All About Vista Sidebar Gadgets

Reader Chris E. writes: Does Vista have Widgets like Mac OS X? If it does, is there a place to get more?

Widgets have become so popular on the Mac and on Windows XP (via Yahoo! Widgets and Google Gadgets) that Microsoft boldly integrated them into Vista as Vista Sidebar Gadgets. In fact, various Sidebar Gadgets are turned on by default, that's how much Microsoft thought you would love them.

I like the Sidebar Gadgets. In fact, they're probably my favorite part of Vista, aside from Aero. They're also really simple to tweak, change around, and update.

If you're running Vista, you can get started with Gadgets by simply clicking the active ones. You'll see a small menu (an x and a wrench) when you do so. Click the x to close the Gadget or the wrench to alter its properties (like the city you want weather for). 

To add more Gadgets, right-click anywhere in the Sidebar pane on the right side of screen. Click Add Gadgets... and you'll see the default dozen that come with Windows. Want more? Just click "Get more gadgets online" at the bottom of that pane. As I type this there are 276 gadgets available through Microsoft. You'll find more online by searching for "Vista Sidebar Gadgets" and many more on the Microsoft site in coming months.

Remember, Gadgets are all about having fun and making information easier to get at a glance. Experiment, add new Gadgets, dump ones that you don't really want or need, and have a good time with them.