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Google Releases Desktop Gadgets For Linux

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the more-time-wasters-than-you-can-shake-a-stick-at dept.

mstrom writes "Google announced it has ported its Google Desktop Gadgets platform to Linux, making it the first cross-platform [desktop] gadgets framework. In a sign that Google is fully embracing the open source model, it admits the product is not feature-complete and has opened up the code base hosted on Google Code 'to give everyone a chance to tinker with the code powering the gadgets.' According to Google: "Gadget support is not just a single feature, but rather an entire platform for miniature applications.'"

5 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. What about Opera? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you count Opera's widgets, this isn't the first cross-platform widget/gadget system.

    1. Re:What about Opera? by dsparil · · Score: 5, Informative

      Plus, it runs on the most platforms; Windows, OS X, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, Symbian* and Windows Mobile*; and it's just vanilla HTML, JS and SVG zipped up.
      *Once Opera Mobile 9.5 ships.

  2. First X-platform? Really? by GreyDuck · · Score: 4, Informative

    the first cross-platform [desktop] gadgets framework

    So, this Konfabulator thing I've been running for years isn't cross-platform after all? Thanks for clearing that up, Slashdot!

    --
    I'm only wearing black until they come out with something darker.
  3. Re:Not feature complete by 99BottlesOfBeerInMyF · · Score: 4, Informative

    Since when was "open source" just an excuse for releasing a half-finished product? Google is a multi-million-dollar company. Surely they can afford to pay some programmers and testers to produce a finished product before they release it?

    Google's development methods are quite different than other companies. Many of these beta services and products they release are not something the company is using to make money, but are the individual projects of the engineers. Each engineer gets 20% of their time where they must work on their own thing. A lot of those "things" eventually get tossed out for the public to play with, usually as betas and often as OSS projects. Sure, Google could pay engineers to work on this full time, but it isn't clear that is really going to make them money. Linux on the desktop improvements aren't exactly a goldmine. Rather, I think it is nice they let the engineer donate this code to Linux and let people help him integrate it into Linux.

  4. Re:Google gadgets? by D+Ninja · · Score: 5, Informative

    That's because they want you to use their product - not one of the other dock apps that exist. That's just smart business strategy there. First, Google looks great because they are supporting Linux when so many big companies don't touch it with a ten foot pole. Second, they get the "common geek" using their tools/APIs/etc. And third, they get more mindshare which is huge for any company.

    And, honestly, you could make this argument for any piece of open source software. Why do people make their own? Because they can. One of the best things about OSS.