[Judge_Fire]

While waiting for Tiger, a number of Dashboard widget sites have surfaced, such Dashboard Developer and Dashboard Exchange. There are already a small number of third party ones

I've tried to keep widgets in mind when working on my mac, attempting to recognize situations where Dashboard would come in handy. So far, I've come up with only a few ideas.

When you observe your workflow, can you spot any 'potential Dashboard' moments?

Here's a few:

� Inbox overview - a way to see small previews of new, unread mails at a glance. Title, sender, short caption. Bringing up the Mail window is too much work and it doesn't show excerpts.

� Shelf - a lot of small software has implemented a Shelf for leaving files, but somehow the Dashboard layer seems like a nicely accessible place to rest items and pick them up later. It could simply be a window representing an actual folder, which some might say is redundant (isn't that the regular windows layer), but I disagree.

Other ideas?

J

[Dog Like Nature]

The main Activity Monitor window would be a good widget.

[Judge_Fire]

On a related note...

A big Kill button you could assign to any software that repeatedly craps out on you.

In my case, that'd be the Finder. Once I hear my disk starting to swap and the fan to rev up..... Kill!

Big button. Really big. And red.

J

[Thinine]

Widgets I want:

Stock Portfolio: should look like Apple's stock ticker, just showing your portfolio instead stock prices.

Movie Listings: good looking listing of movies playing at whatever theater you choose. Should be able to also get listings from future days (i.e. not just today).

That's all for now.

[Judge_Fire]

Rumor Alert

A thingie that tracks Apple rumor sites and if it senses increased postings in a short timeframe, elevates the alertness level. It could even pick up a few frequently repeated keywords that match across sites. " Orange Alert, 'iPhone'! "

Disinfo Alert

A thingie that tracks Dvorak, Enderle and a few other selected, umm, people and puts up a flag if one (or more) of them mention 'Apple' or 'Mac' in their recent, umm, articles. If you click through, it'll proceed to caution you, checking whether you really, really want to read their stuff.

J

[Judge_Fire]

DP

[cpac]

I'll second a request for a movie widget, and a basic cpu/activity monitor/kill button

I'm also not sure if the current widget supports it, but if not I'd like a calculator with a paper tape (and not on a completely separate window as the current calculator.app has, but attached, as the drawer used to be, so that when I move the calculator, I move everything).

I think a few that access info from various programs files would be interesting (i.e. one that displays current account balances from iBank, or number/name of changed bookmarks from Omniweb).

I'd like one that just displays the current iTunes track info (akin to the little MTV-like thing you get when you use the visualizer at full screen - preferences choose which track info is displayed). Bonus points if it allows changing of star rating.

[OAW]

I'd like to see the following types of widgets:

- Movie listings

- Package Tracking

- White/Yellow Pages

- Weather

- Reference (Dictionary, Thesaurus, etc.)

- Zip Code lookup

Basically, all the most useful stuff from Watson or Sherlock.


Widgets that are just an incredible waste of time:

- Calculator .... Now just how is this better than the built-in Calculator?

- iTunes controller .... Now just how is this any better than the regular iTunes windows that is reduced to the Prev - Play/Pause - Next mini window?



OAW

[phillryu]

Regarding the CPU widget, here's one that we're working on for MacWidgets.net:



Art is by Peter Gajos, programmer is Chris O'Brien. I wish you guys could see it in use, the animations are pretty sweet.

When you flip the widget, it expands to show preferences where you can set what each of the monitor's 3 displays show. Any feedback?

[Garage81]

Originally posted by phillryu:
When you flip the widget, it expands to show preferences where you can set what each of the monitor's 3 displays show. Any feedback?

here's some feedback: friggin' sweet.

[phillryu]

Would anyone here be willing to pay $5 for this widget, to go to the artist and programmer? Or at least, do you think it's a reasonable price?

[cybergoober]

Originally posted by phillryu:
Regarding the CPU widget, here's one that we're working on for MacWidgets.net:



Art is by Peter Gajos, programmer is Chris O'Brien. I wish you guys could see it in use, the animations are pretty sweet.

When you flip the widget, it expands to show preferences where you can set what each of the monitor's 3 displays show. Any feedback?

Sorry to quote with a picture, but...

WOW! That looks friggin' sweet. I think $5 sounds reasonable, although I myself probably would not pay $5 for a widget.

[cpac]

Originally posted by OAW:
- Package Tracking
- Reference (Dictionary, Thesaurus, etc.)
- Zip Code lookup

Basically, all the most useful stuff from Watson or Sherlock.

Excellent ideas

Widgets that are just an incredible waste of time:

- Calculator .... Now just how is this better than the built-in Calculator?

- iTunes controller .... Now just how is this any better than the regular iTunes windows that is reduced to the Prev - Play/Pause - Next mini window?

There are 2 basic reasons:

(1) widgets can't get lost behind other windows
and
(2) from what I understand, widgets are programmed pretty easily, and so could be given functionality beyond Apple's basics. (E.g. RPN or attached paper tape/multi line display for calculator; or ability to easily change the star rating or display track info like album art for iTunes)

Also, Dashboard is finally a place where all those "desktop accessory" type applications can live and play happily (without crowding the dock, etc.) - Something I've been missing from the Classic era.

[cpac]

Originally posted by cybergoober:
Sorry to quote with a picture, but...

WOW! That looks friggin' sweet. I think $5 sounds reasonable, although I myself probably would not pay $5 for a widget.

I don't know that I'd pay $5 for a single widget. Maybe for a few of them I would.

My criticism of the above design however is that I have no clue what either thing is telling me, or why it takes the shape it does - so I'd want to see something with the info presented more plainly (but not less beautifully).

Remember, Dashboard is our chance to lose the bagage that come with displaying things in normal OS X windows - i.e. we don't *need* a title bar anymore, we don't even necessarily need to contain information within a well-defined space (look at how Apple's weather widget shows weather conditions in a loose, unbounded area).

I'm not at home to make a mockup, but my iTunes controller/info would not look like a little remote - that *is* merely redundant given that we have dock control and minimized iTunes windows. Instead mine would look like the album cover, with "floating" words below or to the side indicating artist, track, album, etc. - and ideally have floating grey/white stars that could be modified with a click. Flip the widget over to see preferences, and you can select what info is displayed.

[theolein]

I think a type of programmers language reference card for different languages would be quite a nifty thing.

A widget that replicated the various functions of the Network Utility would probably also be useful.

[PurpleGiant]

Regarding paying for widgets, I probably wouldn't personally pay, only because there would probably be free alternatives.

If there were no free alternatives, or they weren't up to scratch - I would certainly pay if it was that useful to me.

[EmmEff]

To expand on what theolein said, how about a pop-up man page viewer?

As for paying for a widget, I would be willing to pay a few dollars but only for something innovative and useful. I would not pay strictly for eye candy.

[DoriSmith]

I'm trying to keep track of all the Dashboard-related sites that are appearing. My list is at http://www.dori.com/dashboard/. If you know of any others that I haven't listed, please let me know -- thanks!

[phillryu]

Originally posted by EmmEff:
To expand on what theolein said, how about a pop-up man page viewer?

As for paying for a widget, I would be willing to pay a few dollars but only for something innovative and useful. I would not pay strictly for eye candy.

Mind me asking if you have any useful or innovative ideas?

[EmmEff]

I don't mind you asking, but no, I don't have any ideas. If I did, I'd be hard at work implementing them (I'm a pro software developer in search of a project)

[Gavin]

I think it will be really useful as a one stop shopping kind of thing so stuff like notes / stickies and a simple calculator are a good idea. You get all of your 'quick look' things with one move - easier to memorize one little key command Instead of finding every particular thing in the dock, so things that might seem redundant like an tunes controller or email inbox checker do make sense. Seems to me that good candidates are all the things you check real quick during the day. Also having a mini interface to things is great, you can add something to your calendar without opening iCal. Use it as a technique to get things out of your dock. How about a widget that is a multi-dock for utilities, like the OS 8 launcher.


Not really things I want but someone might find these useful:

- virtual pet, with sounds
- photo holder, random pic of your kids each time you open the dashboard
- other decorative things to personalize it
- how about one that is just a frame to put other widgets in. like one of those desktop pictures with an area for the dock

- shopping list

- webcam viewer
- traffic cam
- cheapest gas along the way to work.

- call log / timer

- amber alert
- wanted posters, missing kids - random pix by zip code, with a way to send a report.

- log file tracker - tail, a mini transparent console for general status tracking
- a way to browse online manuals (not man pages) like from php.net or mysql.com
- open ports, network traffic

- sports scores
- horse race tracker <- I'm not into this, but here is something people would pay for

- Random page 3 girl <- another one people would pay a buck or two for, get a site license for your frat

- beer tracker, party games
- magic eight ball
- dice, click to roll - like that little dice popper bubble dome thing in trouble

- tivo / myth tv status, done recording?

[andretan]

Err, how about a widget for Gmail? Like Gmail notifier...

[Judge_Fire]

For Gmail, would this work for you:

http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...ls.php?wid=116

J

[andretan]

Originally Posted by Judge_Fire

For Gmail, would this work for you:

http://www.dashboardwidgets.com/show...ls.php?wid=116

J

I'd say it looks kinda big.

I was thinking more along the lines of a badge that shows the number of unread messages.

Simplicity will suffice.

[rcr]

> - call log / timer


What would be great is a little time tracker for consultants, attorneys, developers, and other time billers.

The ability to maybe store the names of 5 or 6 clients, and have a "start/stop timer" button, a "timer reset" button, and a "total time" field next to each of their names would be great.

You start doing some research for one client, you whip the Dashboard open and start their timer. A call comes in from another client, you whip the Dashboard back up and swtich the timer to the other client. You finish the call, you switch back. At the end of the day, you log totals into the billing db of your choice and reset the timers for the following day.

[ajbaker]

How about a Dashboard widget that uses Spotlight to find files that are related to the one you are working on, ie. have similar contents for example.

[Krusty]

How bout some of the smarties here at MacNN making a widget that shows all the threads you've posted in across all all forums and if there are any new replies (not unlike the current red dot scheme on the forums but it wouldn't require browsing each individual forum or getting email notifications)

[ryaxnb]

Freecell - A handy Dashboard Diversion.
Puzzle - No way is a useless uncool DA going to pass up being a useless uncool Widget!
Weather.gov - Unaccuweather.com sucks
iSeek for dashboard
QuickControl -Options like Font rendering, mouse speed, and more - all packed in one.

[Big Mac]

Originally Posted by Krusty

How bout some of the smarties here at MacNN making a widget that shows all the threads you've posted in across all all forums and if there are any new replies (not unlike the current red dot scheme on the forums but it wouldn't require browsing each individual forum or getting email notifications)

Now that would so totally rock! Great idea. . .

[jyunderwood]

I'd like to see a widget to compliment netflix freak.

maybe just a fancy queue or maybe more.

[Macpilot]

Originally Posted by Thinine

Widgets I want:

Stock Portfolio: should look like Apple's stock ticker, just showing your portfolio instead stock prices.

Movie Listings: good looking listing of movies playing at whatever theater you choose. Should be able to also get listings from future days (i.e. not just today).

That's all for now.

Good ones....Especially the Movie widget...as Apple appears in no hurry to fix the Quicktime issue with Sherlock that refuses to load the movie previews.

[Mac Write]

I wan to see a replacement for Menu Meter. I want to be able to see CPU usage+uptime. I also want to see network speed as well as a log for hour, day, week, month so I can monitor my Intenret usage (with a checkbox for only monitor external traffic not internal to the network). With hard-drives, i want to see real time available space as well as which one is buzzing away. Another really good one would be a torrent info see how much time is left speed etc. You can adjust up/down speed etc, stop/start and so forth.

[Siggi_arni]

A tinyurl widget would be nice

[theolein]

Originally Posted by rcr

> - call log / timer


What would be great is a little time tracker for consultants, attorneys, developers, and other time billers.

The ability to maybe store the names of 5 or 6 clients, and have a "start/stop timer" button, a "timer reset" button, and a "total time" field next to each of their names would be great.

You start doing some research for one client, you whip the Dashboard open and start their timer. A call comes in from another client, you whip the Dashboard back up and swtich the timer to the other client. You finish the call, you switch back. At the end of the day, you log totals into the billing db of your choice and reset the timers for the following day.

TimeLog is a neat application for that kind of thing. It's made by a friend of mine here in Z�rich. It's not Dashboard, but the guy constantly updates it, provides free upgrades and listens to what users want. The new version is also no longer a RealBasic app, but instead a cocoa one. If you ask him, he might consider making a Dashboard widget for inclusion with the app.

[entrox]

I'd like to see a PPC instruction look-up widget just like the look-up in Shark.

[davecom]

Minesweeper! I heard there is one but I can't find it anywhere.

[mchladek]

I think this has been mentioned elsewhere, but I would like to see a widget that lists your to do items from iCal. Allowing you to view a certain number by importance, due date, or calendar.

[loki74]

Originally Posted by phillryu

Would anyone here be willing to pay $5 for this widget, to go to the artist and programmer? Or at least, do you think it's a reasonable price?

If I was a developer, I honsetly wouldnt bother going through the trouble of setting up a storefront to sell something thats only 5 bucks to the few wou'd be willing to buy it... I'd make a whole BUNCH and include other stuff like icons, themes, wallpapers, and sell it for like 25... and have a bunch of free stuff to attract attention to the not-free stuff.

[cpac]

Things I'd still want, but haven't seen yet:

-Movies
-BETTER yellowpages/white pages. Ideally using Google Local and giving map results.
-I like the weather thing apple's got, but I"d like it if it had radar images integrated as well.

[demograph68]

A widget for torrents maybe?

[loki74]

radar images would be cool if you could get them to look nice. One of the things Ive seen in the Widgets that I've seen nowhere else is that they can make dynamic data look static and pre-rendered in a very efficient easy to use design.

I think a widget that would be really cool is a WinAmp like thingy. Instead of controlling iTunes or something, it is its own app, so you dont waste space in the dock.

what would be very cool for mobile machines is maybe a GPS widget... although that would probably be an application instead of a widget, and would need its own hardware.

I think there could many widgets that may make Sherlock obsolete...

[theolein]

I think another thing that dashboard is very good for is for small web applications. An ebay sale/bid tracker and an amazon store frontend would be great things, but they would depend on ebay and amazon being willing to make them. Since the apps are relativly trivial, they might just do that. Someone offering a generic dashboard client for online stores such as Oreilly etc would also be great.

Not only that but it would make the Mac more noticeable amongst the general public, since they'd see the "Download Dashboard widget for our store" on many pages. It would also piss Microsoft off since Dashboard neatly intersects with their XAML technology idea, but is much simpler and just as flexible.

[Judge_Fire]

Mac OS X Feedback Widget

This one should be simple, just pipe the http://www.apple.com/macosx/feedback/ webpage into a webview and autofill some form fields.

(Advanced feature : it could maintain a log of sent posts)

There have been soooo many times I've been to that page in the last few days....

J

[Mediaman_12]

Originally Posted by theolein

I think another thing that dashboard is very good for is for small web applications. An ebay sale/bid tracker and an amazon store frontend would be great things, but they would depend on ebay and amazon being willing to make them. Since the apps are relativly trivial, they might just do that. Someone offering a generic dashboard client for online stores such as Oreilly etc would also be great.

There have been eBay trackers done for Konfabulator, So I can't see a problem here. The problem is is that Dashboard (as it currently exists) isn't the best tool to display this info.
What you want out of a eBay tracker is something that will Alert you when you have been outbid, when the Auction is nearing it's end and if you have been successful (it would be great if you could also enter higher bids). The Problem I see in using Dashboard to do this is that when it's not displayed, the Widgets are not active, so if the auction comes to a close or if you get outbid when you are not viewing Dashboard then you wouldn't be told until you next press F12.

[BZ]

I would go with everything I have running in my menu and Dock:

- WeatherPop Pro Widget (just make it better)
- Movie Times
- TV Schedule
- NFL Scores, Schedules, Teams, Stats (ANYTHING NFL!)
- To Do List
- Terminal Widget
- CPU Widget
- Netmonitor Widget
- Recipe Widget

I have a few I am thinking about building.... seeing if I can figure it out.

BZ

[JHromadka]

I would like an IP Config Widget that listed the following and gave you the opportunity to renew a DHCP lease. Maybe even let you quickly change your Network Location:

IP Address
FQDN
Subnet
Router
DNS servers

[andretan]

I'm also looking forward to an iCal widget... anyone?

[Chris O'Brien]

Originally Posted by davecom

Minesweeper! I heard there is one but I can't find it anywhere.

I've just uploaded a widget pack on vanillasoap.com. One of the widgets is a game of minesweeper, if you're interested.

It's quite early on in development, but I'll be rolling it out into it's own fully-fledged widget quite shortly. You can get it here http://vanillasoap.com/widgets/ (widget pack at the bottom of the page).

[midwinter]

I'd really like a widget that grabbed my to-dos for that day, my upcoming appointments, and the headers from my unread email in mail.app (hidden).

[ntt]

Originally Posted by andretan

I'm also looking forward to an iCal widget... anyone?

Here you go

I'm working on the iCal widget ideas. I've decided to split it into two widgets. One is a ToDo list, and the other is an Events list. At the moment I've just done the ToDo list, named R2ToDo.

I need to add in sorting and other options, but for now it is 'usable', in my opinion.

I'll be working on adding to it, and doing the events list over the next few days. All feedback appreciated.