If you want to temporarily hide the Vista Sidebar and all its gadgets, right-click anywhere on the Sidebar outside of its gadgets and then click Close Sidebar on the shortcut menu.

To redisplay the hidden Sidebar, click the Windows Sidebar icon (the blue icon that at first glance looks like an old TV set) in the Notification area of the Windows taskbar.

If you want to get rid of the Sidebar on a more-or-less permanent basis, open the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box by right-clicking somewhere on the Sidebar (outside of the gadgets) and then click Properties on its shortcut menu. Then click the Start Sidebar When Windows Starts check box to remove its check mark before you click OK. Doing this prevents Vista from starting up the
hidden Sidebar the next time you boot up your computer.

You can also open the Windows Sidebar Properties dialog box by clicking Start>Control Panel>Appearance and Personalization>Windows Sidebar Properties.