Whether you are a Mac or PC user you’ve seen some sort of operating system widget. the big problem with both the Mac OS X Dashboard and the Windows Gadget are their implementation. Honestly, could there be any worse implementation of system applets? The other issue is the incompatibility of widgets across platforms.
Just so you understand an applet is exactly what a widget/gadget really is. They are mini programs usually programmed to perform a specific task under an a support framework. They are not capable of standing alone as a full blow application. They must run within the constraints of the app engine for which they were built.
Let’s take a step back in history for a moment. My first exposure to widgets was in the form of applets on the Enlightenment Desktop around 2000. If you are familiar with the way widgets work on a UNIX or Linux based window manager then you will understand why I say that the Mac and PC implementations are entirely borked.
To explain both Mac and Windows limit where a widget can reside. On KDE for instance widgets can be placed anywhere on the desktop. In fact some can even be parked in the task bar. Honestly this flexibility of these open source windowing systems is one of their main attractions of switching to UNIX or Linux.
The first thing I do when I get a new Mac or PC in my environment it disable their built-in applet systems. For instance I kill dashboard and disable if from running on my system. I then install the current copy of the Yahoo widget engine (YWE).
The Yahoo widget engine is based on the konfabulator project. Upon installing YWE it will walk you through some settings. You only need a Yahoo account if you wish to use some of their built-in ones like the email, weather finance etc. I recommend setting up an account regardless it’s free and can be very handy when trying to unlock the power of the widget system.
Once you finish the basic install you will notice a bunch of floating applets appear allover the desktop. Widgets like the analog clock in the center of the screen. In addition there is a widget dock for easy access to installing them as well as toggling them on and off.
Installation of new widgets is fairly easy in that you go to the widget repository on yahoo and search for what you’d like to add. Take for instance that you are a huge Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG) fan and would like to keep track of when the next Towel Day is. Simply install the Towel Day widget from their website.
Related articles
Leave a Reply