Network Meter

Network Meter

Wondering about the speed of your desktop’s Ethernet connection, or the signal strength of the Wi-Fi hotspot you’re connected to? Network Meter presents that and much more without taking up too much of your screen. You can even enlarge this gadget on high-resolution displays, so you can determine your current download speed without squinting.

Clipboard Manager

Clipboard Manager

If you find yourself pasting the same sets of text over and over again, Clipboard Manager will save you a lot of time. All your copied text is organized in a tiny list. Selecting what should appear when you press Ctrl+V or select Paste in your text editor’s menu is as easy as clicking on a block of text.

All CPU Meter

All CPU Meter

There are tons of CPU info Gadgets out there. Many copies of Vista and 7 even come with one pre-installed. But All CPU Meter stands out because of its support for even the most multifaceted CPU in existence. Even if your PC somehow runs on a 24-core processor, this gadget can tell you how each core is performing, and you can expand the Gadget at any time for detailed information.

Desktop Weather Gadget

WeatherBug

Of all the weather-based Gadgets out there, WeatherBug takes up the most space but it does so with good reason. The gadget provides complete current and forecasted weather information through understandable visuals. Users can even choose which weather server the Gadget will pull the data from.
 

Digital Clock

Digital Clock

What's the difference between this Digital Clock gadget and the swarm of fancy visual clock gadgets out there? A high degree of configurability. Numerous time and date formats, uptime display, a configurable date countdown, up to 5 different alarm slots, and configurable color readouts are among the many features of this neat clock gadget.

Stopwatch Gadget

Stopwatch Gadget

 

 

 

A simple desktop stopwatch gadget, this tool allows you to start a stopwatch timer, or set your own configurable countdown timer. It's not particularly fancy, and doesn't support things like having multiple countdowns or a simultaneous stopwatch and countdown running, but it does the job.

Currency Meter

Currency Meter

Currency Meter can monitor up to 6 of 149 different world currencies, as well as gold, palladium, platinum, and silver. The default check time is 10 minutes, which can be dialed down to as little as a minute, and price charts and configurable alerts are also included as features.

Stock Meter

Stock Meter

Stock Meter is a desktop gadget for monitoring up to 6 stocks, mutual funds, indices, or ETFs. By default, the gadget checks every 10 minutes, but you can reduce the check-in time to as little as a minute. Price graphs and configurable audio alerts for price thresholds round out the features.

Windows 7 Gadgets: App Launcher

App Launcher

Even though Microsoft withdrew official support for Gadgets on Windows 7, they're still a great way to always have useful information at hand. You can keep tabs on CPU or hard drive performance, launch apps more quickly, do unit conversions, see the weather at a glance and more. Because Gadgets take up system resources, you'll want to be selective about what you download. So comb our list of the 25 best Windows Gadgets to find some options that will appeal to you.

Editors' Note: After Microsoft withdrew support for Gadgets, the Windows Gadget gallery was pulled, so it's difficult to find a neat clearing house to accredit Gadgets as safe. As a result, it's best to be cautious about where you get Gadgets from. Gadgets are as powerful as they are is because they have deep access to your system. Malicious code in a Gadget can truly wreak havoc.