Were widgets overhyped?

Do you really use widgets? Really?

Saturday, March 24, 2007 by Frogboy | Discussion: Skinning

Years ago Stardock developed DesktopX with had the concept of putting "live objects" on the desktop. If you check out the DesktopX object gallery and look at the really old ones, you can see what was envisioned -- something beyond icons but not quite mini applications.

When Konfabulator was released, 3 years later, it got so much attention that everyone suddenly assumed there was a huge demand for "widgets".  And the world was blessed with thousands of weather, stock, and other "mini applications" and the creation of live objects seemingly disappeared.

But do people use widgets?  I have to admit, on my system, I rarely have any widgets running. They look cool in a screenshot.  By contrast, I DID use desktop objects even if they were largely cosmetic. 

The line between desktop objects and widgets is very blurred. People were making clocks and calendars and weather and media player objects right from the start. But for the most part, people were doing what amounts to creating smart icons .

So I'm curious, how many people out there are using widgets. If not, would you use desktop objects if people were making them?

27 Reply 26 Referrals
First Previous Page 1 of 2 Next Last
adni18
Reply #1 Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:15 PM
I can't imagine my desktop without them, I use some of my widgets even with Microsoft Vista, because I didn't find anything better to use with Vista sidebar!

There are hundreds of them in Microsoft Library, but they are not that good as the widgets of DesktopX library.

ama02
Reply #2 Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:25 PM
I use the weather widget all the time, it's set to start on boot-up. I like widgets because I don't need to have Desktop X running to use them.

Chasbo
Reply #3 Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:56 PM
Gotta have 'em! Maybe they have been over hyped but I value the useful ones. When I submit a screen shot I like it to be as I really use it so my shots usually aren't filled up with a lot of widgets. The one I did for Synthek used a lot of different elements but even then I thought it was very practical. Make it cool but useful is what I think.

c242
Reply #4 Saturday, March 24, 2007 12:57 PM
Well, my answer should be clear. I just need my systeminfos on the xp desk, on my vista notebook I prefer using the sidebar for that. Regarding hype or no hype : DesktopX still is the most underestimated SD app and there are still endless possibilities yet to explore. But You can't rely on users only on this matter, wether in doing great widgets for You nor doing all the tutorials. That model seems pretty going nowhere yet. Also when was the last update regarding known bugs or more flexible plugins ? Where is the sidebar-app export for Vista ? Again, no bad blood here, just food for thoughts.

A good read is also RomanDA's rant here, in case You missed it. Click

ArileenDesign
Reply #5 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:14 PM
I use/make/share them and i can't imagine my PC without them

vStyler
Reply #6 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:19 PM
have to admit, on my system, I rarely have any widgets running. They look cool in a screenshot.


My sentiments mirrored. If I need one, I'll run it, but its very rare. They are certainly , to me at least, something I can live without. If i need to know the time , its in my tray, If i need to know the weather, I look outside, ive been on a PC so long I don't feel I need a CPU or Ram meter unless I need to get really specific with stats.. I just know when something is using Ram or CPU, it like a sense. No search widget needed..If I want to search, I open my browser, which defaults to google (your browser has to open anyway to look at results)

As for more spefic widgets, Ive seen some that can be very handy on a daily basis but nothing I consider inportant enough to run at startup on my PC.

Vad_M's Statchecker is a handy one that comes to mind.

Im a bit of a fanatic about running processes even on a pretty modern PC so I only use..what i use, combine that with the screen real estate they occupy, I would have to say yes, for me, overhyped.

On the other side, they provide other people plenty of enjoyable hours skinning and coding which helps me as it helps keep the skinning community thriving and im sure that many many folks find uses for them in their daily grind....and..they look GREAT in screenshots.   


seldomseen
Reply #7 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:31 PM
There are hundreds of them in Microsoft Library, but they are not that good as the widgets of DesktopX library


Gotta have 'em!


can't imagine my PC without them


DesktopX still is the most underestimated SD app and there are still endless possibilities yet to explore


My sentiments also

sViz
Reply #8 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:48 PM
I'm of the opinion that a widget has massive potential, and is a powerful tool, but is a niche product. They're cool but most people can live without them. I can't see that they'll ever be the next iPod. I usually only run 2 at a time. I prefer widgets to objects because I don't have to have DX running. I don't know about overhype- I had never even heard of a widget before I stumbled upon DX, so it wasn't like a widget was this thing that I kept hearing was going to be the next big step in technology. The problem is 1.) For the end-user they are largely seen as an unessesary luxury-- even for the most practical uses such as clock and weather-- like vStyler said, you've got time in your systray and weather right outside your window. 2.) For the casual developer it's not easy to make anything beyond the proverbial clock or weather, because of the lack of learning resources and the amount of serious coding it takes to make the so-called "super-widgets". For the most part, I'd say unless you are already into skinning or OS Customization you'll probably live the rest of your computer technology days never knowing about, using, or making a widget. So as opposed to the notion that widgets aren't all that they're trumped up to be, I'd say they're even more than that but they have not yet reached their potential (and I'm not sure they ever will, but we'll see).

ZubaZ
Reply #9 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:52 PM
There are some that I can't imagine not running
  1. Littleboys Volume Changer (and plugin) - best use of scroll wheel ever.
  2. My customized media player (based of silica MP3)
  3. Pandora's box by RomanDA
  4. Stealth Wireless by Exudus Crow
  5. Roman's HC Pro is always running too (free version)
There are some that I use often:
  1. Will Rose's Animated Weather Satellite and Radar v2.1a
  2. Carls new sSI 0.98 Basic skinnable system meters
I think that widgets can be extarordinarily useful and fill many small gaps in people's lives.  I think the DX coders are starting become more cohesive and data is being shared more and more.  That's good for everyone

Double Zero
Reply #10 Saturday, March 24, 2007 1:54 PM
Well....Tried them...Their ok I suppose, definitely should be available to those that really like them..

I personlly dont like a "cluttered" desktop, or do I like things running that I am not using "at the moment"

Sysmetric is another example, great skins, cool concept, Just do not need it running *All the time..

"Gotta haves" for me really boils down to the basics...Windowblinds and CursorXP..Those run at boot-up..all other "enhancements" are turned off and really only brought up on occassion to show off what is made possible through Stardock to my friends and family..Get allot of "Ooooo's & Ahhhhhh's" LoL

I.R. Brainiac
Reply #11 Saturday, March 24, 2007 2:06 PM
I run 4 fulltime.CPUand RAM meters I consider essential,clock and supercalendar are for fun.  

Vadim's Statchecker is shaping up nicely.  

SirSmiley
Reply #12 Saturday, March 24, 2007 2:16 PM
Primarily, it's objects for me.

I don't think widgets were over hyped but, I do think that many people just don't get it. Most people don't know about the underlying tools available to them that are standard parts of the OS.

I'm still baffled by the number of people who sit in front of their computer while they run anti-virus/spyware/adware scans.

Vad_M
Reply #13 Saturday, March 24, 2007 2:22 PM
I don't use widgets anymore as a separate applications because I have done the full-fledged desktop where integrated system info, weather, todo, events list, clock, calendar etc... There are only three things that I use (but as a gadgets) - Media Player, Launch Bar and Skin Shecker. So I use DesktopX only for development. (The best software I have found for this by the way) But this is my way.

However I'm sure that a lot of people who want to customize their Windows but has no time (or possibilities) to create own desktops must use the widgets. As a separate applications or as a parts of DX Themes.

ZubaZ
Reply #14 Saturday, March 24, 2007 2:34 PM
I realized that I never answered the question.

I think the press has gone through periods where they have hyped the gadget/widget/sidebar thing but it's always been mostly a failure because there really isn't a market for "stuff" on your desktop.  Power users may like and want and even build their own but Joe Average doesn't have a clue.

Most people use the software they need at work to do their job. At home they check email and maybe the anual Christmas letter.

No one is marketing widgets or gadgets, not even Stardock.  Even the name is dismissive.

Some of the stuff coming from the top DX coders are real applications.  You could slap a skin on them and sell them to company X in a heartbeat.  The real trick (again) is letting the market know that you have filled a gap for them.

Imagine the collegiate MyColors with Roman's Holiday Calendar skinned and loaded with all the football games for the year?  But then you're not selling a widget/gadget/object, you are selling a calendar app built on DX technology. Big difference.

I'd like to see MORE hype for mini-apps built on DX! 

elvee
Reply #15 Saturday, March 24, 2007 2:43 PM
most of the time i need the Wi-Fi and Battery widget running, thats about it because SysMetrix takes care of my other info needs.

I would rather use DesktopX for all my needs instead of having a bunch of mini apps all over the place.

c242
Reply #16 Saturday, March 24, 2007 3:33 PM
I still think widgets overran all those mini-apps we had in the past to a great extend. Remember EZPop and the myriad of mail-checking progs that existed ? Even to do lists and the like, no need to have 5 apps for different purposes anymore. There were plenty of sysinfo-apps out there, the only one still succeeding (although it is not developed further for some time now) is Sysmetrix, which a used for a long time and I even made suggestions to Xymantix for development. Then RomanDA came along with a great piece of script that could detect Your drives automatically wheras You were and still are pretty limited with Sysmstrix and drives (heck I made 5 different skins of one thing those times to just be sure the user could monitor up to 5 drives...) Nowadays I just need 1 gadget that even uses less ressources than those apps. The only other one I am running is Rainlendar, mainly because the old 1.x version nicely hooks into Outlook.

Adamness
Reply #17 Saturday, March 24, 2007 5:18 PM
No one is marketing widgets or gadgets, not even Stardock.


Got that right. I don't know how many of you are aware of this, but Yahoo released version 4 of Yahoo Widgets the other day. I think all the advertisement done was a submission to Digg that didn't reach the front page. The only advertising I've seen Yahoo do with their widgets is a little ad on the homepage for two weekends last year.

I think the problem with widgets is that it's hard to think of new uses, and even if you do, people might have no use for it. I use pretty basic widgets of weather, system stats, calendar, and mail checker. I don't have any use for any other kind of widget, gadget or object. Basic information is all I need, and that in itself limits how far these things can be taken. It basically comes down to which ones look the best.

Fuzzy Logic
Reply #18 Sunday, March 25, 2007 5:43 AM
I never use widgets. None of them ever match my skins and I haven't a clue how to make one.

gef
Reply #19 Sunday, March 25, 2007 6:35 AM

I never use widgets. None of them ever match my skins and I haven't a clue how to make one.

Ditto   


WOM
Reply #20 Sunday, March 25, 2007 6:49 AM
I use 3 Konfabulator widgets, weather, clock and system info.  I also have 1/2 dozen games that I call up and use.  But for the most part, my desktop is clean.  No icons, just the 3 widgets and OD+.

Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

  • Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
  • Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
  • Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
  • It's simple, and FREE!
Login
First Previous Page 1 of 2 Next Last

Home | About | Privacy | Upload Guidelines | Terms of Service | Help
Copyright © Stardock Corporation. All Rights Reserved.


web-wc01