Gadget

Network Meter gadget

Network Meter is probably the best all-in-one wireless and wired network related system monitoring gadget for Windows. Network Meter shows your internal IP address, external IP address, SSID, and wireless signal quality. Network meter also shows your current upload and download usage and keeps a running total.

If you have any interest in the current state of your network connection, and the data moving across it, you'll love Network Meter.

Note: The Network Meter gadget works in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Pros

Displays a live view of all important network activity
Provides easy access to external IP address
Auto notifications of updates to the gadget
Highly customizable color and size options
Integrated speed test and IP lookup are cool extras

Description

Network Meter gadget shows your internal and external IP addresses for easy reference.
On wireless networks, Network Meter also shows your current SSID, signal strength, and security status.
Current amount of data being downloaded and uploaded is shown in a live stream in the gadget.
You can perform a speed test directly from the Network Meter gadget.
Huge number of options make Network Meter very customizable for your needs.
Size and color are configurable far beyond what gadgets typically provide.

Guide Review - Network Meter Gadget

Network Meter is an excellent network monitoring gadget for Windows 7 and Windows Vista. This gadget shows everything that you might want to know about the current state of your network connection. Network Meter works just great "out of the box" but can be tweaked in about every way you could imagine, making it a highly customizable Windows gadget. If you use a lot of gadgets, you know how important customization is.

When configured for a wireless network, the Network Meter gadget will show your current SSID, plus you signal strength and if your connection is secure. In addition, and also for wired networks, your current IP address, both internal and external, are displayed right on top, followed by easy one-click access to an Internet speed test and and IP lookup service.

Curious how much data your computer is sending or receiving right now? The Network Meter gadget shows you that in a live, 1-second updated (this is customizable) stream right on the gadget.

Drive Info Gadget

The Drive Info gadget is one of my favorite system utilty for Windows. There are plenty of useful options including several background and icon choices but overall it's still an easy to use Windows gadget.

The Drive Info gadget displays the remaining free space on your hard drive in both percentage and GB format. There's e ven a handy progress-type bar that graphically displays used disk space.

Note: The Drive Info gadget is available for Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Pros

Contains several background and icon choices
Several options provide flexibility in drives displayed
Very easy to use
Doubles as a drive shortcut list

Cons

No true opacity settings - skin choices determine opacity

Description

The Drive Info gadget provides a live view of current hard drive usage.
Simple, well designed options interface make customizing this gadget very easy.
Clicking on a drive's icon in the Drive Info gadget opens up the drive contents in a new window.
Several well designed background and icon choices are available.
Drive Info allows the optional display of removable, network, and media drives.

Guide Review - Drive Info Gadget

The Drive Info gadget is an excellent example of how useful a Windows gadget can be. In a single glance, you can keep track of the available free space on every storage device on your computer, saving you considerable time over manual checks or running another application.

Important: You should never allow the partition that Windows is installed on, usually your C: drive, to become full or near full. Windows, and many other applications, assume there is a certain amount of "wiggle room" on a hard drive and if there isn't.

The Drive Info gadget is available for free from Soft pedia. I've tried a few other hard drive space tracking Windows gadgets and I think Drive Info is the best. All Windows gadgets like this do essentially the same thing but Drive Info stands out because of its well designed interface and thoughtful options.

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget for Windows 7 and Windows Vista can search for wireless networks, verify wireless coverage, show details about your current wireless connection, and much more.

You can even manage your wireless adapter and connection, right from the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget!

This gadget is a bit over the top for my tastes but I certainly see how it could be a useful and entertaining addition to your Windows 7 desktop or Windows Vista Sidebar.

Pros

Unique radar/sonar display of available wireless networks
Clear and detailed signal strength display and history
Several configurations available including many skin colors
Displays currently connected network's SSID, channel, data rate, and more
Supports standard levels of opacity and two size options

Cons

Size and constant radar/sonar motion could be distracting
Current version suffers from bug that creates color problem

Description

Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor shows available wireless networks in your vicinity.
Gadget also displays current wireless signal strength and a recent history of that strength.
Your current IP and MAC addresses are displayed on the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor gadget.
Several configurations are available from within the gadget options, including many skins.
Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor allows direct management of your wireless adapter and current wireless connection.

Guide Review - Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget

Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is quite the Windows gadget. It certainly resembles a full fledged program more than probably any other Windows 7 or Windows Vista gadget that I've seen.

The obvious killer feature in Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is the large radar-like display, showing available wireless networks. The further away from the center the labeled wireless network is, the lower the signal strength. If nothing else, it's a very cool way to show a list of wireless networks.

The rest of the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor contains information on your current wireless connection including your current SSID, wireless network channel, data rate, and signal strength. There's also some wireless adapter information including your current IP and MAC addresses.

The biggest problem I have with Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is completely subjective - I think it's too much. It's too big, the radar display is distracting and not overly useful, and the Xirrus logo is huge as far as gadget logos go.

You, however, might love Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor and might find it very useful. For example, if you regularly connect to different wireless networks or are having some signal strength issues you're troubleshooting, this gadget could be just what you're looking for. It's a very unique gadget, I'll give you that.

The only technical issue I saw was a big orange circle when using the gadget in Windows Vista. The fix involves moving Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor away from the Sidebar and then back, but it's certainly a problem that needs to be fixed. Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is freely available from Xirrus. After you click the Visit Their Website link on this page, scroll down a bit on Xirrus' download page to find the download. Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is certainly a one-of-a-kind wireless network gadget for Windows 7 or Windows Vista and you should give it a shot if only for a few minutes of geeky entertainment!

System Monitor Gadget

The best thing about System Monitor is the range of options and monitors available. By default, System Monitor will watch your primary CPU core, available RAM, and the system time. However, you can add several more useful monitors.

If you're looking for a single Windows gadget to track a variety of resources, System Monitor is probably your best bet.

Note: The System Monitor gadget is available for Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Description

The System Monitor gadget can monitor CPU and RAM usage, current IP address, battery level, and wireless network strength.
Placement of monitors on gadget can be customized - a rare feature.
System Monitor can also be used to look up IP and DNS information, ping, trace routes, and perform WHOIS searches.
Gadget supports full range of opacity levels.
Each installed monitor in System Monitor has individual configuration options.
Up to 4 CPU cores can be monitored simultaneously.

Guide Review - System Monitor Gadget

I really like System Monitor, mainly because it satisfactorily replaced several other individual Windows gadgets that I used to have. It does a fantastic job of combining several system monitoring functions into a small, functional package.

My favorite thing about System Monitor is its variety of configurations, both in the number and type of monitors you can have displaying at any given time and in the depth of options available for each monitor. It's obvious that the System Monitor gadget was very well thought out.

That which I loved about System Monitor is also a bit of a weakness. There are two options layers - one for the Windows gadget itself and then another layer for each individual monitor. This can be a bit confusing at first but it's not such a problem that you shouldn't use System Monitor.

The System Monitor gadget is available at no cost from Build A Gadget.

CPU meter

The CPU Meter Windows gadget for Windows 7 displays two dials - one that tracks your system's CPU usage and another that tracks physical memory usage, both in percentage format.

This is a pretty basic Windows 7 gadget in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.

If you like to keep track of how much memory and CPU is being used at any given time, give the CPU Meter gadget a try

Note: The CPU Meter gadget is available for Windows Vista in addition to Windows 7.

Pros

Included by default with Windows 7 and Windows Vista
Very attractive display
Simple to use

Cons

Supports only one CPU
No advanced configurations whatsoever

Description

The CPU Meter gadget provides a live reading of CPU and Memory usage.
Minimal configuration makes it an uncomplicated gadget - both a pro and a con.
CPU Meter is included by default in any Windows 7 or Windows Vista installation.

Guide Review - CPU Meter Gadget

I like the CPU Meter gadget for probably very obvious reasons - it works well, it looks good, and it's included with Windows 7. It's the only system utility gadget included with Windows so it's no surprise that it tracks CPU and memory use.