DashboardWidget
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Delivery Status widget lets you track packages from your Dashboard
Some of us get a lot of packages. Whether you do a lot of shopping via Amazon, have a thing for Zappos shoes, or are just waiting for the goodies you won in a TUAW giveaway to show up, it's often nice to know where those packages are and when they're going to get to you. A nicely done Dashboard widget called Delivery Status (donationware) is the perfect way to see where your packages are, and there's a new version (5.8) of the widget available. What's new? OS X Mountain Lion's Notification Center is supported, as is the Retina display on the new MacBook Pro. There had been an issue on Mountain Lion Macs with FedEx notifications that weren't refreshing properly, but that has been fixed. There are also, according to the developers at Junecloud, "Lots of little adjustments and polish." Thanks to a host of volunteers, the widget is available not only in English, but German, Japanese, French, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish. There's also a syncing service that works with the company's Delivery Status touch app ($4.99) for iOS. If you already use Delivery Status or you've been looking for a solution to keep track of all of those shipments, be sure to download the latest version today.
Widgets: "iPhone apps, I am your father."
Don't get me wrong, I love the iPhone and its App Store juggernaut, it's just sometimes it seems that people have forgotten all about the iPhone app's father: the Dashboard widget. First introduced in Mac OS X Tiger in 2005, widgets changed the way people quickly accessed simple information on their Mac. And though Apple did not create the concept of a widget, it did present them in the best way. With the press of a button I had access to my portfolio, my Yahoo! news, my local weather, calculators for everything, translators, you name it. Widgets were small, simple, and beautiful. They performed one function and did it exceedingly well. Widget ports created half of the first apps ported to the iPhone (think the Weather app, Calculator app, Clock app, and Stocks app). So in honor of the widget being partially responsible for the origins of iPhone apps, I'd like to present you with my four favorite ones. I hope you'll list your favorite widgets in the comments section too.
Widget Watch: Photo Drop "10 sec photo editing"
Photo Drop (not to be confused with the photo batch processor we mentioned a while back) is a nifty Dashboard Widget that promises "10 sec. photo editing." Basically, you drag an image file from the Finder and drop it on the widget (in the Dashboard). You're then able to resize or trim the image and add one of 8 effects (e.g. reflection, rounded corners, etc.). When you're done you can drag the image off the widget back into the Finder, or save it to the clipboard or Desktop. The Photo Drop site has a couple of screencasts to give you a sense of what it can do. I think the concept of doing simple edits in a Dashboard widget is a good one, but I'd like to see more functionality (e.g. cropping, rotation, etc.). Photo Drop is a free download from dropping, Inc.[via Cool OSX Apps]
Keep tabs on TUAW with a TUAW RSS Widget
TUAW fanboy Konstantino whipped up a new Dashboard widget for our RSS feed, just in time for Macworld. It's slick and simple - just the way we like it. Now it's even easier to keep up with all our MWSF '07 coverage! To install, just download the zip archive, unzip and double-click. Once installed, check early and often!Grab your copy here: Konstantino's TUAW RSS Widget.Thanks, Konstantino!
Widget Watch: Simpsons Movie Countdown
This one's for you Simpsons fans. The Simpsons Movie is coming to a theater near you on July 27, 2007. What better way to pass the time between now and then, than to stare at this Simpsons Movie Countdown widget! Unfortunately, it doesn't countdown minutes, hours and seconds - only days. Handy, nonetheless. 227 days to go!
Widget Watch: Morse Code Translator
.-- .... .- - / .... .- - .... / --. --- -.. / .-- .-. --- ..- --. .... - ..--.. / - .... . / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / - .-. .- -. ... .-.. .- - --- .-. --..-- / .-- .... .. -.-. .... / -.. --- . ... / . -..- .- -.-. - .-.. -.-- / .-- .... .- - / -.-- --- ..- / . -..- .--. . -.-. - / .. - / - --- / -.. --- .-.-.- / .. - / -.-. --- -. ...- . .-. - ... / .--. .-.. .- .. -. / - . -..- - / - --- / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . / .- -. -.. / ...- .. -.-. . / ...- . .-. ... .- .-.-.- / -- .. --. .... - / -.-. --- -- . / .. -. / .... .- -. -.. -.-- / .. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- .----. .-. . / . ...- . .-. / ... - .-. .- -. -.. . -.. / --- -. / .- / -- .- -.-. / -- .- -. .. .- / --. . . -.- / -.-. .-. ..- .. ... . / .-- .. - .... / -. --- / .-- .. ..-. .. .-.-.- Translation:What hath God wrought? The Morse Code Translator, which does exactly what you expect it to do. It converts plain text to Morse code and vice versa. Might come in handy if you're ever stranded on a Mac Mania Geek Cruise with no WiFi!
Widget Watch: iTunes Estimator
So, you want win the iTunes 1 billion downloads contest? Don't we all. You can increase your chances with iTMS Estimator, a Dashboard widget that estimates the number of songs sold, preparing you for that crucial mouse click.Included with the download is the source code and a desktop version that runs outside of Dashboard. Good luck.
Pong clocks; real vs. widget
We missed the news that the swoon-inducing "Pong clock" is actually for sale! At $240, it's a bit more expensive than an Atari Flashback, but oh so worth it!If you just want the Pong time-keeping functionality, but don't care about the aesthetics, you can download the free "pongClock" widget for Apple's Dashboard. The widget uses the score to keep time for you and you have the option to play a match against it. Oh, Pong, where will you be next?
