Cross-Platform Dashboard Software – Is it for Real?

Cross-platform dashboard software is very real. It is now available to Windows users as well. There used to be a time when Windows users would just drool at the dashboards created by Mac for back then, they were only available for Mac computers. But now, they are being ported to Windows as well. Before we proceed to the widgets that can be run on Windows dashboards, let us examine what dashboards and widgets are first.

A dashboard is an application developed by Macintosh for its OS X operating system to run small applications called widgets. The dashboard can be activated by moving the cursor on a preassigned hot corner or pressing a hot key. The dashboard was created so that users can open applications that would have been to tedious to open manually. The dashboard was then available to Mac operating systems only. But as early as 1994, it was introduced to Windows operating systems.

The konfabulator is an engine that allows Mac and Windows to open and run widgets. Some few examples of these widgets are the following: calculators, a gauge for assessing the strength of your WiFi signal, the local and international weather, stock quotes, and alarm clocks. You may notice that these applications are just miniscule compared to other big programs. That is the whole purpose of dashboard. It was made so that you will not have to manually open these kinds of applications. All you have to do is click on the preferred widget that you want to open on the dashboard. One great example of how a dashboard widget works is the Google search widget. Instead of manually opening a browser and looking for your preferred information, you can do it directly on the dashboard.

The widgets on the dashboard can be dragged and dropped to the desktop. Simultaneously, you can also bring them back to the dashboard. Another option on your part is that you can either put them on the dashboard or on the desktop permanently. It is all up to your preferences.

Not all widgets are available for Windows users yet. Many of them are still in the process of crossing them from the Mac platform to the Windows platform. This piece of news has certainly made a lot of Windows users happy. Now, because of these kinds of software, they will have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of dashboards while still retaining Windows as their operating system.

The dashboard weather is one of the few widgets now available to the Windows dashboard. The other widgets also available are world clock and sticky notes. Although they are just few in number, developers have promised to make all the other widgets available not to Mac and Windows only, but to every other kind of operating systems in the market today.

Many people thought that dashboards would be confined to just Mac systems. Thanks to a lot of talented individuals, everyone can now enjoy this feature. Cross-platform dashboard software has opened a whole new world for a lot of computer users.