WinBar
I can't believe I haven't mentioned WinBar in this blog yet. I've used this program for the last 4 years on every computer i've had. It's a pretty configurable sys meter that docks to the top of your screen.
I have it configured to show the date, CPU, RAM and HDD usage, Volume controls, Uptime, DU Meter, etc. You can choose whatever color or opacity you like. Visually it's not the prettiest by default. Running it at 75% opacity with no separators between the modules makes it look pretty good, and prevents it from standing out too much.
Once you use this for a few days, your desktop feels naked without it. And if you really need the screen space, you can click on one of the arrows on the side to make it undock and collapse to the arrow. When programming, I constantly look at the CPU and RAM usage. It's great for when you're doing stuff on the internet, because the DU meter tells you the total downloads/uploads occuring on this machine.
Download this program (its freeware). Use version 1.2.95, not the Winbar2 public preview.
posted by riz at 10:26
7 Comments:
oh the good old winbar, havent used that in a while... only use widgets now.... perhaps ill go back to winbar
7:28 AM
yeah i like widgets too (as you can see on my screenshot) but man, they take up a lot of memory. Winbar takes up 7MB no matter what modules you have whereas each widget takes up 5-7MB each!
Plus I like that its docked to the top, so you can just look up to see how you computer is doing (downloading, CPU, etc.)
4:27 PM
winbar is amazing...its still runs on my dektop constantly...great cuz it kinda notifies me if something is going wrong...CPU to 100% or too much memory usage...i use it for music and for havin it check my email...voice alerts and everything...def very useful
problem with it is...its a lil annoying if u're working low res...one u use less of its features..and 2 it does take up some space..however lil it is
10:32 PM
My only gripe with winbar is everytime my monitor shuts off and then comes back on, winbar decides to place itself 5 pixels above where it was (i run it along the bottom of my screen)
call the wahmbulance!
11:56 AM
Interesting...I have to try it out. I used to use Stardocks stuff but dang was it a sys hogger! Plus, I'm not a big fan of bloatware.
FYI: I Love Lamp.
7:09 AM
I have searched the web exhaustively to find a solution to the problem mentioned below:
"Rav said...
My only gripe with winbar is everytime my monitor shuts off and then comes back on, winbar decides to place itself 5 pixels above where it was (i run it along the bottom of my screen)
call the wahmbulance!".
It happens when mostly when its docked at the bottom. Any ideas on how to fix it.
9:07 AM
Not a solution, but a workaround is to click one of the little arrows on either side of Winbar, to collapse it and open it again. It will reposition correctly.
9:10 AM
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