Google was so good it became a verb for search. Will Konfabulator be next for enhancing your desktop?

I’ve gone widget-crazy since last week. Konfabulator widgets are small programs that run on your desktop to perform relatively simple tasks or retrieve bits of information. It’s similar to the widgets you see in Mac desktops using its latest operating system.

More than the tasks performed by the widgets, it’s their appearance that makes Konfabulator a software you must download. The widgets are such eye candies that often I’d find myself staring at the desktop. Konfabulator used to charge fees for using its software but it was recently bought by Yahoo and made available for free.

The Konfabulator installer contains default widgets – a to-do list, a weather widget, a picture frame to display photos in your PC and a clock. I ditched the to-do widget (I already use a server-based TiddlyWiki for my notes and tasks list) and replaced the default clock widget with the Chrome Clock (available in the Widget gallery). I also added RSS feeds from the Associated Press and Wired as well as a site check widget to check on my personal and work websites.

I also added a mini-calendar and the werewolf monitor, a widget that places an amazingly realistic moon in your desktop that mirrors the lunar phase.

Will the widgets cause your computer to crawl? Not for me. I run a lot of widgets but I can still multi-task – simultaneously open my word processor, instant messenger, browser as well as page layout and photo editing software without a noticeable lag in performance.

I’ve become so widget crazy that I check the gallery at least once a day looking for new widgets to download. I’ve brought this craze for widgets online by installing this WordPress plugin, which puts widgets into your dashboard. The most useful widget for me is the one where you can save short notes and reminders.