Why is Konfabulator "Pretty?"

[Richard Gaskin]

Bill Marriott wrote:
> So the question is, WHY aren't there more of them for Rev?
> 
> The K. site lists over 1500 "widgets" that do everything from display RSS 
> feeds to displaying the current position of the International Space Station.
> 
> HyperCard used to have this kind of excitement and buzz...

HyperCard didn't even have built-in color, let alone window 
transparency.  So yes, HyperCard had a certain buzz, but no, it wasn't 
*this* kind of buzz.

The kind of buzz HyperCard enjoyed was from making the sorts of things 
that are dirt simple in Rev.  The level of buzz was due to its being 
bundled for free with every Mac for much of its lifecycle.

If you can get a bundling agreement for Rev you'll see more buzz.

> Just 10 widgets that "look" like these -- templates that could easily be 
> customized by novices -- would kindle some excitement about Rev.

Rossi's site has at least 10.

There are many dozens of others, but there's a key difference between 
Konfab/Yahoo/Apple/Microsoft widgets/gadgets and Rev stacks:

Those other widgets/gadgets rely on a runtime engine that's already 
installed.

As such, you can make small downloads that appeal to the masses.

Rev is a different animal, one that requires its engine.  So it's great 
for making applications, which most people use it for, but unless you 
can preinstall the Rev Player on every OS or with every browser, it just 
won't have the same reach as the widget/gadget options which do.

I have a secret plan to help that along, but it's some weeks away yet 
and won't ever have the same reach as OS-bundled or browser-based 
alternatives.

> I'm not on a mission to prove Rev inferior here, but that is how you're 
> taking it. I'm trying to suggest ways that could elevate the product ... and 
> deeply analyze any differences and limitations of each.
> 
> I don't disagree with you that many if not most of these Widget things could 
> be done with Rev. Instead of arguing, you could instead take this up -- you 
> mentioned, I think, that you were an investor. So talk to Rev. Get them to 
> hire someone (Rossi?) to make a few key "widget-esque" templates, or sponsor 
> a contest.

No, yesterday I mentioned specifically that I'm not an investor.

But if I were, I wouldn't push RunRev toward making a Konfab clone. 
There already is one, and alternatives with even greater reach are an 
integral part of the two leading OSes.

Rev is great for making applications.  That's what I do for a living.  I 
respect that you like widgets/gadgets and that many others do.  But 
they're not part of my world (I disabled Dashboard on Day 2 of my Tiger 
install), so you'll have to find another advocate.

The things I'd push Rev for have more to do with fine-tuning the 
development of HIG-compliant apps than with pretty novelties.  Just my 
personal preference, as others are entitled to their own.


> Try an inexpensive marketing program that positions DreamCard as the 
> ultimate cross-platform "Widget Kit for Mortals." 

Now there's an idea:  While there may be little value in developing a 
Konfab/OS X/Vista clone in Rev, there could be some value in making an 
IDE in Rev to create widgets/gadgets for those popular environments.

But act soon -- looks like Apple's aiming that direction as we type:
<http://www.thinksecret.com/news/0511dashcode.html>


I'll skip the insults and get on to the productive part:

> - Make a sample RSS displayer that could be tweaked easy with new graphics 
> and a different URL.

Coming in a revJournal article soon, integrated with RevNet.

> - Make something that can play an Internet radio station with some cool 
> logos and equalizer effects

You know how to make an equalizer in Rev?

Sans equilizer, I have a plugin which plays my M3U playlist from 
Soundclick -- I call it "Radio Fourth World".  I use it when I'm 
working, and hadn't considered releasing it since there are already so 
many great Internet radio players out there -- not the least of which is 
iTunes, and I doubt I'll ever have 0.0001% as much reach as that, even 
if I stole a hundred hours from paying work to make it gorgeous.

"Crossing the Chasm" is a good read.

> - One of the top Widgets is a Calvin and Hobbes fetcher. A guy called "DMP" 
> has something that does this for a site called uComics. (But it doesn't 
> work.) Get that thing brushed up, gel-ified, airbrushed.

Maybe the designer likes it like that.

But there's nothing stopping you from making an airbrushed variant.  It 
has no rotate command. :)

> - A little flower that sits on your desktop in K. has received almost 10,000 
> downloads! All it does it change color! 
> http://www.widgetgallery.com/index.php?search=flower

I can see the look on my clients' faces when I tell them why their 
project is late....  ;)

> - How hard would it be to write a little search Widget that does FedEx, UPS, 
> USPS, Google, Wikipedia, Answers.com, etc., like a couple dozen of them do 
> on the K. site?

There's a DMOZ one in RevNet now, along with one for searching the list 
archives, and a number of others floating around elsewhere.

> - A HotOrNot widget?

One word: eeeewwww (just my opinion, but that site seems two steps below 
monster car rallies as reasons why the US is becoming a global cultural 
joke).

But if someone else wants to make it, more power to them.

> - Some kind of limited-time-only, registration required, free download of 
> DreamCard with a modicum of documentation to get the ball rolling for 
> user-submitted Widgets.

They call it a trial version, and it's available now.

> What could you tell people about RunRev if it *REALLY* took an hour for 
> someone to make one of these pretty gizmos???

I couldn't:  the graphics alone take far longer than that.

But I did write an article for MacTech on how to make a custom FTP 
application in under a day.

The doodads I mentioned like the radio player took only a few minutes. 
Clocks are hard, but not many others are.

Forgive how my last posts were written carelessly enough to allow them 
to be misinterpreted and hopefully I can say this more clearly now:

One can indeed make most of the things people make into widgets/gadgets 
in Rev, and in many cases in less time.

I agree they make nifty demo items, and continue to encourage people to 
make attractive software in Rev and deploy it as far as the can, just as 
I encourage RunRev to please please please please make a comprehensive 
index of applications made with Rev so folks don't need to wonder if 
such things are possible.  They are, and often with minimal effort.

Having worked on the clock, you've bit off a larger chunk than you'll 
likely find with any other type of widget/gadget.  I would encourage you 
to pursue this if you find it attractive, and if you make some cool ones 
I see no reason why the couldn't be made available through RunRev.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
  _______________________________________________________
  Rev tips, tutorials and more: http://www.revJournal.com