Can anyone explain a widget?the how tos of widgets?

a JavaScript runtime engine for Windows and Mac OS X that lets you run little files called Widgets that can do pretty much whatever you want them to. Widgets can be alarm clocks, calculators, can tell you your WiFi signal strength, will fetch the latest stock quotes for your preferred symbols, and even give your current local weather.





You can also have custom widgest created by others like a Quoter Widget of sorts


For How-to's check the yahoo! Widget page

Can anyone explain a widget?the how tos of widgets?
Yahoo! Widgets





What Is the Yahoo! Widget Engine?


The Yahoo! Widget Engine (formerly known as Konfabulator) is a JavaScript runtime engine for Windows and Mac OS X that lets you run little files called Widgets that can do pretty much whatever you want them to. Widgets can be alarm clocks, calculators, can tell you your WiFi signal strength, will fetch the latest stock quotes for your preferred symbols, and even give your current local weather.





What sets Yahoo! Widget Engine apart from other scripting applications is that it takes full advantage of today's advanced graphics. This allows Widgets to blend fluidly into your desktop without the constraints of traditional window borders. Toss in some sliding and fading, and these little guys are right at home in Windows and Mac OS X.





The format for these Widgets is completely open and easy to learn so creating your own Widgets is an extremely easy task.





For the "skinning" crowd, Yahoo! Widget Engine is a dream come true. You can easily change the look, feel, layout, even functionality of a Widget so that it matches your lifestyle, your desktop, or the pants or skirt you have on that day.





A Little History...


Some time in early 2000 Arlo Rose came up with an idea for a cool little application. It would use XML to structure images, and a scriptable language, like Perl, in such a way that someone who knew the basics of Perl could put together cool little mini-applications. The goal was that these mini-applications would just sit around on your desktop looking pretty, while providing useful feedback.





All he ever really wanted was to have a cool looking battery monitor and something that told him the weather, but he knew the possibilities for something like this could potentially be limitless.





Fast forward a couple of years when Arlo began working with Perry Clarke at Sun Microsystems. Over lunch one afternoon Arlo gave Perry the basics of this dream app. Perry suggested that JavaScript would be far easier for people to digest. He was right. It's the basis for Flash's ActionScript, and Adobe's scripting engine for Photoshop. Of all the choices, JavaScript made the most sense. Shortly after that lunch, the two began to spend their nights and weekends making this thing a reality.





A half year later it was ready for download on Mac OS X.





Time flew by, Ed Voas joined the team and the Windows version was unveiled.





Download Yahoo! Widget Engine today and enhance your desktop!


http://widgets.yahoo.com/info/





Maps Widget%26gt;


Get a slick map, quick.





Mail Checker%26gt;


Be the first to know when new mail arrives.





Notepad Widget%26gt;


21st century sticky notes.


Save online, retrieve anywhere.





Weather Widget%26gt;


Partly cloudy, Totally awesome!


Instant weather.





Wage Widget%26gt;


Keeps a running total of the amount of money you've earned. Input your hourly wage and watch how the moolah adds up while you surf the Internet, go to the bathroom, yap with your co-workers and occasionally work.





Softcode Analog Clock%26gt;


This is an analog clock with the alarm clock, digital clock, and an indicator of the current date.





Keep the stuff that you love right at your fingertips.


Bring life to your desktop with fun, stylish,


and useful Yahoo! Widgets.





To get Widgets on your desktop, you first need


to download the Yahoo! Widget Engine.





System Requirements:





* Windows XP with Service Pack 1 installed or Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3 installed, or newer, or Mac OS X 10.3 or newer.


* A connection to the Internet.


* 512 megabytes of RAM is recommended.





Yahoo! Widgets Download%26gt;


http://widgets.yahoo.com/