Yahoo! recaps a day of setting the Internet-on-TV movement on fire with Widgets

Okay Yahoo!, we're sorry we teased, we give up, you win. After what certainly seemed on this end to be an endless run of HDTV manufacturers announcing support for the Widget Engine today -- and serving up a hefty slap in the face to Microsoft and others who've been moving the Internet to TV movement for some time now -- all we can do is look over the carnage. Signed up on the app side of platform formerly known as Konfabulator are content providers like eBay, MySpace, CBS, Blockbuster OnDemand (in its first off-2Wire MediaPoint appearance), Netflix, Showtime, USA Today and Twitter, while the Widget Development Kit has opened up to developers interested in putting their apps on the screens of millions. Hardware should street starting this spring from the likes of Samsung, LG, Sony and Vizio leaving the biggest question mark as how the competition and their clumsy external boxes can possibly respond.

[JRockDetroit @ Jan 8th 2009 4:33AM]

Guess Microsoft knew this was coming (with the attempted acquisition and all).

[Solaris22 @ Jan 8th 2009 4:44AM]

Unfortunately, we know how competitors on the cable side of things will respond: the same way Comcast has, by capping and throttling.

[Buis @ Jan 8th 2009 5:10AM]

"would you like to know more?"

[-sun @ Jan 8th 2009 1:07PM]

lol .. i like the reference ...

[NHAnimator @ Jan 8th 2009 8:01AM]

I love giraffes.




Especially with a little BBQ sauce for dipping.

[halfmoonmaiden @ Jan 8th 2009 8:57AM]

It is surprising that Google, which is considered by many to be the most popular search engine in the world today, is not at the forefront of this HDTV widget movement. Yahoo is obviously attempting to regain the throne of most inovative search engine. It is a smart move on their part to court the major electronic companies like Sony and Samsung. This big names will lend creditability to Yahoo's efforts.

[jason @ Jan 8th 2009 9:29AM]

personally, i don't want widgets on my tv. i want all of that real estate for a picture and i'm thinking many consumers will feel the same way. to me this has got to be the dumbest idea ever and i'm predicting that in two years it'll be dead.

[Hooterman @ Jan 8th 2009 9:50AM]

You can shut these off, they aren't going to just sit there and constantly waste the bottom 2 inches of your screen. It's just a feature that you can bring up if/when you want.

But who am I to dispute your master prediction?

[psfour @ Jan 8th 2009 11:02AM]

My views as well jason. I watch TV to watch TV not look at some crap at the bottom of the screen.

[angus454 @ Jan 8th 2009 10:13AM]

Widgets are a cool idea, I really hope they come up with something better to use them for than giving advertisers even more access to me via the TV than they already have. Make the widget - building code open source and let's see what happens.

[James @ Jan 8th 2009 10:13AM]

I still don't see why this functionality doesn't seem to be coming to devices like the Bravia internet video link box for people who already own TV's that support such devices. But what am I saying, why spend a couple hundred when you can spend a couple thousand....?

[MBS @ Jan 8th 2009 2:44PM]

Wonder if this will come to the at&t uverse tv since that is already yahoo branded.