I downloaded and installed the latest version of Konfabulator yesterday. Needless to say, it is probably one of the best free software that I have ever installed on my Windows machine. Konfabulator is a “JavaScript runtime engine” for both Windows and MacOS that allows programmers to design interactive and visually appealing “widgets” to be placed on the desktop. These widgets run as individual programs and do not consume a lot of system resources.
There are tons of widgets already available for download for both these platforms. The most wonderful aspect of this program is that it allows for both the operating systems to have similar widgets. It is possible to define the transparency of the widgets from 0% to 100%, and also position them on the desktop in a multitude of ways. I am sure Yahoo! is working behind the scenes to build a port for the Linux operating system.
I tried many different kinds of widgets once my initial excitement died off, but have now settled for 3 of them running continuously on my desktop. My favorite is the “Digg Digger” aggregator widget pictured above. It updates every 2-3 minutes and is always fun to read. Another widget I have on my desktop provides me with weather information from weather.com, and the third one basically cycles through random Simpsons quotes after some interval.
All in all, I love this software, and after using it for about a day haven’t found any issues with it yet. Truly, one of the best freebies ever!