While the recent surge of users to the Macintosh computer scene is surprising, I'm very happy to see it happen. As a Mac user for over 10 years my once obscure interest has taken a pop-culture turn of massive proportions. OS X is most simply the most user friendly and functional operating system on the planet, not to mention that it is also gorgeous.

But even the best has room for improvement. With the inclusion of Widgets into Tiger (tiny little gadgets that have very specified functions) it was possible to create system add-ons that blended perfectly into the background. Quite a few of these widgets are fun diversions but quickly lose appeal. There are a few widgets that once added to your dashboard, will quickly become your little best-friends:

SnatchEm - FREE

Need to download a batch of images or PDFs and don't feel the need to awkwardly create an Automator action? Meet SnatchEm, an auto-downloading tool that pulls the specified file group (images/documents) or even file type (jpg, PDF, Doc) you need right to your desktop. Amazing tool that is routinely handy.

iClip $19.95

Or iClip lite 2 - FREE

Have you ever had a scrap of useful information but it wasn't important enough to warrant its own document? Well now, with iClip, you can store these important bits and recall them at your own pace. And small notes or URLs are just the beginning, iClip can store sounds, movies, practically anything you'd need!

It allows you to have a consistent storage system for items so that you can keep moving forward now, and easily reference them again when you have free time.

Screenshot Plus - FREE

Screenshots are very helpful to have, but kind of a pain in the butt to create in OS X. Well no more! Screenshot Plus allows you to quickly choose whether to take a screen of a monitor, a specified area, or even a timed shot. Finally you'll have a chance to preview before you save. An excellently useful widget.

Note: While trying to take a screenshot of the widget in action Screenshot Plus stopped working :P. An update on the developer's site proves that this indefinite loading bug is a common error when using OS 10.4.7. A previous edition (with only the loss of saving to the desktop) can be found HERE until the issue is remedied.

Basecamp Widget - FREE

Or Backpack Widget - FREE

If you are enjoying 37signals Basecamp or Backpack group productivity tools, then you'll be relieved to find these dashboard accessible versions. It is surprising how such a minor move to your dashboard can add so much to their usefulness!

Pandora Widget - FREE

Pandora is the developer of the Music Genome Project (aka. they analyze music with precise accuracy). Utilizing this information they created the Pandora music player. It functions almost exactly like a personal radio station except that you have full control over all aspects but don't need to micro-manage it as well. It plays full songs of music you will like based on your preferred artists.

The website is a nice diversion, but the practicality of keeping a browser window open for radio has never made sense to me. The Pandora Widget changes this completely by allowing the full functionality from Dashboard. It even imports your Safari cookies allowing for seamless integration of your music preferences!

While the Amazon ads included are a minor (okay major) issue, and the size is unruly, and the UI is buggy, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by far. Oh, and if you find any music you enjoy you might want to try this: G2P

Cyberduck Widget - FREE

A few years back I moved away from the grey skies of transmit, to the perky Super Mario-esque hills of Cyberduck. Cyberduck is the best FTP program on the Mac due to its simplicity and stability all for free. This widget makes Cyberduck twice as useful by allowing you to simply drop your file into the widget without launching the program. My love for the duck is unnatural.

iRate - FREE

Rate your iTunes music to faster and in a shiny golden hue.

iStat Pro - FREE

Say goodbye Activity Monitor. This baby condenses all of the useful stat loving geeky-ness into one rounded corner block.

Watchmouse Widget - FREE

This is one I don't entirely understand why it is free, but I'm happy to add it to the list. Watchmouse is a web site monitoring company specializing in uptime service. When your site goes down they let you. Their lowest package is $35.99, or you could get the free widget with nearly identical options. It will check at your chosen time intervals and even warn you if your server hits the fan.

Package Tracker - FREE

No more navigating to the same sites over and over. The package tracker saves sanity as well as well as time and is a great addition to your widget arsenal.


And the hidden 11th bonus widget:

Stop Dashboard - FREE

Dashboard is great but having many little applications in the background can degrade your system. With Stop Dashboard you can pause them for later use and a boost in your system performance in a jam. Hit F12 and your widgets come back online.


In the end, the widget push in OS X Tiger was more of a glimpse at the potential in store for Leopard. A few of the widgets listed here should be easy to create by users such as you and me. But until Leopard hits I'm happy to take a look at the best Tiger had to offer and dream for the future. Many thanks to the talented developers for releasing these exciting applications for free!

- Josh