Konfabulator - December 29, 2003
Author: Arlo Rose & Perry Clarke
Price: $25
Version: 1.5
Reviewed by: Phillip Ryu
User Rating: 
64%
There is no doubt that the release of Konfabulator was one of the Mac community's most anticipated. The mysterious product gave way to speculation, criticism, and confirmations that it was indeed the best OS X software ever before its unveil. Has it lived up to its expectations? Is it everything we wanted it to be?
Features
Konfabulator, if you were wondering, is an engine to display "widgets", which are mini javascript applications that can be skinned in fantastic ways. A little gear icon resides in your menubar, listing open widgets and several generic functions, and your widgets lie on your desktop. This is Konfabulator.
But wait, one might ask. What exactly is the big deal? Konfabulator doesn't sound nearly as cool or revolutionary as it was hyped to be!
The main draw of Konfabulator is its many colorful widgets, 15 of which are included with Konfabulator's default installation. (These widgets include a clock, an iTunes remote, a stock ticker, a picture frame, and a to-do list.) Basically, this is fifteen applications in one, and it gets better.
Each of these widgets are beautiful in design, sporting full transparency, animation, and consistent style. Widgets like the calendar widget, to-do list, and weather checker are undoubtedly useful, or at least provide a function OS X does not. But at this point, disillusioned users may start to wonder, "This airport widget and battery widget sure are pretty, but what's the point? Why take up valuable chunks of desktop space in exchange for two tiny units of menu bar space?" Enter the Widget Gallery.
Arlo Rose and Perry Clarke are no newcomers to the modding community. Their previous creation, "Kaleidoscope" was a huge hit. Thousands of themes were eventually created for the system skinning utility, and this was accomplished thanks to a comprehensive and powerful online archive. The partners deliver again with the Widget Gallery, which is an online archive for user created or modded widgets. There are hundreds of widgets already available online, all for free, and while many may be just interesting mods of the Clock widget, some are genuinely useful, fun, or cute. Look to the sidebar for some author recommended 3rd party widgets.
Ease of Use
Konfabulator's basic interface is spare, as most of its substance belongs to the widgets. There is a small menu item, which controls all global app functions (quit, about, purchase, etc.) and widgets can simply be double clicked to be opened. You can right click on all widgets to access their preferences, which always include the level of transparency, and level of focus. (Below icons, on desktop, above all windows, etc.) The interface is about as simple as it could get, and there is a definite polish to the application, resulting in everything pretty much having been thought of and a streamlined user experience.
Price
The price was probably the major point of debate when this application came out. Critics complained about a lack of useful widgets, and questioned the longevity of the app. Today, of course, it is a different story. Konfabulator 1.5 added a lot of functions improving its usability (including text input, a necessity for things like search widgets) and the Widget Gallery has since ballooned to house hundreds of cool widgets. Furthermore, the developers also added or updated several first party widgets, which can be appreciated for the level of quality that is taken for granted with any default widget. Is it worth 20 bucks? It's still up to you, but there is no doubt that the deal continues to sweeten as the community and application mature.
Konfabulator is truly unique on the mac platform. It is an application that is in fact hundreds of applications, and has created a modding and developer community of its own. Furthermore, the widgets are generally beautiful additions to your desktop. If anything, you will probably feel compelled to show off some of the cooler widgets to your PC friends. Perhaps the only major issue is the price, which is indeed a hurdle to overcome. But when you do decide to buy it, you will be satisfied, especially as themes begin to incorporate stunning widgets as a part of their customization kits.
Comments
Posted by Ernest Liu at January 1, 2004 02:34 AM | Edit | Delete
Konfabulator is nice in the way that it has many widgets out there, but I haven't found too many that are usefull/fun. Konfabulator itself isn't much, but the widgets are plenty. I think the price should be lowered to $15, but that's just my opinion.
Posted by Judie Edwards at January 1, 2004 11:42 AM | Edit | Delete
Au contraire! The price of admission to the Konfabulator *amusement park* is $25.00. Over 450 *rides* to choose from are FREE! If you think of it that way, each widget costs less than a nickel. Konfabulator is brilliant, fun and useful.
Posted by Jiminy at January 1, 2004 04:15 PM | Edit | Delete
"Konfabulator is truly unique on the mac platform."
They're porting it to windows. It'd be nice if macthemes.net reviewed some of the better widgets.
Posted by James at January 2, 2004 01:14 PM | Edit | Delete
I grabbed the demo, while it's neat, it's useless on a 12" powerbook. It takes up way too much screen real estate. If I had a 1600x1200 or higher resolution, I might feel differently.
Most of the widgets I found were absolutely huge on the screen too, I wish there were some more compact ones. In any case, I don't use it anymore.
Posted by danielgrenell at January 4, 2004 01:37 AM | Edit | Delete
i'd say 9.5's accross the board, except the price, it is a little rich for my blood... that didn't keep me from buying it, but it set me back more than i would have liked for an application like this.
Posted by at January 6, 2004 01:19 AM | Edit | Delete
Konfabulator is a great app, but it has one BIG flaw; the widgets take up desktop space. The only things that Konfabulator does that interest me I can do with freeware applications that are menu extras; no cost, and no lost desktop space that has to be reserved to see them.
Posted by Jaey at February 9, 2004 09:40 PM | Edit | Delete
What's nice though, about Konfabulator, is that you can write your own widgets fairly easily. For me at least, that's a lot of fun.
Posted by dv8 at February 19, 2004 04:54 PM | Edit | Delete
Why does everyone whine about widgets being too big... they're completely open & most are very easy to modify. Just make it smaller. Try doing THAT with your menu extras!
What, don't have the skills to modify one? Ask on the forums... there are plenty of people who have already reduced widgets in size for folks that can't get over such a small non-issue.
Besides, many of the widgets are intended just to be a feature of the desktop... you shouldn't be treating them like other windows anyway.
Posted by heidilux at March 25, 2004 05:00 PM | Edit | Delete
I love Konfab! I also have a 12". There are a ton of small and now 'mini' widgets. Also, the most useful ones just sit there anyway. Now, you can set them on the desktop so that they stay put while clearing the desktop with expose. So, don't worry about them taking up desktop space. Cover them up! I must admit, now, if I quit Konfab, and have an empty desktop, it looks naked. Konfab is as essential to me now as menu extras.
Love it!
Posted by Kelsey at April 16, 2004 04:09 PM | Edit | Delete
I used Konfabulator for the demo period and found about two or three widgets useful, but certainly not necessary or so great would pay 25 dollars . . . it's fun. It's novel. It's not worth $25! (yet? - I would be thrilled if it became worth $25!)
Posted by iNeusch at April 29, 2004 12:01 PM | Edit | Delete
One of the best :)
Posted by Heiesuke at April 30, 2004 10:07 AM | Edit | Delete
i have yet to buy this, but i have used the demo and i love some of the nifty tricks these widgets pull off. $25 is not high but $20 to $15 i think sounds right.
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