Widget Television VF3 - 1.0

VF2 is a really nice idea — who knew there was so much free TV on the web? The one major problem that keeps me from keeping the widget open all the time is it's processor usage. Even with "power" off, the widget still consumes about 15% of my processor time (dual 1.8 GHz G4). VF1 was similar, though it may have been worse. I'd appreciate if the developer could fix this — all other widgets use no processor time in the background, except when doing auto content updates. Thanks!

When there is an upgrade normerally it erases older one that was there? Why do I still have the VF1? I also noticed widget was renamed? Also logo changed.
Secondly I still have some problems with windows media player not recognizing version and plug ins. This happens at various sites and is a royal pain. Microsoft is aware of it and does not seem to care. Real Player also acts up on a few of your stations. Perhaps you can inspire them to fix?
Is it necessary to have old and new widgets? Despite these minor kinks I say your doing one heck of a job on your project and I want to know your appreciated. Thank you!

Chuck thank you very much. I give you a top rating for such an excellent idea, great customer service and your promptness in answering all questions.

I received the following email (shown partially):
I think the difference I see in your widget vs. others that may allow "interaction with your system in ways that you might not approve of" is that the user cannot review and evaluate the programming code of your widget prior to running it. Such a review can be performed for most other widgets, as the widget's code is present locally on the user's Mac.

Although I don't quite follow the rest of your response (I'm just a beginner at html and JavaScript), I certainly trust you in stating that your widget is safe. I guess my concern is that if other widgets start implementing this methodology, it gives me an insecure feeling.

My response is one that you all should be aware of:
Not to worry. Even if the 'Info.plist' file is altered to "AllowSystem' as 'Yes' within the choice.wdgt widget, the only part of the widget that actually has the controlling function would be the initial 'choice.wdgt' that was installed. And as you can see from viewing the code, it's nothing more than a 'call' to something else. The 'in-memory' rest of the widget, when loaded into memory, would still have no control because it's basically a completely different thing, living only to serve up images and channel files when requested. And as such a servant, has no control over anything except what it was told to do. Which is 'get that image' or 'get that channel file'. The interaction between the server and your desktop happens only in memory. If it was told to do anything else, it would certainly try to do as it was told, but it would be like me telling it to 'walk through that solid brick wall'.

Try going to your Activity Monitor and quitting the VF2 DashboardClient process running there. When the process is halted, the memory is cleared and all that is left is the starting point of the choice.wdgt prior to 'calling' the server for requests. No other widget in widget-land offers this security. The thing is, is even if someone did get to the server and altered the requested files, thats not an issue. They can't do a thing to cause a reaction to your system because its virtual. The 'only' file that is physically installed and located on your system, is the choice.wdgt file.

That small, unobtrusive widget that tells you what your current IP address is, holds an enormous amount of potential to do damage to your system. Certainly 100% more than the Widget Television VF2 does. By installing something that you have allowed to gain access to your system to tell you what your IP is, you have voluntarily given the widget control over your entire system. That's not to say that it will do something that you would rather it not do, but rather to say that it has the potential to be destructive if it is programmed to do so. It can't happen with the VF2. Even if I wrote the code to wipe out your hard drive, and you ran the VF2, it just couldn't do it. It assumes it's still running on the server and is totally blind and unaware that it's even on your system.

Hope this helps you to better understand the VF2 and how it functions in a secure environment.

This is a great widget. If the providers would be more consistent in the streams available we wouldn't have to experiment so much.