Adam Kinney posts tagged with 'gadgets'

Silverlight Sidebar Gadgets on Windows Vista 64-bit edition

Adam Kinney — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 23:03:00 GMT

At this time (version 2 Beta 1), in the life of Silverlight there is no 64-bit support. I'm not certain if or when 64-bit support will appear, but I don't think Vista 64-bit users should go without Silverlight. And the good news is they don't have to.

In most cases, running Silverlight applications should not be an issue. IE7 and Firefox run in 32-bit mode by default allowing Silverlight to run as expected.

A different scenario which needs some attention is Sidebar Gadgets that use Silverlight. The Windows Sidebar application (sidebar.exe) runs by default in 64-bit mode and in order to use a Silverlight-based gadget you need to run sidebar.exe in 32-bit mode.

You can do this simply by closing the default Sidebar and navigating to C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Sidebar and double-clicking sidebar.exe. Now you can successfully run the new Channel 9 gadget or Xbox Friends Watch in your sidebar and enjoy knowing what the latest C9 video or or when your Xbox friends are online.

If you're happy with the results, you can make sure the 32-bit version of Sidebar is added to your system startup by following the step below:

If you are still running the 64-bit Sidebar, right-click the Sidebar and select Properties.
Uncheck the Start Sidebar when Windows starts option and hit OK
Open C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Sidebar in Windows Explorer
Right-click sidebar.exe and select Copy
Right-click the Windows Orb and select Explore
In Windows Explorer navigate to the folder entitled ..Programs/Startup
Right-click in the folder and select Paste Shortcut

Lots of good Gadget feedback

Adam Kinney — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 08:04:00 GMT

Wow, so much feedback on the Xbox Friends Watch Gadget its crazy. Major Nelson did end up posting a link to the gadget (thanks Duncan) and the flood gates opened. 47 comments so far on my post, 120 comments on Major Nelson's, 1,388 views on the demo screencast on Channel 9 and according to my server logs it appears the gadget has been downloaded 2,471 times.

That's awesome.

But what's not awesome is the gadget doesn't run too well. I originally wrote it as a demo for a presentation and it's the first sidebar gadget I have written. I don't want all of this momentum to go to waste though, especially since the gadget appears like it could be really useful to a lot of people. My plan is to work on an update that will cover a few of the major bugs/feature requests.

Performance - The JavaScript was never optimized and I need to look into the best practices for running with in the Sidebar.
Error Handling - another missing important piece. Currently the render will fail on a Gamer who is in private mode.
More than 5 Friends - One person posted a hack to resize the gadget by changing the html, but I think in docked mode a scrollable list would be best. Then in undocked mode, I'd like to show at at least twice the height, still adding the scroll functionality.
Access to the gadget right-click menu - most requested for opacity.
and Custom Colors - if everything else goes smoothly (crosses fingers)

And now to address a FAQs:

It doesn't work on 64-bit Vista?
Unfortunately Silverlight does not provide 64-bit support, but you can run the Sidebar in 32-bit mode if you want to use the gadget by following the instructions Shane posted in the comments.
Why Silverlight?
No it did not have to be Silverlight, but that was the original point of the demo. Not only am I a big fan of SIlverlight, but you will also find I am a bit biased due to my current position at Microsoft. Bias aside, I think Silverlight can work really well as the UI for Sidebar Gadgets.

Look for version 1.5 coming soon, I'll update the original post once its available.

XMLHttpRequest Sidebar Gadget starter

Adam Kinney — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 06:42:00 GMT

I spent some time working on a Sidebar Gadget tonight and I ran into some issues once I was ready to gather live data. Cross-domain XMLHttpRequests are permitted in Sidebar gadget, which certainly adds much more value and possibilities.

I found my bug and smashed it whole-heartedly, but I thought it would be nice to share the code for the XHRTest gadget that I was using while debugging. The code is just about the least amount of code you need to request an RSS feed and have it return the first item's title. So I won't be uploading the gadget to the gallery, but hopefully it may come in handy for someone starting their own Sidebar gadget. Plus this way I don't feel like I completely wasted all of that time debugging over and over...

And if you are interested in creating your own Sidebar Gadget, read through Jan Kucera's Practices and Hints for Gadgets.

Big Changes for MicrosoftGadgets.com including new forums

Adam Kinney — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 23:49:00 GMT

MicrosoftGadgets.com has completed its most recent metamorphisis today to a gadget builder's reference site. The forums have been locked as well as the gadget gallery. Doom and gloom for the gadgets community? No, not at all, in fact, it is a very good day for the gadget community.

We have created a new Forums group on MSDN Forums just for Gadgets, including seperate forums for Web Gadget Development and Sidebar Gadget Development. This is a good move for a couple of reasons; first if you're doing dev work with MS technologies there's a good chance you already visit the MSDN forums in some frequency already, now when you're there you can ask or read about Gadgets in the same place. Second, the MSDN Forums have more functionality centered around techincal support (Was this post useful?, Did you get your answer? Alerts, Abuse Report, etc.). And the third bonus is a greater presence of product team members to help.

Plus we have routed all newly created gadgets to be uploaded to Windows Live Gallery. There you can find support for all types of gadgets, greater international support and a better chance for non-devs to find and use your gadgets due to their better integration with the rest of Live.

The Build section has been updated with the latest developer information, including a new Sidebar Gadget Tutorial you may want to take a look at (direct link). Its definitely a good tool for getting started with your own Sidebar Gadget development.

MicrosoftGadgets.com and the Gadgets Community has grown along with me during my time at Microsoft, as it was one of the first non-Channel9 projects I worked on, and I'm happy to see it mature to this stage. From a little blog at PDC 2005 (with a lot of rowdy comments) to a community site Nov. 1st 2005 to a strong building block for the new sites for the Gadgets Community at large.

Now, I'm off to go make a couple of gadgets...

Sidebar gadget dev on Windows Vista RC1

Adam Kinney — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 20:17:00 GMT

I just noticed that the new documentation for developing Sidebar gadgets on Windows Vista RC1 is up and live on MSDN - Object Model Reference Dev Overview. I'm looking forward to working on some gadgets for Channel 9 and 10. A mini application using simple languages like JavaScript and HTML, and there are few limits to what the UI can look like (no browser chrome), should be fun.

Windows Live Gadget SDK now available!

Adam Kinney — Fri, 26 May 2006 16:05:00 GMT

This is some very exciting news, James Lau announces that the Live Gadgets SDK is now available! As a moderator of the MicrosoftGadgets forums, I've gone through the difficulty of trying to help early adopters adopt without an SDK. I think when Jeff and I first met James, he may have been shocked because we were just so excited to meet him. "So you're writing the SDK? Sweet!" This is really going to help developers understand how to leverage the platform that is Live.com. So now are you ready to develop Live Gadgets? (Yes, Jon, I'm talking to you...)

SideBar Gadget Documentation for Windows Vista Beta 2

Adam Kinney — Thu, 25 May 2006 22:12:00 GMT

Its here! The new documentation for SideBar Gadgets for Windows Vista Beta 2. Linked in the MSGadgets Build section you'll find the SideBar Gadget Development Overview and the Sidebar Gadget Object Model. I'm looking forward to spending some time making SideBar Gadgets. I don't think I'd be as excited if irregular shapes weren't supported. Transperancy is a good thing.

Build a gadget, win a trip to MIX06

Adam Kinney — Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:20:00 GMT

This is cool, on Microsoftgadgets.com we've upped the ante. Last time you three lucky people won Xbox 360s for the gadgets they created, this time you can win a trip to the MIX06 conference. The prize includes $1000 in airfare, admission to the conference and accommodation at the Venetian. Looking forward to seeing some awesome gadgets.

Only one winner this time as well, so give it all you got!

Debugging Gadgets

Adam Kinney — Sun, 22 Jan 2006 18:16:00 GMT

Mike Ormond, who's been hacking away at his UK MSDN Nugget Videos gadget, has been doing a good job of documenting his progress. Two valuable recent posts include, a debugging checklist and a walkthrough on how to debug your gadget in Visual Studio.

MicrosoftGadgets.com XBOX Contest Winners

Adam Kinney — Tue, 17 Jan 2006 21:38:00 GMT

On November 1st, we announced a Gadget contest on MicrosoftGadgets.com. Last night I was pleased to send congratulatory emails to our three winners. Thanks for the contributions guys, hope you enjoy your Xbox 360!

Donavon
Live Clock

Community rockstar
that set the standard

PopolDal
Xbox Live GamerTag

Multi-language
buddy List

Laurence Timms
Trackword

A classic from
a gadget pioneer