14 DAY TRIAL // We're only a few weeks away from the public debut of the new Windows 8 and Microsoft is already making adjustments to the operating system versions that are already on the market.
The company no longer provides a Windows 7 gadget gallery since late 2011, which means that users who are looking for new gadgets to customize their desktop don't have an official gadget source anymore.
Instead, there are plenty of unofficial online galleries out there, but check twice before downloading a new gadget. Some Windows 7 gadgets are also available on Softpedia in our very own category.
Microsoft said the main reason for killing the Windows 7 gadgets gallery is the company's new focus, namely the Windows 8 operating system. Unofficially, the security risk caused by Windows 7 gadgets is another key element that convinced the Redmond-based software giant that this is the right time to discontinue the official gadget gallery.
“Because we want to focus on the exciting possibilities of the newest version of Windows, the Windows website no longer hosts the gadget gallery,” Microsoft says.
Of course, consumers are recommended to make the move to Windows 8, as the new operating system doesn't sport gadgets anymore, but instead comes with a Start Screen and live tiles. The Start Screen has been often criticized, especially because it replaces the traditional Start Menu available in the previous Windows versions.
Windows 8 will debut on October 25 and will be installed not only on desktop PCs, but also on tablets and mobile phones. Steve Ballmer says it will change the world, pretty much like Windows 95 did when it was released.
Back in July, Microsoft rolled out a patch to fix a gadget security flaw that could allow a hacker to install malicious content on a vulnerable system. The patch completely disabled Windows Sidebar and gadgets on both Windows Vista and 7.
“An attacker who successfully exploited a Gadget vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the context of the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take complete control of the affected system,” Microsoft said in a security advisory launched at that time.
Again, if you are looking to customize the Windows 7 with some gadgets but you can't find a trustworthy source, Softpedia lends you a hand. There are plenty of gadgets here.