You may remember us talking about Minutes back when it was first released in April 2007. A lot has changed since then to make Minutes even better than what we first thought. If you're looking for a great dashboard widget timer that is just as Aqua-licious as the built-in timer for iPhone, then look no further than Minutes.
Since we first looked at Minutes, Nitram+Nunca has added:
Removed Growl support in favor of their own unique system
Changed beep for unique sounds
Volume fading
Plus many bug fixes
All in all, this is one of the nicest widget designs that I've seen in a while. When your timer is up, you get a small, nicely designed pop up dialog that you can click to stop the timer. You can download Minutes from the Nitram+Nunca website for free.
If you're in the market for a web-based GTD solution, Nozbe is one worth checking out. It provides a solid project management solution with contexts, projects, tasks, optional due dates and next actions, and it does it without a cluttered interface. So why am I blogging about a GTD website on TUAW? Well, mostly because of iNozbe.
iNozbe provides full access to your tasks on your iPhone. A recent blog post by the developer details how the same interface can make a great dashboard widget. The only drawback I've found to the widget version is that the rare event that requires an alert dialog -- deleting tasks being the only one I've noticed -- doesn't work in Dashboard. But with iNozbe on my Dashboard and as GTD-to-go, it makes a great portable solution that can be accessed from anywhere. iNozbe makes use of a very complete API provided by Nozbe which can also be put to use in scripts and 3rd party apps for things like speedy task entry and getting your next actions in whatever form you want to process them as.
Given the lack of Mail and iCal integration a web-only task manager provides, it's not yet my ultimate solution; I'm still working on that. But, with an API which can update/export your projects and tasks, it can be worked into a system with applications like OmniFocus which provide AppleScript interfaces for task manipulation. Remember The Milk and others also provide such APIs, and the array of choices for both desktop and web tends to have me spending more time working on my "ultimate solution" for task and project management than actually getting anything done.
Nozbe has a free account with 5 projects available. Plans start at $2.45/month and stretch up to business accounts (starting at $24/month) which allow for group projects and task delegation. If you're in need of a new task management solution, have a look.
We know that several of our readers do the type of work that requires them to track their own billable hours. For those of you using Freshbooks, here's a handy Dashboard widget.
The Time Tracker Widget includes a timer (of course) plus menus to choose the project you're working on as well as the particular task (meeting, research, etc.). Finally, add any pertinent notes in the Notes field.
When you're finished working, click "Submit Hours" to upload your hours to your Freshbooks account. Easy! Note that you must have API access enabled in your Freshbook settings.
RadioSherpa has released an Apple Dashboard widget that streams radio stations from Boston, New York and San Francisco (they promise more are on the way), including several HD2 stations. It's pretty cool, and even displays the name of the current song in real-time before you load the stream.
Note that you've got to install the VLC web browser plug-in to get this to work, so keep that in mind.
Here's something for everyone who uses Tumblr. Version 3 of the Tumblr Dashboard widget is available with some cool new features. It can publish posts, links, quotes, and web photos. Also, it puts a dash (-) in front of the source on a quote, which looks nice on your post.
I've tried it out and it works well. I'd like to be able to drag and drop photos into the body field, though. Maybe next time.
First we tweaked the app indicators, and then we tweaked the color, and now we've finally come all the way back in our Time Machine (oh yes, pun very intended) to two weeks ago. Innermind Media, the folks behind WidgetWizard, are probably a little angry at Leopard, considering all that Web Clip functionality, and so they've released a free widget called DockDoctor that will subtract a dimension from your Dock with the click of a button (and bring it back with another click, which is probably just as valuable).
I know it's not for everybody. I know some of you love the new Dock, or at least have gotten so used to it that it doesn't bother you. But this is OS X we're talking about, and so you should have the right to make your Dock look the way you want it to.
I'm definitely a big fan of iSlayer's iStat Pro widget. Whenever my older Powerbook acts a little weird, I can just pull up the Dashboard and tell at a glance what's going wrong ("Oh my, the CPU is running at 150 degrees again. Time to quit a few apps"). Now they've sent word that iStat menus, an even bigger and better stats program available to sit on the menubar, has hit version 1.2.
New to this version is process monitoring, better temperature and fan support in G4 Powerbooks (like mine), and a disk activity graph that let's you monitor disk performance over time. For keeping an eye on what's happening under your Mac's hood, there's almost nothing better, and all the iStat stuff is free.
Of course, if you do use one of their apps, make sure to send them some cash to help them keep up the good work. Always support good software, people. Just like NPR, if you don't support it, you'll lose it.
I've always maintained that a good Dashboard widget should be simple with a well-defined, useful purpose that requires it to be close at hand. The Refurb Store widget meets my desiderata perfectly. All it does is display the latest deals from the US Apple Store Special Deals section on refurbished equipment. Having the deals in the Dashboard is a great way to keep on top of new stuff so you can jump right on them when they appear. I've always had good luck with refurbished stuff from Apple, all of which carries Apple's normal warranty.
The Refurb Store widget is a free download from Widgetinfo.
Phill Ryu did us a solid and dropped a quick note about an early preview of Dine-o-Matic 2 from Iconfactory. Just install the widget, punch in the names and numbers of your favorite restaurants, and a meal decision is only one click away. New in this version is categorization of the different places, more restaurant information, price filtering, and Google maps integration. I don't know if the original version had this, but the satisfying coin click and the neon buzzing are nice touches.
No more arguing about what to eat, or passive-aggressive "I don't care, whatever you're in the mood for is fine" back-and-forth. It is kind of a bummer that you have to type everything in (would be nice to integrate it with Grubhub or some other site like that) but considering that I only order from maybe five or six different places anyway, it's easy enough to punch them all in and have them ready to go when I'm up for some random ordering. If you're the type that orders out almost as much as you eat in (guilty as charged), Dine-O-Matic is worth checking out.
The fine folks over at PocketMac have released a couple of goodies over the past week. First, a new commercial product, PocketMac Remote: a $9.95 utility to quickly and simply turn your Apple remote into a presentation controller for PowerPoint [as commenters point out, the remote already works for Keynote]. There are a lot of other tools in this area; Mira was just reduced to $9.90, and Sofa Control, the somewhat-pricier Remote Buddy, and the free beta of iRed Lite all can accomplish the same goal. Once I get a chance to test the PocketMac offering against Mira or SofaControl I'll report back on how well it does.
Secondly, just in time for the summer driving season, the free Gas Pump Genie widget is now among the PocketMac offerings. Gas Pump Genie will download the gas prices for your zip code from GasBuddy.com and present them in an, uh, interestingly designed widget. This is all fine and dandy, except for a few issues:
the widget is big, unattractive and possibly frightening to animals and small children
you have to register for PocketMac's newsletter to get your download link (bad form!)
the data for my immediate area isn't as complete as the pricing info on GasPriceWatch.com; your mileage may vary
there's already a perfectly good Gas widget that looks nicer, has more features and won't ask for your email address
Jonas at the MacThemes Forums got tired of looking at the "...old Cartoonish orangy interface" of Apple's calculator Dashboard widget. So, he made his own. It's a simple black affair with recessed buttons. We think it looks sharp.
When you install it, you'll be asked if you want to replace the existing Calculator widget. Just say "Yes." (of course, you made a backup first, right?).
Monkey Business Labs, makers of the fine TV Tracker and Package Tracker widgets show us what's new in their bag of widget tricks... Like a sneak peek at Package Tracker 3. If you thought version 2 was cool, stick around for the ending because version 3 will knock your socks off. We like it, can you tell?
Also, by popular demand, we've switched these to the .mov format, but you can visit our Blip.tv channel for a mostly stutter-free .flv version if you like.
UPDATE: Apparently Blip.tv likes to play games! Despite embedding the .mov code, we're still getting the Flash version-- so you can go here for the .mov until Adobe figures out how to optimize Flash for OS X.
Tumblr is a unique 'tumble blog' service that gives users a no hassles, no frills blog, and a simple bookmarklet with which to quickly post text, videos, pictures and even chats. For those who feel Blogger or WordPress are a little much to manage, or if you simply don't feel like you have that much to say but you find as much (if not more) cool stuff across the web as the typical dorm-bound student, Tumblr's services might be right up your alley.
If Tumblr's official bookmarklet isn't always your blogging tool of choice, however, there are a few other options on the table, including the recently updated Tumblr widget 2.0. Offering a simple title + body UI, this widget should make it easy to send off your quotes, links (the widget accepts HTML) and chat quotes.
Tasty Apps says of their gift managing widget Gift-It! that it "pushes Apple's Dashboard to the limit!" It's a neat idea: You create entries for all the folks you might need to buy gifts for (including yourself of course!). Gift-It! then installs a new button in the Safari toolbar (thanks to the somewhat controversial SIMBL). Now when you're browsing a site and see something that would be good to get for somebody on your list, you need only click the package button and you'll get a dialog box that allows you to select the recipient. That page's URL will then be automatically added to the appropriate gift list, which you can access back in the Dashboard widget. Here you can see how I've generously allotted myself a new camera from B&H. You can also enter birthdays into the widget for future reminders.
I have to admit that the widget is a little bit confusing to use (I can't quite figure out how to move something from the Wish List to the Gift Box), but the Safari integration is seriously clever. I think Tasty Apps is right to suggest that this is one of the more advanced widgets out there, and certainly has the potential to be useful (though I already do something similar to track gift ideas with del.icio.us tags, though without the Dashboard eye candy and birthday reminders of course).
Gift-It! is presently in beta and is a free download.
The crew over at iSlayer have been busy releasing major updates to their killer system monitoring widgets, and not a moment too late for this year's Apple Design Awards (entry deadline is April 23rd). Earlier this month we missed a major upgrade and UI overhaul to iStat nano, bringing the compact system monitoring widget to v2 and adding a ton of new features.
With the release of what almost looks like an all-new version of iStat pro v4, however, iSlayer has brought a consistent, uniform UI to both widgets. While I agree that you should probably sit down and take a deep breath before reading through the extensive list of changes, the big-hitters include: support for the battery meters in bluetooth keyboards and mice, instant update for things like network changes and disk mounting, a choice between memory and CPU usage in the process panel, as well as drag and drop re-ordering of sections inside the widget, allowing you to customize the layout to your heart's content.
That isn't all though - go check out the huge list of changes for either of these widgets and consider showing iSlayer some donation love for all the stellar work they've done on two of the inarguable kings of system monitoring widgets for Mac OS X.
You may remember us talking about Minutes back when it was first released in April 2007. A lot has changed since then to make Minutes even better than what we first thought. If you're looking for a great dashboard widget timer that is just as Aqua-licious as the built-in timer for iPhone, then look no further than Minutes.
If you're in the market for a web-based GTD solution, 
We know that several of our readers do the type of work that requires them to track their own billable hours. For those of you using 
RadioSherpa has released an 
Here's something for everyone who uses 
I've always maintained that a good Dashboard widget should be simple with a well-defined, useful purpose that requires it to be close at hand. The 
Phill Ryu did us a solid and dropped a quick note about 
The fine folks over at 
Jonas at the MacThemes Forums got tired of looking at the "...old Cartoonish orangy interface" of Apple's calculator Dashboard widget. So, 
