The Windows Sidebar, a standard feature of all mainstream Windows Vista versions, is a unique environment attached to the side of the Windows Vista desktop that hosts Web-like gadgets, or mini-applications. The Sidebar is designed to take advantage of unused onscreen real estate on today's widescreen displays, and most of the gadgets it provides are utility-like in nature and provide at-a-glance access to such things as the time, the date, and the weather. However, the Sidebar as we know today it is a far cry from Microsoft's original plans. And it is steeped in mystery and myth, owing its origins to long-forgotten experiments with PC user interface design.
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