Posted by: Karl Smith on December 16, 2009

Google Sidebar Review

Google Sidebar requires Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP but there’s also a version for Linux and Mac computers.

To download visit: http://desktop.google.com

There are plenty of information on that site to show the features and so on. My review is that I like it. I already had the Vista Sidebar which is very similar to Google Sidebar.

Both have a Clock you know and both Sidebars allow you to add Gadgets. Gadgets are like extras. For example you can add an RSS Reader to your Sidebar, the Google Rss Reader which allows you to read RSS directly from your Desktop or some other RSS Reader, just right click on Sidebar and select Add Gagdets and you can search for many different Gadgets.

The same is true for Vista Sidebar, you can search for Gadgets.

(I did found out that the text in the Google Gadget called RSS reader is tiny and unreadable but still with a click you can go and read them online – so I like that Gadget a lot)

Google Sidebar is way cooler than Vista Sidebar, the clock is very cool and the Sidebar is kind of transparent – it does not bother me like Vista does sometimes.

I also have a tiny search box, exactly as I like it on the Google Sidebar, which allows me to search the Web Directly from the Desktop – or search the computer itself for files quickly. This is Google Desktop another Google product which is also FREE, and I was able to move this to the Sidebar.

This is how my desktop looks with the Google Sidebar, here’s a screenshot. Note that if I click on the Sidebar a very thin border appears – which dissapears if I don’t click on Sidebar – that is cool so the Sidebar those not bother you at all bascially.

The desktop has nothing on it because I have hidden everything by right clicking on Desktop then click View > Then click Hide Desktop Icons.

The Google Sidebar can be customized to suit your needs – there are Gadgets to help you if you work on your computer such as: To Do List, Quick Launch (that shows a list of recent files you opened) and much more.

If you just want to check Google Sidebar out to see if you can find something cool than it’s worth a look too. I suggest you check out the Gadgets you can put on your Sidebar before you download it so you can have a feel of what you can put on it from this link: http://desktop.google.com/plugins

That’s it, you can see from screenshot I have three Gadgets:
Clock
Rss Reader
Google Search Box

There are many options and features – a lot more than what I mentioned, you just need the will to investigate them to maybe find something interesting that suits your needs and your likes.

Thanks

Google Sidebar Review

Posted by: Karl Smith on December 9, 2009

This is an important note from me… I’ve checked out lots of different online security newsletters – the one at Microsoft which I receive every month is the BEST one.

I highly recommend you subscribe to Microsoft Newsletter, it’s FREE and you can subscribe at:

http://www.microsoft.com/protect/resources/newsletter.aspx

On that page you can also see a past issue.

Trust me, they provide really good tips about security online, related to spyware, viruses, spam and lots more that you should be aware of. Including protecting against fraud, and tutorials like how to buy online safely, how to identify scams… They use pictures and it’s fun not boring.

I think I have been a subscriber for more than a year now and each issue (I just got December issue right now) is well packed with great content. I felt I should recommend it to anyone on the Internet.

Happy Xmas