Patrick March 30th, 2007
I haven’t changed my Google homepage in a while, and I wanted to discover new gadgets. So I created a new tab, called it “fun stuff” and left the “feeling lucky” box checked. Here are some of the gadgets that Google considers fun stuff:
- Calvin & Hobbs (unofficial)
- Sudoku
- Joke of the Day
- Stuff: New Zealand’s Leading News & Information Website
- Hangman
- PacMan
- Wikipedia
- Quote of the Day
I was hoping that the New York Times Crossword Puzzle would appear, and I’m not sure that I would have put Wikipedia and Quote of the Day on a page called Fun Stuff if I were creating it manually. The current headlines on Stuff, including “Stranger Rape Brings 11 Years in Jail” and “Helicopter Wreakage Removed from Crater Lake,” are not exactly fun topics. Otherwise, this seems a reasonable collection of gadgets.
Technorati Tags: Google, gadgets, widgets
Patrick March 29th, 2007
Most of what is blogged about today is web widgets, either the kind where you can grab some code and place it on your website, or click a button and add it to a particular blogging platform, or visit a site and compose your own personal start page using widgets.
Yeah, the web is an interesting area, but its not everything (and I’m an internet consultant, for gosh sakes!). How about Apple’s Dashboard, Yahoo’s Widget Engine, and Windows Vista Gadgets? What’s funny is that this doesn’t even remotely begin to explore the power and possibility of widgets. How about BMW’s iDrive, or AppleTV, or mobile phones, or the display on your refrigerator?
Everyone getting all hot and bothered about web widgets needs to chill. While web standards are going to be a major factor–Apple was derided for aping Konfabulator, which it did because K wasn’t based on web standards, yet Yahoo’s Widget Engine (once called Konfabulator) recently moved to web standards–there are many other platforms that will be key to the widget economy. Remember how everyone panned Microsoft’s watch? Watch out. the concept will rise again, this time powered by widgets.
Technorati Tags: widgets, gadgets, Apple, Yahoo, Konfabulator, Vista
Patrick March 29th, 2007
In his column in the latest edition of Business 2.0, Om Malik of GigaOm takes a quick look at how widgets might be used in the workplace. His conclusion seems to be that he doesn’t think there is much money to be made in widgets, except for companies that cater to enterprise with widgets for sales tracking and forecasting, for example. Salesforce.com and SAP are beginning to use widgets, but efforts thus far have apparently been limited.
I agree that there are tremendous opportunities to develop widgets for enterprise, but believe a handful of business models for widgets outside of enterprise will emerge. The future of software is small, discreet, reusable, connectible, and configurable applications. Businesses may or may not become profitable on widgets in their current form, but expect this market to evolve dramatically, and previously unenvisioned models to appear.
Patrick March 28th, 2007
The launch of Zenzui raises a key question: how does Zenzui differ from WidSets? Both offer widgets for mobile devices. There’s much more info on WidSets.com about how it works, and WidSets has first-mover advantage after launching on June 6, 2006. But Zenzui claims to have been in development for 3 years, so they may be much further along than it appears. If I could, I’d install a few WidSets, give them a test drive and write you a review, but alas, their supported device list doesn’t include the Palm Treo 650.
Patrick March 28th, 2007
As I launch this blog and consider the “eat my own dog food” philosophy, I am looking carefully at all sorts of widgets that are compatible with WordPress Sidebar Widgets in particular, and web widgets in general. Naturally, I’ve taken a look at Twitter.
Twitter is interesting. And its certainly getting lots of buzz. But do I really want to broadcast where I am or what I’m doing? And honestly, do you want to know?
Patrick March 28th, 2007
Zenzui execs saw my post on their launch, and the PR team was kind enough to send some images (thanks!). I’ll post more later, but I’ve chosen to show this one first because it is a really compelling example of how widgets can be deployed to extend brand, reach, transactions, customer loyalty and more. Shopping at Amazon.com will likely be far easier using this tile than the Blazer browser on my Treo.
Patrick March 28th, 2007
So, Zenzui is off and running. This independent company is a spinout of Microsoft Ventures and is using technology developed by Microsoft’s R&D group to essentially bring widgets–”tiles” in Zenzui’s vocabulary–to mobile devices. The website lacks a lot of specifics, but it appears the company is not tied to mobile devices that use the Windows Mobile OS, which if true would be a Good Thing.
Apparently three years in the making, Zenzui tiles are reminiscent of Apple iPhone widgets (click on “Widgets” in the lower right corner) announced in January. But Zenzui looks like they are trying to create and control an entire ecosystem for mobile widgets.
Technorati Tags: widgets, mobile, tiles
Patrick March 28th, 2007
I’m sure you know this by now, but you can get widgets for your computer, whether you’re using a Mac or PC. You can get them for the Yahoo Widget Engine for Mac or PC. And you can get them in a wide variety of flavors for the web, like Google Gadgets, virtually every blogging platform, and websites like NetVibes. Now, you can get them for your iPod too.
Koloroo has just announced two widgets for your iPod: TipKalc and KolorWheel. These look interesting, particularly TipKalc, which allows you to calculate 15 and 20% tips and split your check evenly among 1, 2, 3, or 4 people. Pretty slick, as is their very simple, intuitive and uncluttered website. The only downside: you have to pay for both widgets (albeit not much), and Koloroo doesn’t offer a trial version. I’ll bear the burden of buying these and giving them a whirl, and I’ll report back on my review and recommendations.
Technorati Tags: ipod, apple, widget
Patrick March 28th, 2007
There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “eat your own dog food.” The basic idea is that if you work at The Gap, wear Gap clothes. If you sell e-commerce software, sell it online using your own software to do it. The philosophy is generally a good one.
idgetsWay is built using WordPress. And since this is a blog about widgets, I’m using the Sidebar Widgets plugin, which allows me to drag-and-drop widgets that I want to appear in that column to the right. I can add or remove widgets, rename them, reorder them, and so on. It represents exactly what widgets are all about: an incredibly user-friendly way for me to customize my online experience.
Now, where’s the dog chow?
Patrick March 28th, 2007
FROM THE “IN CASE YOU MISSED IT DEPARTMENT”
In December, Newsweek Magazine declared 2007 the Year of the Widget. The bottom line? Widgets are all about personalizing your online life.
Patrick March 28th, 2007
Widget syndication company Clearspring raised $5.5 million in venture capital. Some VCs I’ve heard from doubt the potential of widgets. Novak Biddle and ZG Ventures are not among them.
Patrick March 28th, 2007
Om Malik and Niall Kennedy produced this conference about, you guessed it, widgets. I love their slogan: “a small web loosely joined.”
Question: when is version 2.0 of Widgets Live? I need to make my travel arrangements…
Patrick March 28th, 2007
Welcome to idgetsWay, a blog by Modern Sprocket founder and CEO Patrick Hunt about the wide, wide world of widgets. Why widgets? Widgets–also known as gadgets, badges, tiles, and probably a few other dozen terms–are exploding in popularity. The ability to essentially customize your entire computing experience by combining a bunch of really small software applications seems to have struck a nerve with folks. Why, even Newsweek declared 2007 the Year of the Widget!
idgetsWay is my attempt to help you make sense of widgets, use them in your business and personal lives, find great widgets, and get a look at where widgets are headed. Thanks for visiting, and keep on coming back!
And I promise not to overdo it with the pig latin.
