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Yahoo Widgets
Wish Google could do what Yahoo has done. Google Desktop Gadgets require one to download and install Google Desktop first; but not so, Yahoo Widgets, which is stand-alone:
The bar sits wherever you want it on the screen; it can also be set to auto-hide and appear when you move your cursor off the screen (whichever side it is located.) The bar scrolls as well, so you can scroll through the full list of widgets you have downloaded. Many widgets come with the initial download, and many, many others can be downloaded. At the moment, I’m listening to NPR through the NPR Addict Widget I downloaded yesterday:
I’m certainly not an NPR addict! But you can also get Car Talk and other NPR programs through this widget. (I’m not very car-addicted either; but the guys with Car Talk are hilarious!)
If you use SiteMeter to track your site visits, you might like the SiteMeter Widget:
I actually opened a SiteMeter account just to try this one out! It refreshes every 6 minutes (I think) with either the visit number or the number of views.
These widgets sit on your desktop and may be closed, hidden, or opened easily. Additionally, Yahoo Widgets allow you to set the transparency level of all widgets; so, for instance:
Why you would want to do that…well, it’s your call. The transparent widgets slide “behind” your desktop’s shortcut icons by allowing them to be visible and clickable even if you place the widget over them.
The MP3 Player Widget is pretty handy as well:
The MP3 Player Widget is pretty handy as well:
You can close three different portions of it while leaving the widget on your desktop:
including that last which is just a button that sits on your desktop; clicking it will open the control bar (in the image above it) — although I can easily use my Rhapsody in a similar fashion; plus, sorting and choosing songs in the MP3 Widget is nearly non-existent. Basically, you tell the widget the top folder where your music files are located and it adds all of them to its playlist. While you can click one song’s title to listen to it, and you can shufffle play, you can’t easily set a specific and limited playlist of a handful of songs. (At least, not so I’ve discovered; but I haven’t studied the configuration settings.)
Many other Widgets exist. I’m still searching for the best RSS widget…The reason I mention my regret over Google Desktop Gadgets is simply that the Yahoo Widgets include several widgets allowing one to interact with various Yahoo services, but I use far more Google services or might. (Like Notepad, Docs, Mail, etc.)
Widgets come with a common set of configuration settings plus widget-specific settings. The Yahoo Widgets site also includes instructions for creating your own widgets: something I’ll be exploring, since I think that designing one to keep track of Phatic Communion and D5GW items would be helpful (such as new comments made to either.)
including that last which is just a button that sits on your desktop; clicking it will open the control bar (in the image above it) — although I can easily use my Rhapsody in a similar fashion; plus, sorting and choosing songs in the MP3 Widget is nearly non-existent. Basically, you tell the widget the top folder where your music files are located and it adds all of them to its playlist. While you can click one song’s title to listen to it, and you can shufffle play, you can’t easily set a specific and limited playlist of a handful of songs. (At least, not so I’ve discovered; but I haven’t studied the configuration settings.)
Many other Widgets exist. I’m still searching for the best RSS widget…The reason I mention my regret over Google Desktop Gadgets is simply that the Yahoo Widgets include several widgets allowing one to interact with various Yahoo services, but I use far more Google services or might. (Like Notepad, Docs, Mail, etc.)
Widgets come with a common set of configuration settings plus widget-specific settings. The Yahoo Widgets site also includes instructions for creating your own widgets: something I’ll be exploring, since I think that designing one to keep track of Phatic Communion and D5GW items would be helpful (such as new comments made to either.)
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