We’re starting to see more reliable gadgets, so I thought I’d give another quick overview of my favorites (in order shown in the above screenshot):

• Remote Desktop Gadget. Lets you type a hostname and connect using Remote Desktop. I wish it had a drop-list of recently used names.
• Ping Gadget. Gives you an idea of your current network performance by showing ping latency to a host you specify (yahoo.com works if you can’t find a closer host).
• Memory Meter. Shows your current memory utilization, your total memory, and the size of your paging file. Multi Meter (the next gadget) also shows you the memory utilization, so you can get away with just using that and save some space.
• Multi Meter. Shows your processor and memory utilization. There are versions of this for quad, dual, and single-core computers (I have the dual-core). Check out the Gadget Gallery for other options.
• Presto’s Hard Drive Monitor. Shows you the free space on any of your hard disks. View the options to pick the hard disks you view. I liked DriveInfo, too, but Presto’s is a little simpler.
• IPConfig. Shows you your current IP address (you can pick from multiple network adapters). Great if you’re a mobile user, or if you use VPNs a lot.
• Windows Firewall Profile (not shown above). Shows whether your current network profile is public, private, or domain. Good for mobile users who access public networks sometimes.

I also like the Outlook Upcoming Appointments gadget for Outlook 2007.