While many people enjoy using the Windows Vista Sidebar and downloading third-party gadgets, others may find the list of available gadgets underwhelming.

If you cannot find a needed or wanted gadget, or are just curious to see what other options are available, here are three alternatives to using the Windows Vista Sidebar. Note that to keep system resource use down to a minimum, after installing one of these alternatives, you may wish to disable the Windows Vista Sidebar rather than running two gadget programs simultaneously.

* The Google Desktop includes its own sidebar application. A wide range of Desktop Gadgets are supported, including financial, games, communications tools, and computer maintenance.


* Opera Widgets run on the Desktop outside of the Opera web browser. Widgets include an aquarium simulation game, international weather reports, and a sketchbook.


* Yahoo! Widgets (formerly Konfabulator) offers thousands of widgets including webcams, radio tuners, sports schedules, system monitors, and a dancing hula girl.

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