Mac360 Twitter TweetsSponsorship and Advertising on Mac360Forums Member LoginRegister for Mac360 ForumsFrequently Asked QuestionsYouTube Video WatchDashboard Widget WatchPolls & SurveysMac360 Power Search Options
RSS FeedThe Mac360 Article ArchiveThe Cheap MacWhat's New!Mac Tips & TricksMacintosh User ForumsMac360 Reviews

How To Track The Latest Widgets By Using A Widget.

WidgetEveryone uses the Dashboard Widgets on Mac OS X, right? OK, mostly. How do you know when there are new Widgets ready to download?

Inquiring minds of Widget collectors everywhere want to know. Actually, it’s very easy, and you don’t even have to click over the Apple’s web site and sort through the latest. There’s a Widget that does that for you.

Sometimes I regret that we have a Mac360 category called Widget Watch because that implies that we’re watching the latest Widgets for you. Yes, I have a few favorite Widgets, but the fast majority of Widgets I look at are perfect—for someone else.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone tell you about all the latest Widgets highlighted on Apple’s Dashboard web site pages without having to sort through them yourself? That’s what I thought. So, I prayed about it for a long time.

Prayers work for some things, not so much for others. The bright red Jaguar XK-E I prayed for to accompany a utility that tracked Widgets didn’t materialize, at least, not yet. But, in its place is Apple Dashboard Widgets, the little Widget that could.

Guess what? It works. The Widget displays the latest 20 recent submissions to Apple for inclusion on their Dashboard Widgets page.

Just bring up Dashboard, and scroll through the latest Widgets to come out of the closet, so to speak.

There’s a description of each Widget, and a link. Find a Widget that looks interesting, then click. Safari opens a browser window which takes you right to the Dashboard Widget web page, ready for viewing and eventual download and perhaps a little extra Widget Bliss.

We know how much fun that can be.

While the Widget seems to work just fine, and it lets you scroll through the latest 20 Widgets instead of scouring Apple’s web site, making it a handy Widget, it’s also a Widget without a name.

Actually, it’s a Widget with names, as in plural, more than one. MacUpdate’s link calls it Apple Latest Widgets, which is perfectly acceptable to me, but maybe not to Apple’s lawyers who don’t like someone else selling something using the Apple name.

If they changed the name to Latest Widgets it would still be the same great utility, same great visual delight, but with 33-percent less copyright and/or trademark infringement (I get those two mixed up, though both seem to require lawyers).

The Widget itself, when it’s working in the Dashboard, is just called Dashboard Widgets. Either way, it works for me, though knowing there’s drama somewhere around the lawyer community can be exciting. To watch. From afar.

Still, necessity is the mother of invention, and this is a handy utility that would make any mother proud (except for the when lawyers get into the act and confiscate first born sons).

Look how much time and effort Apple Latest Widgets saves. One wrist flick opens Dashboard, then scroll and read. On the other hand, you’d have to browse to the Apple web site, click on Downloads, click on All Downloads, click on Widgets, then click on Just Added, then click on each one to get a description of each.

Whew. That’s almost as bad as changing diapers 27 times a day.

Do that same routine of checking Apple’s web site 27 times a day for new Dashboard Widget and you can see why invention has a mother. Of course, if you’re checking New Widget Status 27 times a day, then your mother has probably already disowned you.

What’s my favorite new Dashboard Widget (besides the Widget that tells me about the new Widgets)? What else could it possibly be except the University of North Carolina’s Insect Museum Blog Widget.

I am not making that up. Honestly. Cross my heart and swear and hope not to have to buy Pampers and Huggies by the truckload one day (and I’m serious about that).

Post your own Comment.

Classy Mac360 PhotoBy Alexis Kayhill | I'm a 20 year Mac user veteran, writer, photographer, wife, and mommy. I live in sunny San Diego with my husband, three children, two dogs, one mean old cat, and an SUV with a back seat full of beach sand. Follow me on Twitter.

• Email This Article  •  Follow Mac360 on Twitter
• Posted in the Widget Watch Section

Mac360 posts daily Mac updates on Twitter, too. If you Twitter, give Alexis, Bambi, or Ron a tweet and follow Mac360 on Twitter to get daily Mac tips and tricks.

Safari
Need Safari to do more for you? Add a single plugin and go crazy.
Fri Mar 12 - Full Article »
Say No To Mac
Do Mac users need all that power and flexibility? Or, just convenience?
Thu Mar 11 - Full Article »
Dock
A new way to use what you already know how to use to find files.
Wed Mar 10 - Full Article »
Email
Hidden inside a Mac is an email monster. Turn it on with a click or two.
Tue Mar 9 - Full Article »
Database
Database users rejoice. FileMaker Pro is easier and more powerful.
Tue Mar 9 - Full Article »
Docks
Love the Dock? Hate the Dock? Here's how to make the Dock better.
Mon Mar 8 - Full Article »
Walmart
Apple's market value skyrockets ahead of the iPad launch.
Mon Mar 8 - Full Article »
Predictions
Can you predict Apple success or failure as well as technology pundits?
Fri Mar 5 - View Topic »
SyncMan
Keep your contacts fully synchronized online with the SyncMac.
Fri Mar 5 - Full Article »

Off Topic Note: Need more Mac software reviews? Check out Page 2 for encore articles. Help support Mac360 by visiting the Mac360 Store (it’s really Amazon). We get a small commission on every purchase you make through the Mac360 Store (it’s really Amazon). You get discounts on Mac software such as Snow Leopard, iWork ‘09, iLife ‘09, Adobe Photoshop Elements, all MacBook and iMac models, and all iPod models.

Snow Leopard
What's in the FORUMS?
Mac360 Link Farm