Windows 7 desktop gadgets not working.

[KhunHeineken]

Bumping this thread because no point starting a new one. 

 

I am considering upgrading to Windows 10, and if I don't upgrade soon, I will be forced to upgrade in around 12 months time when they finish support for Windows 7, so either way I will be using Windows 10 in the future.   

 

I reference these desktop gadgets several times in an internet session.  Does Windows 10 have anything similar?

 

I know Microsoft shut down the desktop gadgets due to security problems, so I used third party gadgets.  They are just so handy to have on the desktop. 

 

I have 3 clocks for different continents, 5 currency rates, the weather in my hometown and present location, a calendar, and then I have some computer and network gadgets.  Really handy stuff.

 

If Windows 10 does not support desktop gadgets, are there any third party things that are similar.  

 

Or, does a move to Windows 10 mean desktop gadgets are gone forever?

[KneeDeep]

23 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Bumping this thread because no point starting a new one. 

 

I am considering upgrading to Windows 10, and if I don't upgrade soon, I will be forced to upgrade in around 12 months time when they finish support for Windows 7, so either way I will be using Windows 10 in the future.   

 

I reference these desktop gadgets several times in an internet session.  Does Windows 10 have anything similar?

 

I know Microsoft shut down the desktop gadgets due to security problems, so I used third party gadgets.  They are just so handy to have on the desktop. 

 

I have 3 clocks for different continents, 5 currency rates, the weather in my hometown and present location, a calendar, and then I have some computer and network gadgets.  Really handy stuff.

 

If Windows 10 does not support desktop gadgets, are there any third party things that are similar.  

 

Or, does a move to Windows 10 mean desktop gadgets are gone forever?

 

Up to you; https://8gadgetpack.net

 

[KhunHeineken]

11 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

 

Up to you; https://8gadgetpack.net

 

Ok, so you can still have these gadgets.

 

Is this using that Classic Shill thing to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7, or is this on the Windows 10 desktop?

[KneeDeep]

3 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

Ok, so you can still have these gadgets.

 

Is this using that Classic Shill thing to make Windows 10 look like Windows 7, or is this on the Windows 10 desktop?

Second

[KhunHeineken]

13 hours ago, KneeDeep said:

Second

Thanks for the link.

 

Despite Microsoft discontinuing desktop gadgets due to security issues, I've never had a problem with them, and use them all the time.

 

I don't know why Microsoft doesn't fix the security vulnerability and offer them again.

[KhunHeineken]

Bumping this thread to add information to a recent thread on the desktop Currency Meter not working. 

[ben2talk]

Microsoft sucks, why not dump them?

[KhunHeineken]

Below is the work around I am using since the Currency Meter stopped working, again.

 

I miss having that desktop gadget, but I will post what I have found to be the best alternative for me.  I am not saying it's the best alternative for everyone, but some might like to give it a try.  It's not so different from the OP's work around running in a similar thread, just a different combination of software.

 

I am using the Bluestacks Android Emulator.  I have been using an android emulator for a long time, mainly to run android TV streaming apps on a Windows machine.

 

I then downloaded the www.xe.com android app onto the Bluestacks emulator.  From there, you can select a base currency and add a list of currencies you would like the exchange rates for.  From install, XE only gives two digit accuracy, but if you go into the settings you can add more accuracy.  I chose 3 digits.

 

Now, this is where my work around differs slightly to the OP's, and it's through no doing of my own.  With Bluestacks, any app you put on the emulator, it creates a shortcut icon on your Windows desktop.  I deleted all of them, except for the XE Currency Converter icon.   

 

When I want all my exchange rates, I just click on the XE icon on my windows desktop and it automatically opens the Bluestacks emulator and displays the exchange rates.  It only saves a couple of mouse clicks, but is a slightly faster way to to get to the rates.

 

The other android emulators I tried do not have this feature.  Like all the emulators, Bluestack. takes some time to load, and is resource hungry.  So I close the progrom after getting the rates, but you could easily minimize it to the task bar and click on it from there throughout a session.  I think XE updates its rate every 60 seconds, so they are real time exchange rates.

 

I just wish the rates could be on the desktop, like before, and load at start up and refresh every 30 minutes or whatever it was.  It was so handy.  Anyway, the above is the best I could come up with.  

 

Happy to hear any other work arounds or tweaks.

 

 

[KhunHeineken]

Bumping this thread.

 

I recently done a fresh install of Windows 10 and lost the Currency Meter, as I knew I would.  

 

It's running again on two other machines I have, but I am trying to install it on the machine that has the fresh Windows 10 install.  

 

Has anyone managed to do this, whether on a brand new machine, or after a fresh install?

 

I can install the "shell" of the Currency Meter, but I can't seem to locate the files needed to be changed to Google Finance.  

[Digitalbanana]

On 7/19/2020 at 6:13 PM, KhunHeineken said:

but I can't seem to locate the files needed to be changed to Google Finance.  

Cannot you just have a Google Sheet with real time forex quotes? =googlefinance(USDTHB) in a cell does it.

[KhunHeineken]

8 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

Cannot you just have a Google Sheet with real time forex quotes? =googlefinance(USDTHB) in a cell does it.

Yes, I made the Google Sheet and I changed the js file, as per the work around posted earlier in the thread.  My js file is set up with five currencies being monitored.  

 

The problem I had was I lost the Currency Meter after a fresh install of Windows 10, which I know I would.  I then installed the "shell" of the Currency Meter but couldn't locate the files to tweak because they were hidden by Windows 10 default settings.  Once found, I could change the js file on the new Currency Meter install and it's working again.  

[KhunHeineken]

Rainmeter has been suggested as a replacement for Currency Meter, but it looks difficult to make.  Can anyone give simple instructions to get it running?