KEY POINTS:
What is a sidebar gadget?
Think of it as keeping one eye on a clock in the room while you're doing something else. The nzherald.co.nz sidebar gadget is a fun and useful way for you to keep an eye on the news during the day. The beauty
of it is you can easily glance at that information coming in but it doesn't interfere with what else you're doing. Instead of having to hit the refresh button on your browser to see if there is updated news on the nzherald.co.nz, you can relax, knowing this little software application called a sidebar gadget at the side of your screen will keep you in touch with the day's biggest stories.
What is special about it?
Here is the really exciting thing: it's not words coming in announcing the latest news headlines like the scrawling ticker you see at the bottom of 24 hour news channels like CNN - it's pictures. You'll enjoy watching the nzherald.co.nz sidebar gadget on your computer screen because it displays photos from the Herald site. When you roll your computer mouse over one of the photos, you'll see the headline of the story it relates to. It's easy. Just click on the photo and you'll be able to read the relevant story from the NZ Herald site!
Who can get it?
Because it's such ground-breaking technology you need the new just-released Microsoft Windows upgrade called Vista. You can read more about Vista by clicking this link. If you have any other Windows operating system or a Mac OS, unfortunately it won't work. If you do have Vista, you can go to the Microsoft site from Friday February 2 to download the nzherald.co.nz sidebar gadget. We are introducing our gadget in the same week that Vista is launched to offer you an innovative way to keep up with the news. Some of you may not be ready to upgrade your Windows just yet but when you do update to Vista sometime in the future, remember to come back and grab your nzherald.co.nz gadget. And if you haven't got Vista yet, you can still check out the pictures attached to this story to see what it looks like.
Why is it cool?
Because we are all getting swamped with information and need to organise it better. "Tabbed browsing" has become the norm for new browsers like Internet Explorer 7. Tabbed browsing means you are able to open up and view a number of websites on your screen at the same time. A "gadget" is another approach. It's a way you can easily view incoming information while you surf a website. You will find this approach the way of the future. You may have already seen TV sets that enable you to see a second channel in a corner of the screen so you can keep an eye on two channels at once and avoid missing something you would like to see. The gadget works in the same way.
Is it hard to set up?
Not at all. It's been designed so that putting it on your computer is very simple. Just click on the gadget download link here, then click the link to open the gadget, and finally click install. To learn more about the Vista Sidebar Gadgets hit the Gadget info link here.
How much is the service?
We're pleased to tell you it's free! So why not try it?
Does it alter the computer's performance?
The nzherald.co.nz sidebar gadget is not a large program. In fact, it's very lightweight in terms of its file size. Obviously you have to be connected to the internet so that the gadget can bring you the information.