Google Desktop Side Bar Replacement

September 19, 2012 7:37 AM

So Google Desktop has been discontinued for a while, and while I was able to rescue some gadgets after a reinstall I have a feeling that I need a replacement.

I saw this thread, but Konfabulator also seems to bed discontinued as well (plus I'm not sure it's exactly what I need).

The main thing I'm looking for is a sidebar that is always on screen, as opposed to on the desktop. Multi-monitor support/sending would be a plus, but by no means a requirement.

Widgets I need are:
gCal
Gmail
Some sort of notepad

Widgets I'd like are:
quick calc (the kind where you just type your calculations in)
volume
battery
cpu/ram
weather
launching arbitrary programs from icons (compact)

Features I don't need that GD had:
any sort of search or indexing
launching

Anyone have recommendations?

posted by pyro979 to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Also, is there maybe a utility that limits where the maximized window stops? That way I can use desktop gadgets, and just arrange them on the side of the desktop.
posted by pyro979 at 7:47 AM on September 19, 2012

Minibrowser ver. 0.7 is great for keeping snippits of webpages open using windows gadgets. I keep google to-do list and google calendar open on screen. Unfortunately it looks like www.minibrowser.info is down. Perhaps you can find it mirrored at a trustworthy site? Me-mail me if you need tips on tweaking it.
posted by Captain Chesapeake at 8:02 AM on September 19, 2012

You could look into Rainmeter, which is a desktop customization tool. Lots of people have developed themes that should be able to do the things you're asking. Lifehacker has some good tutorials on how to use it, too. So, a little bit of setup would be involved, but you'd be able to have exactly the widgets you wanted, nothing more, nothing less.
posted by bardophile at 8:29 AM on September 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Rainmeter is what you want. I don't know if there's something built into rainmeter to keep windows from covering the gadgets, but I've used a utility called sizer to keep my windows the size I want them for years.
posted by xyzzy at 10:46 AM on September 19, 2012 [1 favorite]

Oh, I'm sorry. I missed that you needed a solution for keeping things always on top. You could use the free version of Fences and MaxMax in tandem with Rainmeter to keep the widgets where you want them.
posted by bardophile at 11:29 AM on September 19, 2012