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Dashboard = dead

M

michaelrjohnson

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 9, 2000
2,180
5
53132
Well, that's because I killed it.

When Tiger was released, I thought that Dashboard was just a stupid gimmick. I figured I'd never use it. But I found some widgets that were useful to me, and I probably used Dashboard every 15 minutes thereafter. But I thought, heck... Do I really need all of these? So I terminated the Dashboard about 4 months ago, and have not looked back since.

It begs the question, though, how useful is the Dashboard... really? I'm sure there are quite a few Dashboard-fiends here on MR, and there are those who truly find it useful. But for how many Mac users has the Dashboard changed their lives?
 
I probably used it for a total of 1 hour in the past year. On my old iBook, I didn't have the memory to run it, so it was disabled. On my MacBook I've looked at a few widgets but nothing more. If it was desktop based (without hacks and was below all but the wallpaper) I'd probably use it.
 
While I use it at work for quick/dirty calculator work and dictionary use.. I've always found it to be a resource drain. But that's just me.
 
I never used it past the first week I got my mbp. I don't use the calcultor widget, because I put the calculator in my dock, and it's more convienent. I never use the dictionary, and I don't need a weather forcast. So at first it was like cool...but I have no use for it.
 
I find it pretty useful. I tend to have a couple of weather widgets, the conversion widget, a photo one and one that tell me the size of my trash folder open much of the time. I've also got a couple of puzzles that I play on occasion.

I find it easier to hit F12 and see what's there quickly rather than wandering off to a website and entering the numbers there. I'm more likely to do it than when it's online.

Would I miss it unbearably if I didn't have it? Probably not but I like it. And I'm quite happy that it's hidden away - I wouldn't want them on the desktop or sitting under it.
 
yellow said:
...I've always found it to be a resource drain. But that's just me.
Click to expand...
That was part of the motivation to kill it, initially. I can't say I've noticed any increase in performance, but loading the few widgets I had was taxing on my PB every time I invoked it. It's not just you.
 
I had a fairly substantial amount of widgets in use when i first got Tiger, but not I have only a few.

Basically the only widget I really care about is the conversion one.

Otherwise I'll take the calculator app over the widget any day, seeing as I can switch between that and an app a lot more easily than using Dashboard.

Day in History Widget is cool as well but no needed.

Also, Desksaver is a great widget to have if needed.

But all in all, I'd say that I certainly would be fine without Dashboard.
 
If most folks could get along without Dashboard, then what's the future?

Will the Dashboard get enhancements in Leopard? Will Dashboard development stagnate at it's current state?

What do you feel is the future of the Dashboard (and it's underlying technology)?
 
Dashboard gives me a reason to hit F8. Because if I didn't hit F8, it would feel all lonely. :p
 
I use my dashboard ALL THE TIME for the unit converter, world clock & dictionary mostly, but I also use many other widgets:)
 
I have dashboard set to a hot corner, and I find I use it quite often... I do check the weather every day, and I have a movie times widget which is MUCH more efficient than opening a web browser or finding a newspaper. I also have a gmail widget, and simply by flicking my cursor to the corner, I can check my email, in addition to the quick and easy calculator/dictionary/unit converter
 
I love it, but maybe that's just because i'm still in awe of OSX as a recent switcher.

I've got a whitepages widget on there, an easy desktop background-drop, the calculator, weather, calendar, memos, itunes controller, and the coreduotemp.


I find it infinitely easier to hit f12 and control itunes than digging around windows, i use the memos frequently, check the forecast daily, and i like having a calandar at my fingertips.
 
Launching Dashboard for the first time after a reboot or long period of inactivity is always so sluggish. That's what I hate the most about Dashboard. But I find some of the widgets useful, like Calculator, Weather, GetDilbert, Stickies and Conversion.
 
Dashboard is a great idea in theory, but I don't think its implementation is ideal. The main problem is that it's two ideas better kept separate tied into one:

- A window layer that can be summoned and dismissed at the press of a button or with a mouse gesture.

- A 'plugin' format (i.e. Widgets), an easy to use framework for developing desktop accessories, thus lowering the bar for potential Mac developers.

Unfortunately, the window layer can't contain anything other than widgets, you can't drag any other windows there. And, the widgets can only be used in Dashboard, you can't leave them permanently in the background.

If rumours are to be believed, these issues may be addressed in Leopard, and Dashboard expanded greatly - 'allegedly' the System Preferences will be moved to Dashboard too, an idea I like.
 
I use it for easy access to weather, to check my gmail account, the calculator for single calculations, and as I have a lot of friends around the world it's nice to be able to quickly check their time before I call them.

I don't know that there needs to be a "future" for Dashboard. I think it serves its purpose quite well. Just because some people on Macrumors don't use it doesn't mean it's a bad tool. There are features of OS X I don't use but that doesn't make them features that need to be refined.

For me Dashboard removes some things I would probably otherwise have in my menu bar (gmail checker) and things that would possibly be on a personalized home page.
 
whooleytoo said:
...If rumours are to be believed, these issues may be addressed in Leopard, and Dashboard expanded greatly - 'allegedly' the System Preferences will be moved to Dashboard too, an idea I like.
Click to expand...
I haven't heard that one... Interesting.
 
I have several dozen widgets. Some are more for fun...but others are extremely helpful. Stickies are life. I have a ton of others I use quite often for real purposes, and many others that are just for fun.
 
SilentPanda said:
... don't know that there needs to be a "future" for Dashboard. I think it serves its purpose quite well. Just because some people on Macrumors don't use it doesn't mean it's a bad tool. There are features of OS X I don't use but that doesn't make them features that need to be refined.
Click to expand...
I was speaking more in terms of eventual development. As a flagship feature of Tiger, it would be hard to believe that they got it 100% right the first time. As whooleytoo suggests, there's rumors that the System Preferences might be moved to the Dashboard. That, in itself, would require some sort of development in terms of the technology itself, I would imagine.
SilentPanda said:
For me Dashboard removes some things I would probably otherwise have in my menu bar (gmail checker) and things that would possibly be on a personalized home page.
Click to expand...
Though, personally, I think it's less convenient to have to envoke a function (even a screen corner, like I had it) to get info than a menu bar app. I'm speaking specifically of GmailStatus (Gmail checker) and Meteo (Weather). Those are things I want to be able to see all the time, and Dashboard makes it more inconvenient, IMO.
 
I use it often enough. I could certainly get by without it, but it's handy for quick calculation, dictionary, unit conversion, translations and for telling what time it is for max_altitude and mad jew.
 
I find Dashboard to be a great help when I am on my Mac. Just flick the mouse to the bottom right hotcorner and check what I have going on in the day with my iCal widget, check the days weather with the Weather Widget, check my gmail account, and if I'm really feeling frisky I'll play some Sudoku :cool: .
 
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