Desktop Gadgets for Windows 7

The folks at Redmond Pie have just posted about their five top “must-have” gadgets for Windows 7. Introduced in Vista, gadgets are mini applications built using XML, DHTML, and JavaScript. In Vista, though, those gadgets were more constrained to the sidebar. Although you could move them outside the sidebar to other parts of the screen, the bar itself would never really go away. In Windows 7, that has changed. The sidebar is no more and the gadgets can sit anywhere on your screen in either a minimized or maximized state.

So what were Redmond Pie’s top picks? They chose the following:

1. Twadget – the Twitter gadget
2. The Remote Desktop Gadget
3. The Blue Calendar Gadget (it’s the same calendar gadget as the one included with the OS, just in a nicer color!)
4. The Windows Live “What’s New” Gadget (see our coverage)
5. The Simple Search Bar which floats web search boxes on your desktop

They also conveniently bundled all the gadgets into one download available here.

Of course, when we're talking about Windows 7 gadgets, let's not forget the new Windows Media Center Gadget – this one is built right in to the OS. Just right-click on your desktop and select “Gadgets” to add it.

Do you have any favorite gadgets for Windows 7 that you want to share?