Dashboard widgets?

[mauly]

Do you have to subscribe to use the dashboard widgets? ie, Flight Tracker and Translator? or are they free!

If anyone can, can you list a complete list of widgets that are free or not?

or point me in the right direction to get this info..

 

[ravenvii]

Do you have to subscribe to use the dashboard widgets? ie, Flight Tracker and Translator? or are they free!

If anyone can, can you list a complete list of widgets that are free or not?

or point me in the right direction to get this info..

It's up to the developer. Widgets are like mini-applications that you can use in fast doses. All the widgets included in Tiger are free, and I'm sure 99% of developed widgets will be freely available and usable.

 

[Lacero]

Dashboard will be so cool. I hate fishing for stickies and calculator when I need them. Especially I don't like it when they clutter up my Dock. Dashboard would be so awesome that I could launch any app with the press of a button. Konfabulator was cool, but it was slow, unwieldy and prone to crash.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Nope, they're included in Tiger and you don't need to pay to use them (besides buying Tiger of course ). One thing to bear in mind though – as you're outside the States, you won't be able to get full usage from some of them – for example, the Yellow Pages widget lists US numbers only.

Already though there are quite a few third party widget sites springing up – there's no doubt these will fill the gaps for us international users, and add more new widgets than you ever could find uses for. Whether they'll be free or not will depend on the individual widget writers.

 

[R.Youden]

Nothing to do with Widgets, but Jaffa, what a great day and a great last two seasons. I was not able to get to Hull today as I was stuck in Bristol. Sorry about that but it had to be said! I suppose most of you wont know what we are on about!

 

[Lacero]

Nothing to do with Widgets, but Jaffa, what a great day and a great last two seasons. I was not able to get to Hull today as I was stuck in Bristol. Sorry about that but it had to be said! I suppose most of you wont know what we are on about!

That's what Private Messages are for. Use it.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

That's what Private Messages are for. Use it.

Don't worry – it is Tiger related.

 

[AppleMatt]

for example, the Yellow Pages widget lists US numbers only.

Because they're open it shouldn't be too hard to edit the widget so it searches for the UK.

AppleMatt

 

[mauly]

Dashboard will be so cool. I hate fishing for stickies and calculator when I need them. Especially I don't like it when they clutter up my Dock. Dashboard would be so awesome that I could launch any app with the press of a button. Konfabulator was cool, but it was slow, unwieldy and prone to crash.

I don't no if this sounds sad but the dashboard is the thing that I'm most excited to have in tiger! It just seems to damn practical...

I'm still a Windows user untill the new iMac G5 is released, can't wait to get my hands on it and tiger, hopefully I'll find the dahboard to be a small part of the thrill as I've heard so many positive things about OS X.

 

[chameeeleon]

Meanwhile, Appleinsider is reporting that Apple plans to release exclusive widgets to .Mac subscribers after Tiger's unveiling. A great idea in my opinion - the perfect compromise between charging for widgets and making them free.

 

[Logik]

Because they're open it shouldn't be too hard to edit the widget so it searches for the UK.

AppleMatt

not so true. it's totally possible to write widgets in Cocoa (i believe) which would then be compiled and you wouldn't be able to actually edit them at all.

EDIT:
however since this is an apple one, you probably can get the code to it without any difficulty.. just don't expect ALL of them to be so easily editable

 

[Pismo]

Here is a great site for people who are developing widgets to share them.

http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/

There's a forum with tips and info on building your own widgets.

 

[AppleMatt]

not so true. it's totally possible to write widgets in Cocoa (i believe) which would then be compiled and you wouldn't be able to actually edit them at all.

EDIT:
however since this is an apple one, you probably can get the code to it without any difficulty.. just don't expect ALL of them to be so easily editable

Fair dos, I wouldn't be surprised if the stock ticker was compiled.

AppleMatt

 

[Logik]

Fair dos, I wouldn't be surprised if the stock ticker was compiled.

AppleMatt

flight tracker too.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

not so true. it's totally possible to write widgets in Cocoa (i believe) [...]

No, I don't think so...

Based on Web Kit technologies, Dashboard Widgets are created using a mix of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS

from Apple

 

[Logik]

No, I don't think so...
from Apple

Bssst wrong.. you can create Gadget Plugins. What this means is that if you are so inclined you can write the basic visual end of the plugin in HTML, CSS and Javascript, then write a PLUGIN using Cocoa that then maps a function or functions into JavaScript, allowing you to execute Cocoa code within your gadget via javascript.

so it is entirely possible to create an almost fully closed source gadget (or whatever they're now calling these dashboard objects).. in the WWDC stuff they called them gadgets.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Bssst wrong.. you can create Gadget Plugins. What this means is that if you are so inclined you can write the basic visual end of the plugin in HTML, CSS and Javascript, then write a PLUGIN using Cocoa that then maps a function or functions into JavaScript, allowing you to execute Cocoa code within your gadget via javascript.

so it is entirely possible to create an almost fully closed source gadget (or whatever they're now calling these dashboard objects).. in the WWDC stuff they called them gadgets.

Yes, I can see that (way down on the same page as I linked to above):

If you need to dig deeper into the system, or if you need to tap into your own application to create a Widget that closely interacts with it, you can create your own Cocoa-based plug-in. These plug-ins work by providing a JavaScript object that's made available to the Widget.

That's actually the first time I read about Cocoa-widgets... Now we're talking... that's actually quite cool...

 

[maya]

Time to put my programming cap on.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

Meanwhile, Appleinsider is reporting that Apple plans to release exclusive widgets to .Mac subscribers after Tiger's unveiling. A great idea in my opinion - the perfect compromise between charging for widgets and making them free.

Hmm... I was looking at maybe picking up a .Mac subscription box when I visit the Regent Street store next month. The £20 off, new Tiger features and little perks like this may just twist my arm...

 

[Logik]

Hmm... I was looking at maybe picking up a .Mac subscription box when I visit the Regent Street store next month. The £20 off, new Tiger features and little perks like this may just twist my arm...

speaking of which you can get .mac for $70 right now in the US... current subscribers or new. i was looking at getting it simply for syncing purposes