Focus On Software: What’s A Widget
There are more ways of staying on top of the information overload than ever before. And one of everyone’s first question about this new landscape is what’s a widget?
In the early twentieth century, a widget was a mechanic part whose name you can’t remember. It was like a “thing-a-ma-jig.” Last time I checked, widgets were somehow related to George Jetson’s company, competing against Spacely Sprockets. But today, the term has been co-opted by Internet software enthusiasts and there are more widgets available every day.
A widget is an application that is still distributed freely - at least that is similar to its old meaning - but everything else is new. The first distinction to make is between desktop widgets and Internet widgets. A desktop widget is a simple application that performs a function, like a pop-up calculator. Operating systems like Vista is designed to use widgets on the desktop as well as to allow users to download all kinds of web widgets.
Internet-based widgets are downloaded so you can check the weather, stock market statistics, or even a rss newsfeeder for specialty news. For example, a widget that checks for airline ticket deals is one popular widget that is compatible with the Internet Explorer.
Now that you can answer the question what’s a widget, can you guess what a thing-a-ma-jig is?
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