Apps and Widgets

I was reading a computer magazine I like. In it there was a section on placing widgets on your desktop. I already do that but the article made me think.

I started computing when there was only 2 personal computers, the original Apple and the TRS-80. My brother and I bought a TRS-80.

In those days, processors ran at 1k speed, most calculators these days can do more then my TRS-80 could do. They were 8 bit processors, now you have 64 bit and higher are on the way. Instead of 4 gig memory, you had 4k memory.

One of the limits on the TRS-80, and a lot of early DOS computers is you could only run one program. Not enough memory or processing speed to run more. Every program did one thing, some did one thing very well.

Then came 16 bit processors, and the 286, 386, 486, and finally the Pentium. Each getting faster and with the ability to multi-task. So did programs. What was once Word for Windows is not Microsoft Office is just one example. Bigger and Faster was better.

The next step though was the PDA and smartphones, followed by the iPod and now Netbooks. It is important to be mobile, especially since the internet has gone from government and universities to being a universal reality. Would you like internet with your burger and fries?

With the always on internet, and mobile devices, we needed to have programs that can use them. We now have Widgets and Apps. Popularized by the Apple iPhone App store, they are becoming a big part of our daily life.

I am a sports fan, and like to keep track of the Philadelphia teams. There is an app to let me do that. MLB.com has apps that let's you watch the games you want, let's you keep track of play by play, check stats, and check standings. ESPN has apps for all sports. You can even find one for your team specifically.

Yahoo Widgets, and Opera Widgets, are the same thing for the computer. Apps that go on your desktop so you can get info off line or click and run a quick task. There are media, information, even game Widgets. I run a weather widget, and an analog clock face widget continuously. I also have a baseball scoreboard and a Coke Points widget to post the points from my desktop instead of having to open a browser.

Apps and Widgets are programs that are optimized to do one thing. With the always on internet, they have taken us back to the days of one program at a time, to individual programs that do what you want. By going back 30 years we are leaping ahead.

Are you running Apps or Widgets on your computer or mobile device?