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Konfabulator: will this change the mac os forever?

FattyMembrane

FattyMembrane

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 14, 2002
966
154
bat country
i don't know how i've missed this, but apparently a program called konfabulator is nearing it's 1.0 release. it's being coded by Arlo Rose (the kaleidoscope guy) and although i'm still not quite sure exactly what it is, it looks mindblowing. check out a screenshot of the preliminary interface in action (http://www.resexcellence.com/snapshots/snaps_html/11-07-02_Rose.shtml). apparently it's some kind of javascript/applescript based framework which hooks deep into osx and quartz and allows the creation of custom "widgets" that can do pretty much everything you want. from reading the forums at http://www.konfabulator.com, it is an application without a dock icon or menu, that allows you to use thes "widgets" to control your system and incoming information. text input fields are not yet operational, but should be after the 1.0 release. i'm still really not quite sure how this thing works, but if it's half as cool as it looks and sounds, i think it will be osx's killer app (bundle this thing with launchbar and we wouln't even need the finder). if you can figure out exactly how this works, please let me know. i'm ready to pony up cash for this thing once it's released (and i'm as stingy as they come).
 
It looks very cool for sure, i doubt it will be as revolutionary as you hope though
 
this looks really promising. i really dont know what category of app it falls in, and also i dont know how vulnerable to API changes from Apple it is.

I hope some of the graphics-oriented people here can contribute to the project.
 
That definitely does look promising

It does look kind of similar to widgets seen in various xWindows variants if I am not mistakened. I haven't personally used any except WindowMaker for XDarwin, but I have seen a lot of xWindows variants from people I know that use almost exclusively Linux.

This is quite a cool program and I hope that the development continues.
 
Originally posted by Chaszmyr
It looks very cool for sure, i doubt it will be as revolutionary as you hope though
Click to expand...
i know, i was just hoping to add a moment of excitement to the boards.;) From what i've been able to understand, it's based on javascript and applescript, so i'm not sure exactly how it will be affected by changes in the os, but arlo rose makes quality stuff. after reading the forums, it sounds like the widgets that are already working are an itunes remote, clock, weather, ticker, volume, sleep button, and one that executes preset terminal commands.

from arlo himeself:
"We'll not only have an example digital clock, but soon we'll be able to draw vector objects, and can do analog clocks as well"
"1.0 will probably not support text input fields directly on the widgets. This is a planned post 1.0 feature though"
" I was going to make an iChat widget, but it turns out iChat's not scriptable! We'd need to write a custom module to pull this off, and there's no time left in 1.0 to do this. Maybe in 1.5"
"One of our testers is trying to do a printer widget"

that ichat comment makes it sound like compiled modules are possible as well, opening up the door to all kinds of other possibilities.
 
I saw it yesterday, I was like ga what does it oh and yeah what does it do?
 
well it certainly looks like an interesting project, keep us informed on it's progress so we can know more about it.
 
wow, that is truly amazing, very slick! I wonder how customizable it is, the graphics just scream at you, its soo nice. Reminds me of what hollywood sometimes does for computer interfaces to make them look better in movies. I'll be very interested in trying it out, I love the battery icon in the screen shot.

D
 
its as customizable as you want it to be. the core framework is being laid. finally the idea of all the linux projects like this is being leveraged against the power of quartz.

maybe people like you dukestreet can help it along ;)
 
That is some good stuff. The possibilities are endless. I like the looks of the battery widget. Widgets would be an interesting addition to OS X.
 
Some cool stuff there and I'm sure it will allow a lot of cooler stuff to be created in the future. Weather forcasts, live stock quotes... very cool. And very sexy, too, which is the main thing for us Mac users, right? ;)
 
Originally posted by mnkeybsness
reminds me of object desktop for windows from stardock
Click to expand...

classic-only windows/former windows users (like me) would notice that!

this thing looks fascinating, though i would only be interested in a calendar and a system monitor on my PB... but i guess that's what customizability is for. the iChat feature would be awesome too. i wonder how much of the system this will take to maintain though. object desktop is a ***** on my P3 (and needless to say i only used it for about 10 minutes).

*taps fingertips together and snickers broodingly* we shall see, we shall see, hee hee.
 
powermac is my primary machine

object deesktop was not slow at all in displaying very nice graphics...it was just kind of pointless...VERY customizeable though...could even make your dektop look and work like that star trek stuff (don't know what it's called because i'm not that big of a geek) i think they even showed it once on the screen savers
 
odd battery?

What's with his battery icon in the top menu bar. Why is it doubled up like that? TiBooks don't support dual and the only thing I can think of is the old Pismo with two batteries. Is that what it is or am I shooting in the dark?
 
Re: odd battery?

Originally posted by DreaminDirector
What's with his battery icon in the top menu bar. Why is it doubled up like that? TiBooks don't support dual and the only thing I can think of is the old Pismo with two batteries. Is that what it is or am I shooting in the dark?
Click to expand...

yep, it's an old Pismo. :) cool how it shows it like that hey?
 
I personally say it looks alright.. although I must admit, I'm having trouble thinking of a legitimate use for it. None of the widgets in the screenshot would be any good for me, I mean.. the clock and battery stuff is already on the menu bar, it's kinda redundant, and I don't even have a powerbook... sooo... Also no airport. That leaves me with weather, but since I live in a basement with no windows and I don't go outside much that's no use either.

:)

I do see the potential though. What would be some good things that this could do to enhance the functionality of a computer instead of just making it look pretty?

I actually wouldn't mind a widget for CPU and memory usage... but... hm...

Maybe it's just 4:00AM and I'm too stupid to think of anything good, hehe.

But it looks like it could be cool!
 
Originally posted by springscansing
I must admit, I'm having trouble thinking of a legitimate use for it. None of the widgets in the screenshot would be any good for me
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those are just example widgets included witht he program. the whole point is to make your own widgets do do whatever you want. check out the boards at www.konfabulator.com and see the ideas people already have going. the beauty of this thing is that the sky is the limit, it's not just another ticker/clock/weather app.
 
Widgets! Midgets!

And there was this one time in band camp when I shoved a widget up my *****.

This looks like a whip cream but with no pie in the middle. There is little practical use for this other than aesthetics. C'mon people...
 
Au contraire...

To say that this program has no potential uses is somewhat shortsighted.

Imagine having elements of Sherlock - say, movie listings - instantly accessible and updated on your desktop. No going into Sherlock, no waiting for it to do its thing. Assuming Konfabulator can update data on a basis the user determines, that's very powerful. You want 7-day forecasts with pretty graphics? You got it. A permanent ticker for AAPL in the lower left corner? Sure.

Talk about web services for the rest of us....

And the fact that it uses JavaScript is brilliant.

- Paul
 
That battery widget looks like the original X battery level indicator, when it was still in the dock, before the new menu bar indicator.
 
yes!! this thread should be kept alive!! :D


wow! :D i can't wait for it to be released!! :D

the alpha testers seem to be having alot of fun with it now... anyone here wouldn't happen to be alpha tester, would they?;) :p :D

i was just checking the Konfabulator forums, you'll be able to have animated widgets!!! how cool is that!!!:D :D

just keeps getting better & better...:D
 
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