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KDE 4 to Support Apple Dashboard Widgets

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the apple-setting-accidental-standards dept.

Ryan writes to tell us Applexnet is reporting that Zack Rusin, a lead developer of KDE, has confirmed that KDE 4 will be able to run and display Dashboard widgets similar to Mac OS X 10.4. From the article: "Basically, this means that a layer (similar in some ways to layers in Adobe Photoshop) in the KDE desktop could function the same way that Dashboard does in Mac OS X. Widgets themselves are not inherently difficult to write nor properly interpret, since they are usually just HTML and Javascript (although Cocoa code can be included, the developer's skills permitting). Furthermore, since Konqueror and Safari share very nearly the same rendering engine, KHTML and WebKit, this too will simplify the process."

4 of 373 comments (clear)

  1. Memory Usage by Arctic+Fox · · Score: 4, Informative
    Hopefully, they'll find some way to knock down the memory usage. A couple of widgets (weather, stocks, iCal) were killing my 1Gb Powerbook.

    I switched to the ex-Konfabulator, Yahoo! Widgets and now my PB doesn't seem to thrash as much. That, and I've added a number of additional widgets.

  2. Re:Lets slow down KDE Even more! by chill · · Score: 4, Informative

    You haven't used KDE lately, have you?

    Each release has been faster than before with 3.5 being noticably faster than 3.4.1.

    Finally, get off your whiney ass and compile it for yourself using Konstruct. Pick just exactly what you want and make it nice and slim for you.

    That is what the source code is for, you know.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  3. Re:Exciting by mblase · · Score: 4, Informative
    I think this is a great idea. Right off the bat, there will be lots of Widgets available.

    No, there won't. The headline is misleading. Read carefully:
    ...the upcoming KDE 4 will be able to run and display Dashboard widgets much in the same way that Mac OS X 10.4 can.... I'm planning to add full OSX Dashboard compatibility layer for Plasma....Basically, this means that a layer (similar in some ways to layers in Adobe Photoshop) in the KDE desktop could function the same way that Dashboard does in Mac OS X.
    Furthermore, keep in mind that a not insignificant number of OS X widgets interact specifically with OS X apps like iTunes. Obviously, only internet-based widgets (like Google lookups) could be cross-platform.
  4. re: Dashboard and usefulness by King_TJ · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's exactly the problem with Dashboard though ... it's too tempting to approach it as "let's load it up with all types of crazy widgets!". By doing that, you make it less functional. (Takes longer to switch to them when you've got a whole screen full of them, etc.)

    Certain Dashboard widgets *can* change the way you work, but only when you select the right ones, and eliminate the rest!

    For example, Ambrosia Software makes a free widget for easily printing addresses on envelopes (http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/easyenvelopes /). That's something I occasionally need to do, and it's something you don't really want to load up a whole word processing package for.

    I find the weather widget handy too. It lets me get the forecast on a whim, while not constantly running and eating resources when I don't need it. Sure, you can visit a web site to get the same info - but a widget is faster and always saves your preferences. (Web sites usually rely on cookies that you might clear out of your browser cache.)