<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
Gadgets	I-Application
are	O
lightweight	O
single-purpose	O
applications	B-Application
,	O
or	O
software	B-Application
widgets	I-Application
,	O
that	O
can	O
sit	O
on	O
a	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Windows	I-Application
user	O
's	O
computer	O
desktop	O
,	O
or	O
are	O
hosted	O
on	O
a	O
web	O
page	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
it	O
will	O
be	O
possible	O
for	O
the	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
gadgets	B-Application
to	O
run	O
on	O
different	O
environments	O
without	O
modification	O
,	O
but	O
this	O
is	O
currently	O
not	O
the	O
case	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
gadgets	B-Application
and	O
the	O
Windows	O
desktop	O
Sidebar	O
were	O
a	O
hallmark	O
feature	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
editions	O
of	O
the	O
operating	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequently	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
deemed	O
them	O
to	O
be	O
security	O
vulnerabilities	O
and	O
discontinued	O
developing	O
and	O
providing	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Gadgets	I-Application
,	O
which	O
were	O
no	O
longer	O
available	O
by	O
the	O
time	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
and	O
10	B-Operating_System
rolled	O
out	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Independent	O
third	O
party	O
gadgets	B-Application
like	O
Rainmeter	B-Application
continue	O
to	O
be	O
developed	O
and	O
provided	O
for	O
later	O
versions	O
of	O
Windows	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	B-Application
gadgets	I-Application
can	O
also	O
work	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
XP	I-Application
Service	O
Pack	O
3	O
but	O
it	O
needs	O
Alky	O
for	O
Applications	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	O
gadgets	B-Application
-	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
web	O
site	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Bing.com	O
or	O
Spaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sidebar	B-Application
gadgets	I-Application
-	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
desktop	O
or	O
be	O
docked	O
onto	O
,	O
run	O
on	O
the	O
Windows	O
Sidebar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SideShow	O
gadgets	B-Application
-	O
run	O
on	O
auxiliary	O
external	O
displays	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
on	O
the	O
outside	O
of	O
a	O
laptop	O
or	O
even	O
on	O
an	O
LCD	O
panel	O
in	O
a	O
keyboard	O
,	O
and	O
potentially	O
mobile	O
phones	O
and	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Building	O
off	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
start.com	O
experimental	O
page	O
,	O
Live.com	O
can	O
be	O
customized	O
with	O
Web	O
Gadgets	B-Application
,	O
mini-applications	O
that	O
can	O
serve	O
almost	O
any	O
purpose	O
(	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
gadgets	B-Application
integrate	O
with	O
other	O
Windows	O
Live	O
services	O
,	O
including	O
Mail	O
,	O
Search	O
,	O
and	O
Favorites	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
can	O
create	O
multiple	O
site	O
tabs	O
and	O
customize	O
each	O
with	O
different	O
feeds	O
,	O
gadgets	B-Application
,	O
layouts	O
,	O
and	O
color	O
schemes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	B-Application
gadgets	I-Application
are	O
desktop	O
widgets	O
;	O
small	O
specialized	O
applications	B-Application
that	O
are	O
generally	O
designed	O
to	O
do	O
simple	O
tasks	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
clocks	O
,	O
calendars	O
,	O
RSS	O
notifiers	O
or	O
search	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
can	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
control	O
external	O
applications	B-Application
such	O
as	O
Windows	B-Device
Media	I-Device
Center	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
panel	O
,	O
or	O
sidebar	O
,	O
is	O
found	O
on	O
either	O
the	O
right	O
side	O
(	O
default	O
)	O
or	O
the	O
left	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	O
desktop	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gadgets	B-Application
can	O
be	O
placed	O
on	O
this	O
sidebar	O
,	O
and	O
they	O
are	O
automatically	O
aligned	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gadgets	B-Application
can	O
also	O
be	O
placed	O
elsewhere	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
,	O
which	O
generally	O
causes	O
them	O
to	O
expand	O
and	O
display	O
more	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
,	O
the	O
sidebar	O
is	O
removed	O
,	O
although	O
gadgets	B-Application
can	O
somewhat	O
similarly	O
be	O
aligned	O
on	O
any	O
side	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gadgets	B-Application
are	O
toggled	O
between	O
the	O
two	O
sizes	O
via	O
a	O
button	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
7	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	O
SideShow	O
is	O
a	O
new	O
technology	O
that	O
lets	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
drive	O
small	O
auxiliary	O
displays	O
of	O
various	O
form	O
factors	O
,	O
offering	O
bite-size	O
pieces	O
of	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SideShow	O
is	O
coupled	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Vista	I-Application
Sidebar	O
capability	O
–	O
that	O
is	O
,	O
Sidebar	B-Application
Gadgets	I-Application
are	O
easily	O
ported	O
to	O
be	O
compatible	O
with	O
SideShow	O
secondary	O
display	O
applications	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
hardware	O
and	O
silicon	O
providers	O
can	O
also	O
provide	O
native	O
capabilities	O
to	O
allow	O
for	O
richer	O
multimedia	O
applications	B-Application
such	O
as	O
text	O
,	O
image	O
,	O
audio	O
and	O
video	O
decode	O
/	O
playback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
Gadgets	B-Application
were	O
discontinued	O
because	O
they	O
have	O
"	O
serious	O
vulnerabilities	O
"	O
,	O
"	O
could	O
be	O
exploited	O
to	O
harm	O
your	O
computer	O
,	O
access	O
your	O
computer	O
's	O
files	O
,	O
show	O
you	O
objectionable	O
content	O
,	O
or	O
change	O
their	O
behavior	O
at	O
any	O
time	O
"	O
;	O
and	O
"	O
an	O
attacker	O
could	O
even	O
use	O
a	O
gadget	O
to	O
take	O
complete	O
control	O
of	O
your	O
PC	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gadgets	B-Application
were	O
completely	O
removed	O
in	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
.	O
</s>
