The weakness of gadgets

Published on July 14, 2006 By BlueDev In OS Customization

I dig gadgets. I really do.

Well, okay, I lie. As someone who has DesktopX installed, I think objects are vastly inferior to widgets. I see the plus of objects not needing DX installed, blah, blah, blah. But for those of us who have DesktopX already, gadgets just really, really suck. Oh, and as an aside, it would appear I feel like whining today.

Why do I think gadgets are inferior to widgets? There are a number of reasons:

1) They don't auto-install. A small point, sure, but a point nonetheless. If I download a widget, open the zip file and double click, the widget runs AND drops itself in my Widgets folder. It is all about convenience, and in my sloth I can't tell you how many gadgets never stayed on my system because I double clicked from the zip, then closed the zip, only to realize I didn't manually extract that gadget somewhere.

2) They don't respond to F9 and F10. This is huge for me. Widgets responding to these keys (either to bring to the front or to hide completely) was actually the functionality that got me to finally use DesktopX. I don't like lots of things cluttering my desktop, so I love being able to hit F10 and make them all go away. And when I want to change the song, see the temp, date, news bit, etc. I love to be able to hit F9 and have my widgets come to the front. With gadgets I have to manually bring it to the front, or minimize all my other windows. Again, a HUGE step back in terms of convenience when it comes to gadgets vs. widgets.

3) You can't customize them. Heck, this is WinCUSTOMIZE, so this should be a no brainer. There are a number of widgets that I have downloaded, imported, looked at their scripts and then changed something small, or changed a font, a color, or an image, to make the widget behave a little more how I would like. All for personal use, of course. But the fact that I can't import a gadget, tweak it a little to make it fit my personal style a bit more, or even get scripting ideas, means they are far inferior to widgets IMO.

Again, I understand the reason behind gadgets. But I don't understand the reasoning behind only releasing the gadgets over here at Wincustomize.com. Isn't that what DesktopGadgets.com is for? It is a shame to head to the WIDGET section, only to seem some nice, new toy is actually a castrated widget (aka gadget).

Bring on the "shut up and make it yourself" bitch-slaps.

Comments (Page 1)

ZubaZ

on Jul 14, 2006

I have bought two gadgets and used a few.

Because I have DXBuilder installed I also get frustrated that I can't tweak gadgets here or there. I can't write code for crap but I can figure out what's happening and make an object or widget mine.

I think the thing to remember though . . is that gadgets are not there for people like us. They are for our parents or sisters or cousins from the backwoods. They are single purpose apps that use very few resources. In that they do really well.

I think that the problem with many of the DX gadgets out now is that they are built by geeks for geeks. The market should be for mainstream users and I think Konfabulator does a better job at targeting that market.

Agree with points one and two also. But they also fall into the same problem. Mainstream users are used to installing an app and having it added to their start menu or just leave it on the desktop. You expect more because you KNOW about widgets. Most apps don't hide with a hotkey, they are always on the desktop.

BlueDev

on Jul 14, 2006

Zubaz: I think the point you bring up, that gadgets ought to be targeted to those who want simplicity, is a valid one. And it actually adds to my frustration. Since that is really the focus, I just don't think they belong here at Wincustomize, in the widget section. Or at least, there ought to be a widget version available here, and a gadget version available at DesktopGadgets.com.

ZubaZ

on Jul 14, 2006

there ought to be a widget version available here, and a gadget version available at DesktopGadgets.com.

Agreed.

Or maybe a gadget section that on download click, redirects to DG.com gadget.

Fairyy~

on Jul 14, 2006

I agree with everything you both said- If i see its a " Gadget " I dont even bother downloading it. Not to say some Gadgets arent really cool..and yes - I'd purchase one if it was really different ...but I am too use to using F9 F10 and the not being able to open a gadget in DX builder just seems counter productive to having DesktopX ...that was the ' perk " of it all. At least separate them - as they are not widgets.
They are Gadgets.....

Its like seeing a sign for Cockerspaniel puppies - then i go in to buy one and they are poodles.
I do not like Poodles.....

buzzh58

on Jul 14, 2006

You dont like Cockerspaniels either, I know you're a Chihuahah kind of fairy.

BlueDev

on Jul 14, 2006

At least separate them - as they are not widgets.
They are Gadgets.....

I agree. I don't download them anymore either. It just seems to be ripping away so much of what makes DesktopX great.

SirSmiley

on Jul 14, 2006

Your point of view is kind of skewed...then again so, is mine.

For the skinning community & those more avid computer users then the desktop environment is king but, 95% of the rest of the world has no use...more apt patience for dealing with what we see as simple. They may want a few gadgets to run whenever they want to but, not all the time. The real power for gadgets is the simple development environment & potentially rapid deployment of small programs. That's my two cents.

As for the download issues Wincustomize could fix that realatively easily by only allowing objects & widgets to be loaded in their standard format. I hanker to see more complaints over that.

BlueDev

on Jul 15, 2006

Your point of view is kind of skewed...then again so, is mine.

Of course it is skewed. And that was the whole point of the article: For those of use who are used to these programs, and have used them a bit more, gadgets are useless and inferior to their widget companions. And I find it unfortunate that the widget gallery is getting poluted by gadgets.

I agree with the gadget benefits you highlighted. For that they are great. But for those uses, I don't see how they belong here, in the widget gallery.

thomassen

on Jul 15, 2006

I'd quite like to see a separatio of the widgets and gadgets in the galleries.

Fairyy~

on Jul 15, 2006

You dont like Cockerspaniels either, I know you're a Chihuahah kind of fairy.

yeah - but I couldnt spell Chiwowwa

starkers

on Jul 16, 2006

yeah - but I couldnt spell Chiwowwa

Cheewahwah! Or is that Chewhuawah...maybe Chiwhuawaa?

Fairyy~

on Jul 16, 2006

Cheewahwah! Or is that Chewhuawah...maybe Chiwhuawaa?

I dunno - just usually mis-spell it and wait for buzz to come along and fix it.

I just call them taco dogs.

Back to the Gadget issue. I think noone is saying Gadgets arent what the average person would prefer. I think what most of us would like to see is just keep them separated. I have desktopX - I cant tweak a Gadget..So dont dangle it in my face in widget gallery.

Unless DesktopX is going to be phased out?

jebro

on Jul 16, 2006

Shihuahua.

BlueDev

on Jul 16, 2006

I think noone is saying Gadgets arent what the average person would prefer. I think what most of us would like to see is just keep them separated. I have desktopX - I cant tweak a Gadget..So dont dangle it in my face in widget gallery.

Exactly my thoughts as well.

Richard Mohler

on Jul 16, 2006

If anybody wants to e-mail me I'll send them widget versions of my latest submissions..Email

I usually make widgets but with this weather thing I wasn't sure about using the weather script so I made it a gadget..

As for the calendar, don't know why I made it a gadget..

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