Since the initial release of System Control, we’ve gotten quite a few requests for either a “Sleep” or a “Hibernate” button as opposed to StandBy, which is supposed to be similar to “Sleep” (But only if you use Windows XP, evidently).  So, here’s what I’ve learned about the mess that is Windows Vista power options:

- Most systems will start with Hybrid Sleep, which saves your information like Hibernate, but goes into low power mode for 3 hours before shutting off.

- If disabled, you then have separate Sleep and Hibernate options, but the only real difference here is power, they essentially do very similar things.

- The command I use for StandBy is different depending on the power setting of the computer.  And you have to go into the advanced power options to even check out what it will do when you hit it.

Suffice it to say, I’m not exactly sure how to proceed from here.  I’ve requests from both sides, but since Hybrid Sleep fulfills both requests, people should probably be using that instead of generic Sleep anyways.  If you have a laptop and are concerned with power, just disable Hybrid Sleep and the StandBy button automatically does Hibernate instead.  I know it’s a little confusing, but that’s the weird way it seems to work.

I like the idea of Hybrid Sleep, but Microsoft probably should have been more forthcoming with the details of the power options and made them more customizable for people.  This being the case, I really don’t see the absolute need right now to add in a duplicate button, because all a user has to do is look at their advanced power settings to tell the button what it should do.

I will still be adding in an option to turn the in-gadget confirm on or off, but the power button issue might take a bit longer to have everything set up.  I was hoping to have a more definitive solution in place today, but it looks like there kind of already is.

Seems like it’s been a while since anything went on around here, but trust me, we’ve been cranking on some stuff you’re really going to like.

First up on that list is this little gem, the System Control gadget. Basically, with so many shutdown gadgets floating around on the gallery, we figured we’d take a shot at it and see what we could come up with.

Features:

• 9 Different Function Buttons (Shutdown, Restart, Lock, Switch User, Task Manager, StandBy, Run, LogOff, and Command Prompt)
• 10 Different Skins (Might Seem Like A Small Number Until You See…)
• 2 Different Sizes (Small Holds 3 Buttons Per Screen, Large Holds All 9)
• Buttons Can Be Re-Organized, Disabled / Enabled
• In-Gadget Confirmation for Shutdown, Restart, StandBy, and LogOff
• Lock Button To Disable The Panel
• Bottom Text (Can Be Set To: 3 Different Time Formats, Date, Overall CPU Usage, Overall RAM Usage, Nothing)
• Pretty Sweet Settings Panel
• Persistent Settings (Via XML!)

Yeah, we like it. We hope you’ll like it too. There may be upgrades in the future, we’ll have to see.

Download:

Download @ Windows Live Gallery

Download @ BuildAGadget.com

Download @ Widgipedia.com

Download @ Download.com (Coming Soon)

Download @ WinCustomize.com

Enjoy!