Back in the early 1980s, one of the most popular MS-DOS programs was Borland’s Sidekick. The idea behind Sidekick was that sometimes you don’t need or want to run a full-blown application. Sometimes, you want a simple program, such as a calculator, calendar, or address book, to pop up momentarily before you go back to doing what you were doing previously.
Fast-forward about 20 years, and programs such as Desktop X, Yahoo!’s Widget Engine, and AveDesk have reinvented the Sidekick idea of offering mini-programs called widgets that accomplish a single, useful task. Widgets are especially useful for users with an always-on Internet connection. If you use on a dial-up connection, widgets will be less convenient to use because your computer will constantly need to dial up and connect to the Internet for the widget to retrieve the latest data, such as stock information, weather reports, maps, etc.
I looked at three widget programs to see what they provide, how well they provide it, and how each compares to the competition.
 AveDesk 1.3  AveDesk 1.3
Free
AveDesk
avedesk.needlemen.com
CPUs: 2.5
AveDesk is basically a one-programmer operation with plenty of polish but still a lot of rough edges. A tutorial folder for the app contains a single page reading “placeholder tutorial,” and pressing F1 to access the program’s help file did nothing. Despite these flaws, AveDesk performed fine.
Pressing the default F9 key darkens the monitor screen and displays all open widgets on the screen. Pressing F9 again makes the widgets fade away, returning your screen to its previous appearance. You can customize the appearance of every widget, including adjusting its screen position and size, fonts, foreground and background colors, color saturation, the drop shadow, alignment and rotation, and even graphic quality. Graphic choices range from Low Quality But Fastest to Godlike Quality Only For Fast CPUs.
AveDesk’s Web site offers hundreds of widgets for free download, but AveDesk bundles with several widgets, including a chalkboard (which mimics scribbling pictures on a green chalkboard using white chalk) and sticky notes (which mimic jotting down text on yellow Post-it notes).
With so many technical options for defining a widget’s appearance, along with a SDK to create your own widgets, Ave-Desk should keep any experienced user or programmer busy and happy. For casual users just wanting convenient access to commonly used services such as a stock ticker or weather report, AveDesk gets the job done but may take more effort to set up and use than you’re willing to invest. After all, the program should make your life easier rather than overwhelm you with its technical wizardry.
Stardock DesktopX 3.1  DesktopX 3.1
$14.95 (Client), $24.95 (Standard), $69.95 (Pro)
Stardock
www.stardock.com
CPUs: 3
DesktopX comes in three versions: Client, Standard, and Pro. The Client version only lets you run DesktopX widgets that other people have created. The Standard version lets you run and create your own DesktopX widgets. The Pro version lets you run, create, and convert widgets into independent executable files called gadgets that anyone can run without needing a copy of DesktopX.
DesktopX provides various options to access a widget. You can run a widget manually by loading via DesktopX or configure individual widgets to run whenever Windows starts. Once you have loaded one or more widgets, you can display them through the DesktopX program or by pressing F9. To hide all open widgets, press F10. To access widgets individually, you can assign widget icons to appear in the System Tray or on the Windows Taskbar.
Having widgets pop up and disappear at your command is convenient, but sometimes you want a widget available at all times. To this end, DesktopX can also create objects, which are images or widgets that appear on the Windows Desktop as an icon. By pasting objects on your Desktop, you can view such things as a digital clock, stock ticker, or weather forecast embedded on the Desktop. (To see objects on your Desktop, you have to minimize any programs currently running.)
Rather than paste multiple objects on your Desktop, DesktopX gives you the option to replace your entire Desktop altogether with a new one you create. This lets you create custom Desktops for different users, thus restricting their access to certain programs or providing simpler access to commonly used programs.
Although DesktopX is easy enough for novices to use, it’s geared especially to power users wanting to create widgets, objects, and Desktops. If you just want to use the widgets, even the minimal cost of the Client version ($14.95) can’t compete with the free offerings of competitors like Yahoo! Widget Engine. If you want the most power for creating and using widgets and more, however, DesktopX stands in a class of its own.
Yahoo! Widget Engine 3.02  Widget Engine 3.02
Free
widgets.yahoo.com
Yahoo!
CPUs: 3.5
Of the widget programs here, Yahoo! Widget Engine (formerly Konfabulator) is the only one that runs on Windows and Mac OS X. With more than 20 widgets bundled with the app and over 1,600 additional widgets that you can download, you’re sure to find one that does what you need.
After you install Widget Engine on Windows, it automatically runs when you turn on the computer. (With Mac OS X, you have to configure the app to run automatically at start up.) Accessing the program is as easy as clicking its icon in the System Tray or the Taskbar. When you do, a menu appears to let you load a widget, retrieve a new widget from the Internet, customize the appearance of a widget, or customize the way the program works.
Many widgets appear translucent, which looks cool over a solid background, but these can be difficult to see when appearing over icons or a running program such as a word processor or Web browser. Fortunately, pressing F8 will dim the background image and display widgets in greater relief. Moving widgets is as simple as dragging the widget to a new location. To close a widget, just right-click it and select Close from the context menu.
If you're a heavy Yahoo! user, several included Yahoo!-specific widgets let you check your Yahoo! email account, use maps, and search using Yahoo!. Considering Yahoo! Widget Engine is free, the program is a bargain. And given Yahoo!’s Web presence, it’s likely more people will continue writing widgets for the app, giving Yahoo! Widget Engine possibly the most widgets to choose from, rivaled only by Apple’s Dashboard.
With its free price, slick-looking widgets, simple commands, and huge widget library, Yahoo! Widget Engine is the most polished and easiest-to-use widget program of this bunch.
Which One Should You Use?
Yahoo! Widget Engine is the clear winner when it comes to being the easiest widget app to use. It installs itself to run automatically at start up (something you had to manually do with the other two apps), and it also offers the largest selection of widgets.
DesktopX deserves an honorable mention for its ability to create and display widgets and for its ability to embed widgets directly on the Desktop or replace the Desktop altogether. It’s ability to turn widgets into self-running executables can also turn you into a widget.
AveDesk isn’t a bad app, but it’s not the friendliest to use for novices. It’s clearly a labor of love of its programmer, and its community of users testifies to its usefulness. Still, given a choice among the apps, Yahoo! Widget Engine is my first pick. 
by Wallace Wang
Microsoft Gadgets
If you wait until year’s end when Windows Vista is expected to arrive, you’ll get a free version of Microsoft Gadgets (microsoftgadgets.com), Microsoft’s version of widgets. Like the widget programs here, Gadgets are mini-apps that provide such things as weather reports, stock quotes, or dictionaries, which you can place in the Vista Sidebar.
Microsoft, however, has also teased that its Gadgets can run as Web services for Start.com. Such Gadgets could let you create custom Web pages for displaying different content, such as RSS feeds and custom calendars. Finally, you can also use Gadgets to send data to separate devices such as cell phones or PDAs.
Unless you’re a developer, you probably can’t test Microsoft Gadgets just yet, but by year’s end, you should be able to judge for yourself whether Microsoft Gadgets is better than Yahoo! Widget Engine, AveDesk, or DesktopX. |
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