For those who know me, I have a varied number of interests- having started at Microsoft in developer tools before transitioning to digital media platforms, and then consumer technologies in Windows.  About six months ago, I heard about a team that was working on adding "cool" new features into Windows Vista.  The team was hiring so I started kicking tires and today, I'm a Senior Program Manager on the team.

Things are crazy here at PDC but Bill Gates just demo'd what I've been working on most recently: Windows Sidebar.  It's back, but it never really went away, just out of the public view.  What's more is that it's just one of the things our team is working on -others to be announced later.  Given how busy we are here- I'm going to lift Steve "Furrygoat" Makofsky's most recent post.

Now that it's been revealed in the PDC Keynote, I can finally start to talk about one of the projects that our team has been working on. Yes, it's the Windows Sidebar.

So, what exactly are Gadgets? Offically, "Gadgets are a new category of mini-application for the Windows Desktop and the Web. Windows Sidebar is the container for Gadgets on the Windows desktop in Windows Vista. Web Gadgets can also be built for rich, dynamic sites like Start.com."

Unoffically? Well, I'll be posting a lot more on that in the coming weeks. :)

It's really a great feeling to finally see all of the blood, sweat and tears finally make the light of day. The team behind Windows Sidebar is really small, and I can easily say that it's been pretty inspiring to work with such a passionate group of people. Windows Sidebar will be available for developers 'around Beta 2', but in the mean time check out http://www.microsoftgadgets.com (it should be up today).

I've also set up a new "gadgets" category to talk about building Gadgets for the Windows Sidebar, so please feel free to send over any questions, thoughts, comments, etc and I'll see what I can do to either answer them here, or get them into the FAQ.

Finally, did you notice at the beginning of the post, I mentioned that Windows Sidebar was only one of the projects we're working on....... (more coming soon)....

Update: Shawn has posted on Windows Sidebar as well.

But Windows Sidebar is just a part of the story.  Gadgets are available for Web, Windows Desktop, and Devices.  No one else is doing that. Check out www.microsoftgadgets.com for the skinny on Gadgets- more details to come soon.

Update: Comments aren't working yet on www.MicrosoftGadgets.com