Yahoo Buys Konfabulator Widget App

Yahoo confirmed that it has bought Konfabulator, a popular software application that provides a platform for small "widgets" that show news headlines, weather data, and stock information among other things on a user's desktop. The program is available for both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.

Konfabulator was first introduced in 2002 and quickly gained a small cult following for its ease of use. Apple liked the idea and included a similar application, called Dashboard, in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Pixoria, the company behind Konfabulator, later introduced a version of the software for the Windows operating system.

The creators of the application -- Arlo Rose, Ed Voas, and Perry Clarke -- said in a statement on the Konfabulator Web site that they saw the merger as nothing but positive.

"When we first thought of Konfabulator, one of the key pieces was accessing internet content. Well guess what Yahoo has boatloads of?" the group said. "So really, depending on how you look at it, we're taking over Yahoo! We're going to make it so the best way to access their data is via slick little Widgets."

Konfabulator will likely garner a much larger audience under Yahoo's umbrella. With over 181 million registered users, Yahoo is one of the largest destinations on the Web. The widgets would allow these users to obtain information from the Yahoo Web site without having to launch a Web browser.

Whereas Pixoria charged $20 USD for Konfabulator, Yahoo intends to give the new version -- to be renamed Yahoo! Widgets -- away for free. Anyone who has purchased the software since May would be eligible for a refund.

"We're excited. You should be too," the group wrote. "We're in good hands at Yahoo, I mean, they acquired Flickr, right? How bad can they be?"

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