A Widget For Every Occasion

I recently switched from a PC to a Mac. It was a welcome change and I didn’t resist it. Going from my clunky, irresponsible, and impetuous Dell to the sleek and sexy 13-inch Macbook was a dream come true. So besides sniffing out available WiFi like a police dog and being utterly flawless in every other respect, my Mac supports widgets. According to Wikipedia, a widget is “a stand-alone, task-oriented application, which can be composed of several related interactions on its own.” Clocking in at only a few megabytes, widgets are freeware applications, and the amazing variety of widgets available for download would organize even the most extreme hoarder’s life.

From recipe finders to lyric search, to tracking your finances, there is a widget for it all. The reason I’m so excited about widgets is because they seem to really address the multifaceted needs of users, whether you are trying to post to your Twitter account (I know, I know, I always write about Twitter), or you just want a cool screen saver. These five really impressed me.

iTube: This widget combines iTunes with YouTube, matching up the video for the song playing in your iTunes. Personally, I think this is an effortless way to be more in touch with the music you listen to, which may or may not be important for some people. And you don’t have to do a single thing but download this widget.

BBCNews: This is a comprehensive list of current news headlines, which can be accessed in 32 different languages (in case you want to brush up on your high school Italiano). When you hold your mouse over a headline, a brief summary appears and you can also click on it to read the full story. Good for people like me, who do not go out of their way for news.

Webcams: For the voyeurs out there—this is actually an entire widget category, which features real-time, live, visual feeds from quite a few places in the United States and around the world. I mean, a calendar on your wall is one thing, but being able to see French beaches and the Arizona desert, and check out the madness in Times Square by looking through a portal on your computer, is really something else.

Chai: Wino territory, the Chai application mirrors a giant, electronic wine cellar, where you can seamlessly navigate through the colors, tastes, and origins of over 11 million wines (without getting lost once). Look up a wine name or just browse based on criteria. No sommelier certificate required.

Nutrient Source: This one makes it super easy to get the vitamins and minerals we need. Nutrient Source has information on 14 of the essentials. Just type in one of the nutrient names and it will rack up a list of everyday foods that will make your meal complete. Easy, just like nutrition should be (but isn’t).

Other notable widgets: Doris (business productivity tool), iStat Nano (tracks computer functions), Shockoe (tracks billable hours for multiple users and projects), Earth (satellite images), DEPOTset (monitors your entire financial portfolio), and MadLibs (self-explanatory).

-Elina is a blogger for The Daily Vine. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.