Focus On Software: What’s A Widget
Posted on August 12, 2008
Filed Under Software |
There are more ways of staying on top of the information overload than ever before. And one of everyone’s first question about this new landscape is what is a widget?
Widgets used to mean any mechanical part that you didn’t know the name to, so the question “What is a widget” didn’t used to make sense! Last time I checked, widgets were somehow related to George Jetson’s company, competing against Spacely Sprockets. Nowadays, everyone wants widgets and calls them by name.
A widget is an application that is still distributed freely - at least that is similar to its old meaning - but everything else is new. Widgets typically perform one function, although some widgets are designed to work with Internet access while others are simply for the desktop. A desktop widget is an application that helps perform a single function usually, such as the calculator that pops up under Applications for Windows. Another common widget is an application widget is a simplified version of a running application, like a “minimized” form so you can see what’s happening.
Internet widgets, on the other hand, require an Internet connection. They feed real-time information selectively to help you sort through the daily barrage of information. For example, a widget that checks for airline ticket deals is one popular widget that is compatible with the Internet Explorer.
There are more widgets available everyday, so it’s easy to go crazy for widgets. Now that you know how to define a widget, go get yourself some!
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