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Widgets

Widgets are small applications that can display information like weather, email, photos, or news headlines. There are two main types: web widgets which run in a browser, and desktop widgets which run directly on the desktop outside the browser. Desktop widgets have more access to local resources and interactions. Popular desktop widget platforms include Apple Dashboard, Windows Vista Sidebar, Google Desktop Gadgets, and Yahoo! Widgets. Each platform has advantages and disadvantages in terms of capabilities, resources used, and supported operating systems.

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Gitesh More
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78 views17 pages

Widgets

Widgets are small applications that can display information like weather, email, photos, or news headlines. There are two main types: web widgets which run in a browser, and desktop widgets which run directly on the desktop outside the browser. Desktop widgets have more access to local resources and interactions. Popular desktop widget platforms include Apple Dashboard, Windows Vista Sidebar, Google Desktop Gadgets, and Yahoo! Widgets. Each platform has advantages and disadvantages in terms of capabilities, resources used, and supported operating systems.

Uploaded by

Gitesh More
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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WIDGETS

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What is a widget?

• Widgets are small, specific applications that


you can run on your desktop.
• We keep them small and specific for
convenience and performance reasons.
• A widget can do almost anything from
displaying weather forecast, show new email,
photos, news headlines…etc.
Sample Widgets

4
Types of Widgets…

• Web Widgets
– A web widget is a portable application installed and
executed, typically on an HTML-based web pages.
• Desktop Widgets
– A desktop widget is a specialized GUI widget intended to
run on Computer desktop.
Web Widgets..
• A web widget can be few of the following
– No of hits to a particular web site.
– Weather widget.
– Youtube widget.
– News widget.
– Quote of the day
– Daily horoscope
….etc

For more list of all web widgets goto…


http://www.google.com/ig/directory?start=0
Date and
time

Gmail

news

Weather
Desktop Widgets

• Desktop widgets are interactive virtual tools that


provide single-purpose services such as showing the
user:
– latest news
– current weather
– time, calendar
– a dictionary
– photo viewers
– a language translator.
Expanded Gadget

Sidebar
Scratch Pad
Widget

News
Widget
Desktop Widget Engines.

• Within the world of desktop widgets there are


several choices:
– Apple Dashboard
– Microsoft Windows Vista Sidebar
– Google Desktop Gadgets
– Yahoo! Widgets
How are desktop widgets different
from web widgets?
• A desktop widget:
– Lives outside of the browser.
– Access to local resources.
– Potential for offline use and background downloading
– Greater interaction with the rest of the system through
standard desktop interaction.
Google Desktop Gadgets.

• Google is currently using custom XML file and


object model. Their object model is not based
on W3C standards, but their own custom
creation.
Google Desktop Gadgets Pros and
Cons.

• Pros:
– Fairly easy to understand if you know HTML
– Not constrained by HTML model.
– Can use either JavaScript or Visula Basic
– Better platform ties: drag/drop support, etc.
– Not very resource intensive.
Google desktop Gadgets Pros and Cons
cont…
• Cons:
– Limited in its abilities compared to other engines,
particularly in presentation layer.
– Interface is filled with update flashes and jerky motions.
– Requires download of entire Google Desktop package to
run.
– No Mac OS X support.
Yahoo! Web Widgets Pros and Cons

• Pros:
– Easy to write for.
– Powerful design, animation, and interaction facilities.
– Much more application-like environment than DHTML or
Google gadgets.
– Largest addressable audience- Only across OS Widgets
platform- Mac OS X, Win 2000, Win XP and now Window
Vista.
Yahoo! Web Widgets Pros and Cons
cont.…
• Cons:
– Need to learn their own XML language.
– Current version 3.1 consumes a fair bit of
resources.
– Lack of video support.

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