If you haven’t been keeping your eyes open to the latest internet trend, you must read up on WIDGETS. These little modules of code are sure to transform the way we experience the world wide web, and the more you know about what is available for your personal desktop, the better the experience.
According to BusinessWeek magazine:
In the Web world, widgets are modules of software that people can drag and drop onto the personal page of their social network or onto a blog. There, widgets typically look like a little window or box, packing a bit of the functionality that you would get with a stand-alone Web site or software package. The result can be as mundane as the WeatherBug, or a YouTube clip of your favorite video of a bulldog riding a skateboard… more.
~ “The Next Small Thing” by Spencer E. Ante, Heather Green, and Catherine Holahan
With that said, take the plunge and get yourself some WIDGETS. Teknote Systems recommends starting by way of Mozilla Firefox Add-ons or iGoogle. But those are just the tip of the iceburg. Keep an eye on this new wave of web applications as widgets take the internet by storm.