Gadgets are everwhere, electronics, software and now the internet
Connectivity and aggregation seem to be the name of the game, with Windows Vista getting in on the act with their gadgets. Even developers in New Zealand are getting in on the act.
See this article from Computerworld
Locally developed gadgets for the Windows Vista sidebar are being downloaded by the thousands across the world. Wellington-based software developer Mindscape, for example, has built a Powershell gadget that has been downloaded by over 2,000 users so far. It has also made it on to the top-10 list of best gadgets compiled by IDG Sweden, says Jeremy Boyd, director of Mindscape.
A gadget is a mini-application that provides real-time graphical system information, or other information such as weather, stock quotes or the latest headlines.
So with the advent of vista, gadgets are becoming more mainstream. But they have been around for ages. Objectdock, Yahoo, Google all have their own widgets that you can add to your desktop.
For me I\’m not a big fan, It\’s cool for a while, but I wanted the screen space back and it didnt seem to matter how big my screen got, I wanted it all for the stuff I was actually doing, not fill it up with other stuff.
However, I know it is a big thing for a lot of people and some on the NZ sites like Trademe and the NZHerald are offering widgets for Vista.
Hopefully this can be a growth market, there is a huge market for this to get your products and services out there. Imagine getting your information straight to the desktop, could be a great time saver if you can put up with the encroachment of your screen real estate.
Till next time