Google Gadgets and Sidebar

[Gunilla]

Google Gadgets

Desktop gives you one-glance access to personalized and up-to-the-minute information with Google Gadgets -- interactive mini-applications that can be placed anywhere on your desktop or on your iGoogle page to show you new email, weather, photos and personalized news. Other gadgets include the clock, calendar, scratch pad, todo list and many more. You can choose to add the gadget to your desktop, your iGoogle page, or both.



Sidebar

You can also keep your Google Gadgets organized in your sidebar, a vertical bar on your desktop which basically functions as a control panel for your gadget. You can drag and drop any of your gadgets into or out of your sidebar, or move them up or down to arrange them in any order. The sidebar can be set to always stay on top of other screens, and we've re-designed it to blend better into your desktop.



Deskbar and Floating Deskbar

If you'd rather not have a sidebar, you can minimize it into either a deskbar -- which you can use to keep a small search box right in your Windows taskbar -- or a floating deskbar -- which includes a search box that floats above all other windows and can be dragged anywhere you want on your desktop. Both these options allow you to quickly launch applications or search your computer and the web.

Add Gadgets Interface



With the Add Gadgets interface, finding new gadgets is fast and easy. Simply click on the "+" button at the top of your sidebar or select "Add gadgets" from the option menu to bring up this screen. From here, you can view gadgets by category by clicking on the titles on the left or search for specific gadgets by using the search box in the top right. Once you've found the gadget you want, just mouse over it and click the "Add" button.

[Blazej]

I am using Google Sidebar on my Windows Vista computer. But recently I noticed that it always blinks on my computer and this results in unusable browser windows. How can I solve this problem?

[sergioKomic]

This could be the problem of the version of Google Desktop you have on your computer. Install the latest Google Desktop version on your computer. If you have a custom desktop theme or skin, then that could be the problem of the sidebar that is incompatible with your customization. To resolve this problem, please disable your custom theme or skin.