gadgets posts

Ten gadgets to make Google Wave more productive - and fun!

by Sebastian Anthony Nov 6th 2009

It's still early days for Google Wave but already there are a large number of Gadgets and Robots being developed. If you don't know the difference, Gadgets are local, client-side (as in they run on your computer), Javascript and HTML. Robots run remotely on another server.

Gadgets change how you interact with waves, whereas robots process your input in some way or pull in data from another service (such as Twitter or Wikipedia). Robots are generally more powerful, but Gadgets are more fun.

This article is all about Gadgets. There will be another one on Robots soon: you folk that want to aggregate your Twitter and RSS feeds into Wave will have to wait a little longer! It's surprisingly hard to find good gadgets for Wave at the moment, so hold onto this guide even if you've not yet been invited to the beta.

Note: You should bear in mind that these are all 'beta' gadgets. A lot of them work just fine but you might hit some bugs along the way. The 'direct import links' might also change at any time, so feel free to report any broken links!
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Tags: gadgets, google wave, GoogleWave

Filed under: Utilities, Features, Windows, Microsoft

A bunch of fun and productivity-boosting gadgets for Windows 7

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 29th 2009

The number of gadgets for Windows 7, both made by Microsoft and third-party developers, has skyrocketed. Only a few months ago there was little choice and almost nothing worth calling home about -- but today, you're spoilt for choice! What you have here are a bunch of the most useful (or interesting) gadgets usable with your shiny-new OS, Windows 7.

Note: If you're going to be installing third-party gadgets, you'll be faced with a confirmation dialogue before they can install:

Just hit 'Install'! With that out of the way, on with the show!

1. Weather Bug: One of the things you'll soon notice about the gadgets I'm sharing here is that they all do one specific thing, and they do it well. I hate feature-creep. If I want to know the current weather -- then show me the damn weather.

Weather Bug lets you select a nearby weather station and shows you everything you might need to know: current temperature (Celsius or Fahrenheit), forecasted high and low, wind speed, and the current cloudiness (or lack of).

There's also a link for extended website-based information, and even a webcam stream if your weather station has one!

2. UEFA Informer: Here's one for the non-Americans (do Canadians like soccer?) -- a football gadget! Keep track of every major football (soccer) league in Europe, from Italian to English to even the Champion's League.

The greatest thing about this gadget is you can even pull up the recent results and upcoming matches in a given league, or for your favourite/most hated team.

There's an option in the settings to show even more leagues, so I assume it will be be kept updated -- perhaps to show the World Cup when that finally ticks around next summer?

3. Gmail Reader: There isn't really much I can say about this one. It tells you when you receive new mail. It tells you how many unread mail you currently have. It shows you the subject and sender of your unread mail.

What more do you want?

4. TweetZ: Apparently created to do away with the annoyances inherent to Twadget, TweetZ is a full-featured Twitter tool disguised as a desktop gadget.

Unfortunately its default setting is to tweet some birdsong annoyingly every time someone twits, but it's easy to turn off. As you can see in the screenshot, links are replaced with [link], and you can mouse-over them to see where they link to -- it even expands the link-shortening services, so you can actually see where you're going!

And it doesn't seem to steal away all of your CPU cycles like Tweetdeck does...

5.Facebook Explorer: Now you can stalk your friends without constantly alt-tabbing back to your Facebook browser tab! Not only can you see pending friend requests or event invitations but you can also see if you've been poked -- life-altering, I know! All of your friend's updates are here too, with a break-out box popping-up to give you more details if you click on an update.

You can't seem to comment on or 'like' anything though -- perhaps that will come at a later date? Or maybe this gadget has been designed with the idea of improving your productivity at work...? So there is a God...

Either way, confining Facebook to a gadget would seem like a sensible thing to do. I imagine most of us know what it feels like to be sucked into the Facebook Void, sometimes never to resurface.

Some gadget niches are missing; most notably: an RSS reader! There are still relatively few gadgets compared to other computer customisations and, perhaps surprisingly, there are no decent RSS readers as a result.

The only good one seems to be Google's own gadget which only works with Google Desktop. If someone out there wants to design an RSS feed-reading gadget that can log into Google Reader... you'd be a very popular man.

The best I can offer you is a system-tray notifier called GRaiN that was featured over on Lifehacker in July. Or, if you want to subscribe to a few individual feeds, the Hermes RSS reader gadget might satisfy you.

I've also not mentioned the thousands of system-diagnostic gadgets, or the Google Search gadgets -- I figured I would try and show you some new gadgets that you might not have seen before!

Tags: addons, facebook, features, gadgets, gmail, lists, plugins, rss, sports, twitter, weather, windows 7, Windows7

Filed under: Windows, Microsoft, Op-Ed

Is this really all Microsoft is doing with the Windows 7 gadget gallery?

by Lee Mathews Aug 18th 2009

With the impending flood of Windows 7 into the retail channel, you'd think that all related initiatives from Microsoft would be gearing up. After all, this looks like it will be the biggest launch in Microsoft history.

Based on the number of Vista systems I see on my workbench that don't even have the sidebar enabled, gadgets are likely a low-priority item. For most users, personalization is more about changing color schemes and wallpaper and Microsoft has definitely provided plenty of theming options for Windows 7.

Still, if you're going to display gadgets as part of the personalization site shouldn't you provide some more compelling examples?

Date and time? Outlook Upcoming Appointments? Blogger Buddy? Come on, shouldn't that last one at least be preempted by a Live Spaces option?

And to list only six, well heck, there are four sideshow gadgets available. How many laptops have you seen in the wild that even have a sideshow compatible screen?

I'm not a big gadget user anyway, but maybe if someone (possibly the company who created the OS) put together a selection of really impressive ones I'd actually start utilizing them. Right now, gadgets kind of feel like Microsoft put them there as a "We can do that, too!" retort to OsX.

What's your take on Windows gadgets? Do you bother with them? Take the poll after the break, and chime in with your comments!

Tags: customization, gadgets, personalization, windows-7-rtm

Filed under: E-mail, Mozilla, Browser Tips

Integrated Gmail simplifies the view for minimalists and Google junkies alike

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Jul 22nd 2009

If there's a Gmail equivalent of adding a zillion toolbars to your browser, then I'm the poster boy. I've added so many lab features and gadgets that my Gmail functions rather... differently. But I'm all about simplifying, and the Firefox add-on Integrated Gmail does just that while also giving you a window into more Google services in a top-down view. The pic above shows you "minimalist" mode and is an incredibly slimmed-down version of Gmail, Reader and Calendar. Integrated Gmail also supports custom URLs and Gadgets like Remember the Milk, so you're not just stuck with Google stuff like Picasa, Notebook, etc.

Be aware that this does a lot of fancy Javascript work to make things happen, so a few Labs features will cause conflicts. I had enabled the ability to move nav columns around, which it didn't like. Also, even in settings you'll see Reader, Calendar, etc. So if you're not keen on seeing this in every single screen, you're kinda stuck with it.

That said, if you live in Gmail and you need a simplified dashboard, this is a nice little add-on to Firefox. The developer is asking for $5 donations, which is pretty reasonable for keeping your mind uncluttered.

Gallery: Integrated Gmail

Tags: add-on, browser, firefox, gadgets, gmail, interface, simplified, tweak

Filed under: OS Updates, Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Freeware, web 2.0, Windows x64

Amnesty Generator puts iGoogle gadgets on your Windows 7 desktop

by Lee Mathews Mar 14th 2009

You may have read about Amnesty Generator before on Download Squad - it's a free application that converts thousands of web gadgets and widgets - from dozens of sources - for use right on your Windows desktop.

While it was designed for Vista, it's not too surprising to find that it also works well on Windows 7. Apart from iGoogle, other major widget providers like The New York Times, SpringWidgets, Widgetbox, and a slew of others are supported. The conversion process is extremely fast and requires only a few simple steps: copy and paste the HTML embed code, enter a title (or use the one Amnesty automatically grabs), select an image, and click generate.

There are a couple minor issues to note. First, your image probably won't appear in the Widget gallery. Second, the title links added to the widgets can be a bit unsightly, primarily when they're long. Still, for the benefit of being able to add so many useful gadgets, it's a small price to pay.

Hopefully we'll see some more quality gadgets in the Windows Live Gallery as Windows 7 nears completion. Until then, Amnesty Generator provides a nice alternative. The program works with 32 and 64-bit versions of Vista and Windows 7, and there's also a Mac version available.

Tags: amnesty-generator, gadgets, sidebar, widgest, windows-7

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft, Beta, Windows x64

Free themes, gadgets, wallpaper for Windows 7 beta

by Lee Mathews Jan 13th 2009

If you're running the Windows 7 public beta, why not head over to Microsoft's personalization page and grab some free downloads to customize your desktop? There are currently 15 themes, 13 wallpapers, and 8 desktop gadgets available.

If you're running a compatible setup (i.e. laptop with a tiny secondary display) there are also 5 gadgets available for SideShow.

The themes are straight from Microsoft, so no patching is required - just click and install. Not running Windows 7 and still want to use the stunning background images? Just extract the .themepack files using an application like 7-zip.

As a Windows user, customization has always been important to me. After being stuck with the boring green-and-blue start button/taskbar combo for so long with XP, it's nice to see a number of themes available at this stage of the Win7 game.

[ via Life Rocks 2.0 ]

note: I did try extracting the pack and installing the theme file on Vista Ultimate as well, but didn't have complete success. Wallpaper changed, and the taskbar started to re-color, then it reverted to the Aero Glass default. Let us know if you're able to get it working!

Tags: gadgets, sideshow, themes, wallpaper, windows-7

Filed under: Blogging, Google, Social Software, Beta, web 2.0

Google Friend Connect spotted in the wild

by Brad Linder Jun 12th 2008

It's been about a month since Google announced its new Friend Connect platform which lets you add social widgets to any blog or web site. If you've been waiting patiently to see these widgets start popping up on the wild, wild web, it looks like the wait is over. Tech blogger Orli Yakuel has added a widget to her blog, Go2Web20.

The widget looks a lot like the recent readers widgets you find from services like MyBlogLog. But Friend Connect offers users the opportunity to interact with their contacts and communities more deeply without leaving the current web page. For example, Yakuel has added a comment widget that lets FriendConnect users who sign up to be members of her blog to leave comments that are visible to other members.

When you visit a site with a FriendConnect widget you can invite your Google contacts or friends from other sites including MySpace, Hi5, Orkut, or Plaxo to join the community.

Yakuel says there are only a handful of Google gadgets available at the moment, but says there is a section where you can grab gadgets from third party developers, much like the gadget gallery for iGoogle and Google Desktop.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

Tags: friend-connect, friendconnect, gadgets, widgets

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

Get your Sobees invites right here

by Brad Linder Mar 31st 2008

Yesterday we told you about a new desktop widget engine called Sobees which is in private beta. We also told you that if you wanted in on the private beta you had to sign up at the Sobees homepage. But Francois from the Sobees team has been kind enough to share 10 invites with Download Squad readers. Just be one of the first ten people to leave a comment on this post and we'll email you an invitation.

Keep in mind, this is beta software. And not beta like Gmail is still in beta. While the widget engine is fairly impressive, it's also sluggish and a memory hog. But we suspect both of these problems will diminish over time. And if you want to keep an eye on the application's progress, and are willing to share feedback with the developers, just leave a comment below.

Update: And we've got our winners. We've turned off the comments for this post and will be sending out the invite codes momentarily. Thanks for playing!

Tags: gadgets, sobees, widget-engine, widgets

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

Sobees widget engine launches private beta

by Brad Linder Mar 30th 2008

sobees beta english
by fbochatay

While we often find ourselves thinking "the last thing this world needs is another desktop widget engine," we might be willing to make an exception for Sobees. While we'd forgive you if you mistook Sobees as nothing but a desktop widget engine like Google Desktop, Yahoo! Widget Engine, or Vista's gadgets and the Dashboard in OS X, it's actually much more.

First of all, yes, Sobees does let you load modules on your desktop for doing things like making notes, showing the time and date, or interacting with the web. There are also nifty RSS and Twitter clients, and a web browser with a built in web search feature that lest you sort results by images or text links.

But there are at least three things that set Sobees apart from most other desktop widget applications.

Sobees widgets are highly customizable. You can resize any widget by clicking on a portion of the edge and dragging it in or out. You can also make widgets translucent or opaque, and choose from a variety of options for each widget.
Sobees widgets interact with one another, and you can share content from widgets with your contacts. For example, you can save an item from an RSS feed and share it with other Sobees users.
Your data is synchronized with a remote server, which means you can install Sobees on multiple computers and changes to one will be reflected on another. If you'd like to have a separate setup for your work and home computers, there's no problem though, because you can set up multiple desktops.

Sobees is currently Windows only, but according to CenterNetworks, a Mac client is in the works. An API will also be released eventually which should dramatically increase the number of widgets available. Sobees is quite clearly still beta software. It takes a fairly long time to load the application, it freezes up periodically, and it uses close to 200MB of RAM. But Sobees is worth keeping an eye on. If you want to help test the software, you an sign up to participate in the private beta.

Tags: gadgets, sobees, widget-engine, widgets

Filed under: Internet, Office, Web services, Google, web 2.0

Google Spreadsheets adds gadgets

by Brad Linder Mar 19th 2008

Google seems to be rolling out improvements to Google Spreadsheets like there's no tomorrow. Or like there's no Microsoft Office tomorrow anyway. When you click the little chart icon in the Google Spreadsheets toolbar, you now get a whole slew of charts and other gadgets to choose from in addition to the pie, bar, and line charts that Google introduced a while back.

The new gadget gallery includes:

Tables and pivot tables
Maps and heatmaps
Google web and image searches for selected values
Organization charts

Users can also create their own custom gadgets using the Google Gadgets API. In non-chart/gadget news, Google has also added the option to receive email notifications when someone changes a spreadsheet, and a variety of other bug fixes and feature enhancements including improved sort, filter, and unique functions.

[via Google Operating System]

Tags: charts, gadgets, google-docs, google-spreadsheets, graphs, office, spreadsheets

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Who needs widgets when you've got Stick?

by Brad Linder Jan 5th 2008

We love desktop widgets as much as the next guy, but sometimes Google Desktop, Yahoo! Widget Engine, or Vista's sidebar can get a bit overwhelming. They just take up so much space hanging out in your sidebar.

Stick is a widget-like utility that lets you add a handful tabs to your desktop to access basic applications. The utility ships with just a few tools, like a News Feed applet, calendar, notes, and Windows Explorer utilities. If you know C++ and MFC, you can also write your own utilities.

If you want access to hundreds of pre-built desktop widgets, Stick isn't for you. But if you're looking for an application that lets you open just a handful of the applications you need most frequently from low-profile tabs that you can dock to the top, bottom, right or left of your desktop, Stick might be worth a look.

[via NoHeat]

Tags: Gadgets, Stick, Widgets

Filed under: Business, Social Software, web 2.0

Product Clash: Frankenchild of Digg and Bizrate

by Romeo Wahed Dec 24th 2007

With everyone and their cousin busy idea farming for the next monster Web 2.0 social media community site, there are going to be some oddities. And Product Clash, despite the "sounds good on paper" concept, is shaping up to be one of them.

The idea is this: you have a bunch of products like game consoles, cameras, or mp3 players and match them up against a similar product in a 1-on-1 "clash." After registering for a Product Clash account, you can then vote for your favorite item of consumer merchandise by clicking on a link called "clash this!" You can also leave behind comments and blog about the clashes or click an affiliate link to order the item.

Right. But there are some obvious problems. For one, if the site is attempting to break into the comparison shopping niche by disguising itself as a social media site it's in trouble because it isn't any good at either. Besides a rundown of technical data, it has very little information on the products. That, and outlets for fanboys/girls of virtually any product are countless.

The Internet already saturated with resouces on consumer electronics, the future of Product Clash looks like a long uphill battle if not outright grim. Even though it is still in beta, a large problem remains: "clashing" products just isn't very much, well, fun. And a glossy Web 2.0 interface is not going to help.

[via TechCrunch]

Tags: comparison, gadgets, socialmedia, web2.0

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Ask DLS

What's your favorite program launcher? Ask DLS

by Brad Linder Nov 27th 2007

OS X has its dock, Windows Vista has an enhanced start menu, and Windows XP has, well, a bunch of menus to click through to launch programs. But thanks to independent developers, there are a ton of great program launchers out there that make it easy to bring an OS X-style dock to Windows, or keyboard program launchers to pretty much any operating system.

Over the years we've tried out a ton of program launchers, but we're not sure we've settled on a favorite. The sidebar launchers for Vista and Yahoo! Widget Engine are kind of nice. RocketDock is amazing if you have a handful or applications you use all the time. And keyboard launcher Launchy is all kinds of awesome, if you can remember the name of the program your looking for.

But we haven't yet found one launcher to rule them all. So we turn to you, our loyal Download Squad readers. What's your favorite application launcher, and why? Oh yeah, and don't forget to let us know what operating systems it works with. While Launchy and RocketDock are both Windows-only, we don't want to leave out applications like Google Desktop that are cross-platform.

Tags: gadgets, launchers, launchy, program-launchers, rocketdock, widgets

Filed under: Internet, Google, web 2.0

Install Google Desktop gadgets in iGoogle

by Brad Linder Oct 5th 2007

Google has been offering two different types of gadgets (or what the rest of the world calls widgets) for a while now. You could install tiny applications on your desktop using Google Desktop. Or you could install them in a personalized Google Startpage using iGoogle. Now Google has gone and removed the line dividing these two gadget types: You can now install Google Desktop gadgets on your iGoogle page.

In other words, you can add applications that will let you interact with your computer directly from an iGoogle page. For example, you can play music, or check your PC's power consumption or WiFi signal. You can find the gadgets using the iGoogle Content Directory.

Google is also releasing a new beta of Google Desktop 5.5 with improved Outlook search features and the ability to open multiple instances of the same gadget on your desktop.

Tags: gadgets, google-desktop, igoogle

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Web services, web 2.0

The history of widgets

by Chris Gilmer Sep 28th 2007

Widgets, most people use them now on their social network pages, blogs, or even on desktops. But where did they originate and how did they come to be? Niall Kennedy, the widget guru, answers that in his brief history of the widget.

Where did it all begin? Back in 1981 when the graphical user interface was first designed for home use. Netscape pushed the widget along its journey in 1996 with the Navigator browser and PowerStart. This Netscape technology showed the latest stock quotes, weather and started using other dynamic web content. It wasn't until 2003 when Konfabulator hit the scene to bring OSX users fancy desktop widgets.

Now we have handy widgets everywhere, and they are such common place on everything from mobile devices, desktops, and websites. Niall has also created a widget timeline available here.

Tags: gadgets, history, web, web2, web2.0, widgets

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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gadgets posts

Ten gadgets to make Google Wave more productive - and fun!

A bunch of fun and productivity-boosting gadgets for Windows 7

Is this really all Microsoft is doing with the Windows 7 gadget gallery?