KlipFolio Adds Sidebar Functionality

By Ed Oswald | Published February 20, 2007, 3:35 PM

Software company Serence on Tuesday released an update to its KlipFolio widget application, offering users new functionality such as a mini-sidebar, and new organization and sharing features.

KlipFolio is one of the original "widget" applications, which first debuted in late 2001. This pre-dates Mac OS X's Dashboard feature, and even Konfabulator (now Yahoo Widgets), which came out in early 2003.

Serence's entrant came at a time when so-called "push" technology was largely considered a failure and a fad after one of its pioneers, the PointCast Network, had already ceased operations. However, since then, push technology has seen a rebirth with RSS feeds and through the popularity of applications like Konfabulator.

Instead of a focus on design rich widgets, KlipFolio keeps things small and basic, focusing on the service itself that the widget provides.

"We're not here to put another analog clock widget on your desktop," Serence product vice president Peter Matthews said. "KlipFolio 4 and its Mini-Sidebar deliver on the power of desktop widgets yet still leave plenty of room to get stuff done."

The mini-sidebar uses up less space than a windows taskbar, and can be placed at the top, bottom, or side of the screen. Users would also be able to have multiple sidebars, and have the option to make them auto hide if desired.

Organization has also been improved: a feature called "Liquid Klips" auto-resizes other clips in response to another clip being resized near it; Klip Groups, creates mashups of services using mouse gestures; and Send to Friend allows for easy sharing of content found through Klipfolio.

Serence has also added new built-in widgets to this release, including System Monitor, Frame Klips to display webcam and photo imagery, and Search Klips.

KlipFolio 4.0 now available for download through Fileforum. Both BetaNews and FileForum klips are also available.