Mesa Dynamics has announced the alpha preview release of Amnesty Hypercube, a desktop platform for web widgets.
Amnesty Hypercube allows users to use web widgets, such as those provided by Google Gadgets, Pageflakes, Widgetbox and others on their desktop in a similar fashion to Apple’s Dashboard, Yahoo Widgets, Google Desktop and the Vista Sidebar.
The theory goes that there are “hundreds of thousands” of publicly available web widgets, flash games, and videos that are designed to run on the web; Amnesty Hypercube brings this choice and variety to the desktop.
Amnesty Hypercube includes a directory of over 150 web widget providers that can be browsed by category and explored from inside the application. Widgets from the directory can be imported automatically into Amnesty Hypercube via its “NoClick” technology.
Desktop widgets tend to be something people either love or hate. If you’re a serious desktop widget connoisseur and are stuck using something like Vista (which is a fairly dismal range of widgets) Amnesty Hypercube could well be for you. As a Mac user I don’t see the need quite as much, however using something like this does expand your widget options.
Amnesty Hypercube is available for both Windows and Mac, and is offered as freeware.
soryy, but i don’t get it - web widgets are ‘web’ because we (users) wanted them to be ‘web’… now, why the hell anybody wants web widget to appear on desktop?
I’m glad somebody finally stands up for hypercubes and fights for amnesty.
I actually don’t get it either. Every time a widget platform comes out, I install it and give it a run. The idea of encapsulating specific functionality in small applications sounds like it would be great for a multi-tasker like me. Then I go to the ‘Top Rated’ widgets and see a Calculator, a Weather Widget and Tetris. After browsing for 5 more minutes, I realize that amongst the 1000s of widgets available, there is nothing that actually provides value for me. I silently weep for a moment from the sheer disappointment and move on with live
Palik, Christoph
I dont fully get it either, but certainly if you were stuck with a crappy widget platform like Vista which doesn’t have a great range of widgets something like this open up extra choices. Google Desktop doesn’t have the biggest range either.
Wait, I don’t get it. Haven’t we done this several times over already? How is this different from what Konfabulator/Yahoo Widgets, Google Widgets, OSX Dashboard, Vista Sidebar have done?
I think it just acts like a browser on the back end so you aren’t limited to Konfabulator or any one type of widget offering. I think it’s a good idea, the name is pretty ridiculous, but I wish them luck.
The downside is I wonder if it shares the prodigious memory usage abilities of Firefox. If so, no go. I can only quit all my apps and restart so many times in a day.
The widget market is obviously still in the early stages, everyone and their dog haven’t created a widget platform yet. Best get in while the market isn’t saturated, be ahead of the curve, ???, then profit.
Duncan,
There are hundreds of widgets for Vista, and the widget model in Vista is better than the one on the Mac (I use both Mac and Vista daily).
Otherwise this is a great post about an interesting and usefull service.
LOL.
Cross the digital “border and get amnesty” because after *12 million widgets* working in various platforms serving the great PC industry, a new model for the market is just 1 more month away from the “great digital big bang”.
Yesterday, I lite the flame to make September a great month of change to
reboot the cycle: “I am 9″.
“BOOM”.
Be patient, I’ve set the stage for the play to “go live and on-air”.
Hit the button, put me first and watch the market “speak and listen”.
I don’t want to live in a “future” that runs on “sprokets” and “punch cards”.
I don’t want to live with a “desktop” that runs “widgets” that have no “meaning”.
All you smart big people will seek to get your big heads checked, it’s going to be hella funny when the little guy starts to make the money, because soon, everyone is going to get blip’d!