Windows Vista introduced RSS support which included the Common Feed List. This list of RSS feeds is built whenever a news feed is subscribed to with Internet Explorer. The list is shared with some Windows Sidebar gadgets, and Outlook 2007…

The Microsoft created Windows Sidebar gadget already has a list of Microsoft related RSS Feeds, but no clear way to add RSS Feeds.

When an RSS feed is added in Internet Explorer the Windows Sidebar gadget will show the new feed in the list. To add a feed use Internet Explorer to go to a web page that has the link for the RSS feed, and click the Feeds button to view the feeds on the page.

Once the news feed page loads you can click the link in the upper left corner to Subscribe to this feed. Now you’ll see the feed in the Windows Sidebar RSS gadget.

To remove an RSS news feed from the Common Feed List, which will also remove the feed from the Windows Sidebar RSS gadget, click the Favorites icon on the Internet Explorer tool bar or use the shortcut keys Alt+C.

Now click the Microsoft Feeds folder to expand it, and remove those plus any other feeds you want to remove. If you click on the feed it will allow you to view it. Once you add a feed you’ll want to change some of the settings, so right click the feed and choose properties.

The default update schedule is to check for new updates every 24 hours. Click settings and change the time to every 1 hour, which is the default for most other programs that handle RSS feeds. With the every hour setting you won’t be stuck reading yesterday’s news every day.

If you’re going to use a news reader choose something more robust like Outlook 2007, or Omega Pro which is free. Click here to download Omega. Click here to see how to setup Outlook 2007 for an RSS news feed.

If you’re using Windows Sidebar with all its nifty gadgets, but it doesn’t start when you reboot or startup your computer you’ll need to adjust your settings. If you need help figuring out how to start the Windows Sidebar click here. Once Windows Sidebar is running, right click on the side bar and choose Properties.

Now check the Start Sidebar when Windows starts selection, click OK and you’re done.

The Windows Sidebar Properties windows allows for some other handy features, such as displaying the sidebar on another monitor, if you’re lucky enough to be using more than one.

Whether you’re at the office, on the road, or at home, everyone can benefit from a to-do list. If you’re using Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, then you already have access to an integrated to-do list, which integrates with a calendar as well. Those who don’t have Outlook 2007 can use either the Google sidebar, or the Windows Vista Sidebar.

Google Sidebar

To add the to-do list gadget to the Google sidebar right-click the sidebar, and choose Add gadgets.

A nicely organized window pops-up. There is search feature to look for either todo or to-do. I found one created by Google.

The to-do list is very simple. Checking the box means the task has been completed. If you wanted to create a time stamped list, simply type a date or time before each item on the list. If an item is too long you either have to widen the sidebar, or hover your mouse over the item. I’d prefer it wrapped the text, and showed it on the next line.

Right clicking a gadget gives additional options.

Windows Vista Sidebar

To add the to-do list gadget to the Windows Vista sidebar right-click the sidebar, and choose Add Gadgets.

A window pops-up with only a few gadgets. Microsoft wants you to visit their gadget site, so click the Get more gadgets online in the bottom right corner of the window.

Once on the gadgets page type in either todo or to-do in the search box and click Gallery.

Once you’ve found the right gadget click Download, and follow the directions. You can easily remove installed gadgets later. One interesting to-do list gadget integrates with Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, and even lets you know if you don’t have it installed. This gadget may also allow you to organize tasks according to calendar dates for a nice appointment calendar, which none of the other to-do lists can, but I didn’t explore this gadget any further myself. If you search for appointment there are several Outlook gadgets available.

There are a couple of more to-do list gadgets which operate similar to the Google to-do list gadget, and do not require Outlook to be installed.

Both to-do list gadgets allow you to create a list, and have similar features to the Google to-list gadget, but the one on the left stood out. The to-list on the left allows long tasks to word wrap so you can see the whole thing, plus it crosses out completed tasks. Obviously whoever designed the gadget on the left was more concerned with making the gadget easy to use, as well as convenient.

In case there are prying eyes, such as when you are using your laptop at Starbucks, or some other Hotspot, the left to-do list gadget above has the option to change the opacity down to 20%.

Right click on the to-do list gadget, and choose 20%. Now it’s almost invisible. Too bad there isn’t an option to autocomplete tasks.

It may seem obvious, but some people have written asking how to start or restart their Windows sidebar, and Google sidebar.

For the Windows sidebar you have two options. You can either go left-click the windows button in the bottom left corner of your screen, then click run, and type either sidebar, or sidebar.exe, and click OK …

or you can left-click the windows button in the bottom left corner of your screen –> All Programs –> Accessories –> then Windows Sidebar.

To start or restart the Google sidebar left-click the windows button in the bottom left corner of your screen –> All Programs –> Google Desktop –> then Google Desktop Sidebar.

Side gadgets are very useful, but they can take up a lot of space. You can run sidebar gadgets on the desktop without the sidebar. To get your gadgets to run on the desktop simply left-click the gadget, and drag it onto the desktop. That’s it. You can move the gadget around, or you can even right click and configure the options and close it. After you’ve moved your gadgets off the sidebar minimize the sidebar with a left-click (if it is Google sidebar),

or right-click anywhere on the sidebar, and left-click on close the sidebar (if it is Windows sidebar).

The Google sidebar, and Windows sidebar, both have nice gadgets, but you might find some you like with one, and some you like with the other. You can both sidebars at the same time, but it’s a little tricky. First click the windows button at the bottom left corner of your screen –> All Programs –> Google Desktop –> Google Desktop Sidebar. Activate any gadgets you want, then drag them to the desktop, and minimize the Google sidebar.

To start the Windows sidebar left-click the windows button at the bottom left corner of your screen, and then Run. Type in sidebar or sidebar.exe, and click OK.

Activate any gadgets you want, then drag them to the desktop, and finally right-click on the Windows sidebar, then left-click on Close Sidebar. There will be a small icon in the tray where the Windows sidebar can be maximized.

Now you have your Google and Windows gadgets running on the desktop at the same time.

To bring the gadgets forward you can press the shift key twice for Google, and the shortcut keys Win + Space for Window.

If you maximize the Google sidebar while the Windows gadgets or sidebar are currently running you will see a message that requires you to essentially choose Google’s sidebar or Windows sidebar. Google should really disable this anti-competitive feature, as Microsoft has in their sidebar. If you close one or the other sidebar accidentally, just exit both, and follow the directions above.

Although the Yahoo sidebar gadgets were not covered here, the directions for running Yahoo desktop gadgets alongside others, probably still applies.