I've noticed the same thing: if I click on Show Desktop on taskbar, the
screen will show the desktop but not the sidebar and gadgets. I have to go
back to another window, minimize it to get gadgets back on desktop. I see no
reason why Vista should be doing this. This seems to be poor software
development which is another example of why a recent survey revealed that
almost 47 % of current Windows users will not upgrade to Vista. 47 %! Is
Miscrosoft paying attention?

Besides a couple other quirks, my Vista machine works like a charm.

Oscar