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Windows Sidebar


When I think of broken promises in Windows Vista, I don't immediately think of WinFS. No, I think of Sidebar. As originally envisioned, the Windows Vista Sidebar was going to be the system's one-stop location for system notifications, replacing the awful and antiquated tray notification area and ridding the taskbar of all those horrible small icons once and for all. The Sidebar was to have taken advantage of the additional horizontal real estate we were going to get from all those widescreen displays, and run a number of useful utilities like mini-calendars, contacts lists, IM buddies lists, and so on.
And then it got scrapped. The Sidebar you see today in Windows Vista Beta 2 is not the original Sidebar. No, it's yet another feature that Microsoft ripped off from Apple (though, to be fair, Apple didn't invent the idea either, it just popularized it in Mac OS X Tiger). Now, the Sidebar is simply a container for mini-applications called Gadgets that have more in common with Web pages than true Windows applications. Sidebar includes a number of Gadgets, and some are even useful and attractive, like the Clock. But the Sidebar takes up space and memory, is slow to load, and is inexplicably turned on by default.
I don't completely dislike the Sidebar. But my guess is that many Vista users will simply ignore it, turn it off, and even grow to resent it. I'm concerned that Microsoft has created a Gadget infrastructure for Windows Sidebar, Windows Live, and Windows Sideshow, but made slight differences in each so that it's not possible to write a single useful gadget that works in all three environments. But I'm most upset that the Sidebar isn't as useful and necessary as the Sidebar Microsoft originally promised. It's like ordering a Mercedes and getting a Kia. I'm sure a Kia is a fine car, but it's no Mercedes.
Windows Update

From its humble beginnings as a Web-based service for Windows 98 users, Windows Update has grown to include automatic downloading, automatic updating and, most recently in its guise as Microsoft Update, the ability to update non-Windows software, including Office. Recent Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) silliness notwithstanding, Windows Update is an incredible idea, and is nicely implemented in Windows Vista as an application instead of an IE-only Web page. This is as it should be and, not coincidentally, it's the way Apple implemented its Software Update service (which was Windows Update Done Right). Now it's right in Windows Vista too. Good.
Final thoughts

As you play around with Windows Vista Beta 2, you'll discover a system that is markedly different looking than Windows XP but surprisingly familiar nonetheless. I don't believe that Beta 2 is stable or reliable enough for most people to use in lieu of Windows XP, but its certainly a fine candidate for dual booting, where people can get their feet wet and then return to the comfort and safety of XP when needed. I've gotten a lot of great feedback from readers about their Vista Beta 2 experiences, which I hope to consolidate into something worthwhile soon. In the meantime, check out the various bundled applications. You're sure to find some gold buried in there with the clunkers.