Gadgets with transparent(or no) backgrounds

[Selenium]

I'm not talking about opacity, but rather gadgets which appear to, or don't have backgrounds. In case I'm not making sense, check out a screenshot of my desktop:


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My clock, battery indicator(top left) and system control(top center) gadgets all feature what I'm talking about. And when it comes to the clock gadget, you can click on things behind it on the desktop, so I'm pretty sure it doesn't have a "background" at all.

Anyone know of any more gadgets like these? I rather like them because of how well they integrate into your desktop, without having to turn everything really opaque.

The clock gadget can be found here: Adam Casey • Downloads
The battery gadget is one the Windows Live site, and I can't remember where I got the other one, though. Maybe deviantART. I'll try and find it if anyone wants it.

 

[SledgeDG]

So far I only was able to locate 2 sets (plus one which are stand alona applications) just check out what you'd like:
Download Glass Gadgets Pack For Windows 7 (14 Glass Gadgets)

adni18: Themes Wallpapers Icons Skins

and this link (here you need to register to download) Clear.Gadgets Pack - UO Revolution 2

Hope that's what you were looking for and please let me know if you find more

-DG

 

[Selenium]

Thanks. I've seen that first link before, it's where I got my notes gadget. The other two seem to require DesktopX, and I don't have that installed. Don't know if I want to for just a few gadgets. And if the second link didn't require DesktopX, they gadgets kept crashing when I tried installing them anyway.

Thanks a lot, though.

 

[SledgeDG]

You're very welcome.
Sorry, I KNOW I forgot to mention something....the ones from the 2nd link crashed here too...you need to run them in compatibility mode for XP SP2.

-DG

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[Selenium]

It never even crossed my mind to run them in XP compatibility mode considering XP doesn't have gadgets functionality.

Thanks again. Not exactly what I'm looking for, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Edit - I guess they aren't really gadgets per se are they though, just little stand-alone apps. That explains it.

 

[deepakumar]

You're very welcome.
Sorry, I KNOW I forgot to mention something....the ones from the 2nd link crashed here too...you need to run them in compatibility mode for XP SP2.

-DG

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Sledge my friend i want to know does this apply for VistaGlazz 2.1 & 1.1 it tried both & kept crashing & never let me log into my desktop till do it other way ie safe mode & then do a system restore....so do i need to try this in XP SP2/3 mode to get right???

 

[SledgeDG]

I used Vista Glazz when I was running Vista I believe at least in terms of W7, the version 1.1 is outdated.
But there is no harm in trying to run v2.1 in compatibility mode (even tho I doubt that would solve your severe problems.
What exactly do you need VistaGlazz for anyways?
If it's about patching I would rather use UxStyle - no more patching. instead.

-DG

 

[deepakumar]

Sledge i have UxStyle but still my system kepy crashing with v2.1 & i was Zonked & this happened with 2.1 & 1.1 as well????...

 

[SledgeDG]

Ok you have UxStyle..great!!! what do you need Vista Glazz for then, deepakumar?

When running Windows 7
- Aero style patch is disabled, maximized windows are already transparent

-DG

 

[MK2]

Hi,

Did you ever try a program called Rainmeter, it is like an alternative to Windows sidebar and has many different themes, skins, plugins and is higly customizable.
You can find it here: http://rainmeter.net/RainCMS/

Here's an example of a theme without backgrounds:

 

[deepakumar]

Sledge i was trying on a new theme style ie Glass effect & for that i was trying to run VistaGlazz but gave a real hard time still i dont know why?????

 

[SledgeDG]

Deepakumar:In my understanding you don't need VistaGlazz to run any glass effect theme...it's just an older file patcher.
Certain OS files need to be patched in order to run a custom (unsigned) theme. You said you already did run UxStyle, so your relevant files should be patched.
The final touches are often done by running either FullGlass.exe or BlackGlassEnhanced.exe in the background.

I don't run any full glass theme anymore. Not only did I find it very difficult to work with it on a day to day basis. I ran a sfc /scannow which reverted all patched files back to their original state.

-DG

 

[deepakumar]

Thnx for info Sledge yeah thats what i found & even now i'm too done with any glass bcz they dont work the way i expected them too....plus lot of memory is used & i prefer a less memory usage...

 

[SledgeDG]

Absolutely, deepakumar...it certainly makes more sense to use the RAM for apps instead for looks.
All that eye candy comes with a price. It always amazes me, how much more responsive the same machine operates under Linux even with eye candy. KDE is able to handle transparency for quite a while now.

-DG

 

[deepakumar]

Hvnt tried KDE but i like Ubuntu but i keep it clean & simple & it work great but can't let Windows go away that's why i've been trying to do... i like few glass effect like a complete transparent taskbar & folder's menu bar area & dropbox to have a glass effect....

 

[SledgeDG]

The only "extras" I have right now is the All Glass Firefox Mod by AmbroosV and the the Text editors
Notepad Glass Edition from Tyler j. C-W and Aero Next Edit (NFO reader/Texteditor)
Aero Calculator from Solo Dev

-DG

 

[deepakumar]

Sledge All Glass Firefox Mod by AmbroosV is it compatible with Firefox 3.5.11 or older version bcz i got 3.5.11???

 

[SledgeDG]

I honestly don't remember what FF Version I installed when I started with W7.
But chances that it works are quite good. I used that plugin before when I still had Vista.
The website says: Works with Firefox 3.5 - 3.7a1pre.
Since there are no files that will be exchanged or altered, it's safe to try. In case you'd like get rid of it again, you just uninstall the plugin and restart Firefox.
Just remember: to use that plugin the Firefox Skin should be set to Default (Strata)

There are very few plugins that break the glass effekt tho...like the iimmgg bar or Gmail Notifier (Gmail Manager works tho)

-DG