As of August 10, 2006, the US (English) version of Live.com no longer directs users to this site and instead redirects to the newly launched Windows Live Gallery. Please submit your gadget to the Windows Live Gallery site today so Live.com users can continue to add your gadget to their homepage. For more information on the transition to Windows Live Gallery including details on a special offer, click here.
Users and developers outside of US (English):
You can continue to use both Microsoft Gadgets and Windows Live Gallery to add items to your Live.com page. Check out Windows Live Gallery (currently US, UK, and AU English only) for gadgets and other cool things to personalize your Windows Live and PC experiences.
Please stay tuned for more information about availability of Windows Live Gallery in your country and language.
Hinweis für alle Teilnehmer am deutschen Gadget Contest:
Bitte nutzen Sie weiterhin die Upload-Möglichkeit hier auf MicrosoftGadgets.com, um mit Ihrem Gadget am deutschen Entwicklerwettbewerb teilnehmen zu können. Vielen Dank!
posted
Friday, August 11, 2006 7:20 PM
by
ErikPorter
with
We are excited to announce the beta release of the new Windows Live Gallery site!
It’s your one-stop shop for all the great Gadgets, add-ins, and extensions to customize
and personalize Windows Live products and services, and Windows Sidebar, too.
What’s here for you:
- Fast and easy browsing and searching
- Read reviews and post ratings and reviews
- Subscribe to RSS feeds to stay up-to-date with the latest additions to the site
But don’t worry; you can download Gadgets and Search Macros at both Microsoft Gadgets
and Windows Live Gallery. The Gadgets and Macros you get from Microsoft Gadgets
will still work on your Live.com page and Windows Sidebar.
We hope you find the Windows Live Gallery a great place to discover and share Gadgets
and other cool creations. Let us know what you think (clicking the Feedback link
on the Windows Live Gallery) of the new site and tell your friends and family to
check it out at http://gallery.live.com.
The Microsoft Gadgets and Windows Live Gallery teams
Are you a Developer? Click here to find out more.
posted
Monday, July 24, 2006 5:17 PM
by
AdamKinney
with
We have just updated the Windows Live Gadget SDK for June. For the most part, this is just a minor release. Changes in this update includes the following:
- Added Developer's Checklist that enumerates items that well-written Gadgets should comply with.
- Updated guidance on adding icons for Gadgets to reflect changes to the Live.com site. Images for Gadget icons should be in .GIF format instead of .PNG format.
- All images in samples have been updated to use .GIF format.
- Added more information in the Avoiding Memory Leaks section of the Developer's Guide.
- Added a new section on how to Disable Caching in IE in the Developer's Guide.
Please let us know if you have any feedback!
thanks,
James Lau
posted
Monday, June 26, 2006 7:18 PM
by
James Lau
with
I posted on the Live Gadget forum a couple of days ago about Using transparent GIF over transparent PNG (see post here). I thought I would publicize it a little more on this blog.
We have recently released a workaround for a bug in IE6 where image filters for PNG can cause a hang on the Live.com site. This IE bug is already fixed in IE7, but we still needed to workaround it to make sure the site works properly for IE6.
To understand the problem, here is an explanation from the IE team (thanks Peter Gurevich!):
- Each IE 6 window is a UI thread.
- The HTML page and any script you written for the page run in the UI thread. Therefore filters in your page or in script will download on the UI thread
- IE’s implementation of the AlphaImageLoader filter downloads images synchronously
- Synchronous loading of an image or successive images on the UI thread has the potential to hang the browser and adversely affect the user experience.
Our workaround is to stop applying transparent image filters to PNG. As a result, your transparent PNG will not look as great as it used to. I would encourage you to change to using transparent GIF moving forward.
Sorry for the inconvenience - the SDK will be updated with this new info in our next release.
Thanks!
James Lau
posted
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 3:48 PM
by
James Lau
with
Those of you who have downloaded IE7 Beta or Beta 2 knows that IE7 actually makes life more difficult for you as a Gadget developer. This is because previous builds of IE7 has very strict cross-domain XMLHttpRequest restrictions, so you will not be able to run your Gadget while hosting it on localhost. That's actually one of the reasons why I ended up uninstalling IE7 on my developer box.
Here is the good news: I have spoken with the IE team recently, and they have confirmed that the cross-domain XMLHttpRequest restriction model has been reverted to the same model as IE6 since they shipped the last public Beta. So Gadget developers will be able to continue to debug and test their Gadgets while having it hosted locally. I think this is really good news for Gadget developers and I am excited to share this news with you!
Thanks!
James Lau
posted
Monday, June 05, 2006 5:34 PM
by
James Lau
with
I am very excited to bring you the first public release of the Windows Live Gadget SDK today! You can start using this SDK right now to build Gadgets that run on Live.com.
Since the initial Beta launch of Live.com in November 2005, we have added a lot of enhancements to the site to enhance the end-user experience. We know that the performance is poor right now, and our team is currently working feverishly to improve that.
But as many features as we are adding to Live.com, the site is still very much a Gadget platform for you developers out there to build on. We rely on you to build rich and interesting Live Gadgets that we haven't thought of, and to build a strong ecosystem around this platform. Live.com is still in Beta today, but it promises to be one of the most popular Internet destinations when we launch.
Although we are releasing the SDK today, the Gadget platform and APIs are still changing. And we want to listen to your ideas and feedback to help us build a better platform. Some of the things that we know we need to work on are:
- Unified Gadget model - we want to enable developers to write a Gadget once and have it run on both Vista Sidebar and on the web, maybe even in other environments.
- Allow 3rd party gadgets to change header and footer - today, all 3rd party Gadgets are hosted within and iframe and do not have access to the title, title icon and footer.
- Make calling web services easier - this is self-explanatory.
- Better Settings model - there is no standard way to do settings today for 3rd party Gadgets. We would like to move to a more declarative model.
- Better Localization model - we provide API for you to find out the query the current locale but we don't provide much other support otherwise. This is not a big problem for most Gadgets, but it would be nice for more advanced Gadgets.
I can probably think of 5 or 6 others, but I'd rather have you tell me what you think are the important things you want to see. I can't promise that we will do all of them, but it will definitely influence our direction and investments. Anyway, enough babbling from me. I hope you will have fun building Windows Live Gadgets!
Thanks!
- James
posted
Thursday, May 25, 2006 11:40 PM
by
James Lau
with
Its here! The new documentation for SideBar Gadgets for Windows Vista Beta 2. Linked in the
Build section you'll find the
SideBar Gadget Development Overview and the
Sidebar Gadget Object Model.
posted
Thursday, May 25, 2006 5:25 PM
by
AdamKinney
with
Charles posted "Scoble recently caught up with Sriram Viji, Program Manager, and Dan Polivy, Software Developer, on the Windows Vista Sideshow team. What's Windows Vista Sideshow? Watch and find out.
"
posted
Friday, May 19, 2006 1:12 PM
by
AdamKinney
with
James Lau posted "Hey Live Gadget Developers!
We have just created this blog to talk about Windows Live Gadget development. On MicrosoftGadgets.com, there is currently a single Gadget blog. This is slightly confusing, because it implies that there is only a single type Gadgets. Right now, some folks are confused because we overload the term "Gadget". There are at least 3 types of Gadgets...
"
posted
Thursday, May 18, 2006 11:40 PM
by
AdamKinney
with
Tina and Laura over at on10.net have just run a segment on
Windows SideShow.
posted
Thursday, May 11, 2006 2:09 PM
by
AdamKinney
with
You can register to view the recorded MSDN Webcast on writing gadgets for Windows SideShow. If you have not done this before, you will need to register for the webcasts - a pretty straightforward process.
MSDN Architecture Webcast: Using Windows SideShow (Level 200)
Start Time: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 10:00 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time
End Time: Wednesday, April 05, 2006 11:00 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time
Originally from: http://blogs.msdn.com/sideshow/archive/2006/04/05/568996.aspx
posted
Friday, April 07, 2006 5:24 PM
by
ErikPorter
with
I'm happy to announce that Yousef El-Dardiry has won our MIX06 Gadget Contest, including airfare, hotel accomodations and a ticket into MIX06! Yousef's Gadget is really cool and allows you to chat and play MSN Activities with other people right from Live.com.
Very cool and congratulations! Thanks to everyone who participated in our contest.
The MIX06 ReMix Contest winners have also been announced!
-Erik Porter
posted
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 8:24 PM
by
ErikPorter
with
Windows SideShow Team Blog says "Wilson Rothman has covered Windows SideShow in What's Next In Gadgets for TIME Magazine. This image showcases a prototype detachable device for Windows SideShow that can be popped out of the laptop lid and carried around for quick access to data and possibly your music library."
Original Post
posted
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 7:00 PM
by
ErikPorter
with
Today is a big day – the first public release of Windows Sidebar is available as part of the Windows Vista February Community Technology Preview (CTP)! The entire team has been charging hard to make this happen and we’re looking forward to your feedback on this exciting feature and platform. After you have taken Windows Sidebar and gadgets for a test drive, try your hand at developing your own gadgets. We’ve posted the Windows Sidebar SDK and a sample tutorial to help get you started creating your own gadgets. Remember that this is a preliminary release, so the Windows Sidebar APIs are subject to change. Please send feedback or any bug reports to: gadgetfb@microsoft.com Due to the expected volume of responses, we can’t guarantee a response to all submissions, but we do value everyone’s input and look forward to hearing from you!
- The Sidebar Team
Update: The email address was incorrect, and has now been changed. Thanks!
posted
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 6:13 PM
by
ErikPorter
with
UPDATE: This contest is now over. Check out the winner here.
Want to mix the next web at the MIX conference hosted by Microsoft? Interested in building Gadgets for Live.com? Want to attend MIX for free?
In the spirit of the MIX conference, we are having a contest to see who can build the best MIXed up Gadget. To get started building Gadgets check out our Gadget Builder Depot. Each Gadget submission must contain data from 2 or more data sources anywhere on the internet and publicly accessible. Here’s what you need to do to enter:
- Write your gadget for Live.com. If you need help, you can read the getting started documentation or connect with your peers in our forum.
- Review the official rules.
- Submit your gadget to our Gallery, making sure you supply a screenshot (300px) and thumbnail (80 pixels) for your gadget.
The entries will be judged by both design and functionality. The winner will receive a trip for 1 to attend the Mix06 Conference in Las Vegas, NV, March 20-22. Trip includes a $1000.00 (USD) airfare voucher, 3 night standard hotel accommodations, and entrance into the Mix06 Conference.
Good luck!
-Erik Porter
* Open to software development and design enthusiasts who are 18 years or older at the time of entry; however, residents of the following countries are ineligible to participate: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria.
posted
Sunday, January 29, 2006 8:00 PM
by
ErikPorter
with