PDC 2005: Gadgets embraced by Microsoft

Skinning the frog - JoeUser.com: blogs from the average joe: "One of the things that has made Object Desktop so popular over the years is that users knew, with certainty that many of the concepts found in it would likely one day end up in the OS. That's why its tag-line is 'It's like running the next version of Windows -- today.' Whether that be ObjectZIP which preceded Microsoft's Compressed folders to the much better known example of WindowBlinds in which Windows XP came with a similar, though more basic, implementation.
Today at PDC, Microsoft announced 'Microsoft Gadgets' on the same day Stardock opened DesktopGadgets.com for the public (the official announcement isn't until September 20th). Microsoft's implementation of their gadgets is quite interesting. Like gadgets created by DesktopX Pro, Microsoft's gadgets can be put into a bar. DesktopX's gadgets can sit on the desktop or be placed into an ObjectBar bar. Microsoft's gadgets go into the Microsoft SideBar on Windows Vista.
From reading the flame war over on Microsoft's Gadget blog, Mac zealots claim that Microsoft stole the whole thing from Apple. They apparently forget that Apple was almost certainly 'inspired' by Konfabulator. And DesktopX has had user-created mini apps on the desktop since late 1999. Of course, Mac zealots will point towards desktop accessories as some sort of 'see, Apple did it first'. But desktop accessories are so divorced from the modern widget/gadget concept as to be nonsensical. What makes widgets (and gadgets) interesting is that they can be created by end users who have little to know programming knowledge. My 8 year old son has a DesktopX widget he made on his home page. It's pretty unlikely that 8 year olds were cranking out desktop accessories."