Those of us who have used Windows Vista or Windows 8 at one point remember that these already obsolete Microsoft operating systems allowed us to install them. small tools (formally called Gadgets) on the desktop. One of them was called CPU Meter and it allowed us to know the status of system resources at a glance, that is, quickly.

At least without resorting to third-party software, this possibility has changed drastically in newer versions of Windows. Widgets were removed from the desktop and started to live under different designs on the walls of the Start menu, in the news and interests feature, or in their own custom panels. Now that is changing again.

Microsoft puts new emphasis on widgets

We’ve known for a while that the Redmond company was starting up. Enhance the widget experience on the latest version of your operating system. Earlier this year, after various rumors, we learned that third-party widgets are coming back (something that was removed from Windows 7 due to security risks).

Now, Microsoft is taking this one step further. In orbit of its own widgets, it’s getting ready to bring back those related to system performance. They certainly won’t have the classic “control panel” look, but they will adopt a modern style consistent with the Windows 11 user interface.

Windows 11 widget panel

As we can see in the images, it will display information about new widgets. processor, graphics card, RAM and network connection. We will also have the ability to quickly finish the most resource-consuming processes and monitor the temperatures of some components.

There is no date yet for the general release of this feature, but the development version may already be tested (it may be unstable and contain bugs as it is not the final version). Windows Insiders should download Dev Home (Preview) from the operating system’s app store.

The next step will be to press Windows + W to open the Windows 11 widgets section. A notification should appear next to the “Add now” button that new widgets are available (alternatively you can press the + button). After pressing, the widgets mentioned above can be added.

Images: Microsoft

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