This gallery is also available as a TechRepublic article.
Although Microsoft pulled support for Desktop Gadgets, they\r\nare still a handy way of getting an on-the-fly snapshot of your system and\r\nsystem resources. Some would argue, if Microsoft no longer supports the system\r\n- why bother? However, for many users, having instant, up-to-date, information\r\nabout a system means an efficient work environment. If you’re one of those\r\nusers, you’ll be glad to know that Windows 7 Desktop Gadgets still work and\r\nthere are plenty out there to satisfy your need for as much information as\r\npossible.
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I’ve tracked down five such gadgets that will fill the void\r\nof information that the standard Windows desktop leaves. Just remember, these\r\nGadgets do take up resources (though not much). As with anything on the Windows\r\n7 desktop, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of RAM to work with. Now,\r\nlet’s see if any of the following Windows 7 Desktop Gadgets will offer up\r\nenough information for you.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
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\r\n\r\nMargu\r\nNotebook Info 2 offers plenty of laptop/notebook-specific information, in a\r\nsimple to read layout. With this Gadget, you’ll have real-time updates for: user\r\nselected WLAN and LAN interfaces, net usage, multicore usage, clock/calendar,\r\nCPU, battery, uptime, power plans, RAM/CPU usage, and hard disk usage. You can\r\nadd/remove any of the information you want displayed and even rearrange the\r\norder in which they are displayed. Margu will even automatically check for\r\nupdates and alert you should one appear. If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop\r\nfor laptop information, Margu could possibly fit the bill.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
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Xirrus\r\nWi-Fi Monitor Gadget gets you more useful information about nearby wireless\r\nconnections. You can see SSID, data rate, channel, signal strength, layout of\r\nlocal connections, current IP address. You can also skin the widget and\r\nconfigure the level of opacity. If you click on one of the wireless networks on\r\nthe Xirrus ‘map’ you will be presented with a usage history of the available\r\nnetworks. The only downfall to this little widget is that, with its constant\r\nsonar/radar-like movement, it can be a bit distracting. But for anyone that\r\nneeds more information about their wireless networks, this is a real gem.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nNetwork\r\nMeter Gadget is one of the best of the wireless traffic monitors. In a\r\nsingle glance you get information about: SSID, internal IP, external IP,\r\nblacklisted IP ratio, speed test, firewall status, connection security status,\r\nsignal, and upload/download stats. The flyout features include: Name of network\r\nconnection, name of adapter, max speed, MAC address, subnet mask, DHCP lease\r\nobtained/expires, default gateway, and much more. From the configuration\r\nscreen, you can set up such options as: polling interval as well as how often\r\nto save the chart data, display options, color scheme, and more.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nDrives Meter\r\nallows you to not only get a quick glimpse of the health and state of your\r\ndrives, but also allows you to set up warnings for low disk space. The disk\r\nspace warnings are based on remaining space left and will play a sound when the\r\nthreshold is met. The Gadget displays disk activity, used/remaining/total disk\r\nspace. This Gadget is incredibly handy if you’re looking to help troubleshoot\r\nissues with a disk (finding out if a massive amount of data is being written),\r\nor if you just need a little help knowing when you are close to reaching the\r\ndanger zone of disk space usage.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
\r\n\r\nSystem\r\nInformation is a sort of all-in-one Gadget that displays information about:\r\nthe operating system, uptime, CPU, memory, hard disk(s), network drives,\r\nCD/DVD, battery, and network. You can have this Gadget display as much or as\r\nlittle information as you need. There are three ‘modes’: Normal (all\r\ninformation is displayed on screen at once), Compact (only headers are\r\ndisplayed \u2013 information is displayed in fly-out windows when an icon is\r\nclicked), Compressed (only one icon and all information is shown in fly-out\r\nwindow when an icon is clicked).
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
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Just because Microsoft has determined that Windows 7 Gadgets\r\nare no longer supported, doesn’t mean you have to do without these helpful\r\ntools. If you’re looking for Gadgets to hand out system information, take a\r\nlook at one (or more) of these and see if they don’t offer you all the data you\r\nneed for your Windows 7-based desktop.
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Disclaimer: CBS Interactive Inc. is not responsible for the content\r\nof the publisher’s descriptions or user reviews on this site. We do not\r\nencourage or condone the use of any software in violation of applicable laws.\r\nCBS Interactive Inc. does not sell, resell, or license any of the products\r\nlisted on the site. We cannot be held liable for issues that arise from the\r\ndownload or use of these products.
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Credit: Images by Jack\r\nWallen for TechRepublic
Jack Wallen is an award-winning writer for TechRepublic, The New Stack, and Linux New Media. He's covered a variety of topics for over twenty years and is an avid promoter of open source. For more news about Jack Wallen, visit his website jackwallen.com.
