Remember, to active/deactivate any gadget, simply open the Windows SideShow control panel (type “Windows SideShow” in the Vista/7 start menu).

So, first off, Windows Media Player.

Gadget Name: Windows Media Player
Developer: Microsoft
Download: N/A (built into Windows Vista / Windows 7)

Basic Tasks:

1. Controlling current track on PC
2. Browsing media library

Glance:

So, the glance screen of Windows Media Player is really descriptive.  When the gadget first starts it shows the play state and the current track.

Selecting any gadget on the home (glance) screen will open the menu system.  Selecting “Go to Current Track” will show details of the currently playing track.

Controlling Playback:

Once in the Current Track screen there are numerous ways of controlling playback:

• Tap the screen to Play/Pause
• Swipe left/right to advance the current track
• Use the track ball / D-Pad to control the playback
• Bring up the context menu to:
  • Change the volume
  • Navigate the current playlist

(Tip: you can bring the context menu by holding the title bar or selecting Menu > More)

Browsing the Media Library:

From the Main Menu, select Browse Media Library and choose a category.  From there you can either drill deeper into the items (Albums / Artists / Playlists / Genres) or hold onto an item to Play the entire item.

Selecting a single track will only play that 1 item.  To play an entire Album/Artist/Playlist/Genre, go back to the list and bring up the context menu for the item.

Anyway, so that is Windows Media Player.  It’s great that without needing any extra software this gadget is available within the OS.

Stay tuned for a deep focus on other gadgets.