Come on BBC, Gadgets can be moved anywhere in Windows Vista

So the BBC have been putting up a few articles on Windows 7, it is after all released on Thursday. But they've also made a few mistakes, usually when comparing it to Windows Vista.

What I'll cover here is the Gadget platform. If you recall in Windows Vista you could open the Sidebar on either the left or right sides of the screen which could hold all the Gadgets, or if you wanted to you could drag them off the Sidebar and place them where you wanted, and even close the Sidebar.

Myth: In Windows Vista desktop Gadgets cannot be moved.

False. Here's a picture I took during the development of Windows Vista showing the clock gadget, how you could have multiple instances open all with different settings and time zones, and importantly anywhere you wanted.

Lots of clock gadgets open in Windows Vista all over the screen

It's disappointing when so many people get this wrong and even worse when it is mentioned right at the start of a video covering Windows 7. If they can get one of the very first facts wrong it doesn't fill you with much confidence.

If anything the Gadget platform in Windows 7 is weaker than in Windows Vista. Here's why. With the Sidebar in Windows Vista you could configure it to always be on top, when it was set like this any windows would maximize to the edge of the Sidebar enabling you to always see any Gadgets contained in the Sidebar. In Windows 7 there is no way to achieve the same thing. You have to tell individual Gadgets to be on top, and when that happens they'll obviously cover up areas of any maximized windows, as maximized windows will fill the screen as usual.

3 comments

Comment from: Mark Sowul [Visitor] · http://marksowul.com
Agreed. It's very frustrating to me as it's a pointless step back. Ditto the Windows Media Player taskbar player your screenshot exhibits.
20th October 2009 @ 22:33
Comment from: Brandon [Visitor]
*****
Where did you get that blue clock on the right? you can send me an email at bsmith169@email.itt-tech.edu
26th March 2010 @ 22:53
Comment from: Paul Smith [Member] · http://www.dasmirnov.net/
It is one of the built in skins for it. Check options.
16th May 2010 @ 13:08

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