Written on August 19, 2009 – 1:09 pm | by CoolGadgetConcept |
A lot of people who use laptops like to listen radio on Pandora, and they can be happy now, because there has been released a new gadget for Vista, which allows them to listen to radio directly from desktop. This Pandora is a version of the website, but comprised into a small square, on the right side of your desktop. Next to the weather bug, notepad and CPU meter, you can add this useful gadget which will bring your favorite radio utility on your computer. This gadget allows you to log you into your Pandora account, and access all the stations you have previously saved, and it is nice because you can also customize these stations by approving or disapproving songs and artist. Users have the possibility to do this even in the gadget, and it is a very simple system: thumbs up or down.

This gadget is organized in tabs, and there is the first one, where you can see all your favorite stations. The next one allows you to search for new radio stations, and it's very simple. You just have to type in the search bar what you are looking for, and then, after the search is done you can save them or delete them from your search history. The search bar appears like a pop-up bar when you click on the Station tab.

Pandora allows, on the website, to email the radio station to friends, and the option is present in the gadget too. There are more options related to stations, like bookmarking. Clicking on Bookmarks will take you to your bookmark page on Pandora website, and there you can see your profile and the bookmarks you have previously saved. Video series feature isn't available in the gadget version, but I think it is enough, it is perfect for listening to music and it is pretty cool for this purpose. In the gadget version, you cannot find other listeners, like you can do on the website, but if you are the simple type of user, who just navigates to Pandora to listen to music, the gadget is perfect for you. There are no visual ads on the gadget, and this is pretty cool, though they aren't annoying on the site either.

When going to the website, while the gadget is running in background, the site remembers the last station you were on the site and it starts streaming for music on that station, while the gadget continues streaming from the station chosen in its window. Something interesting, when you set up the website and the gadget on the same station, users reported that both played the same artist, but different songs. This gadget also offers you the possibility to buy the tracks you like, from Amazon or iTunes, and this is great for people who want to listen music while working or just browsing the Internet, and it is the best alternative to illegal downloading.

Installation is very very simple. You have to click here, ‘Download the Pandora Vista Gadget‘, and then choose from the alternatives shown 'Open with Windows Sidebar' and then 'OK'. When prompted click on  'Install' and then 'OK'. After you installed it, you can manage the stations, the playlists, you can thumb up or down the songs right from the gadget. Pandora developers continue improving their radio system, and all the features, almost all, are transferred to the gadget too

If you have Vista 64 on your computer, you should do some extra steps. Following information is from Pandora's website.

1. Right-click the Windows Sidebar and select Properties.


2. Un-check the “Start Sidebar when Windows starts” option and hit OK. Then…


3. Click the green Windows Start Button in the lower left of your screen.


4. Click “All Programs”


5. Scroll down until you see the “Startup” folder


6. Right-click the “Startup” folder and select “Explore”


7. In the window that pops up, right-click the empty white space and select New->Shortcut


8. Copy the following text, including quotes:
   “C:Program Files (x86)Windows Sidebarsidebar.exe”


9. Paste that copied text into the Shortcut’s “Location” field.


10. Click “Next" and then click “Finish.”


11. Restart Windows Vista 64