Gadgets Are Gone

If you used Windows Vista or Windows 7, you may have used some of the desktop tools that Microsoft called “Gadgets” in Windows 7 and “Sidebar” in Windows Vista. These included a graphical clock, calendar, news headline feed, a CPU tachometer, and more. There was also an online Windows Live Gallery where you could download other Gadgets. On Windows 8, Start screen tiles and apps replace the Gadgets, and the Windows Store replaces the Windows Live Gallery.

The Sidebar system was removed from Windows 8 for two reasons. For one thing, as we mentioned, Start screen “live” tiles can do the same things that the Gadgets did—although, the Gadgets lived on the desktop where they were always visible and available, whereas nobody will spend ...

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