Yahoo Gives Itself a Widgie

By Geoff Duncan July 25, 2005

Yahoo, Inc., announced today that it has acquired Pixoria Inc, developers of Konfabulator, an application which enables people to run "Widgets" on their desktops. Konfabulator Widgets are small, custom tools which perform specific tasks, such as controlling the music playing on your computer, graphing stock prices, acting as a metronome, or monitoring weather reports or sports scores. Furthermore, Yahoo is now giving away Konfabulator for free, eliminating the product’s previous $20 price tag. Users who paid for Konfabulator in the last two months will receive a refund.

Yahoo is making Konfabulator the core technology behind Yahoo Widgets as an easy-to-use way to expose Yahoo’s XML-based content to a broader audience and enable developers and enthusiasts use that content in new ways. Widgets formerly had to use brute-force methods to "scrape" Web sites for up-to-date information; now, Widgets can tie in to Yahoo’s ever-expanding range of XML-based content, which in turn puts Yahoo in front of more computer users—especially if someone comes up with a must-have "killer Widget." Available for both Windows and Mac OS X (where it significantly predates Apple’s own widget-laden Dashboard), Konfabulator has developed an enthusiastic development community which has released more than 1,000 Widgets for general use.

Konfabulator requires Windows XP or Windows 2000, or Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

Editors' Recommendations

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

How to play Minecraft on a Chromebook

A player stands outside their village with mobs in Minecraft Legends.

Minecraft is the kind of cross-platform game that just keeps getting better. With tons of developer support, and mods a-plenty, there’s several ways you can experience the thrills of building, mining, and avoiding zombies. You’ll even be able to play Minecraft on a Chromebook, and no, it’s not going to fry your new 2-in-1.

Computing

Does your Mac need antivirus software in 2024? We asked the experts

A hacker typing on an Apple MacBook laptop while holding a phone. Both devices show code on their screens.

It’s an age-old question among Apple fans: Does your Mac need antivirus software? Traditionally, the popular answer has been no -- Macs have strong built-in protections, the argument goes, and antivirus apps can potentially slow down your computer. In the end, the trade-off didn’t seem to be worth it.

But is that still true today? After all, Macs are increasingly becoming a target of cybercriminals, with some Mac malware strains supposedly even being created by nation states. In that kind of situation, has the game changed?

Computing

9 best 2-in-1 laptops in 2024: tested and reviewed

The back of the Surface Pro 9, with the kickstand pulled out.

The 2-in-1 form factor has certainly come into its own over the last several years. There's really no reason to limit yourself to a clamshell, as there's a 2-in-1 that will meet the needs of all but the most demanding users in terms of sheer performance.

We've reviewed every great 2-in-1 you can buy, including Chromebooks, convertibles, and powerful 16-inch versions. The overall best 2-in-1 at the moment is the Microsoft Surface Pro 9, with its fantastic keyboard that's as easy to remove as it is to type on, a 120Hz display, and a haptic-enabled pen. It's almost as good a laptop as it is a tablet, which is what makes it the best overall 2-in-1.