Konfabulator

I'm happy to report that I've entered the wonderful world of widgets. After learning that Windows Vista (whenever it arrives) will have support for "gadgets", via "Windows Sidebar", I decided to snoop around, and see what was already available. Yahoo! Widget Engine, neé Konfabulator, was completely free and seemed to compare favorably with Apple's Dashboard widgets, so I decided to give it a try. In truth, I would prefer to use HTML and CSS for structure and layout, as Apple does, but the Konfabulator XML is fairly simple and easy to learn. The API for dynamically adding elements leaves something to be desired, but in general, I've found that I've been able to port a number of Dashboard widgets to Konfabulator with a modicum of hassle. Some of my favorite widgets are Dictionary, Digital Clock, Yahoo! Maps, and MLB Ticker.

Dipping a Toe in the XUL

Lately I've spent a lot of time tinkering with XUL. Actually creating the markup is pretty simple, certainly no more difficult than HTML or XSL. The real dificulty lies in creating all of the different files for distribution. After toying with it for a little while, I realized that I don't really want all of the XUL structural components (at least for now). What I really want is "privileged" JavaScript - JS without the usual security restrictions. By creating a .manifest file and placing it in the appropriate location, I found I could use privileged JS with ordinary XHTML files. Sweet!