As their niche is replaced, Microsoft appears set to delete desktop gadgets from Windows 8

According to a report from the Win8China publication, in the latest of internal Windows 8 builds, desktop widgets have been given the axe. If you have forgotten just what a desktop widget is, I present the following image of Windows 7 [Via Maryland Tech Crawl]:

Yeah, those things. Here’s the rub: they are completely unnecessary in Windows 8. Why? Because there is a method in the new version of Windows to display real-time information in a small form factor, and it’s called Metro Style Apps and their corresponding Live Tiles. Yeah, those things.

In other words, gadgets are moot. That Microsoft took so long to pull them is surprising. Just for fun, The Verge has a screenshot of how gadgets have looked in Windows 8, until the moment that they were culled:

And now, they are no more. Don’t pretend to be sad, by the way. Gadgets were always a half-assed attempt at best, poorly implemented and hard to use. That and the diversity of available ‘apps’ for the platform was minimal. The past sometimes must be cleared for the future. And in case you forgot, here’s what Windows 8 is replacing gadgets with [Via Ceo1O17]:

It makes you wonder what parts of Windows 8 which currently exist are just waiting to be axed. Feel free to sound off in the comments with your guesses.