Windows 10 Redstone to Bring Back Desktop Gadgets

Windows Vista was heavily criticized for being a bloated operating system which utilized far too many system resources. Whether this was down to poor programming, or embedded services remains to be seen. Nevertheless, Vista has a terrible reputation and a low point in Microsoft’s history. Some of you might remember, the gadgets bar which contained a whole host of intriguing add-on including weather reports and system diagnostics. While these additions looked pretty, they impacted on performance and increased RAM utilization. However, that’s not to say the gadgets bar was a rubbish idea and Microsoft allowed the end-user to enable this functionality in Windows 7.

On the other hand, this feature was disabled in Windows 10, probably due to Microsoft’s Store and integrating applications into the Start Menu. The Windows ethos has always revolved around choice, and I’m pretty sure there’s many users out there who like to see widgets/gadgets on their desktop. That’s why I’m confused by their omission in Windows 10. Despite this, Microsoft appears to be listening to user-feedback, and preparing a huge update called Redstone. We don’t know exactly what this update will entail, but early indications show the resurgence of desktop gadgets. Instead of being locked to one corner, it seems the gadgets menu is more compact. Theoretically, it’s designed to quickly access essential tools or check system parameters. Clearly, Microsoft is planning a substantial update and it will be interesting to see what Redstone brings to the table.