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Fun To Say, Fun To Use: Konfabulator Widgets

Profile by Jay Watamaniuk

BioWare's very own Georg Zoeller sent me these useful little gems out of blue. This sort of thing always reminds me my technical savvy ranks right up there with a cup of turkey gravy. Georg has created two desktop elements that can display BioWare forums information at a glance. Each widget picks real-time discussions about Jade Empire and Neverwinter Nights and displays them on your desktop for fast and easy reference. He mentioned that the widgets look good, and for those leet gamers with two monitors, they are a great way to use that extra space while staying connected to their favorite game sites.

Where can I check out Georg's mad genius?

Georg: You can download the widgets at my website.

What is your position at BioWare? What are you currently working on?

Georg: I'm a Lead Technical Designer working on an unannounced project.

What are these crazy Konfabulator Widgets things you have created?

Georg: Konfabulator (recently renamed Yahoo Widget Engine) is a free tool that allows the creation of functional desktop elements (called widgets) that can be freely positioned on Windows and MacOs desktops. Especially with the recent rise in widescreen monitor popularity and two monitor setups, they are a nice way to fill up all that screen estate that would otherwise go unused.

The two widgets I created are both RSS Feed Readers that can display the entries in an RSS stream (such as the most recent forum entries on the BioWare forums) on the desktop. They are highly configurable, come with a list of possible streams to pick from (such as all BioWare forum feeds) and support user defined streams (i.e. fansites like NWVault) as well. Plus they look nice, thanks to the art I borrowed from BioWare web page. (Warning: Girlfriends might disapprove of the permanent presence of Scholar Ling on your desktop; substitute the Gelatinous Cube in cases of conflict).

Do you have any tips for the crazy fan who wants to make their own?

Georg: It's quite simple(*). There is extensive documentation on the API and widget creation process available at the Konfabulator website. Anyone with experience in javascript or other scripting languages should have no trouble getting into widget creation.

(*) Might not be simple enough for Trent O's grandmother.

(Editor's note: I am always pleased to encourage any variation on 'Yo Momma' jokes within this web space. - Jay W.)

Related Links

• Read a little more about Georg
• NWN Developer forum
• Interested in scripting, modeling and being technical? Check out the Builders Project Guild.
• Filled with NWN knowledge you want to pass on?

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