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The best Widgets for your Mac
by James Oakwood
09.01.07 |
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Arriving as part of the system software for Tiger (OSX 10.4), Dashboard was clearly influenced by Konfabulator (which was bought up by Yahoo and became Yahoo! Widgets), but it’s fair to say that Dashboard’s Widgets haven’t become hugely popular in their own right.
Going back to basics for a second, if you’re new to all this then you may not know what a Widget actually is. If that’s the case, then allow us to clear the mist. A Widget is a small piece of code that can be tarted up to perform basic tasks, such as delivering the latest travel information, getting the headlines from an RSS news feed or finding out the weather forecast for the forthcoming week. Then, via a hotkey you choose, you can bring them all up at a moment’s notice to display the information you need. Obviously you need to be connected to the Internet for this, but Widgets are a fun way to display a lot of useful information very quickly.
When you first activate Dashboard (by either using one of the hotkeys or going to the Dashboard icon in the Finder) you’ll see that Apple has been kind enough to supply a pretty wide range to get you started. And although this also includes a Widget to control iTunes, you’d be better off searching through Apple’s dedicated Dashboard mini-site that, at the time of writing, had over 3,000 Widgets to choose from. When you get to the site (the link’s above), type ‘iPod’ or ‘iTunes’ into the search bar and start picking some Widgets from the list it brings up. Alternatively, save yourself some time and just plump for our recommendations…
ONTOUR
This is a great one to start with, as OnTour delivers detailed concert listings for your town. More interestingly though, it’ll highlight the artists playing that appear in your iTunes library, give you links to ticket retailers and also links to the artist’s homepage on iTunes, so you can hear previews of new bands you like the look of.
IPODAGE
If you want to quickly find out how many songs you’ll be able to fit on your iPod, then iPodage is for you. Let it how large your iPod’s memory is and your average song length and it’ll do all the hard work for you.
NEWTUNES
This Widget automatically searches through your iTunes library and then returns with any information on new albums by your favourite bands and artists, taking the hassle out of trying to keep on top of the new releases out there.
SYMPHONIC
Although it’s a small Widget, it also happens to be perfectly formed. Symphonic is a text-based song launcher for iTunes, and all you have to do is start typing the name of a song and it instantly starts playing. The thing that makes Symphonic so interesting is the fact that it’s so quick, so if you’re in a hurry to hear a particular song, this Widget should be much quicker than trying to find it in iTunes.
IGLYRIC
If you’re planning on filling up your iPod with lyrics for your songs, then IgLyric can save you a lot of time and energy, as it’ll search for the right lyrics for you and then save it for you to put it through iTunes later.
iPOD DP
If you’re looking for a Widget that shows what the system is actually capable of though, then we really can’t say enough nice things about iPod DP from Alexis Designs. Basically, this is a virtual iPod that’s supposed to work with either Mac or PC (although it only worked on PC when we tried it) and allows you to play your iTunes library through an iPod-shaped Widget. More than that though, you can also view cover art and add ratings, add up to five photo image folders, play games (as soon as someone writes some games for it) and much more. If you only download one Widget, then it has to be this one.
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1. You can assign a hotkey or cursor position to open up Dashboard by going to System Preferences > Dashboard & ExposÈ and then picking a corner or hotkey to use. |
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2. If you don’t have the Tiger operating system on your Mac (OSX10.4), then you can still have Widgets – as long as you’re running OSX10.3, that is. Head to Yahoo! Widgets and simply download the Yahoo! Widget Engine from there. |
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