We got to see so much changes for what widgets where considered a year ago that it has been overwhelming how much thing changed in the span of a year to the widget market.
We sure cannot even being to predict what kind of wonders will bring the new year but i am sure it will be even more exciting:
Some of the things i expect to see are:
Truly powerful and useful widgets thanks to Flex and Silverlight
More blurring of the lines thanks to new hybrid widgets getting into the desktops thanks to the very same plugins.
Widget as mobile apps getting noticed and used broadly
Modular widgets implementations getting inside all kind of web services
Widget support in E-mail
Feedsync derived Widgets
Google and Yahoo caving in and finally giving direct support for Windows Vista Sidebar
Web to Vista sidebar and OS X dashboard in one click from all major distribuitors
a war of universal widget platforms
widgets getting into appliances, from frames to kitchen boards.
Seems pretty exciting things to look forwards, so lets see if i get them all right.
In the meantime have a awesome New Year Eve Dinner, make a toast for the future and then head on to it with glee.
Happy New year Everyone, Feliz Año Nuevo a todos from Widgets Lab.
I have been using Pownce a lot lately, i truly like it, i like the community in it, i like the system even with all the incredible flaws and shortcomings it got. but for being developed by a team of pretty much 2 people is quite impressive to say the least.
One of the things i don`t like is that there are no offical widgets because the creator (Leah Culver) seems not to be fond of widgets, even if the so called desktop app is pretty much a glorified widget done in Adobe AIR.
But all in all i like it and use it because i like the thinking behind it and the community that is in it, and one of the examples of a good Powncer is without a doubt Zach Chrisholm that took the task of making up a good widget to use for his needs so he made a Pownce Badge Generator where you can pick a theme based on the original ones and you are able to easily choose the size of the widget and then just generate a flash code so you can put the badge everywhere you want to.
Here you can see how an actual pownce badge looks and works or if you prefer to see it in context you can visit Zack Tumblr
The only things i would like to be added is more fonts, more themes and maybe a little retouching to the graphics, everything is already perfect just the way it is, so if you use pownce i recommend you to grab this badge, you can also request invites from me, i got a unlimited supply of them or add me to your pownce friends.
With ClipCast you can clip bits of the web and share this stuff with your readers on your Myspace page, Facebook or even your blog. Using the Firefox or Internet Explorer bookmark button you can simply “clip” text and images from around the web and it will appear in your ClipCast where ever you have the widget placed.
…don’t worry, it comes in a smaller width that should be more sidebar friendly. In fact…I have added the WidgetsLab ClipCast to the lower sidebar to see how well it works.
It loads fast and delivers the clipped content as promised. The first thing I have clipped is a “How to” video describing how to extend the range of your wifi antenna.
Blog easier
This awesome blogging tool allows you to use a Java applet (bookmark button) to capture any quote or image from the web. The captured content comes complete with captured working links as well. (try the link in the image above)
Saves you time
This is a huge time saver for those responsible bloggers that want to quote a source. The kwout service provides you with a simple HTML embed for your captured quote. The embed even goes so far as to provide a link to the original article and if you desire…a link to the embed code so anyone else that wishes to share the content and link, may do so.
Observations and complaints
The kwout capture is slow (depending upon the page) It doesn’t bother me though. Its still faster than having to format quotes and links and also linking to give credit to the original source.
The captured text is almost too small to read. I would like to suggest some type of zoom feature for the image if possible. Maybe allow the blogger to increase the size of the captured image prior to the embed.
I saw this on TechCrunch and figured that it was worthwhile sharing it with you guys. (see link under widget)
Like most long time PC users i love to change around my wallpaper constantly,some times out of boredom, other because of a certain mood,etc. if you know what i mean and identify then you will be glad to know that there is now a pretty handy Vista Sidebar Gadget to do just that.
This Gadget will allow you to preview and select a batch of wallpapers you can set to change in a automatic or manual fashion. it also offers more option for you to set you wallpaper just like you want it to be.
The idea is very simple and yet thanks to the execution of the gadget, you will wish the features would have been in the MS Slideshow Gadget from the let go.
A Tivo gadget is not something you would have expected to see one year ago but thanks to the new Tivo Configurations and Mike Swanson now you can enjoy of this great widget if you are a Tivo and Vista user.
i will not try to rewrite the feature descriptions of the widget so i will quote from the source:
Configure Folders if you want shows from the same series to be grouped together (like Kitchen Nightmares in the screenshot).
When the gadget notices a new recording, it will ding (if you have sound enabled).
If you configure more than one TiVo, click the friendly name of the unit (like Downstairs in the screenshot) to switch to the next unit.
Click the name of the show to see its description. The details flyout will contain more data in a future version…just didn’t have time to add it for the first release.
Your settings will survive a gadget removal/add thanks to Todd Northrop’s handy Settings Manager for Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets.
When the gadget refreshes its data, it will close any groups that are open. While not technically a bug, it is annoying, and I hope to improve this later
One last thing to note here is that the nature of this widget is of course above average and quite specific so it requires a non standard installation and instructions you need to follow and you will find in Mike Swanson site:
This is a great example on how the Vista Gadgets are getting more sophisticated even when they are not Silverlight enabled and look forward to see more of this kind of widgets next year.
Clockx is not a run of the mill Widget, it is more like a Widget app in the sense that you do a stand alone installation to display but even then, the thinking behind it is to behave and look like a widget i decided to write about it because it is really good and simple.
The good things about this desktop widget is that it has the following qualities:
1.-It is a easier to see clock than the one that comes by default
2.-It is a very good and simple Alarm clock with a reminders board
3.-It is a quick view/use calendar
4.-it consume very little resources (from 1mb to 3mb of ram)
5.-It comes with over 100 skins so you can find a look you will like and you can even make skins for it very easily.
I now use it everyday so, this is one widget i can recommend you with joy.
A extra plus of this widget is that you can use it in XP and Vista no matter if you are running at 32 or 64 bits, and that is a plus i know will make this desktop widget a must.
Widget has Flash and Java versions through Widgetbox
Shoutwire is a news and entertainment source on the web. They have created a Widgetbox widget so bloggers can display Shoutwire content on their Blog and Myspace pages.
Widget Images:
Comes in two sizes:
With 12 color choices, custom title and content display options:
Are you part of the crowd that likes to decorate your desktop in the heat of the xmas holiday along with your blog to pump you up while you wait for the dinner night?.
if you answered yes then you will be glad to know that you can get 24 google desktop sidebar gadgets to do so.
There is no doubt that some have mastered Office to the pint this gadget will not do good, but considering how vast it is if you are still learning your way through Office 2007 and would like to get some pointers while you master it, this Sidebar gadget will do the job by showing you relevant notes with some tips & tricks so you can work faster and in a more efficient way.
the gadget can also undock from the sidebar in case you want to read it in full form and want to keep the tip or trick around while you perform it.
At a first look, Treemo don`t appears to have anything that you could want in a service that is not covered already, but it actually does. Treemo is a way to branch out (pun intended) your mobile content in without having to do mcuh, think of Treemo as a web 2.0 version of moblog.uk refocused as a service instead of a community as the first objective and then just add in count the way to spread your content out of Treemo boundaries: that is done with widgets of course.
You can place a treemo channel widget with preselected content or agreggated content, the difference is that on you preset it to show only certain content in a multi purpose widget, meaning you can add up photos, notes, videos and audio in the same display without having to add separated displays to do so and in the same way if you add aggregated content version of the widget your content will be loaded into the widget as you send it to the service.
(this is the example of a channel widget)
this widget is a good way to easily archive the spread of your content without having to repost it in several places, you can place it in myspace, you can place it in your blog or you can even use their Facebook app version of the widget.
Harperteen, the teen division imprint of Hapercolllins Books wants you to let you know that if you are a teen, there is nothing wrong in showing some Reading cred, and they want you to do so using their HarperTeen MySpace Widget badges, simple as that.
With these badges you can show the book(s) you have been reading to your friends and they can take a peek to them by clicking and get a reading sample from the book so they can get an idea of what it is about and what you are into.
the only thing needed is that you visit their Myspace page:
Bebo, in a display of how you must never underestimate a runner up social network just released that since they announced they were going off with their own platform (even if based on new Facebook Tech) instead of waiting for OpenSocial to thrive, 4,250,409 app installs have been registered in just one week, something that given they are only offering apps from the top 40 players is quite impressive and should tick all kinds of alarms for developers in the facebook platform as a way to have a “second chance” or simple a second market to consolidate the audience for their apps.
i would say that over half of the app in the bebo platform would fall into the modular widget category minus some tweaks, so it has never been easier for developers to archive high spread.
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