I also used Dashboard heavily for stickies. Took a phone call, opened stickies. Much more convenient that Apple Notes' "quick notes". I hardly use the notification center at all.
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Video: How to Get Widgets on Your Mac's Desktop
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I suppose what makes this software seem so limiting is I am also a user of both Conky on Ubuntu and Rainmeter on Windows 10. Rainmeter and Conky are both free - but I would have no issues paying $10 a year if this software allowed for much more customization (applegodspermitting). What's more it needs a community much more like both Conky and Rainmeter. You can find their widgets on DeviantArt, Reddit, etc.
I would prefer, one, an app I can purchase and not a never ending subscription. Two, I would like a return to the functionality of the real widgets / dashboard of yore....
I just discovered WidgetWall a few weeks ago! It solved a very specific problem for me, which was worth the 9.99 / year subscription. (I don't like subscriptions either, but I acknowledge that the developer needs to maintain the service, so it's a necessary evil.) I would much rather spend $20 for a one time purchase, but caved and it was worth it for me.
I wanted a very specific view of Google Calendar always open at a glance on my desk. No app provided exactly what I needed (trust me, I tried them all), and I was considering buying a used iPhone to have open in a dock on my desk. Widgetwall allowed me to create EXACTLY what I wanted using their browser widget...and easily is worth the value since I glance at it approx 1000 times per day.
Didn't love paying for the subscription. But glad I did.
Pro tip: you can turn off the "snap to grid" feature in the settings.
Edit: here's a screenshot of the calendar view I like, always sitting next to my open window.
I wanted a very specific view of Google Calendar always open at a glance on my desk. No app provided exactly what I needed (trust me, I tried them all), and I was considering buying a used iPhone to have open in a dock on my desk. Widgetwall allowed me to create EXACTLY what I wanted using their browser widget...and easily is worth the value since I glance at it approx 1000 times per day.
Didn't love paying for the subscription. But glad I did.
Pro tip: you can turn off the "snap to grid" feature in the settings.
Edit: here's a screenshot of the calendar view I like, always sitting next to my open window.
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I am the exact opposite.
Having things embedded into the desktop works for me as I use the desktop and do not have apps full screen unless they need that space. I drag textclippings to the desktop, keep files on it for things I currently want to access quickly, and pressing F11 means I quickly view everything in just the same way as pressing F12 made Dashboard appear. When I am not using an app I hide it rather than let them stack one atop the other.
But I never used Dashboard as it made no sense to me. If you want to make a calculator appear over other windows, just use the calculator app etc. It felt cluttered having to have a number of superfluous extra windows appear all over the screen when I just wanted to see the weather. Dashboard is all or nothing when I only ever want one thing at a time. It is easier for me to use apps.
Embedded widgets allows me to quickly see information presented in an way that blends into the background, avoiding the clutter of windows which being autistic I find uncomfortable. I can focus on what I want and the rest becomes no part of the desktop itself.
(Also I used to use Quicksilver just so I could assign F-key hotkeys to Applescripts that could open then toggle the hidden state of applications I wanted to quickly access anyway. It was great until Apple added all its Gatekeeper features that made them practically unsuable. Now they take a couple of seconds after running to act, which I know it was not Quicksilver as it is the same whe running them from the AppleScript menu. So now I have to Cmd+Tab / Cmd+H)
I currently use Übersicht to present a panel of widgets on the left edge of my screen to show information in a place that is often left uncovered when doing simple things like web browsing, email, or Pages. And when I want to do something full screen, such as photo editing, I rarely need that sort of extra information anyway. And if I do, I can just toggle access with F11 or the bottom right hot corner.
I think devs should offer both a subscription service and a higher priced perpetual license.
Personally, I think the "yearly" upgrade should be the paramount way to offer software. If the next version doesn't offer any significant new features, bug fixes, or compatibility improvements, then why should you have to pay again? Developers should have to work to create a reason to upgrade instead of holding you hostage to their subscription service (pay me every year, or you can't use the my product).
People just don't want to have dozens and dozens of subscriptions to keep track of, or who is pulling out what money at what time. However, I'd bet they bet on people setting up a preauthorized payment and forgetting to cancel - much like a gym membership. I'm sure a lot of people don't have a system in place to keep track of these things.
I completely agree! Sketch used to have a thing where if you bought a license it got you 1 year of updates. I thought that was 100% fair, and is a great model going forward.
I also dislike subscriptions, but $10 per year is reasonable, in my opinion. That's 84 cents per month for something you might use multiple times per day. But to each their own, of course.
