Mac OS X | Widgets | Other Widgets | Widgetarium

Widgetarium - 1.0b4a

IDE for developing Dashboard widgets

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All Time:	(4.0)
Version 1.0b4a:	Not rated (0.0)
Selected Version:	1.0b4a
Release Date:	2005-06-16
License:	Beta
Downloads (version 1.0b4a):	757
Downloads (all versions):	8,546

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Product Description:

Widgetarium is an IDE for developing Dashboard widgets, with syntax aware editors for JavaScript, HTML & CSS, widget packager, and Dashboard debugging emulator.

What's new in this version:

includes some significant features (such as automatically making the background images for you, and new widgets from templates to get you started even faster!)

Operating System Requirements:

This product is designed to run on the following operating systems:

Mac OS X 10.4 PPC

Additional Requirements:

Mac OS X 10.4 or later

Feedback Summary:

Version 1.0b4a:
Overall Rating:	Not rated (0.0)	Features:	Not rated (0.0)	Support:	Not rated (0.0)
Ease of Use:	Not rated (0.0)	Quality / Stability:	Not rated (0.0)	Price:	Not rated (0.0)

Key to Types of Feedback:

Reviews Reviews Troubleshooting Usage Tips Developer Notes Commentary Featured Reviews

First experiences… - Version: 1.0b8, 8/28/2005 01:48PM PST

(2 of 3 users found this comment useful)

mjharper

About a month ago I started playing around with widgets for Dashboard, and made one using the templates provided by Apple and a lot of manual work, especially since I'm not overly familiar with JavaScript. The end result (a widget covering FAQ for the Carcassone boardgame) was not bad, I think, but since then I've been keeping an eye out for any programs which would simplify the process somewhat. Widgetarium is without doubt the best of those available.

The interface is uncluttered, if at times a little enigmatic, and for a beginner it might take a little clicking around to become familiar with what is where. I'm sure some of the elements (DOM, for example) are beyond my current ability, and as such I'm unable to comment on their implementation. But some of the other elements, particularly the aids for developing the graphic elements of widgets are simply amazing: Widgetarium truly makes creating the Default.png, Default_reverse,png and icon of your widget a breeze, and there are some more advanced features I haven't touched yet. The program really does seam to have been created with developers in mind (odd to say, but true): there is an integrated shortcut for screenshot, for example, and the preview widget hovers in a dashboard-like setting to make screenshots with Grab easier, and more authentic. The debuggers are extremely helpful, as is the console log. Sure there are one or two things which need to be ironed out; but when I posted a question on the support site it was answers very quickly.

And when it really comes down to the test, I started playing around with the program last night, and this morning I had a widget up and running and posted on versiontracker (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/27763).

All in all, an excellent place to start, and a program which can be used by technically-minded beginners but it which will also be possible to grow into. Although the program is only beta, it is being sold at a price of $30; the final release price is likely to be $40-50, so if you're thinking about using this kind of software, check this out now.