Sidebar in next public Windows Vista build

Sidebar: Hype or function?

Published on February 6, 2006 By Frogboy In WinCustomize News

Windows Sidebar With 16x9 displays becoming increasingly important, Microsoft's new Sidebar, scheduled for release in Windows Vista and also to be back ported to Windows XP may be the right program at the right time.

The sidebar is essentially a container for "gadgets". Gadgets are similar to widgets except they don't require a special enabler in order to use. Stardock plans to support Microsoft's Sidebar in a variety of ways depending on the final implementation.

Originally, Microsoft planned to have the Sidebar support gadgets made either via DHTML or as Windows Presentation Foundation (Avalon) gadgets. However, the company seems to be focusing more on DHTML gadgets in order to allow those gadgets to be able to run on both the desktop and on web pages seamlessly (something Avalon gadgets would not be able to do since they would require the browser to support Avalon explicitly).

The question that remains to be answer is whether Microsoft's particular implementation of the Sidebar is compelling enough for users to adopt when Google and even Stardock have their own "bars" that can do much the same thing.

We think it'll boil down to two things:

1) The content of course.

and

2) Whether there is a compelling need to have a bar sticking around on the screen.

Taken together, Microsoft and others have to make the case that we need this. Sure, an RSS feed might be nice. But what else? Weather? Do I need weather info taking up screen space 24/7? Or a big clock? Or MP3 controls? This isn't a new issue.

For all the hype widgets/gadgets have received over the past few years (and we've certainly been part of that) no one seems to have answer to that question: Why. Can Microsoft come up with compelling content. Look at Microsoft's own screenshot carefully. It has a clock, an RSS feed, a picture, a couple of shortcuts, and an MP3 control. Is it worth 10% of your screen space for that?

We think that the Sidebar as a concept is good. The problem that remains to be solved is finding compelling content. Clocks and RSS feeds ain't it. Even with all the exposure Yahoo has given the Yahoo widget engine and all the press it's received, the typical widget for it gets less than 10,000 downloads (compare that to a "niche" thing like WindowBlinds or even a popular DesktopX theme or an icon package). The story seems the same -- widgets and gadgets simply don't have enough meat right now to be compelling. Someone needs to come up with content that goes beyond the mildly useful and into the realm of compelling.

What do you think?

Comments (Page 2)

Island Dog

on Feb 07, 2006

I hope there's an option to remove it.

whiterabbit007

on Feb 07, 2006

Personally I will never use any kind of sidebar, regardless of how much screen space I have, simply because I don't want to bunch up all my widgets into one area, I like to spread them around. I also agree that there need to be more useful and more variety of widgets than what we have right now but I don't think that's Microsoft's responsibility, it's up to the community. What MS needs to do is make the sidebar flexible and compatible with other widget/gadget engines so that it's easy for people to use variety of gadgets regardless of how they were made.

Finally, I think that what a lot of people are missing is that this is a very good thing for gadgets. When MS supports something, when they put their entire PR department to promote it, and when it's a standard feature of the new OS, then it's a safe bet it's going to get popular. Sure, there will be a lot of people who will just use the default gadgets that come with the sidebar and won't know any better, but many more will be educated as to the wonderful world of gadgets

and as long as MS doesn't actively try to stifle the competition, the gadget market will only grow. Add to that the fact that Google will want to make their sidebar competitive (and I won't be surprised if they jump on the gadget bandwagon as well) and Yahoo will certainly want people to use their gadgets, and you got some healthy competition going, which is always good for business.

Chasbo

on Feb 07, 2006

I like the Vista sidebar. I guess it's as close as you can get to the real deal right now, ie, Vista. I tried IE7 Beta too but it didn't play nice with McAfee!

#1. I love the little slide show. #2. The clock looks real nice. #3. The news feed is good. #4. The search bar is good. #5. Using this little baby with Kol's VistaXP skin makes this as close to Vista as I can get. #6. I threw widescape weather by Yahoo widgets on top for my weather and it looks like it is part of the sidebar!

Isues: I wish I could auto hide it. It's always there. I wish I could load up some more gadgets for it.

I like having my "widgets" or "gadgets" in one place and since they are obtrusive by nature anyway I really don't mind the sidebar taking up some real estate.

black_udder

on Feb 07, 2006

I'd prefer not to dedicate so much space to anything, regardless of it's efficiency (Just don't think anything provides that much necessity vs a mouse move & click). However, with that said, if widescreens become the norm, then we're all going to have blank space on each side of our wallpapers, a few customized walls or some ugly stretched walls. I think that a sidebar might fill that void there - so we have a full screen of use (at least until folks start kicking out the widescreen walls in abundance).

I'm probably like most folks (using Windowblinds, rainey's calendar, widgets & objectdock), I haven't seen the taskbar in I don't know how long.

I do, however, believe that if a sidebar is added to Vista, it will benefit all of the small/alternative programs out here, because suddenly, there will be a ton of exposure for the concept of a sidebar. If folks like it, but would like to customize, they'll search and find a whole new world of customization (i.e. the benefit of the side bar would be to introduce a new generation of OS customizers).

MS hasn't been an innovator in a long time (some may say never), but they do have a massive audience and they've always been able to introduce new concepts to a wide audience. These concepts may not be new to all, but they are to many.

I'd bet it's like the taskbar - you can hide - or with software, disable (i.e. object dock or the likes).

thomassen

on Feb 07, 2006

Regarding the sidebar to take up screenspace, New monitors are most likely to adopt a widescreen format. With a widescreen format you can afford to use a little of your monitor space.

And will people want a sidebar? I think so. Just look what has happend after the sidebar first was presented. We now have DesktopSidebar and SmartbarXP. Both very much inspired by the sidebar in Longhorn.

gef

on Feb 07, 2006

This has been around for ages here at Wincustomize courtesy of Martin and taking up space doesn't happen as the dock only appears on mouseover :

https://www.wincustomize.com/Skins.aspx?LibID=3&view=1&sortby=8&sortdir=DESC&p=1&advanced=0&searchtxt=expanding%20dock%20template

NightTrainthedark

on Feb 07, 2006

By the time it hits the market we will all be able to control our cursors with our eyes. This interface will be obselete.

mike b1954

on Feb 07, 2006

As a fairly new to pc modder and skinner , all I can add to this is that as far as I am concerned " you pay your money-you take your chance" , and as far as the DESKTOP SIDEBAR is concerned , MS themselves are using it as the Official Benchmark for their Vista Sidebar .. and you cannot get a better reference then that . . . Loads of panels,loads of skins,and lots of style - and yes, Lots of clocks - if you want them - and a really good community in their forum..... who will literally 'bend over backwards' to solve any problems that you might have . . . so , for me , Desktop Sidebar will always be better then Vista in that respect ... I am surprised that you dont have a link to Desktop Sidebar on your homepage,after all, a lot of users do use Wincustomise and Stardock , maybe it is time to return the compliment,folks .! ..( of course, you don't HAVE TO install either Sidebar )

BTW , you can autohide Desktop Sidebar,just like your taskbar should you so require...!

Here's a link : http://www.desktopsidebar.com/ - should anyone like to have a look . . !

Mike

( DESKTOP SIDEBAR .... Better then Vista,Mista ! )

rabidrobot

on Feb 07, 2006

I depend on ObjectBar for two shortcut-type toolbars that auto-hide. But a gadget sidebar, especially one almost always on-screen, actually seems much less useful.

ObjectBar supports DX widgets already--DesktopX alone could make a more interesting sidebar than anything I've seen from Google or MS, as evidenced by the amazing array of themes available.

Sidebars seem like a compromise in an attempt to appeal to the masses. I think most would eventually prefer some flexibility. Why constrain yourself to a "Start Panel" and "SideBar" when you can have floating, docking, auto-hiding, and right-click enabled gadgets and navigation options?

If DesktopX, or some ObjectDesktop like suite, facilitates the organization of WPF/WinFX powered and styled gadgets into whole-desktop user GUIs, it will be in a great position to receive those users who first become intrigued by the SiderBars and want more.

In the end I feel it is customization and personalization that will be deciding factors in what method (MS SideBar, or DesktopX, or individual WPF gadgets, etc) people decide to use. That is, yes, interesting content is important in making gadgets/bars in general welcomed by the many newcomers to the concept, but eventually any SideBar content can be better presented, and even better integrated, by discrete widget type applications, or suites of them.

wstaylor

on Feb 08, 2006

Here is a larger image of the side bar: http://www.microsoft.com/library/media/1033/windowsvista/images/features/feat_sidebar_2.jpg

kona0197

on Feb 09, 2006

"Jouneyman" wstaylor? Interesting.

Kevison

on Feb 09, 2006

I dont care for the sidebar. I like my desktop uncluttered too.

It would be nice to decouple the GUI from the OS.

Jafo

on Feb 09, 2006

It would be nice to decouple the GUI from the OS.

You can always kill the explorer.exe process...and exist via the task manager....I do, frequently...

Joan Polishan

on Feb 09, 2006

I agree with evrtything you wrote.

Tom Harmon

on Feb 09, 2006

It seems to me that the arguement was once "Why not integrate the GUI into the OS?" Have we gone full circle already?

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