[Serious] "Feed Headlines" Gadget getting feeds out of nowhere!

[Pradeep1210]

I was just fiddling around with gadgets today. I added the "Feed Headlines" gadget to my desktop sidebar. To my surprise it started getting feeds, even though I was not connected to the internet. I was expecting it to show some message like "internet not connected" or something similar.

How could this be possible?
Or is it reading some cache instead of directly getting it from the internet??

I have never used this gadget. So it is unlikely that this gadget itself has built some cache from earlier runs.

[Siddharth Rout]

Aha! So my experiment to remotely send feeds to your pc via waves finally worked! Do you think I will get a Nobel Prize for this?

On a serious note: I believe it is the cache.

[Pradeep1210]

"Which cache" is the question

[Pradeep1210]

I had taken a screenshot, but forgot to attach it when creating this thread. I've attached it now to the original post.

[techgnome]

Those are current headlines....

The only thing I can think of is that in your screen shot you're showing wireless connections... which you aren't connecting to... but it doesn't show any wired connections.

Open the Network and Sharing Center options and check for LAN connections...

-tg

[Pradeep1210]

Those are current headlines....

The only thing I can think of is that in your screen shot you're showing wireless connections... which you aren't connecting to... but it doesn't show any wired connections.

Open the Network and Sharing Center options and check for LAN connections...

-tg

I don't connect via wired connections on this laptop.
So there are no wired connections. Only wireless and bluetooth.

[Nightwalker83]

Maybe the laptop was connecting to a public network?

[baja_yu]

The feed is two days old though. Were you ever connected in that period? Perhaps it's pulling data even if you don't use the gadget.

[Hack]

Moved To General Developer

[Pradeep1210]

The laptop gets connected to the internet everyday via wireless connection (Airtel connection in the screenshot). Just that it was not connected when I added that gadget to the sidebar. So I wasn't expecting to show anything at that moment.

The feeds being shown are one of the valid feeds I have subscribed from my hotmail account. I can see them in Windows Live Mail program that I use to view my emails. But it is unlikely that it is showing it from Windows Live Mail. This is because the gadget comes pre-installed with Windows, while we have to explicitly install Windows Live Essentials for Windows Live Messenger & Windows Live Mail etc. The gadget has no way of knowing my hotmail username/password. So I can't figure out the connection between the two.

Please have a look at this screenshot which shows the same feeds as in the gadget:

[Nightwalker83]

Maybe it downloaded the data and stored it in a cache then refreshed showing the downloaded stuff during the period you weren't connected.

[Pradeep1210]

Maybe it downloaded the data and stored it in a cache then refreshed showing the downloaded stuff during the period you weren't connected.

That's what the whole mystery is

This is the first time I used this gadget, and I was offline at that time. So I was expecting it to bring no feeds at that time.

[Nightwalker83]

I suppose you could backup your current system and files then reset your system to like it was after a fresh install of the software, disconnect from the internet and see what happens.

[Pradeep1210]

I suppose you could backup your current system and files then reset your system to like it was after a fresh install of the software, disconnect from the internet and see what happens.

It is one of the default gadgets that come with windows 7. I didn't install it explicitly. Just that when I was setting it up for first time, I chose not to keep this gadget in my sidebar.

A few things I have observed:
1. It didn't ask for any username/password. So it is surely from some cache.
2. I was offline the first time I added this gadget. But it still showed the feeds. So more proof that it is from cache.
3. It could be picking up things from Windows Live Mail program, but I doubt it. (I don't use Outlook).
4. It could be picking up things from Internet Explorer cache. But here too I don't see how it could do that.