gef ....that was disasterous for users of IE.

The HTML was about 2 pages long....ya gotta keep away from those fancy word processors....

Yes. Moreover, my sidebar is always empty and turned off.

I'm on Windows-7 x86 about 3 months and may tell you that DX still been useful. I'll not say nothing about new BETA (this is one more joke like DX Player). However I can tell you about my experience of using the old version (3.50).

DX still work stable on a both versions of Windows (x86 abd x64). I use it as SDK platform which help me unite images together with the scripts in one, summary project. But I never use nor one built-in DX functions or plug-ins (like ckock, player, DX-meters, trash, email, etc...) because of the unreasonable usage of system resources like CPU and RAM. My scripts requires the same resources less in 5 times... So I can't tell nothing about DX-Themes. If I need something like this I just make a multifunctional megagadget.

However I'm sure that DX-Themes will be useful on Win-7 too. But only together with WindowBlinds Skins (because of a problems with taskbar and system tray).

But which DX Objects/gadgets do you actually use?

Only gadgets: programmable, multifunctional Clock, Calendar with Events, ToDo list, RSS and News Reader, Media Player, E-Mail notify, Performance and Network Meters, Recycle Bin Manager, Weather, Sound Control and Calculator. And all these programs can be used together (with low CPU usage around 0.5 - 1.5%)...

I never liked the sidebar from day 1 and have not used it since.

Yes. DX is still useful, primarily as an easy-to-use mini-app maker with which I regularly make productivity gadgets for my own personal use. Aside from those, I use clocks and weather.

Popularity is another matter, and, I think, more to your point. DX is certainly not for everyone. Even if it was designed that way initially, the reality is not everyone can make it do much more than clocks, weather, or calendars. Further, not many people need it to do more than that--and that's really widgets in general, not just DX.

So, yes, having the basic, most used widgets included with Win 7 or whichever, will make DX obsolete to some people. It would be even more so, as c242 pointed out, if those Win 7 gadgets were skinnable. Majority of the widgets in the DX galleries match WBs or DX themes; DX end-users are probably mostly Object Desktop users, who probably came for the WB skins and would also like the matching widgets to go with. So DX still has the upper-hand there, IMO.

But popularity does not always equal usefulness.