Several months ago I stumbled upon PowerGadgets and have been finding more and more uses for it ever since.  I was initially intrigued by the ability to run powershell scripts but didn't have any immediate needs that required that much power.  One of the strengths of PowerGadgets is the ability to run database queries and then to present the data using very slick graphs, guages and maps.  On Vista, these visualizations are displayed using the Windows Sidebar, however you can also use floating windows which allows PowerGadgets to be equally at home on Windows XP.

My sidebar is now littered with numerous gadgets that I use to show key application metrics, from DotNetNuke Marketplace sales figures to helpdesk work queues. ...

While I was in the Netherlands for OpenForce Europe, I had the misfortune to lose my original Zune.  I thought the Zune software was ok and the player was so-so.  I really liked the promise of having integrated wi-fi, but found the initial implementation to be a bit lacking.  I was forced to go back to using my old iPod Mini. 

Now for all of you Apple Fanboys, I think the new iPod touch is awesome (if a little overpriced), but I am not a fan of Apple software at all.  I have way to many crashes with the Apple updater service.  Since I was back to using my iPod Mini, I found a new appreciation for some of the things I liked about the Zune. For all of the useability press...