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Windows Sidebar

Cryox

Cryox

Bro.
Does anybody else think that the windows sidebar is a waste of space on the screen? I use yahoo widgets instead, it doesn't seem to take up as much space, and whenever i move my mouse towards the right side of the screen, the dock doesn't automatically pop out like Vista's sidebar...

What do you guys think of it? What do you use in place of it, if anything?

The only widget i really use is the digital clock so, my views will probably be a bit different.
 
Greyone

Greyone

Funny Little Green Ghouls
I also feel it's a waste of space. I really like how they got rid of it on Windows7.

Doesn't bother me too much though, most of the time I just have widgets off. If I do use any, it's the weather widget. Right now I am just using ObjectDock and have a weather docklet on there.
 
B

BlackBurd

Original Gangstuh
Greyone said:
I also feel it's a waste of space. I really like how they got rid of it on Windows7.

Doesn't bother me too much though, most of the time I just have widgets off. If I do use any, it's the weather widget. Right now I am just using ObjectDock and have a weather docklet on there.
Click to expand...

I have windows7 and i have the side bar.

just not the bar part it uses the gadgets and let you move them around. thats much better then a huge black block in the corner of the screen.
 
Adiuvo

Adiuvo

Active Member
I don't use it, or any replacements. I like my desktop being mostly free space. Firefox is usually open on my system, and when it is, I always have a tab to weather.com.
 
ChurchedAtheist

ChurchedAtheist

Your resident psycho hobo
don't see the need. waste of resources for me. only thing i MIGHT use would be sticky notes, and there are lighter weight, quicker starting, more customizable ones than the one in vista.
 
twelve

twelve

I'm not dead
Sidebar was the first thing I turned off on Windows Vista (even before UAC). Widgets which is basically the same but not confined to a bar was also the first thing I turned off on Windows 7.

Absolute waste of resources and space on any system. Who seriously spends any amount of time looking at their desktop?
 
Sousanator

Sousanator

Shockingly Delicious
I dual screen so one desktop is (partly) empty. This is where I thrown my IM, Steam, and IRC. There's still lots of room left so I have a Network Meter (to check if if/when anything is downloading/uploading), and a mini Task Manager which shows the top 3 processes, RAM, and dual-core activity (with a nice graph). I also have the weather and some quick links.

So to answer your question, yes I do like Windows Sidebar (which Windows 7 still has, except they took out the actual side bar part). I also don't find it a waste of resources, unless your running a computer from 5 years ago. I only have a dual core 2.0GHz and my processor usage is less than 10% with everything running while regular web browsing (and under 60% with everything and TF2 running)
 
Hardrive

Hardrive

Contributor
I don't use the sidebar (there's not any plugins worth having IMO). I have temps on the LCD of my G15 though.
 
C

chrono6456

New Member
I don't think its such a waste of space. I'm on windows 7, and the only widget i have is the CPU and ram meter. I turned down the opacity to 60% and it just sits there, me not noticing it unless I need to check on it (like when converting video, or if something is eating up my cpu). Pretty nifty. I would also have a weather widget, but I don't like the stock one, and some bugs in windows 7 still prevent you from installing new widgets if you change user account control to turn it off.

Just try it, and try reducing the opacity, then it's not as much of a waste of space.
desktoparx.jpg
 
Z

Zero

~
I don't use it either, it's a gimmick, like the OS X dashboard. It's inefficent enough to have an entire widget devoted to a CPU widget, where it would be much more effective in the tray. Same goes with the clock, do you really need a massive clock when there's one right there in your tray? Although, for some people, it may be of some value, especially if you see your desktop often, or like to theme your PC.
 
twelve

twelve

I'm not dead
chrono6456 said:
I don't think its such a waste of space. I'm on windows 7, and the only widget i have is the CPU and ram meter. I turned down the opacity to 60% and it just sits there, me not noticing it unless I need to check on it (like when converting video, or if something is eating up my cpu). Pretty nifty. I would also have a weather widget, but I don't like the stock one, and some bugs in windows 7 still prevent you from installing new widgets if you change user account control to turn it off.

Just try it, and try reducing the opacity, then it's not as much of a waste of space.
[qimg]http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/840/desktoparx.jpg[/qimg]
Click to expand...
I'm sticking with this CPU meter that I can see practically all the time.

cpumonitor.jpg
 
Cryox

Cryox

Bro.
twelve said:
I'm sticking with this CPU meter that I can see practically all the time.

[qimg]http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c71/nvqphil/forums/cpumonitor.jpg[/qimg]
Click to expand...
That's what i do. i was messing with Task manager one day and i saw the minimize to tray option, and i immediately got rid of the widget i was using.
 
yolarrydabomb

yolarrydabomb

Adult
Meh I have no issue of resource hungry. it does slow down start up a few secs but I hardly ever shut down my computer.

Gadgets sometimes miss place itself if you shut down incorrectly.


Hopefully all those issues will be fixed. I have 6GB of ram. I should use it!

capturexwh.jpg
 
M

McNizzle

GRAWR
Ciaran said:
It can work the same in Vista.

Currently using Samurize and it lets you do this.
[qimg]http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/4192/22450444.jpg[/qimg]
You can do alot more with it but I haven't had a chance to set it all up.
Click to expand...

Geez that desktop in busyyy.

I don't have vista (my dad does) and I pretty much hate the sidebar. I think its a waste of space (even with 2 X 24inch monitors).
 
Slasher

Slasher

Suck It
I dock the weather, the current exchange rate, RSS feed to current world news, and a sticky notepad that I normally use as just a general to-do list.

I find it very useful, and I don't notice any slowdowns because of it.
 
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