad. Well its the only one I really use anyway. I've always had a soft spot for postits
I couldn't agree more. I have not seen a viable use on any OS I use for these things. I actually think when downloading these and trying them out, who need these things?
Enhanced productivity put aside, after all, we are not all making a living with out computer. The yahoo widgets are very entertaining, and some even quite interesting. If you get bored, go download some different ones, for there are thousands available. I really don't believe the makers of these widgets made them for "enhanced productivity". Loosen up, enjoy them for what they are–pure entertainment!!!!!!
Most of what I've found on Yahoo widgets are like little trinkets that you get from a cheap vending machine. Lets face it, its just another start menu, but more memory intensive, most of the what's available can be done as a stand-alone application and added to the start menu.
I agree with you mostly, but I have found a few gadgets I like. I have a system that I am not as worried about on wasted processing so I have a gadget for wireless that shows me my IP, SSID, external IP and usage via a graph, and a RDP gadget. I also use the CPU gadget described and a clock with an alarm. That fills the side of my wide screen monitor and gives me quick access to info.
@ Tony Mames Hart:
When I wrote this article a year ago, I was not very satisfied with most of the gadgets, widgets, Gizmo's … haha whatever you want to call them. I have actually found a few that are pretty cool and useful. I still don't use any but .. they have come along some in their development for sure.