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Thread: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

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    Thumbs down Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    I've finally taken the plunge and moved from Windows Vista to Windows 7.

    A problem I'm having is that I can't find any decent sidebar gadgets. Vista allowed a sidebar as we all know. However the ones I'm using don't seemingly like Windows 7 (specifically I.E. 8 and a custom DPI), and unfortunately the HobbyLounge, where I got my old ones from has shut down. I think I'm having a slight google fail as the websites I'm finding don't have particularly good gadgets. I know there are decent ones out there just by looking in the giant Wallpaper threads from other forums.

    I need a clock (not really that important), CPU meter, RAM meter, and a drive meter if possible. Ideally they'd look the same and are all heavily customisable.

    Cheers in advance.

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    It's good to be bad pauldarkside's Avatar
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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    I use:

    All fit nicely within 7 Sidebar along with a few instances of the default weather gadget.
    My only concern is should I hide my true identity? A costume maybe?

    0iD: Plus weeing in it every now & again does it good
    scaryjim: 10" is just a little large to hold comfortably in one hand, which makes it a lot harder to tap, swipe and generally interact with.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Weatherbug
    Top Process (CPU Utilisation mode)
    Top Process (Memory Usage Mode)
    CPU Meter
    Now Playing

    I don't use task manager any more really, can quickly see what's eating up RAM/CPU cycles from the desktop. Nice and convenient.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    The CPU Meter and Wired Network Meter are both perfect. However the Drives Meter is far too small at my resolution and due to it being too cluttered. I don't suppose you guys know of a much much simpler one that displays little else apart from name, free capacity and spaced used?

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    It's good to be bad pauldarkside's Avatar
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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Quote Originally Posted by Greenlizard0 View Post
    The CPU Meter and Wired Network Meter are both perfect. However the Drives Meter is far too small at my resolution and due to it being too cluttered. I don't suppose you guys know of a much much simpler one that displays little else apart from name, free capacity and spaced used?
    Might be worth contacting AddGadget. No guarantees they'll implement your requests but when I had issues with overlapping labels in CPU Meter when displaying >= 10GB RAM, I didn't have to wait long before they sorted it. Not really checked for alternatives, sorry.
    My only concern is should I hide my true identity? A costume maybe?

    0iD: Plus weeing in it every now & again does it good
    scaryjim: 10" is just a little large to hold comfortably in one hand, which makes it a lot harder to tap, swipe and generally interact with.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7


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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    That's perfect thank's a lot.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Don't forget rainmeter!

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Quote Originally Posted by Tonka777 View Post
    Don't forget rainmeter!
    I don't get those, same with the weather meters as well. A quick scan on an permanently open BBC Weather tab reveals the level of terrible news I need.

    Seriously having to turn the heater on in June just isn't on is it?

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Rainmeter is a complete replacement for Windows Sidebar - nothing to do with rain

    It's a lot more versatile than Sidebar as well, you customise it with various add-ons to make into whatever you want.

    I used it recently to make an information screen - a 28" panel with slideshows, videos, the time and weather, so on so forth. At home though, I don't need that much functionality so I just stick with sidebar.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    I see, it looks pretty good though, I might wade into it properly when I have a bit more time. It's very customisable, some of the things people have developed for it look pretty sharp.

    Another question about Win 7. On the Taskbar where open programs, folders and files are, I can hover over them such that they're splayed across the bottom of the screen, rather than their content if that makes any sense. I get little previews like for example when several VLC Media Player instances and their playlists are opened. This is what I want, and looks like :



    Opera however behaves differently. For some reason, rather than my 6 windows of tab sessions spreading out akin to the above, only the individual pages get displayed in one massive, long and merged list that spreads all the way to the top of the screen. Like this :



    Is there anyway to get it to change / behave like the other items? I don't want it to put together all my tabs, simply because I don't want to view them like that, and also because scrolling them takes time.

    ********

    Another question (copy and pasted off the Winamp forums where I've not had much luck with replies) :

    Quote Originally Posted by Greenlizard0
    In Vista I'd connect my PFS/"Plays For Sure" MP3 player (a Sony NWZ series which is fully working) and it's immediately accessible to Winamp. I'd then be able to find it in the Media Library window or through the 'Send To' function by right clicking a tune in the Playlist Editor. However this behaviour is lost in Windows 7, instead the OS picks up the player and seemingly only allows me to browse the contents or undesirably access it using Windows Media Player.

    Does anybody know what is going on? Or how I can get Winamp to take over the functions to my MP3 player?

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Ooh I'd never heard of that, but I like it a lot. Think I'm going to lose a lot of time to playing with that :-s

    (rainmeter that is)

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    I *think* the grouping is determined by the software.

    IE for instance previews tabs like your screenshot of VLC, going across the screen.

    Firefox previews the currently open tab.

    Whether there's a suitable setting in Opera or a hack/extension I don't know, but it's software related.

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    Quote Originally Posted by Greenlizard0 View Post
    Another question about Win 7. On the Taskbar where open programs, folders and files are, I can hover over ... I get little previews ... This is what I want ...

    Opera however behaves differently. ...
    This is down to the number of open tabs / windows. After a certain number you get a list instead of previews (presumably because that many previews would take up too much screen space / reduce performance too much). And you've got a *lot* of open tabs in that there Opera list...

    It's possible that there is a configuration option somewhere to amend this, but I'm not on Win 7 at work so I'm afraid I can't check for you...

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    Re: Problems finding sidebar gadgets for Windows 7

    OK cheers lads. The Opera problem is really annoying. The previous behaviour that was on Vista where I'd get 6 objects stacked upwards for the 6 windows was ideal. But I'd not like to lose my hover function which is handy.

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