MetroSidebar — удобная боковая панель с живыми плитками
MetroSidebar — это интересное приложение, представляющее собой новую реализацию боковой панели Windows. В отличии от других похожих панелей, эта наделена функциональными живыми плитками (виджетами), инструментом для управления питанием компьютера, возможностью создания дополнительных «страниц» для размещения большого количества плиток.
Программа позволяет в реальном времени наблюдать за текущим системным или любым другим временем (можно добавить различные часовые пояса), погодой в своем регионе, слайдшоу из фотографий или слушать музыку, не используя какие-либо дополнительные приложения.
Крайне простой, интуитивно понятный интерфейс MetroSidebar не даст вам запутаться. Все плитки настраиваются так, как вам нужно: вы можете их переместить, поменять их цвет и вид. Если панель вам мешает, вы всегда сможете её скрыть, открывая только тогда, когда вам это нужно и по тому же принципу, что и системную панель SharmBar.
Стоит также отметить, что программа занимает достаточно мало места на жестком диске и использует относительно немного системных ресурсов. Также разработчиком предусмотрена функция автоматического обновления программы, что избавит вас от проверки и установки новых версий/обновлений вручную.
Приложение распространяется совершенно бесплатно, находится на ранней стадии разработки, на данный момент имеет только английскую локализацию и небольшое количество офлайновых «виджетов-плиток». Позже разработчиком будут добавлены другие языки для интерфейса, а также запущен онлайн-магазин виджетов, где вы сможете найти для себя что-то новое.
Metro Sidebar Is Windows 8 Style Sidebar For Windows 7
It has become clear that Windows 8 will have a new user interface called Metro after Microsoft demoed the product. There have been third-part development efforts to replicate this Metro user interface in Windows 7. We have been reviewing a lot of such third-party applications like Mosaic and Metro Clock. Recently, we found another such application called Metro Sidebar. It brings the Windows 8 Metro user interface in the form of a sidebar for Windows 7. This sidebar comes with five different colors (blue, red, black, orange and green), which can be changed manually to match your current wallpaper. The Sidebar contains shortcuts to your favorite browser (either, Firefox, Opera or Internet Explorer) and displays used, available and total capacity of your primary volume, time and date, user account picture, and operating system version. Metro Sidebar has been developed by the same developer who formerly brought us the Tweak IE9 application.
When you launch the Metro Sidebar setup, the installation wizard prompts you to select a browser and color for the sidebar. These options can also be changed later on by selecting Settings from the system tray. A shortcut to the selected browser is displayed on the sidebar and the selected color is applied to the sidebar background. To change the existing color being displayed, move the right/left arrow buttons. An additional option at the bottom also allows you to automatically start the sidebar at Windows startup.
Once the Sidebar is launched, it can be exited anytime by right-clicking on the system tray icon of Metro Sidebar and selecting Exit.
You can change the Metro Sidebar colors periodically to suit your existing wallpaper. It would have been better if the application automatically changed the sidebar colors according to the wallpaper for users who use rotating wallpapers in Windows 7. Having said that, it is worth mentioning here that this is only the first version of the application and we are likely to see more improvements to this sidebar in future versions.
Metro Sidebar works on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
MetroSidebar
Review
Free Download
specifications
Desktop sidebar that provides quick access to an alarm clock, weather forecast, power options, pictures, media player, custom app launcher and file opener, and more
MetroSidebar is a small-sized software utility designed to bring back to your desktop those colorful widgets of Windows Sidebar featured in Vista.
It enables you to access some common Windows tools and locations, as well as to create shortcuts to custom apps and files.
Installing this app is fast and easy. Worth mentioning is that it adds a new entry for itself to the Windows startup, and that it needs .NET Framework to run. System reboot is necessary to complete the setup.
Colorful desktop sidebar with multipurpose tiles
The sidebar is placed on the right side of your desktop and can be set to remain visible while you’re working with other apps, or to automatically hide when it’s not the active tool.
MetroSidebar comes bundled with a wide range of straightforward apps, and most of them are available online at the developer’s store. However, there are several local ones that should be to your liking too. These include a digital clock, the Bing search engine, weather forecast, system clock, battery meter and power buttons, and can be placed on the sidebar as tiles.
Create shortcuts for custom apps and files
A launcher provides shortcuts to some common Windows locations, such as Control Panel or My Computer. However, MetroSidebar gives you the possibility to edit their properties, replace them with new apps, or add new programs to launch or files to open.
Change settings and customize the layout
Various customization options are at your disposal, allowing you to remove MetroSidebar from Windows startup, lock the sidebar’s position, hide it, or keep it on top of other windows. Moreover, you can customize colors and the opacity of each individual tile as well as the entire desktop launcher, and arrange the tiles in any order you want in the sidebar.
Evaluation and conclusion
MetroSidebar runs on low system resources and, due to its auto-hide function, it doesn’t interfere with your daily computer activity. On the other hand, the program doesn’t sport more interesting customization options for seasoned users. For example, it’s not possible to create shortcuts to websites or select a different search engine than Bing. Nevertheless, you can test the app for yourself to see whether it meets your requirements or not.
For more information, make sure to check out our in-depth review for MetroSidebar 1.