For those who have long envied the versatility of MacOS widgets, or perhaps reminisced about the glory days of Windows desktop gadgets, the landscape of desktop customization on Windows has often felt lacking. The modern Windows widget system, as of Windows 10 and Windows 11, largely confines its elements to a designated pane, curates news and headlines from questionable sources, and offers little in the way of creative control. But thanks to BeWidgets, a free application available from the Microsoft Store, Windows users are re-discovering the power of an interactive, personalized desktop—a trend that’s gaining traction among productivity enthusiasts and minimalist tinkerers alike.
BeWidgets emerges as a breath of fresh air for Windows users frustrated by the platform’s native limitations. Unlike the built-in widget panelings in Windows 11, which remain locked to their separate environment and often populated with algorithmically selected news, advertisements, and sometimes distracting content, BeWidgets offers a hands-on approach. It places essential data like time, weather, date, financial information, and even app shortcuts directly onto your desktop, atop your wallpaper.
This isn’t just basic information tacked to your background; it’s a fully interactive, highly customizable system. From font choice to color palette, backing transparency to widget size and placement—BeWidgets aims to restore both the simplicity and joy of desktop customization.
Unlike many widget platforms, BeWidgets doesn’t bury its most powerful features. Click “Customize,” and you unlock granular control. Resize the widget, adjust the font style and size, tweak the background (from opaque to fully transparent), and dictate exactly how information is presented. For the weather widget, for instance, select your city and toggle between Celsius or Fahrenheit. Stock widgets allow for input of specific ticker symbols, while clocks can be set to 12- or 24-hour time formats. Each widget remains self-contained, allowing for simultaneous configurations without impacting the rest of your layout.
Notably, BeWidgets uses native Windows rendering—this means smooth performance, immediate response to changes, and a look that feels right at home in both classic and modern Windows environments. The free-form placement is liberating: widgets snap neatly to your preferred corners or float over essential regions of your desktop workspace.
Multiple independent reviewers, such as those from Lifehacker and Windows Central, highlight both the ease and depth of customization. Where some older solutions like Rainlender or the now-defunct Windows Gadgets offered either limited options or overwhelming complexity, BeWidgets carves a niche of balanced, accessible personalization.
This is a marked improvement over some alternative solutions—many of which display embedded ads or request far-reaching permissions. For privacy-conscious users, BeWidgets currently stands among the most trustworthy options, though, as with all software, regular updates and ongoing independent audits are essential.
From this comparison—supported directly by reviews in Lifehacker, Windows Central, and Microsoft’s own documentation—it’s clear that BeWidgets offers a unique niche: more powerful than native widgets, easier to handle than Rainmeter, and cleaner than many paid options.
While rapid development can introduce its own risks (such as bugs or instability), reviews suggest BeWidgets has matured quickly, with few reports of crashes or unexpected behavior as of its latest version (verified as of June 2024).
Apps like BeWidgets are filling the gap for users who want true agency over their desktops. While it’s possible Microsoft may eventually open up full desktop widget support, or even develop their own equivalents, for now, BeWidgets provides a rare harmony of freedom, polish, and minimalism that many users crave.
For most everyday Windows users, however—those seeking a blend of aesthetic pleasure and information utility—BeWidgets is a compelling modern answer to a perennial Windows shortcoming. The ever-growing user base, open development process, and consistent performance suggest it’s here to stay.
It remains to be seen how Microsoft and the wider Windows ecosystem will respond to the renaissance of desktop widgets. For now, BeWidgets empowers users to shape their computing environment to fit their lifestyles—a digital productivity win that’s easy to recommend.
Source: Lifehacker This Windows App Lets You Add Time, Weather, and Other Widgets to Your Wallpaper
Reinventing Widgets on the Windows Desktop
BeWidgets emerges as a breath of fresh air for Windows users frustrated by the platform’s native limitations. Unlike the built-in widget panelings in Windows 11, which remain locked to their separate environment and often populated with algorithmically selected news, advertisements, and sometimes distracting content, BeWidgets offers a hands-on approach. It places essential data like time, weather, date, financial information, and even app shortcuts directly onto your desktop, atop your wallpaper.This isn’t just basic information tacked to your background; it’s a fully interactive, highly customizable system. From font choice to color palette, backing transparency to widget size and placement—BeWidgets aims to restore both the simplicity and joy of desktop customization.
Getting Started with BeWidgets
Installation is seamless—simply download BeWidgets from the Microsoft Store (verified by several reviewers including Lifehacker and official Microsoft documentation). Once running, the application presents a straightforward interface for adding your first widget. The process is as easy as naming your widget, choosing its type (time, date, weather, stocks, or app shortcut), and dragging it to your preferred on-screen location.Unlike many widget platforms, BeWidgets doesn’t bury its most powerful features. Click “Customize,” and you unlock granular control. Resize the widget, adjust the font style and size, tweak the background (from opaque to fully transparent), and dictate exactly how information is presented. For the weather widget, for instance, select your city and toggle between Celsius or Fahrenheit. Stock widgets allow for input of specific ticker symbols, while clocks can be set to 12- or 24-hour time formats. Each widget remains self-contained, allowing for simultaneous configurations without impacting the rest of your layout.
Customization: Both an Art and a Science
The degree of customization is where BeWidgets distinguishes itself. Users are not just adjusting color or font; you’re invited to fine-tune every aspect of the display to blend seamlessly with your wallpaper, operating rhythm, or workspace aesthetics.Notably, BeWidgets uses native Windows rendering—this means smooth performance, immediate response to changes, and a look that feels right at home in both classic and modern Windows environments. The free-form placement is liberating: widgets snap neatly to your preferred corners or float over essential regions of your desktop workspace.
Multiple independent reviewers, such as those from Lifehacker and Windows Central, highlight both the ease and depth of customization. Where some older solutions like Rainlender or the now-defunct Windows Gadgets offered either limited options or overwhelming complexity, BeWidgets carves a niche of balanced, accessible personalization.
Widget Categories: Information at a Glance
Time and Date
The clock and date widgets are among the most requested. Native Windows clocks are notoriously inflexible, often limited to the lower right taskbar corner. BeWidgets lets you put the time anywhere—top center, bottom left, or right beside your favorite app icons. Time can display in 24- or 12-hour format, with AM/PM notations as you prefer. Date formats adhere to both US and international conventions, providing a welcome relief for users tired of month-day-year limitations.Weather
The weather widget rivals many dedicated weather apps for simplicity. Enter any city or location, choose Celsius or Fahrenheit, and get real-time updates directly on your desktop. The underlying data source is confirmed to be Microsoft’s weather API, ensuring accuracy equivalent to what’s displayed in native Windows widgets or the MSN Weather app. Recent updates, according to both the Microsoft Store changelog and trusted tech blogs, now include a 24-hour forecast, making the widget useful for trip planning or daily commuting decisions.Stocks
Financial information on the desktop is more in-demand than ever. BeWidgets supports U.S. and international stock symbols, currency tracking, and conversion rates. By leveraging real-time financial data from Microsoft’s own backend (validated through community reports and Microsoft public APIs), users gain a reliable, ad-free alternative to browser-based financial tickers.App Shortcuts
Beyond data feeds, BeWidgets includes shortcuts to launch local or web-based apps. This blurs the line between widget and productivity launcher—imagine having a widget cluster with your calendar, favorite notepad, and quick links to essential work tools, all styled to match your desktop theme.Simplicity Meets Power
The core value proposition of BeWidgets lies in its harmony of straightforward design and near-limitless customization. Competitors like Rainlender continue to offer more granular features (such as recurring event reminders or integration with third-party calendars), but these often come at the cost of a daunting user interface. Many users on Reddit, Windows forums, and tech blogs point to BeWidgets’ learning curve as refreshingly gentle, especially for those who want visual organization but don’t want to invest hours learning arcane scripting or troubleshooting plugin compatibility.Security and Privacy: What You Need to Know
In an era where desktop widgets sometimes double as data harvesters, privacy concerns are legitimate. BeWidgets’ open disclosure on the Microsoft Store states that it collects no personal data and requires only the bare minimum of permissions to operate (namely, internet access for real-time data retrieval, and permission to overlay graphics on the desktop). An independent audit by tech reviewers at Windows Central and several privacy-centric forums confirm no evidence of spyware, adware, or telemetry beyond standard diagnostics.This is a marked improvement over some alternative solutions—many of which display embedded ads or request far-reaching permissions. For privacy-conscious users, BeWidgets currently stands among the most trustworthy options, though, as with all software, regular updates and ongoing independent audits are essential.
Strengths and Weaknesses: An Honest Appraisal
Key Strengths
- Free Availability: With a zero-dollar entry point and no paywalled features, BeWidgets democratizes desktop customization.
- Ready-Made Widgets: Core information is accessible with minimal clicks—perfect for users who want functional widgets without diving into scripting or plugin hunts.
- Customizability: From color to font to size, users can tailor widgets for any taste or practical need.
- Performance: Runs natively and nimbly on both Windows 10 and 11, with a lightweight footprint confirmed by independent resource usage reviews.
- No Ads or Hidden Fees: Many free desktop widget alternatives display ads or require payment for key integrations; at present, BeWidgets has none.
Areas for Improvement
- Widget Variety: As of this writing, BeWidgets is limited in widget types. Advanced users accustomed to Task Manager graphs, to-do lists, or RSS feeds will still find Rainmeter and similar apps more compelling.
- Integration: Lacks built-in support for syncing with external apps like Outlook, Google Calendar, or advanced notification services. There's currently no direct scripting or developer API for custom widgets—an oft-requested feature in user forums.
- Limited Interactivity: Widgets generally display information rather than allow for interaction (e.g., marking a to-do as complete), which may reduce usefulness for some productivity-focused users.
- Updates and Support: While the developer is currently engaged and updates are frequent, a single-developer open source model does carry some risk should the project stall or funding run dry.
Comparing BeWidgets with Alternatives
To give context for users weighing their options, it’s worth comparing BeWidgets to the current widget and desktop customization scene:| Feature | BeWidgets | Rainmeter | Windows Native Widgets | Rainlender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free/Open Source | Free (Windows 11+) | Free/Paid |
| Customization | High (visual, format) | Very High (code, scripts) | Very Low | Medium |
| Widget Types | Limited (time, weather, stocks, app launchers) | Vast (via plugins/scripts) | Limited (MS content) | Calendars, To-dos |
| Ease of Use | Very Easy | Steep Learning Curve | Immediate, but restricted | Moderate |
| Integration | None | Extensive (with scripting and APIs) | Very limited | Calendar integration |
| Ad-Free/Privacy | Yes | Yes | Yes (but curated feeds) | Yes |
| Performance | Light | Light/Medium depending | Light | Light |
User Community and Development
The strength of any desktop customization tool comes not just from its feature set, but from its community. At the time of this writing, BeWidgets’ developer is active on GitHub, and issues, suggestions, and updates are frequently posted on both the Microsoft Store and on Reddit (notably in the r/Windows and r/Windows11 subreddits). The app is open to user feedback, and several recent features—such as 24-hour weather forecasts and enhanced transparency controls—arose directly from community requests.While rapid development can introduce its own risks (such as bugs or instability), reviews suggest BeWidgets has matured quickly, with few reports of crashes or unexpected behavior as of its latest version (verified as of June 2024).
Installation and System Requirements
For those interested in trying BeWidgets, the process could not be simpler:- Open the Microsoft Store, search for “BeWidgets,” and click install.
- The app runs on Windows 10 version 2004 and later, with full support for Windows 11.
- No .NET or external libraries are needed; installation is handled natively.
The Future of Desktop Widgets on Windows
Microsoft has oscillated in its approach to desktop widgets over the years. From the well-loved, security-troubled sidebar gadgets of Windows Vista and 7, to the widget panel in Windows 11, the recurring theme is user demand for quickly accessible, at-a-glance information. While Microsoft’s widget panel shows promise (with integration of third-party apps like Spotify, ESPN, and more announced at Build 2023), the company’s approach remains walled-off and, according to many users on Windows feedback forums, plagued by irrelevant news feeds.Apps like BeWidgets are filling the gap for users who want true agency over their desktops. While it’s possible Microsoft may eventually open up full desktop widget support, or even develop their own equivalents, for now, BeWidgets provides a rare harmony of freedom, polish, and minimalism that many users crave.
Conclusion: Should You Use BeWidgets?
If controlling your digital space matters—if you want your wallpaper to be as functional as it is beautiful—BeWidgets is a leading solution for modern Windows systems. It’s simple to set up, powerful in customization, and free of the privacy and advertising pitfalls that mar some alternatives. For basic at-a-glance information like time, weather, or finance, it’s perfectly suited; if you have advanced integration needs, Rainmeter or Rainlender may be better fits.For most everyday Windows users, however—those seeking a blend of aesthetic pleasure and information utility—BeWidgets is a compelling modern answer to a perennial Windows shortcoming. The ever-growing user base, open development process, and consistent performance suggest it’s here to stay.
It remains to be seen how Microsoft and the wider Windows ecosystem will respond to the renaissance of desktop widgets. For now, BeWidgets empowers users to shape their computing environment to fit their lifestyles—a digital productivity win that’s easy to recommend.
Source: Lifehacker This Windows App Lets You Add Time, Weather, and Other Widgets to Your Wallpaper
