Rainmeter windows thing - anyone using this?

[Orr_G]

So, Rainmeter is a free open source kinda deal that lets you place and configure all sorts of neat stuff on your desktop, like visualizers, resource meters, launchers, and all sorts of nifty widgets, wadgets, and doodads. It’s been around for years, but I’ve only just recently noticed its existence.

Has anyone here done anything with Rainmeter?

I love the concept, but I’m a bit frustrated trying to work with it. There’s tons of “skins” out there, many of them somewhat outdated unfortunately. AFAIK, there’s nothing like a central repository, and no place where you can sort or filter skins to any very useful degree.

I’ve been playing around and checking out some skins, but I haven’t gotten very far. A lot of the stuff I’ve tried turned out to be way too small for my monitors’ resolution (with no obvious way to resize them). Documentation is often pretty lacking, so configuring some of the skins (like launchers or resource meters) taxes my limited computer skills.

Still, it’s kinda fun, and I’m hoping to set something up that will look cool and be of some use (I downloaded Wallpaper Engine off of Steam and have a couple of very cool space-themed videos as my background).

I’d love to hear about anyone else here who’s been using Rainmeter, and would especially appreciate any newbie tips anyone could give.

[anomalous1]

Experimented only, the configuration methods bother me. I wound up using NeXus… much easier to configure(IMO) and does the same thing. If you haven’t tried it, check it out. Its closed source though, so if you are hunting for Open Source, sorry.

[Trinopus]

???

What, exactly, does it do? I’m not groking the description.

[Orr_G]

@anomalous1

Experimented only, the configuration methods bother me. I wound up using NeXus… much easier to configure(IMO) and does the same thing. If you haven’t tried it, check it out. Its closed source though, so if you are hunting for Open Source, sorry.

Open source stuff has pros and cons, especially for someone like me who isn’t inclined to learn a bunch of programming. But I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve gotten Rainmeter to do so far, despite my frustrations.

I went to Google to take a look at NeXus to see if it might suit better… do you have any idea how many things are called “nexus”? :eek:

If you have a link I’ll definitely check it out.

[Orr_G]

@Trinopus

???

What, exactly, does it do? I’m not groking the description.

From Rainmeter.net:

Rainmeter displays customizable skins, like memory and battery power, RSS feeds and weather forecasts, right on your desktop. Many skins are even functional: they can record your notes and to-do lists, launch your favorite applications, and control your media player - all in a clean, unobtrusive interface that you can rearrange and customize to your liking. Rainmeter is at once an application and a toolkit. You are only limited by your imagination and creativity.

So, like Widgets/Windows Gadgets. Rainmeter allows you to place the “skins” on your desktop so you have stuff to look at and/or click on besides folder icons. Like this: http://imgur.com/r/Rainmeter/H3w4U or this: http://imgur.com/r/Rainmeter/yaqpn

There are “suites”, too, which are groups of skins packaged together as a theme, such as Iron Man’s Jarvis, or an old-timey newspaper. Rainmeter Layouts - Album on Imgur Newspaper Rainmeter Theme by DYIDDO on DeviantArt

[galen_ubal]

@Orr_G

Open source stuff has pros and cons, especially for someone like me who isn’t inclined to learn a bunch of programming. But I’m pretty pleased with what I’ve gotten Rainmeter to do so far, despite my frustrations.

I went to Google to take a look at NeXus to see if it might suit better… do you have any idea how many things are called “nexus”? :eek:

If you have a link I’ll definitely check it out.

I believe s/he means this. Winstep Nexus Dock.

[Orr_G]

@galen_ubal

I believe s/he means this. Winstep Nexus Dock.

Thank you!

[BigT]

I’ve messed with it, but even I find it rather complicated and not worth it. And I’m a guy who will write a script to fix an annoyance on a web page.

I actually went back to uninstalling IE11 so I could keep Desktop Widgets in Windows 7. (It’s not really unsafe as long as you trust the widget creator.)