You're going to hear the term "gadget" a lot over the next year as Windows Vista gets closer.  Stardock's DesktopX Pro lets you create gadgets that require no additional downloads (not even .NET).

And one of the most popular gadget authors in the community has released three new Galactic Civilizations II gadgets.

Downloads:

GalCiv II Media Player

GalCiv II Drive Meter

GalCiv II Meteverse