Window Vista Sidebar on Windows 7

davehc said:

Excuse me if this sounds a litle critical or sarcastic. It isn't meant as such - only an observation.
After two years of criticism of some minor features in Vista, particuarly the sidebar and Windows Mail, sites such as this are now flooded with hints and hacks on how to recover those features in "7",
Are we humans naturally perverse? I do believe that it qualifies the views of many, incuding myself, that Vista was not the problem, but the nature of the users!
What is actually wrong with having the gadgets floating, instead of in an obtrusive window of their own. Why not use the taskbar, which is there anyway and can be "auto" hidden.
What is wrong with installing Windows Live mail (Free), instead of those fiddles to get windows Mail going again. It does everything Windows Mail does, plus a wee bit more.

I actually Have never used Windows Mail and personally I use Windows Live Mail and always have, although I have always liked the sidebar. I realize that so many people are having issues with Windows Mail but there are also allot people that wouldn't want to use anything else.

What it all comes down to is personal choice and that is what I want to give to people, the Right to choose what program they want to use and the way they want it to look and behave.

As far as the old side bar goes I don't find it obtrusive at all and in fact it can be very versatile in that you can choose to have it always on top or act as any other Window, dropping behind when another is in use.

Another feature of the old sidebar is the option to take the gadgets out of the side bar and place them anywhere you want on the desktop, which is the same as Windows 7 has it set up and sadly that's about the only feature it does have.

Are we humans naturally perverse?
The answer is no, we are all different and we all have a different preference and we all make different choices and that's the way it should be, after all wouldn't it be a boring World if we were all the same!

Well said Mr. GRiM.

I actually prefer Windows Mail over Windows Live Mail for a good reason. I have multiple (9) email accounts which all garner their mail from one server at Spamcop, which filters all the garbage out, and for some reason, when the mail comes in to WLM, it appears in each account simultaneously. So when I'm moving or deleting mail it takes 9 times as long.

WLM insists on setting up inboxes for every account instead of just one common inbox for all accounts as in WM and OE.
I never could figure out why this was the case, until I do, or they fix it they can stick WLM where it hurts.

Regarding the sidebar and gadgets, although I can see the advantage in being able to plant gadgets wherever you want on the screen, I prefer the sidebar "all in one box" idea because it can be dismissed and recalled. With W7 arrangement any custom gadgets have to be re-set up whenever they've been dismissed.

I don't suppose Microsoft could make it an option....? (Likewise with WM)

Another minus for WLM that I had forgotten about.

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Ex_Brit said:

Some of us didn't do that complaining and actually like Vista.

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QFT!...







Later :) Ted

Dave,
To fully clarify what I'm yammering on about I'd have to install it and I'm not about to do that. Suffice it to say I prefer the way WM and OE handle mail, but I can see the disadvantage for a family all using the same 'puter.

Read post # 1 ... you need to change the sidebar folder for the old Vista one.