RSSGoogle Adds Widgets to Homepage
By Ed Oswald | Published December 14, 2005, 10:45 AM
Apparently taking cues from Microsoft, Google late Tuesday announced that it would allow users to personalize their homepage much in the way Live.com already works. The new feature would allow for drag and drop organization, as well as an API to build "modules" for use on the homepage.
Microsoft allows much of the same functionality through its Microsoft Gadgets framework. Both make use of RSS feeds, and can use various Web technologies to give the mini-applications functionality.
The move by Google should come as no surprise; Microsoft and Google have been locked in a cat and mouse game on a variety of fronts: the fight over Kai-Fu, Microsoft's moves to bite into Google's domination of Web advertising with adCenter, and the tug-of-war with America Online.
"The personalized homepage was created to bring together the stuff that interests you from across the Web," Google software engineer Adam Shah said. "From an engineering perspective, this became an opportunity to create a framework for all types of content and information."
The team behind the new personalized homepage features has created several modules, and are encouraging others to explore the API and build their own.
"It's designed to be flexible and easy to use, and you don't need to download anything to create a module," Shah added.
Users interested in customizing their own Google personalized homepage can visit www.google.com/ig.
While Google's personalized homepage technology has been around for awhile, (hint: IG stands for I, Google which came about from I, Robot) it's good to see they're going to focus on it more.
The only thing that would screw Google over is if they take the personalized homepage Google interface and made it a portal platform on Google.com instead of the nice simple, yet powerful interface that exists now.
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|is it just me, or am i crazy?? as far as i can remember, i have had this feature for the past few months... it seems that all the articles betanews comes out with about google features i have been seeing for a few months already... strange...
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|Wow, even after like 20 comments about this, you still make an idiot out of yourself.
Good job.
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|If anyone makes a todo module, please share.
Thanks.
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|Isn't capitalism wonderful ?
Two giant corporations compete ...and consumers win !
Many of the wigets, though, are as frivolous and useless as those on Microsoft's site.
But the PC Rat's guess is that Google will have more success developing pertinent and productive wigets.
Microsoft has a tendency to start projects, then eventually lose interest in them. They sort of have the computer industry version of Attention Deficit Disorder !
The Computer Rodent
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|Yeah, we won a silly pair of *rolls eyes*.
Lucky us.
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|"Yeah, we won a silly pair of *rolls eyes*"
The "Eyes" widget ?
Quite so. If ~that's~ widgets at their most useful, this will be a very brief fad !
Cute tricks won't cut it. Widgets will have to facillitate genuine productivity.
If not permit users to do something new, at least make something we already do easier or quicker.
The Computer Rodent
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|Built mine already.
Just a silly little mileage calculator for shipping from one of our 3 plants, but it was amazingly easy to write.
Usefull widgets will come swiftly now. I can pretty much guarantee it.
If I can write a mileage app utilizing Google Maps in under 20 lines, anyone can do pretty much anything.
Everyone who lost their directions when Google dropped it from the personalized homepage now has it back though...just modify my module a bit, and boom (BAM!?), you can have a text-box for both start and end-points.
Let the fun begin.
(Hell, if I can do it, anyone can)
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|Whoops........
**Foot in mouth**
My bad folks. Didn't mean to be a $#@!.
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|At least you can admit it.
=)
**EDIT**
haha, your reply still fits with what I edited here.
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|Uh get a clue? Amazing 3 month old news to you is day one news to everyone else.
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|Yep.... I sure did.
LOL :)
This place kills me. :)
Hahahahahahahah.
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|Score: 0
|Nope. Didn't see those.
Sorry about that. Didn't mean to be a $#@!.
My bad.
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|Oh yes you did... Go on, admit it. You love being a $#@. It's what you live for.
Amazing how a pair of *rolls eyes* can make you look like an idiot, eh?
Of course, it's easier for some than for others. :P
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|Naw......not what I live for. I just made a mistake.
I apologize.
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|Boo.
;P
That's not allowed on the internet. You should know that.
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|Yeah.....I'm a tool and I spoke before thinking.
**Foot in Mouth**
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|Woah!! Mark it on the calendar.
ServerMechanic admitted that he's been using the devil for over three months!!
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|hmmm... now why would I want a pair of eyes or an old Google logo on my search page?
Valentines Day Google logo in December?
Summer Olympics 2004 Google logo in 2005?
Mothers Day 2003 Google logo ready for Mothers Day 2006???
I think not.
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|It's amazingly easy to code your own, though.
For example, I just created a mileage calculator using google maps to calculate mileage from 3 different plants in my state.
Not very usefull for anyone else, but quite so for me, and took less than 10 minutes.
(As yet untested since Google-base has a 15-60 lagtime.)
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|and maybe I will...
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|Interesting how I have to come to BetaNews to find new features for my homepage...
Not a word on my homepage from Google concerning the new feature unless I click "Add Content."
*sigh*
So far, I see 5 gagets, all useless to me.
Now I gotta hunt down the API to create a shipping/mileage gadget from 3 set locations.
Gonna be a long day...
Hopefully it's easy enough to use.
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|wee i have eyeballs now
hey make better ones, i'm no coder *plays with eyeballs*
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|Bah.
Do it yourself. Copy the code (there's a link to it), make a better graphic, and paste.
Then just upload it to google-base as described in their "developer info" link and you have a nifty new eyes module....
Oh happy day.
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|ROFL
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|"wee i have eyeballs now"
What'd you use before?
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|Hey, at least he's playing with his EYE-balls....
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|Did you just say that?
I think you just did.
Oh gosh...
lol
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